Case study · Halden & Kerr Name changed for privacy reasons
From position 81 to 4 for business law searches in eight months
Halden & Kerr advises business owners, and most of its work came through referrals. Its website put every practice area on one page and said little about its attorneys. We built practice-area pages and full attorney bios, and published articles that answer the questions owners ask in a first consultation. Its average Google position across priority searches went from 81 to 4 in eight months.
Some names are changed to protect client privacy.
81 to 4
Average Google position across priority searches
Page 9 to 1
Where clients now find the firm
+77
Positions gained
8
Months from start to the top 5
The challenge
Halden & Kerr's clients are owners who need help with contracts, disputes, partnerships or the sale of a business. Referred clients still look a firm up before they call, and owners without a referral search for a business attorney in their city.
The firm's website put every practice area on one page and listed its attorneys by name only. For the searches that matter, it sat on page nine, with an average position of 81.
Bar advertising rules shaped the work from the start. Every statement had to be accurate and supportable, past results needed care, and a responsible attorney had to approve each page, so approval was built into every step of the plan.
What we did
Practice-area pages
A page for each type of matter the firm wants more of, written to the state bar's advertising rules and approved by a partner before publishing.
Attorney bios
Bios rebuilt with bar admissions, education, experience and published work, so clients and search engines can see who does the work.
Articles
Monthly articles from interviews with the attorneys, answering the questions owners ask in a first consultation.
Approval workflow
Every page and article went to a partner for review against the state bar's rules before publishing, with a record of each approval.
Consultation path
Each practice-area page ends with what happens in a first consultation and how to book one, so a reader knows the next step.
Local authority
Google Business Profile, reviews requested within the bar's rules, and listings on legal directories and local business sites.
Before and after
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Practice areas | One page listing every practice area | A page for each type of matter |
| Attorney bios | Names and photos only | Admissions, education, experience and published work |
| Articles | None | Monthly articles from attorney interviews |
| Reviews | A few, with no replies | Requested within the bar's rules, with a reply to every review |
| Average Google position | 81, on page nine | 4, on page one |
Results
Average Google position
Position 1 is the top result. Average across priority searches. Source: Google Search Console.
Position moved from 81 to 4.
81Start, page 9
4After eight months, page 1
Average position by month
Position 1 is the top result. Average across priority searches. Source: Google Search Console.
Monthly figures
| Month | Average position |
|---|---|
| Start | 81 |
| Month 1 | 80 |
| Month 2 | 74 |
| Month 3 | 61 |
| Month 4 | 45 |
| Month 5 | 28 |
| Month 6 | 15 |
| Month 7 | 8 |
| Month 8 | 4 |
Priority searches, month eight
| Search | Impressions | Avg. position | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| business lawyer near me | 2,040 | 3.2 | Page 1 |
| partnership dispute attorney | 280 | 3.7 | Page 1 |
| contract lawyer | 760 | 4.1 | Page 1 |
| attorney for selling a business | 340 | 4.4 | Page 1 |
| business attorney | 1,150 | 4.6 | Page 1 |
Halden & Kerr moved from page nine to the top 5 for its priority searches in eight months. Progress was slow in the first two months, while the practice-area pages and bios were written, approved and indexed, and steady after that. Owners searching for a business lawyer near the firm now find it on page one. A lawyer at the firm approved every page before it went live.
Deliverables
- Practice-area pages written to the state bar's rules
- Attorney bios with admissions, education and published work
- Monthly articles written with the attorneys
- An approval record for every page and article
- Google Business Profile and review requests
- Legal directory listings
- Monthly reporting from Search Console
Sources. Average Google position and search impressions across the client's priority searches, from the client's Google Search Console. The client's name and identifying details are changed at its request.
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