---
title: "How to Choose a Law Firm SEO Company: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Sign"
description: "12 questions to ask a law firm SEO company, with good and weak answers on bar rules, account ownership, results proof and tracking signed cases."
url: https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-seo-company/
published: 2026-10-27
updated: 2026-10-27
author: "Kiran Dasgupta"
---

# How to Choose a Law Firm SEO Company: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Sign

By [Kiran Dasgupta](https://kihanmarketing.com/kiran/), Founder and Lead Strategist

![A woman in a dark jacket reads at a long wooden table in a sunlit law library, with leather chairs, brass lamps and tall bookshelves](https://kihanmarketing.com/media/brand/law-office-1900.webp)

If you are searching for the best law firm SEO company, start with questions, not ranked lists. Ask four things. How does it stay inside your state bar's ad rules? What pages will it build? Who owns your accounts? How does it track signed cases? A company worth hiring answers all of it plainly, in writing.

Below are 12 questions to ask any law firm SEO company before you sign, each with a good and a weak answer. Use them on every company you talk to, including us.

**Sound familiar?**

- You sent the agency your own blog posts, and the site was never updated with them.
- Your site went dark without warning while you were still spending thousands a week on ads.
- You paid tens of thousands for SEO that, as one law firm alleged in a lawsuit, was "ineffective at increasing the law firm's visibility on Google."
- You want to leave, but your site is "built on proprietary software" and the domain is not in your name.

**Key takeaway**

Pick a law firm SEO company you can check, not one you have to trust. It should ask which state bar governs your ads before it writes a word. Your firm should own every account. Results should come with a source and a time window. And success is counted in signed cases, not clicks.

## What Should the Best Law Firm SEO Company Do for Your Firm?

A good law firm SEO company turns local searches into signed cases, and it stays inside your bar's rules while it does. A sound proposal covers the work below and says who does each part.

| The work | What good work looks like |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area pages | A separate page for each practice area, and city pages only where the firm has a real office or real clients. |
| Attorney bio pages | A page for each lawyer, with bar admissions and experience, so a referral who searches the lawyer's name finds the firm. |
| [Google Business Profile](https://kihanmarketing.com/glossary/google-business-profile/) and the [local pack](https://kihanmarketing.com/glossary/local-pack/) | A profile for each real office, set up the way Google's rules for lawyers require. |
| Legal directories and the bar site | [Listings](https://kihanmarketing.com/glossary/local-citations/) that show the same name, address and phone as your profile. |
| Reviews | A planned way to ask, inside client confidentiality, with replies a lawyer approves. |
| Links | Mentions the firm earns, never links it buys. |
| Calls, forms and intake | Tracking from the first call to the signed case. |
| Copy inside the bar rules | Every page checked against your state's ad rules before it goes live. |
| AI search | Plain answers that [AI Overviews](https://kihanmarketing.com/glossary/ai-overviews/) and chat tools can quote. |

Our Law Firm SEO page explains each part in depth, and the [law firm marketing](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/) hub covers the rest.

[Law Firm SEOPractice area pages, the map pack, and copy written inside state bar rules.](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-seo/)

If your firm needs matters sooner than SEO can bring them, [law firm lead generation](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-lead-generation/) can run alongside it.

## 12 Questions to Ask a Law Firm SEO Company Before You Sign

Send these questions to every SEO company on your shortlist. Questions 1 to 4 cover the bar rules, 5 to 8 the work and who does it, and 9 to 12 ownership and proof.

Google's own page, [Do you need an SEO?](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo), calls hiring an SEO "a big decision" that can help, "but you can also risk damage to your site and reputation." This list adds what a law firm needs on top.

One note before you start. We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. Your firm's ethics counsel or your state bar has the final word on your ads.

### 1. Which state bar governs our ads, and who checks each page before it goes live?

Ask this first, because every page an SEO company writes for you is a message about your services, and your bar's ad rules apply to it. Every US jurisdiction has a rule against false or misleading statements about a lawyer's services. Texas [Rule 7.01](https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/rules/texas-disciplinary-rules-of-professional-conduct/communications-concerning-a-lawyers-services/) is one example. The details differ from state to state.

