People looking for a lawyer usually type more than just “lawyer”. The suggestions Google itself shows reveal what they search for: area of law plus place, such as “employment lawyer” and a city, and costs, such as “what does a lawyer cost for a divorce”. Whoever does not appear in those searches does not exist for the person seeking help, however good the practice is.
SEO for lawyers differs from SEO for an ordinary service provider on three points: the searcher is often in distress and searching fast, on generic terms such as “lawyer” you compete with many firms at once, and professional rules limit what you may promise. This article is about becoming findable, within those limits, for the cases you want to take on.
How people seeking legal help search
Three search patterns keep coming back, and they call for three kinds of pages.
Area of law plus place. “Family lawyer Tilburg”, “personal injury lawyer Rotterdam”. This is buying intent: someone wants an appointment. You win here with a page per area of law, a strong Google Business Profile and reviews.
The problem, not the service. “Can my employer refuse to renew my contract”, “how long does a divorce take”. This is the orientation phase. Whoever gives a clear answer here becomes the name the searcher remembers when it gets serious.
Costs. “What does a lawyer cost per hour”, “lawyer with legal aid”. Say nothing about this and you leave unanswered the question this searcher starts with.
The page per area of law
Most firm websites have one “Areas of law” page with a list. That is too little. Every area in which you want cases deserves its own page with its own address, for example /employment-law/ or /employment-law-breda/ if you want to rank locally.
What belongs on that page: the situations people come to you for, in plain language; how a case proceeds with you, step by step; what it costs or how costs are determined; which lawyer handles the case, with photo and registration; and the frequently asked questions you answer on the phone every week. Those questions are gold: they are literally what people type.
Being found locally
The suggestions for “advocaat” in the Netherlands are mostly place names: people look for a lawyer in their own region. For such searches Google shows map results from Google Business Profile, and that profile is not on your own site.
Complete the profile fully: a fitting category and your areas of law, opening hours, photos of the office and the people, and a description with your areas of law and place. Ask clients for a review after a case closes, with a direct link, and ask everyone, not only the satisfied clients. Google writes that more reviews and positive ratings can improve your position in local results (Google). Respond to every review, including the critical ones, professionally and without details of the case.
On your own site: address and phone number in the footer of every page, a contact page with a map, and LocalBusiness or LegalService schema with the same details.
Trust counts for Google and for the visitor
Google weighs trustworthiness extra heavily on topics that could affect someone’s health, financial stability or safety significantly (Google Search Central), and a legal problem often touches on those. So show who is writing and why that person can be trusted. In practice that means:
- Every substantive page has a visible author: a lawyer, with photo, areas of law, education and year of admission to the bar.
- A team page with real people, not stock photos of people in robes.
- The firm is verifiable: Chamber of Commerce number, registration with the Netherlands Bar, complaints procedure, general terms and conditions.
- Content is maintained. An article about transition payments with figures from three years ago does more harm than good.
The same signals help the visitor: someone with a legal problem wants to know who they will be dealing with.
What you may say and what you may not
The Dutch Verordening op de advocatuur asks a lawyer to avoid giving an incorrect, misleading or incomplete picture of their practice to the outside world (Verordening op de advocatuur, artikel 7.4, in Dutch). So avoid claims such as “best lawyer in Brabant”, success rates you cannot substantiate and promises about the outcome. Allowed and effective: explaining how you work, what experience you have, what a case costs and how you can be reached. Keep those facts general enough that no case or client becomes recognisable.
If you show reviews on your own site, the rules of the Dutch consumer authority ACM apply: fake reviews are prohibited, and if your reviews look genuine you explain how you check that they come from real clients (ACM, in Dutch). And rule 3 of the code of conduct still applies: a lawyer keeps the details of cases and the identity of the client confidential, so publish nothing that makes a case or client recognisable.
Content that brings in clients
Write about the situations in which people need you, in their words. “Dismissal during illness: what are my rights” attracts the employee who calls a lawyer tomorrow. “New case law on article 7:669 of the Civil Code” attracts colleagues, not clients. Both are fine, but the first produces revenue.
Per article: one question, a direct answer in the first paragraph, then the nuance, and at the end what the reader can do now and how to reach you. Link the article to the corresponding area-of-law page. That way every article builds the authority of the page that produces the appointment.
Technology, briefly
Fast loading on mobile, because part of your audience is in a stressful situation at that moment with a phone in hand. A secure connection and a contact form that does not send case details by email. A privacy statement that matches what you do. And a site structure in which every area of law is one click from the homepage.
Frequently asked questions
How long before SEO for a law firm shows results?
Google writes that some changes take effect within a few hours and others only after several months (Google SEO Starter Guide). We expect noticeable movement in SEO after about three months and results that build up from six months.
Should I advertise on Google?
Ads can make sense for specific, urgent cases, but without a strong landing page and clear cost information you pay for clicks that do not call. Start with the organic foundation; advertise selectively afterwards.
May I put prices on my website?
Yes. The Dutch Civil Code lists the price as information a service provider gives when it is fixed in advance (BW, artikel 6:230b, in Dutch), and rule 17 of the code of conduct asks for clear agreements on fees. An hourly rate, a fixed price for a first consultation or an indication per case type fits that. The searcher wants to know whether you are within reach before calling.
What is the difference from an ordinary marketing agency?
Knowledge of the professional rules, of the information the Verordening op de advocatuur asks for on your site, and of how people seeking legal help search. An agency that uses the same approach as for a web shop makes your firm sound like a web shop.
Where to start
Search tonight for your three most important areas of law plus your town, in a private window. If you are not on the first page and not in the map results, that is your starting point. Want us to build your firm a website and a findability approach that stays within the professional rules? See our SEO service or tell us which cases you want more of.
