Search engine optimization, or “SEO,” is an essential component of legal marketing. SEO for lawyers encompasses things like target keywords, web page structure, and the overall health of the website. These tactics, as well as an updated Google Business Profile, can help you get more clients online.
Improving your SEO may take on a number of strategies, but creating helpful and original content is a key component. SEO improvement generally starts with targeting specific keywords to attract prospective clients and then writing content—case studies, FAQs, blogs, and so forth—that present those keywords in a useful way. Improving your law firm’s SEO starts with creating content that appeals to both people and search engine crawlers.
A content strategy that improves your standing on search engine results pages (SERPs) is not like the legal content writing you do in your daily legal practice. Writing for the general public and writing for a legal audience requires two different skill sets. Lawyers spend years honing their legal writing skills, writing to obviate any legal liability; SEO content writers find ways to say exactly what their target audience wants to read—in a way that doesn't expose them to risk.
Search engines like Google reward simplicity—and legal SEO can feel like learning a new language. Even exceptional lawyers struggle to write in a way that improves their organic search results; their content can be too complicated for the average reader. (Google search crawlers are looking to improve the average user’s experience—and the average user didn’t go to law school!)
Many lawyers are now turning to professional legal content writers to write their blog posts and website content. Not only does this allow lawyers to focus on their cases, but it yields a stronger, more powerful work product than what they might produce on their own.
Trial Guides Digital Marketing’s SEO content writing services optimize your content, improving your standing on search engine rankings to reach more clients. Reach out to the team for a free consultation.
Here are some ways that writing for SEO differs from writing for a legal audience.
Writing for SEO starts with keyword research to zero in on specific terms and phrases that potential clients are likely to search for. For example, in this blog, we are targetting “Law Firm SEO” and “Law Firm Websites.” Do you see them anywhere? Depending on your field of practice, this might be something like “personal injury lawyer” or “corporate contract attorney.” However, simply incorporating keywords into your content doesn’t ensure relevance for your target audience; a lawyer’s SEO success also depends on a myriad of factors that require a little inside knowledge.
Lawyers rarely think about keywords in their daily writing. When drafting a motion or demand letter, you don’t need keywords to grab your audience’s attention. When your reader is a judge, insurance adjuster, or defense attorney, you want to provide exhaustive answers that indemnify you from future questions.
When writing for a general audience for your law firm website, research keywords before starting. Look for search terms that bring up the kind of content you’re looking to write. Then, use them sparingly and strategically. Always prioritize writing clearly over simply adding in keywords; content that Google reads as “too complex” will be penalized in search rankings.
Finally, change meta descriptions and heading tags on your content to reflect the keywords for which you are hoping to rank. (A digital marketing strategist will be able to help with this.)
Law Firm SEO Tip: Putting certain keywords higher on your post, and particularly in the title, will generally improve your stats. (Keep your writing as simple as possible. Legal writing doesn’t have to be digestible to a general audience—but SEO content absolutely does.)
Writing for law firm SEO often means shorter sentences, simplified explanations, and an emphasis on readability for a general audience. In terms of SEO, “short and simple” beats “long and complicated” every time. (Think Web MD versus a medical journal; the information is nowhere near as rigorous, but it is still considered useful for the majority of its users.)
Google also considers how users interact with your content; if they stay on your page for a long time, that generally means your rankings will improve over time. This means that your content needs to not just be simplified but also interesting — and ideally, offering information or insight that no other website is offering.
Enhancing your content with images, pullout ideas, or educational asides are all great ways to keep readers engaged. You should also use link-building across your site to refer readers to other content that they may find useful.
The contrast to SEO writing is, of course, the “legalese” for which the industry is known. Legal content requires technical language, precise terminology, and context that reflects legal minutiae and regulatory compliance. Attorneys must be careful not to reduce content complexity too much, as it may compromise accuracy and even erode their credibility.
Law Firm SEO Tip: When writing for SEO, start with the layout. Use headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make complex content more accessible without dumbing it down. Simplicity should never compromise accuracy.
SEO requires repeating specific keywords throughout an article and in certain places where search crawlers will be parsing language to understand what your content is about. Using the same keyword or phrase can feel a little stiff, but it works; if someone is looking for something specific — say, Ogden, UT Moving Truck Accident Attorney — repetition of that keyword phrase makes it more likely to appear on Page 1 of a Google search.