The ABA rewrote its model ad rules in 2018, after what a lawyer quoted in the [ABA Journal](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/model_rules_on_lawyer_advertising_to_be_modernized) called a "breathtaking variation in advertising rules" among the states. States adopt such changes on their own schedule. New York's new rules took effect on June 1, 2026, and they [track the ABA model rules](https://nysba.org/amendments-adopted-to-advertising-rules/) from 2018, per the New York State Bar Association.

Some states also want ads filed. As of October 2026, in Texas, [Rule 7.04](https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/rules/texas-disciplinary-rules-of-professional-conduct/filing-requirements-for-advertisements-and-solicitation-communications/) has lawyers file ads with the State Bar's Advertising Review Committee within 10 days of first use, unless an exemption applies. For a website, a comment to [Rule 7.05](https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/rules/texas-disciplinary-rules-of-professional-conduct/communications-exempt-from-filing-requirements/) says only the homepage may need filing. The whole site must still follow the rules.

- **A good answer:** It asks which bars admit your lawyers and where your offices are. Then it names a review step: a lawyer at your firm signs off on each page before it goes live.
- **A weak answer:** "We know legal marketing, so don't worry about the rules." Or pages that go live before anyone at your firm reads them.

### 2. How do you handle "specialist," "expert," testimonials and past results?

These words cause the most trouble, so ask how the company treats each one. A claim to be a certified specialist needs a real certification, and some states set the exact wording. Texas shows how this works. As of October 2026, under [Rule 7.02](https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/rules/texas-disciplinary-rules-of-professional-conduct/advertisements/), a lawyer certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization may say "Board Certified." The ad must use a set form that names the board.

Plain "specialist" and "expert" are treated differently from state to state, so check your own bar's rule. New York's new Rule 7.1(c) bars claiming to be a certified specialist without an accredited certification. Saying you are a specialist in a field is "generally permissible" there, per a lawyer quoted by the [New York State Bar Association](https://nysba.org/understanding-changes-to-new-york-state-lawyer-advertising-rules/). Clifford Ennico, another lawyer quoted there, would rather firms write "focuses on or practice is limited to" instead.

Past results need care too, and so do testimonials, so ask how your own bar treats them. Texas Rule 7.01 calls a statement misleading if it is "substantially likely to create unjustified expectations about the results the lawyer can achieve." In plain words, a page must not lead readers to expect a result the lawyer cannot promise.

- **A good answer:** A written list of words and claims to avoid in your state, checked by your lawyers. Case results only with context and your sign-off.
- **A weak answer:** "Top expert car accident lawyers" in a page title, or verdict amounts with no context.

### 3. How do you ask for reviews, and who replies to them?

Ask this because a review reply can break client confidentiality. The ABA's [Formal Opinion 496](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers-must-use-caution-responding-to-negative-online-reviews) (2021) names "the main ethical concern" in a reply to a bad review: "confidentiality of client information." Formal Opinion 496 advises: "Lawyers should give serious consideration to not responding to negative online reviews in all situations."

Where a reply makes sense, the opinion offers a safe line: "Professional obligations do not allow me to respond as I would wish."

As of October 2026, Google's Business Profile [third-party policies](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7353941?hl=en) say an agency needs a firm's explicit approval to reply to reviews for it: "Verbal consent isn't sufficient."

The request itself should go to every client the same way and never hint at the matter. See [how to get more Google reviews](https://kihanmarketing.com/how-to-get-more-google-reviews/) for the basics.

- **A good answer:** A lawyer at the firm approves every reply, in writing, and no reply confirms that the reviewer was a client.
- **A weak answer:** Auto-replies the agency posts on its own, or a reply that argues about the case.

### 4. Will anyone contact prospects for us, and do you sell leads?

A good law firm SEO company contacts no prospects for you and says so in writing, because a firm can answer for what its vendors do. Four ABA points apply, as the ABA Journal reported them:

- **Solicitation.** [Formal Opinion 501](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers-have-obligation-to-ensure-employees-dont-solicit-clients-new-aba-ethics-opinion-says/) (2022) is about reaching out to a specific person who needs legal help, when the lawyer knows it or should. Lawyers have "an ethical responsibility to ensure that employees or others hired by the lawyers do not engage in such misconduct."
- **Helping others break the rules.** Rule 8.4(a) makes it misconduct "to knowingly assist or induce another to violate the rules."
- **Outside help.** A [2012 comment to Rule 5.3](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/changes_to_model_ethics_rules_clarify_lawyers_obligations_when_using_o) covers outside help from people who are not lawyers. A lawyer who uses it "must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the engagement is compatible with legal ethics obligations."
- **Leads.** A [2012 comment to Rule 7.2](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/online_marketing_including_lead_generation_is_addressed) lets lawyers pay for lead generation, with safeguards. The lead seller "should not vouch for the lawyer's credentials or abilities."

