How to compare law-firm SEO companies

Compare law-firm SEO companies by putting their proposed work, proof and terms beside each other. I choose the plan I can understand well enough to approve the next bill.

SEO is work that helps people find your firm in search results. The purchase needs to make sense for the practice you want to build, and the money you can commit.

Write down the job before comparing the offers

Start with the job your firm needs done. Which matters do you want more of? Where can you serve those clients? Are you keeping your site? Who has time to approve page drafts?

Put those answers in a short note and send it to each company. You are giving them a shared job to quote.

Exclusivity is a promise about which competing firms the company will serve. If it matters to you, name the practice area and place it must cover. Ask each company to write down what it agrees to.

Keep the shortlist small enough to read each proposal closely. Before adding another sales call, check whether you have answers from the companies already on it.

A new website might be part of the answer. Before paying for it, ask to see what needs replacing and why repairs will not do. Put that explanation beside the cost of keeping your current site.

Read the work beside the fee

Scope means the work included in the fee. Open that part of the proposal and read each line as if you are approving the next bill. You need to see the pages being written or changed, the repairs included and who will carry them out.

For illustration, compare these two scope lines:

• “Content and ongoing work on the site.”
• “Revise the family-law service page, send the draft to your named reviewer and publish after approval.”

I can judge the second line. It names a piece of work and shows where your firm takes part. The proposal still needs the amount of work, delivery dates and a named contact.

Check the work your firm must arrange too. If repairs go to your web developer, include that cost and time in the comparison. For links from other sites, ask how the company will earn them and request examples. Check which amounts are targets and which are delivery commitments.

Compare total cost for the same period: setup, ongoing work and required extras. Set a spending limit before choosing. Include any fees you must still pay your current provider while the new company starts.

I read the part about your time before the page count. A plan that needs your approval during a court day deserves a closer look, even if the fee fits. Follow a draft through review: who answers questions, makes corrections and covers for your named reviewer? Put that arrangement in the plan.

Test whether the proof fits your firm

A case example needs more than a familiar practice area. I read the starting point, the work done, the period covered and what the result counts.

Google’s guidance on hiring an SEO provider recommends asking about past work, expected results, timing and how success is measured. Those are the questions I bring to the case page.

If a headline claims more inquiries, check the evidence about inquiries. A chart of site visits answers a different question. Private details can be removed; the measure and dates still need to be clear.

Now put the case beside your own site. If the case involved rebuilding a site and you are keeping yours, ask which work still applies. If the result counted inquiries across several offices, ask how the plan fits your single office.

The answer should name work in your proposal, such as repairing your service pages before adding new ones. A case result earns its place in the comparison when it helps explain that choice.

Check the area the plan is meant to reach

Put your office address beside the places named in the proposal. For each place, ask what work is planned there and why your firm should pay for it.

Google’s explanation of local ranking names relevance, distance and prominence, or how well-known a business is. Distance means how far the business is from the person searching.

Tie the local plan to your actual office and practice. Beside each town in the proposal, write the page or other work planned for it. That gives you something to compare beyond the number of towns listed.

Your Google Business Profile is your business listing in Maps and Search. Separate the proposed work on that listing from work on your website. If the plan covers both, check both in the sample report.

Read the report while the phone is quiet

Before signing, I read a sample report with this question in mind: if your phone stayed quiet, what would this tell you?

Search Console is Google’s service for seeing how your site performs in its search results.

Its performance report shows clicks and impressions by search query and page. An impression is an appearance in search results. A click is someone clicking through to your site. Neither counts a signed matter.

Put calls and form inquiries beside those search figures, with clear dates and sources. Your firm can mark which inquiries fit the practice and who becomes a client without sharing private case details.

Then I read the explanation. Does it name the work finished, what changed and what comes next? If visits rose while inquiries stayed flat, ask which page the company will review and what it will check there.

Choose a figure and trace it back to its source with the company. You should be able to explain what it counts at a partner meeting.

I also agree on when to review progress. The date alone is only half the decision. Write down what work you expect to be finished by then and which results you will examine. For late work, request a new delivery date. For finished work with weak inquiries, request the next proposed change and the reason for it.

Walk through leaving before agreeing to stay

I read the exit terms before choosing. What notice is required? What is the final bill? Who keeps the domain, site, paid-for content and past reports? Your domain is your web address.

List those items with the handover date and the person responsible. The same goes for account access and any outside service needed to keep your site running.

For the deadline, read the clause that keeps firms stuck. In your own proposal, resolve any gap between the sales call and the written terms before committing.

Before your final call, mark any unanswered question beside the line it concerns. Send that short list back and compare the revised proposals. Keep the written answers with the offer you accept.

Questions law-firm owners ask