Law Firm Marketing In The Age of AI

Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor

Here’s the reality –  Do SEO well and you’ll perform brilliantly in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI platforms. The same principles that make your website discoverable to Google also make it citable by AI systems.

But the approach needs refinement for 2025 and beyond.

Build Your Technical Foundation First

Use HTML-Driven Architecture

Skip the fancy website builders that create JavaScript-heavy sites. Search engines and AI systems prefer clean, HTML-driven pages that load quickly and crawl easily. 

For maximum performance, ensure your site loads under 2.5 seconds and works seamlessly on mobile devices.

Optimize Your Site Structure

Apply the three-click rule religiously—no important page should be more than three clicks from your homepage. 

For law firms, this means your practice area pages (personal injury, family law, criminal defense) should be easily accessible. Create clear internal linking between related services and always link from high-authority pages to newer content.

Implement Schema Markup

While some claim AI systems ignore schema markup, this is short-sighted thinking. Schema helps search engines understand your legal services, location, and expertise. Use structured data for your law firm’s contact information, practice areas, and client reviews.

Tools like Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool can verify your implementation.

Essential Technical Elements

Create clean robots.txt files, XML sitemaps, and consider adding an llms.txt file to guide AI crawlers. These elements cost nothing to implement but can significantly impact your visibility5.

Content Strategy: Quality Over Quantity

Expect Different Traffic Patterns

The era of massive organic traffic is evolving. AI Overviews and zero-click searches mean you’ll likely see less overall traffic, but the visitors you do receive will be higher quality and more conversion-ready. 

Focus on attracting clients who are genuinely seeking your specific legal services and focus on those specialties and building your authority.

Master Your Commercial Pages First

Before creating dozens of blog posts, nail your core service pages. If you’re a family lawyer, your divorce, child custody, and spousal support pages must comprehensively answer client questions. 

These pages should demonstrate your expertise while addressing specific client concerns and search intents.

Build Topical Authority

Create content clusters around your practice areas. For instance, if you handle personal injury cases, develop comprehensive resources covering car accidents, slip and falls, workplace injuries, and related topics6. This approach signals to both search engines and AI systems that you’re a genuine authority in these areas.

Regular Content Updates

AI systems value freshness due to Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models that prioritize current information5. Schedule quarterly reviews of your main practice area pages and update them with recent case law, regulation changes, or new service offerings.

Create Linkable Assets

Develop content that naturally attracts links: local legal guides, interactive checklists for clients, industry statistics, or controversial but well-reasoned legal opinions.

These assets not only build your backlink profile but also increase your chances of being cited by AI systems as well. Plus – of course – helping to build your topical authority.

Local SEO: Your Competitive Advantage

Dominate Local Search

Most legal clients search for “lawyer near me” or similar local terms. Optimize your Google Business Profile completely—accurate contact information, professional photos, regular posts, and most importantly, encourage client reviews. 

Local citations from legal directories like Justia, Avvo, and FindLaw remain valuable for both traditional search and AI systems.

Location-Specific Content

Create pages targeting your specific geographic area and practice combinations. “Personal injury lawyer in [your city]” pages often convert better than generic service pages9. Include local landmarks, court information, and area-specific legal considerations.

External Presence and Link Building

Focus on Relevant Platforms

Don’t spread yourself thin across every social platform. Focus on where your potential clients spend time and where legal content gets cited most frequently. YouTube for educational content, LinkedIn for professional networking, and local news sites for thought leadership.

Build Quality Backlinks
Prioritize links from relevant, trusted sources: local bar associations, legal publications, news sites covering your cases, and other attorneys’ blogs7. While nofollow links don’t pass traditional link equity, they can still drive traffic and may influence AI citation algorithms.

Manage Your Online Reputation

AI systems increasingly factor in reputation signals. Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews on Google, address negative feedback professionally, and maintain consistent business information across all online directories.

Voice and Conversational Search Optimization

Optimize for Natural Language

AI and voice search favor conversational queries like “How do I file for divorce in [state]?” rather than keyword-stuffed phrases. 

Structure your content to answer these natural language questions directly and concisely.

Create FAQ-Style Content

Develop comprehensive FAQ sections that address common client questions in natural, conversational language. 

This format works well for both traditional search and AI systems that seek direct answers to user queries.

E-E-A-T for Legal Websites

Google’s emphasis on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness is particularly important for legal websites, which fall under “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) content. 

Demonstrate your qualifications prominently, showcase case results (where ethically permissible), and regularly publish content that demonstrates your legal expertise.

Measuring Success in the AI Era

Traditional metrics like organic traffic may decline, but focus on quality indicators1:

• Conversion rates from organic traffic
• Local search visibility
• Brand mention tracking
• Client inquiry quality
• Time spent on key service pages

Use Google Search Console to monitor your performance in AI Overviews and featured snippets—these positions often translate to citations in AI systems1.

The Bottom Line

Strong SEO performance remains the foundation for visibility across all platforms, including AI systems. You can’t directly optimize for ChatGPT or Perplexity yet, but by following these principles—technical excellence, authoritative content, local relevance, and genuine expertise—your law firm will be well-positioned regardless of how search continues to evolve.

The firms that thrive in 2025 and beyond will be those that focus on being genuinely helpful to their potential clients, whether those clients find them through Google, AI search, or referrals. Master these fundamentals, and your practice will grow sustainably in any search environment.

Remember: SEO isn’t about gaming algorithms—it’s about making your expertise easily discoverable by the people who need your help most.

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