- **A good answer:** "SEO brings people to you. We contact no one for you." If the company also sells leads, it shows you where they come from.
- **A weak answer:** Vague talk of "outreach" to people who might need a lawyer.

### 5. What pages will you build, practice area by city, and how will each one be different?

Ask for the page plan in writing, because pages are what you pay for. Each practice area needs its own page, and each lawyer needs a bio page. City pages make sense where the firm has a real office or real clients.

The risk is one page copied for 50 cities with the name swapped. As of October 2026, Google's [spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies) treat scaled content abuse as spam: "when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users."

A city page earns its place with facts that fit only that city, like the office that serves it. Each page is also a [landing page](https://kihanmarketing.com/glossary/landing-page/), so the next step should be clear: call, or book a consult.

- **A good answer:** A list of practice areas, cities and bio pages, with what is unique on each, before a word is written.
- **A weak answer:** "We will launch 200 location pages in the first month."

### 6. How do you earn links, and what will you never do?

A good law firm SEO company names how it earns links and puts in writing that it never buys them. As of October 2026, Google's [spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies) list link spam, such as "Buying or selling links for ranking purposes."

At least one law firm has gone to court over this. In 2013, a Michigan firm [sued its marketing consultant](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_files_civil_racketeering_suit_over_legal_consultants_bogus_interne), as the ABA Journal reported. The complaint said the program "relied on methods that were in violation of Google's terms of use." These were claims in a lawsuit, not findings.

Check your own footer, too. Google's hiring guide says: "You should never have to link to an SEO." For link ideas inside the bar rules, see [link building for law firms](https://kihanmarketing.com/link-building-for-law-firms/).

- **A good answer:** Named methods, such as local press, community groups and legal directories you truly belong to, plus a list of what it will never do.
- **A weak answer:** A package of a set number of links each month, or a "website by" link to the agency in your footer.

### 7. How will you set up our Google Business Profile?

Ask this because Google has rules that name lawyers directly. As of October 2026, Google's [guidelines](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en) treat lawyers as individual practitioners. Google says a lawyer should have their own profile if two things are true. They "operate in a public-facing role." And they "can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours."

In a firm with several lawyers, the firm has its own profile, and each lawyer's profile carries only the lawyer's name. For a solo lawyer under a firm brand, Google recommends sharing one profile, named "[brand/company]: [practitioner name]." Google's guidelines add: "A practitioner shouldn't have multiple Business Profiles to cover all of their specializations."

Under the same guidelines, a virtual office "isn't eligible for a Business Profile." Your listings on legal directories and the bar site should also match the profile's name, address and phone. That is called [NAP consistency](https://kihanmarketing.com/glossary/nap-consistency/).

- **A good answer:** One profile for each real, staffed office, lawyer profiles only where Google allows them, and the firm's real name.
- **A weak answer:** A profile at a virtual office in a city you want to rank in, keywords stuffed into the name, or one profile per practice area.

### 8. Who actually does the work, and is any of it passed to another company?

You should know who writes your pages and who changes your site. Some agencies pass work to other companies, often called white-labeling, and that should be said up front. Google's hiring guide warns: "Be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do."

For a law firm there is one more reason. The Rule 5.3 comment above asks for reasonable efforts, and that is hard when you do not know who writes your pages. As Google puts it: "Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire."

- **A good answer:** The names of the people who will write, build and report, and what, if anything, goes to another company.
- **A weak answer:** A sales rep who cannot say who will do the work.

### 9. Who owns the domain, website, Business Profile, Search Console, GA4, ad accounts and call tracking numbers?

Your firm should own every account and everything written for it, with the company added as a user or manager.

