A law firm is rarely found on “lawyer”. It is found on “employment lawyer Breda”, “lawyer summary dismissal” or “how much does a divorce lawyer cost”. 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, competition on generic terms is enormous, 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”. Firms that stay silent on this lose the searcher to firms that give an indication.
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
For most firms the majority of new clients come from within twenty kilometres. Google Business Profile is therefore your most important page, and it is not on your own site.
Complete the profile fully: category “Law firm” plus the specialisms, 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; a firm with thirty recent reviews beats a firm with three old ones. 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 is both the ranking and the conversion signal here
Google judges legal content more strictly than most topics, because a mistake can harm someone. It wants to know 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 that convince Google convince the visitor. Someone with a legal problem chooses the firm that comes across as most competent and reachable, not the cheapest.
What you may say and what you may not
The professional rules for lawyers prohibit misleading advertising and comparisons that cannot be verified. In practice: no “best lawyer in Brabant”, no success rates you cannot substantiate, no 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. Facts are both legally safe and the best SEO material there is.
You may show client reviews, provided they are genuine and contain no confidential information. Never publish anything about a case without consent, not even anonymised if it can be traced back.
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?
Local results through Google Business Profile can improve within weeks. Organic positions on area of law plus place usually take three to six months. National terms in crowded areas of law are a matter of years and often not worth it for a regional firm.
Should I advertise on Google?
Legal keywords are among the most expensive in the Netherlands. 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. An hourly rate, a fixed price for a first consultation or an indication per case type is permitted and demonstrably increases enquiries. 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 how people seeking legal help search, and of the trust signals Google weighs more heavily for legal content. 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. We help law firms with 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.
