If you’re leading marketing or growth at a midsize law firm with a dozen or more attorneys, you already know what it takes to compete, but taking the next step can be a challenge. Midsize firms often find themselves at a crossroads.
Where midsize firms often get stuck
- You’re established locally but struggling to gain traction in new regions.
- You’re investing in various marketing efforts, but they feel disconnected.
- You want more leads but aren’t sure what’s holding you back online.
That’s where SEO comes in. We Do Web has helped midsize law firms bridge the gap between ambition and execution with strategies tailored to each firm’s goals, market position, and challenges. Our team has worked with firms like yours across the country, strengthening online visibility in organic results, local maps, and, more recently, AI search.
Start with a free site audit and find out exactly where your firm stands. We’ll go over what’s working and what needs to be done to move forward with confidence.
TL;DR
- Midsize law firms often face growth challenges: expanding into new markets, adding services, or improving local visibility.
- SEO helps your firm get discovered across channels: organic results, local map packs, AI Overviews, and platforms like ChatGPT.
- A successful strategy builds authority, trust, and visibility in each market and practice area.
- Core SEO elements include: technical SEO, content strategy, local optimization, conversion tracking, and linkbuilding.
- SEO also helps unify your broader marketing efforts, making all campaigns work smarter.
- We Do Web has 15+ years of experience helping law firms grow with digital marketing.
SEO presents many opportunities to get found in search
With an SEO strategy tailored specifically for their law firm’s challenges and goals, midsize law firms can gain consistent local visibility, show up for high-value queries across regions, and see a measurable increase in qualified leads.
When you search for a lawyer on Google, you’ll see several options for finding one that suits your needs. Here’s a search for a slip and fall lawyer in Portland.
That’s a lot of opportunity for clients to find your firm. Breaking each element of the SERP down reveals myriad opportunities to find clients in your market and niche(s).
Local Services Ads (LSAs) show at the top of the page and operate on a pay-per-lead basis. While they require verification (like license and insurance) and active management, they can be a strong supplement to organic efforts. For midsize firms looking to drive high-intent leads while building long-term SEO equity in new markets and practice areas, LSAs could offer a valuable, scalable channel.
AI Overviews summarize search answers directly in the results, often listing law firms alongside trust signals like ratings, reviews, and credentials. Getting featured here requires strong site content, accurate local listings, and high authority, all of which SEO supports. With AI Overviews occupying prominent screen space, midsize firms must adapt to stay visible.
Google’s local pack (also called the map pack or 3-pack) shows three local firms based on the searcher’s location. Ranking here depends on proximity but also on factors like your rating, reviews, and service listings on your Google Business Profile (GBP). Your GBP features your address and contact info, and mobile users can click to call directly from your GBP, making visibility in local packs essential for firms trying to get local leads.
Organic search results may be lower on the search results pages today, but they still attract a substantial share of clicks from users. Ranking well for local, practice-specific, and informational queries gives your firm steady visibility and long-term traffic without ongoing ad spend.
AI Mode, Google’s AI search interface that it described as representing the “bleeding edge” of AI search, could give us glimpses of what search might look like in the near future. It functions much like LLMs in that it facilitates long-tail queries and follow-ups, inviting users to engage with it converstionally.
If we click “AI Mode” in our search of Portland slip and fall attorneys, Google gives us a lengthy list of attorneys in the area who handle slip and fall caes, citing their user ratings and reviews. Here’s a snippet of its response:
Further down, AI Mode shares “important considerations” about slip and fall cases before sharing an expandable map of attorneys in the area.
LLM platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity offer new opportunities to gain exposure when users ask legal questions or look for firms. While search behavior in LLMs is still smaller than Google, these AI tools pull from authoritative brands, websites, and content, meaning firms investing in SEO are better positioned to be featured.
Here’s a screenshot from ChatGPT. It starts with a map similar to Google’s local pack.
As search evolves, firms that invest in a broad, adaptable SEO strategy are the ones that show up everywhere it counts.
Develop an SEO strategy tailored to your mid-size law firm
Most law firms’ SEO strategies include the same core components: technical SEO, content strategy, local optimization, linkbuilding, and conversion optimization.
But it’s how those tactics are applied that determines success.
For midsize firms, the secret is in crafting a plan that reflects your firm’s unique goals, market position, and competitive environment. Budget, expansion plans, practice area mix, and existing web presence all factor into the equation.
It starts with listening. We take the time to understand your firm’s history with SEO, current pain points, business objectives, and future growth plans because strategy without context is just guesswork.
From there, we conduct a competitive audit. Many midsize firms don’t realize how they compare to other firms in their market, especially when competing with lean, aggressive small firms or big-budget national players. A benchmarking analysis helps identify who’s ranking, why they’re winning, and where your firm has the advantage.
But success doesn’t come from copying your competitors. A smart strategy identifies their strengths and competitive gaps, then builds on your firm’s unique value to carve out a position that’s distinct in your market.
Here’s what a tailored SEO strategy looks like for a midsize firm.
Technical SEO
A strong technical foundation is critical for midsize firms expanding across markets or practice areas. Without it, the new content and branding work you’re doing to expand to those new areas will underperform. A well-structured, fast, and crawlable site ensures your SEO investment can scale as your footprint grows.