- **Domain, website and content:** the domain registered to the firm, your own admin login, and the pages and posts written for you kept by the firm if the work ends. [Lawyerist warns](https://lawyerist.com/reviews/seo-marketing/findlaw/) about web companies that own what they build: "it can be difficult to transfer your website to another hosting provider or marketing agency."
- **Google Business Profile:** the firm as owner, the agency as manager. As of October 2026, Google's [third-party policies](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7353941?hl=en) say "all end customers must retain ownership or co-ownership of their Business Profile at all times." The same policies give an agency 7 business days from the firm's notice to hand back exclusive control.
- **Google Search Console:** the firm as owner. As of October 2026, Google says an [owner](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615?hl=en) "Has full control over properties in Search Console."
- **Google Analytics 4:** the firm as [Administrator](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9305587?hl=en), the role with "Full control of Analytics."
- **Ad accounts:** in the firm's name, with the firm holding top access.
- **Call tracking numbers:** numbers the firm can keep if it changes vendors.

Then ask what the agreement covers and how either side ends it, and what you keep when it does.

- **A good answer:** Every account set up in the firm's name, with the agency added as a user, and every page and post written for the firm kept by the firm.
- **A weak answer:** "We run it all from our accounts." Or a site you could not take with you if you left.

### 10. How will you track calls, forms and signed cases?

Ask how the company will count signed cases, because traffic that never reaches intake is wasted. A call or a form is only a lead.

Intake is often where it breaks. For the Clio 2024 Legal Trends Report, secret shoppers contacted 1,000 law firms by email and 500 by phone.

**67%** of law firms didn't respond to the secret shoppers' emails.

[Source: Clio 2024 Legal Trends Report, as reported by Above the Law, 2024](https://abovethelaw.com/2024/10/law-firms-failing-at-the-single-most-basic-lawyering-task/)

**48%** of law firms were "essentially unreachable" by phone.

[Source: Clio 2024 Legal Trends Report, as reported by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, 2024](https://www.2civility.org/clio-2024-legal-trends-report-identifies-ai-alternative-billing-structures-and-client-engagement-as-focus-areas-for-todays-lawyers/)

So the company should trace every call and form to its source, then match them to signed cases in your case management system. The report should show cost per signed case by channel. [Cost per lead](https://kihanmarketing.com/glossary/cost-per-lead/) is a step on the way, not the goal.

**Cost per signed case calculator**

- Marketing spend over the last three months (fees plus ads)
- Cases signed from marketing in those three months

It divides what you spent on marketing by the cases it signed.

Ask who answers after hours, too. If your pages make it hard to call or book, see [law firm website design](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-website-design/).

Ask what client and intake data the company will see, such as call recordings and form messages. Ask how it is protected, who can access it and how long it is kept. Your ethics counsel can say which confidentiality and call-recording rules apply in your state.

- **A good answer:** Tracking numbers the firm owns, set up so your listings still show one consistent name, address and phone, forms tied to their source, and a monthly count of signed cases by channel.
- **A weak answer:** Reports of rankings, clicks and "leads" with no names, and no word on what happened next.

### 11. What results can you show, with the source and the time window?

Ask for proof you can check. Google's hiring guide suggests asking: "What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?"

The proof can come from law firms or from comparable local service businesses, as long as it says which. Each figure should name its source, such as Google Search Console, GA4 or call tracking, and the period it compares.

No honest company promises a ranking. Google says: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." As of October 2026, Google's Business Profile third-party policies list "Guarantees top placement on Google" among false or misleading claims. Nobody can honestly promise a date, either.

To read a company's reviews and agreement closely, see [how to evaluate an SEO agency](https://kihanmarketing.com/how-to-read-seo-agency-reviews/).

- **A good answer:** "Here are this client's clicks from Search Console, these three months against the same months last year."
- **A weak answer:** "Our clients see huge returns," with no source, no period and no client you can check.

### 12. Do you work with competing firms in our practice area and city?

There is no single right answer: some agencies take one firm per practice area in a market, others serve several, and either can work if you know before you sign. [Lawyerist](https://lawyerist.com/reviews/seo-marketing/findlaw/) puts the issue this way: "Marketing can be winner-take-most, especially when it comes to search. That can present a conflict if a marketing agency represents direct competitors." It adds that many agencies won't take direct competitors. Exclusivity, it notes, "may cost more."

- **A good answer:** A direct answer about who else the company serves in your practice area and city, and how it handles that.
- **A weak answer:** A dodge, or "it doesn't matter," with nothing more.

