A good law firm SEO company gets your site and listings found for the searches that lead to signed cases, reports calls and cases rather than only rankings, lets you own everything, and does not guarantee page-one positions. In 2026 it should also check whether AI assistants such as ChatGPT name your firm, because many people now ask them for a lawyer first.
What law firm SEO covers
| Area | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Technical | Site speed, crawlability, indexing, schema markup |
| Content | One page per practice area and case type, location pages that are real, FAQs |
| Local | Google Business Profile, Maps, consistent listings |
| Authority | Mentions and links from legal directories, news, bar and community sites |
| Reviews | A process for recent reviews that name the case type |
| Measurement | Rankings, calls, forms and signed cases |
See law firm SEO for how this works in practice.
Twelve questions to ask
- Which pages will you create or change in the first 90 days?
- How do you pick the keywords? Show the case types, cities and the intent behind them.
- How will I see calls, forms and signed cases, not just rankings?
- Who writes content, and is it reviewed for accuracy and bar compliance?
- How do you build mentions and links without spam?
- Do I own the website, analytics, Search Console and Business Profile access?
- What happens to the work if I stop?
- How long before I should expect movement, and what do you do in month one?
- Do you take competitors in my city and case type?
- How do you handle Google algorithm updates, and what do you not control?
- Do you check whether ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity name my firm?
- What is the term and the exit?
Red flags
- Guaranteed rankings or position. Google decides rankings. Treat any guarantee as a warning.
- Reports with only traffic and keyword positions. Ask for calls and signed cases.
- Mass-produced city or "near me" pages with the same text. They are thin and can hurt.
- Link packages and bought reviews. The FTC's 2024 rule bans fake reviews and testimonials, and purchased links risk penalties.
- Agency-owned domain, hosting or Business Profile.
- Secret formulas. Google states there are no special optimizations required beyond indexing and snippet eligibility for its AI features, and no new markup or AI text files needed.
What changed with AI search
Two things. First, SEO is now the foundation of AI visibility: assistants read search results and web pages, so a site that is hard to find on Google is usually hard to find in AI answers. Second, SEO companies that ignore AI are measuring only half of how clients now find lawyers. A good vendor should show you monthly which questions name your firm in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, and should check that OpenAI's search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, is not blocked on your site. See should a law firm block GPTBot? and GEO vs SEO vs AEO.
What good reporting looks like
| Metric | Why |
|---|---|
| Calls and form leads from organic search | The outcome SEO is for |
| Signed cases by source | The business result |
| Rankings for case type + city terms | Leading indicator |
| Indexed pages and technical issues | Health |
| Where AI assistants name your firm | The new half of discovery |
| Work completed this month | Accountability |
How long does SEO take?
Plan in months. A common pattern is cleanup in month one, new pages and listings in month two, and measurable movement building from there; the exact timeline depends on competition and your starting point. Any vendor claiming a specific date for page one is guessing.
Where Bookedly fits
Bookedly (bookedly.co) is an AI marketing agency for law firms. For firms that need SEO it runs law firm SEO and AI SEO together, takes one firm per case type per city, is month-to-month and does not promise rankings or AI placement. For the full buyer's checklist see how to choose a legal marketing agency. To see where your firm stands today, use the Free AI Visibility Check.
Questions
How much should a law firm spend on SEO?
It depends on market and case type, and we do not publish prices. Ask each vendor for a written scope, and compare cost against signed cases.
Is SEO still worth it with AI search?
Yes. AI assistants read the same web, and Google says its AI features are built on Search eligibility.
What is the difference between an SEO company and an AI marketing agency?
The AI agency also runs the ChatGPT sponsored slot and the work of being named in AI answers. See AI marketing agency for law firms.
Should I sign a long SEO contract?
Prefer terms you can exit. If a long term is required, ask what you get if no progress appears.
Can an SEO company guarantee page one?
No. Anyone who does is guessing.
Sources (checked October 28, 2026)
- developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
- developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots
- FTC Trade Regulation Rule on Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 2024
- DataForSEO via article-plan.csv