In the legal field, of course, repetition can make an attorney seem disengaged or even unprofessional. When writing for a judge or opposing counsel, you still want content that is original, legally precise, and nonrepetitive. Some attorneys find the concept of repetition jarring, especially when it’s on a
Law Firm SEO Tip: As with any writing, always keep your audience in mind. The more broad-reaching your content, the simpler it needs to be.
Good SEO writing responds to search trends on popular, short-lived topics to attract immediate traffic. In fact, one SEO strategy is to key into trending search topics, and write short, “stem” blogs that cater to these temporary upticks in topical searches. Examples of SEO content for attorneys might be: a blog on a new, polarizing legal issue, a report on a recent accident in your area, or a famous person and their involvement in your community or area of practice.
Legal writing enters the legal record and can be searched and quoted into perpetuity. Attorneys must focus on accuracy, reliability, and the long-term applicability of any legal writing that enters the legal record. By contrast, one would expect a blog on a trending topic to lose relevance and value in the long run.
The bulk of your website content should be “evergreen”: that is, information that you don’t expect to have to change or update every month. This includes your bio, practice area pages, reference pages, FAQs, contact information and so forth. However, it’s a great strategy to mix in content on topics that will drive traffic to your page in the short term.
Law Firm SEO Tip: Set up Google alerts for search terms that might be of value to you, and have someone on your team who can throw together blog content quickly when a story breaks. In doing so, you create an authoritative resource that attracts new visitors over time, but also boosts search engine visibility through regular content updates.
What kinds of people are reading your content, and how long did they spend reading? How did they find your writing, and what question were they looking to answer?
For attorneys who spend their days writing emails and legal documents, these sorts of questions rarely come up. With most legal writing, your audience is predetermined; writing for the general public—and providing content that is relevant to the general public—is rarely a consideration.
By contrast, SEO writers consider metrics like traffic volume, time on page, and bounce rates (the percentage of users who land on your website but quickly leave). Google Analytics allows SEO professionals to also track demographic information, browser information, and traffic sources (how users arrived at the site). All of this information can be used to hone in on the type of content writing — and website layout — that maximizes engagement.
Writing for the general public may feel like “dumbing down” what you know. For some attorneys, it helps to reframe the task of SEO writing as providing the most useful information, in the fewest words.
Law Firm SEO Tip: Always try to align your content with the likely intent behind keyword searches. For example, a potential client searching “how to file a lawsuit” may need basic legal information about the legal process. They probably don’t need to know every detail about the court system—and including too much high-level information may actually hurt your Google ranking.
When writing to attract a potential client, it helps to adopt a conversational or informal tone to engage a broad audience. Simple words, simpler sentences, and shorter paragraphs will keep readers from feeling confused or intimidated by your online presence. Far from sacrificing your professionalism, a more conversational tone can actually make the difference between a client calling you over a competitor!
The usual rules still apply in the legal field, where one should endeavor to write in a way that communicates mastery of legal concepts and instills confidence. Polished language, professionalism, and precision will continue to be the standard to which attorneys are held in the legal sphere.
Law Firm SEO Tip: Many attorneys struggle to adopt a voice for their website that walks the line between casual and impersonal. To strike a tone that is both approachable and authoritative, try recording yourself explaining a concept you want to express as you explain it to a person who is not in the legal industry.
With more than 20 years of working with attorneys to market their legal strategies for a broader audience, nobody understands SEO for law firms like Trial Guides Digital Marketing. Our team of writers includes legal professionals, copywriters, and digital marketing strategists who specialize in working on legal websites.
We understand that most attorneys don’t have the time to research — much less write — content that gets them ranking well. When writing for clients, our writers do a deep dive on your firm, your preferred tone, and your target audience. We then bring years of experience to craft engaging content, build credibility, engage readers, and attract clients.
In digital marketing, four simple metrics often make the biggest difference: clicks, calls, likes, and shares. Each one represents a different type of engagement with your potential clients, and each can be improved through deliberate, targeted strategies.
Over the weekend of September 12, 2025, many SEOs and site owners, particularly in service-based niches such as legal and home services, observed ~50% drops in Google Search Console (GSC) impressions, despite rankings and clicks remaining largely stable.