## Before You Sign: The Short Checklist

Run through this list before you sign with any company. Each line maps to one of the 12 questions.

- Your state bar is named, and a lawyer at the firm signs off on each page
- Words to avoid are agreed: "specialist," "expert," certifications, results
- A lawyer approves review replies, in writing
- No one contacts prospects for the firm
- The page plan is in writing
- Link methods are in writing, with what the company will never do
- Google Business Profile setup follows Google's rules for lawyers
- You know who does the work
- Every account is in the firm's name, with the firm as owner or admin
- Reports count signed cases, not just clicks
- Results come with a source and the period compared
- You know who else the company serves in your practice area and city

[**Want to know where your firm stands before you ask?** Send the address and we send back what it actually ranks for today, from Search Console, with the gaps marked.](https://kihanmarketing.com/marketing-audit/)

## Which Type of Law Firm SEO Agency Fits Your Firm?

The right type of law firm SEO agency depends on the firm's size, how many practice areas it competes in and how much control it wants to keep. Each of the four types below should face the same 12 questions.

| Type | What you get | Watch for | Good fit when |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Legal-only agency | A team that works only with law firms and knows the common practice areas | It may already serve a firm you compete with (question 12) | You want a team that has seen many firms like yours |
| Local SEO agency that serves several industries | Map pack, review and service page work for local businesses | It must show it can work inside the bar rules (questions 1 to 4) | You compete on practice area plus city searches |
| Solo consultant or freelancer | Direct contact with the person doing the work | Capacity, and who covers tracking and site work | You are a small firm with one or two practice areas |
| Legal directory or platform vendor that bundles a site and marketing | A site and marketing in one package | A site on the vendor's own software, and a domain that may not be yours (question 9) | You want one bill and accept less control |

The type matters less than the answers. A small team that answers all 12 questions well beats a big name that dodges them.

## What Are the Red Flags in a Law Firm SEO Proposal?

The biggest red flags are promises nobody can keep and control you cannot get back.

- **Guaranteed rankings or top placement.** Or a claimed "special relationship" with Google. Lawyerist notes that a Google partner badge "does not mean the vendor has any kind of special relationship with Google."
- **An agreement that is silent on ownership.** If it does not say the firm keeps the domain, site, content and accounts when the work ends, ask for that in writing before you sign.
- **The same posts sold to many firms.** As of October 2026, Google's spam policies list "Republishing content from other sites without adding any original content or value" as spam.
- **Cold emails that promise page one.** Google says: "Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that email you out of the blue."

Every weak answer in the 12 questions above is a red flag too, above all accounts in the agency's name, link packages and results with no source or period.

A company with no legal case study is not a red flag on its own. What counts is whether it can show checkable work for comparable local businesses, and whether it answers questions 1 to 4 well.

## How Do the Questions Change by Practice Area?

All 12 questions apply to every firm, but each practice area leans harder on some. Here is where to push.

### Personal injury

In personal injury, push hardest on questions 2, 6 and 12. Question 2, because verdict and settlement amounts are where the ad rules bite. Question 6, because a shortcut on links puts the whole site at risk. Question 12, because an agency with injury experience may already serve a firm across town. For more, see our [personal injury playbook](https://kihanmarketing.com/personal-injury-seo/).

### Family law

Family matters are private and often painful, so question 3 comes first. A review reply that hints at a divorce or custody case can expose a client. Question 5 comes next: ask for separate pages on divorce, custody and support, not one family law page.

### Criminal defense and DUI

Someone who has just been arrested often needs a lawyer fast. So questions 7 and 10 come first: a correct profile at a real office, and someone who answers at night and on weekends. Question 4 matters too. A message to someone just arrested is aimed at a specific person who needs legal help, the kind of contact Formal Opinion 501 addresses.

### Estate planning

Estate planning clients plan ahead and read before they call. Question 5 matters most: clear pages on wills, trusts and probate that answer real questions. Because those pages explain the law, question 8 matters too: a lawyer should review each one before it goes live. If clients book consultations online, question 10 follows: ask how each booked consult is matched to a signed plan.