- Improve site speed for mobile and desktop users in all markets
- Secure your site with HTTPS and fix broken links or crawl errors
- Structure URLs and navigation to support multiple locations or practices
- Implement schema markup to help Google better understand your site
- Optimize mobile responsiveness and ADA accessibility sitewide
Content strategy & production
Midsize firms often serve clients across a broad region and practice areas. So, a robust content strategy will ensure you’re covering all markets and legal cases your firm handles. But it’s not as simple as writing one page per market-practice area combo.
To earn visibility in traditional and AI search, your content must demonstrate real authority. That means creating a suite of robust, helpful, and experience-backed content that reflects your firm’s success, depth of knowledge, and ability to serve clients in each area you target.
- Build in-depth location pages that speak to specific local needs and legal nuances
- Create robust, helpful content around high-priority practice areas
- Showcase case results, FAQs, attorney bios, and client resources
- Support content with blogs and guides that address client questions and intent at every stage of their search journey
Conversion optimization
Conversion optimization ensures that key trust signals are immediately visible and that the path to contact is simple and intuitive. Visitors shouldn’t have to search for what makes your firm credible or how to take the next step. Especially on mobile, that clarity and confidence should be readily evident.
- Highlight reviews, case results, and credentials that build trust
- Streamline intake forms and remove friction from contact pages
- Enable click-to-call, chat, and form tracking to capture leads
- Improve mobile usability for users who need help fast
Google Business Profile
The Google local pack is often the first thing users see, especially on mobile. Midsize firms with multiple office locations should optimize each GBP listing to gain visibility in the local pack.
- Claim and optimize GBP for each location
- Keep address, phone number, and categories accurate
- Encourage and respond to client reviews
- Add services, FAQs, and firm descriptions
- Use high-quality images and geo-tagged content
Performance in the local pack depends on several factors, but proximity and reviews are key. Encouraging satisfied clients to leave detailed reviews can significantly improve your chances of showing up when and where it matters most.
Linkbuiding & off-page SEO
Midsize firms often compete against large, nationally recognized firms and aggressive local competitors. To stand out, you need to establish authority and credibility in your practice area(s).
Off-page SEO, including linkbuilding, local citations, and brand mentions, establishes relevance in your markets and expertise in each practice area you serve. And firms with multiple focus areas must build trust signals for each.
- Earn backlinks from legal publications and local news
- Secure listings in high-quality directories
- Get involved in your community, such as by sponsoring or hosting local events
- Build branded mentions and off-site authority in target markets
Good SEO helps midsize firms reach business goals
Here’s how it supports the growth priorities that matter most to midsize law firms.
Establish local market leadership
Challenge Struggling to gain a foothold or stand out in your home market. Why it happens Entrenched competitors and aggressive local firms outrank you online due to a stronger web presence, even if their service isn’t better. SEO solutions Find & correct weaknesses holding you back. Conduct a technical audit for speed, structure, and security. Rewrite thin, unfocused content to establish experience, knowledge, and success in each practice area. Optimize GBP(s) and manage citations. Improve backlink profile to build off-site authority. Result A stronger online presence that reinforces your firm’s credibility and wins local visibility in organic, local packs, and AI search.
Expand Into New Markets with Confidence
Challenge You want to open new offices but don’t know how to build awareness. Why it happens Your firm lacks digital presence and local authority in the new region(s), so you’re invisible to people searching for legal help there. SEO solutions Build your presence in the local community and establish your authority in the practice area(s). Create practice area pages tailored to each new location. Optimize and verify new Google Business Profiles. Build local backlinks and citations in the new market. Run local ads (like LSAs) to supplement organic growth early on. Consider offline marketing and community engagement to build awareness in the new market(s). Result SEO lays the groundwork for your presence in a new market while you build awareness, serve clients, and earn visibility in local search.
Grow Practice Areas & Case Types
Challenge | You’ve added new practice areas but aren’t getting found by clients searching for them. |
Why it happens | Your site may mention the practice area, but thin or limited content doesn’t establish the authority needed to rank or earn clicks. |
SEO solutions | Focus on establishing your authority in these new practice areas.
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Result | You build authority and recognition in new practice areas by demonstrating real expertise, not just mentioning the service but showing you have the knowledge, experience, and credibility to earn trust and visibility. |
Bring Your Entire Marketing Strategy Together
Challenge | You’re running multiple campaigns, but they feel disconnected and hard to measure. |
Why it happens | Paid ads, content, and referral efforts aren’t aligned; there’s no central strategy tying them together or showing what’s working. |
SEO solutions | Segment performance tracking and align all efforts under the same goal.
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Result | You bring alignment to your marketing by reinforcing consistent messaging, improving performance tracking, and ensuring your campaigns are working toward the same goals. |
A partner who knows how to help you grow
We Do Web has helped law firms achieve SEO success for over 15 years, including midsize firms navigating the same challenges and growth goals you’re facing right now.
- You’ll have a dedicated account manager keeping your account moving forward.
- We meet with you regularly to review results and discuss strategy and new and ongoing business objectives.
- With transparent reporting, you’ll know where your leads are coming from, how your site is performing, and what’s driving results.
Let’s get started
Not sure where to start? We offer a free site audit to show you exactly where your firm stands today and where your biggest opportunities lie.