### Immigration

Immigration clients often face high stakes, so be strict on question 2, and on question 3: a review request or reply should never reveal a client's matter or status. No wording should imply an outcome, and no "expert" claim should go further than your bar allows. If you serve clients in more than one language, ask under question 5 who at the firm checks each version.

### Business law

Business owners compare firms the way they compare any vendor: by reading what the firm has written. So question 8 matters most: who writes your articles, and does a lawyer review them before they go live? Question 5 follows: ask for guides on contracts, entity formation and disputes in the page plan, not just one business law page.

## Is Your Current SEO Company Getting You Signed Cases?

Your current company is working if you can see the results in signed cases and you own what it built. Answer yes or no.

**Quick check: Is your SEO company working for your firm?**

1. Do you know your cost per signed case for the last three months?
2. Are your Google Business Profile, Search Console and Google Analytics in the firm's name, with the firm as owner or admin?
3. Does a lawyer at your firm approve every page before it goes live?
4. Can you name the person who writes your pages?
5. Has the company shown you results with a source and a time window?
6. Can you get a list of every link the company built for you, and how it got each one?

0 to 2 yesYou are paying without seeing. Get your accounts and your case data first. 3 to 4 yesSome of the work is visible. Close the gaps before you judge the results. 5 to 6 yesYou can see the work. Now judge it on cost per signed case.

**Why take this from us**

Kiran Dasgupta wrote this checklist. He founded and runs Kihan Marketing, and he leads every engagement himself: the SEO, the site builds, the ads and the Google Business Profile work. He also wrote the agency's own tools for schema, internal links and indexing. We have not worked with a law firm yet. We do SEO, Google Business Profile and site work for local service businesses. In those fields, the map pack, reviews and a few strong service pages decide who gets the call. For an Austin roofing company, clicks from Google's unpaid results grew from 1,032 to 2,127 over about three months, against the same months a year earlier. That is a roofing result, not a legal one.

## What to Do First

Start with three steps this week, before you meet any company.

1. **List your accounts.** Write down every account and whose name it is in. Move any that are not yours.
2. **Work out your cost per signed case.** Use the calculator above with the last three months' numbers.
3. **Send the 12 questions ahead.** Ask two or three companies to answer in writing, then compare.

## FAQ: Hiring an SEO Company for Your Law Firm

What is the best SEO for lawyers, a legal-only agency or a general one?Either kind of company can do the job. What decides it is how well the company answers the 12 questions above, above all on bar rules, account ownership and signed-case tracking. A legal-only agency knows the field but may serve a competitor. A local SEO agency knows the map pack but must prove it can work inside the bar rules. How do I find the best law firm SEO company?Shortlist two or three companies, send each the 12 questions, and compare the written answers. Be careful with ranked lists. In October 2026, five of the top seven results for "best law firm SEO company" were lists by SEO agencies, and each of those lists ranked its own agency first. How long does law firm SEO take to work?Nobody can honestly promise a date. The practice area, the city, the competition and the state of your site set the pace, and our [Law Firm SEO page](https://kihanmarketing.com/law-firm-marketing/law-firm-seo/) explains what usually moves first. Google's [SEO Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide) says: "Some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months." How much does a law firm SEO company cost?The price depends on scope. The number of practice areas and cities, the competition and the state of the current site all move it, and our [pricing page](https://kihanmarketing.com/pricing/) explains how. Should a law firm hire an agency that also works with competitors?A law firm can hire an SEO agency that also works with competing firms, as long as the firm knows before it signs and the agency explains how it handles it. Question 12 above covers what to ask. Should a law firm hire in-house or use an agency for SEO?A law firm can do either. An in-house hire knows the firm well. SEO spans pages, profiles, links and tracking, and an agency brings more hands to cover them. Either way, the firm keeps every account in its own name. Does AI search change what a law firm should ask an SEO company?AI search adds one question to the list: ask how the company writes pages that Google's AI Overviews and chat tools can quote. Anything an AI tool quotes from your site still has to meet your state bar's ad rules. Can a law firm switch SEO companies without losing what it built?Yes, a law firm can switch SEO companies without losing what it built, if it owns its accounts, site and content, as question 9 lays out. If the site moves, each old page address should point to its new one with a permanent redirect. [**Want a clear starting point for your firm?** Send the address and we send back what it actually ranks for today, from Search Console, with the gaps marked.](https://kihanmarketing.com/marketing-audit/)