Most law firms hire an SEO company after a referral and a good sales call. The problems tend to show up six months later: reports nobody can read, content the attorneys never approved, and a Google Business Profile the firm doesn't control. A few direct questions before you sign will tell you most of what you need to know.
1. Who will actually do the work?
Ask who manages your account day to day, and who writes the content, builds links, and fixes technical issues. Many agencies sell with a senior strategist and hand the account to a junior coordinator. That isn't always a problem, but you should know the name of the person answering your emails and how many other accounts they carry. A manager with 15 accounts can give you real attention. One with 40 can't.
2. Who owns the accounts?
Your Google Business Profile, Google Analytics, Search Console, website, and ad accounts should be in your firm's name, with the agency added as a manager. If an agency creates them under its own login, leaving gets messy. Ask for this in writing. The same goes for content: pages written for you should stay on your site if you part ways.
3. What will we see each month?
Rankings alone don't pay the bills. A useful report ties search activity to calls, form fills, and, where your intake system allows it, signed cases. For local search, ask for map grid reports, which show where you rank across your whole service area instead of from one spot. For more on how those work, read how to read a map grid report.
Ask to see a sample report before you sign. If you can't tell what happened last month and what happens next within two minutes, you won't get much from a year of them.
4. How will AI be used in our content?
Almost every agency uses AI now. The question is how. A good answer sounds like this: AI handles research and first drafts, a person edits and fact-checks every page, and the firm approves content before it goes live. For law firms that last step matters, since every page is attorney advertising under your state's rules. Our content process builds that approval into every page.
5. What's the plan for Google Maps and AI search?
Many people looking for a lawyer start on Google Maps, and more of them now ask ChatGPT or Google's AI Overviews. Ask how the agency handles your Google Business Profile, reviews, and citations, and whether it tracks AI mentions at all. If the answer is vague, the plan probably is too. Our local SEO and AEO and GEO pages show what that work looks like.
6. What does the contract say about leaving?
A minimum term isn't automatically a bad sign. SEO takes months, and an agency needs time to show results. But know the term, the notice period, and what happens to your content, links, and accounts when you leave. A reasonable setup is a short initial term followed by month-to-month service, so the agency keeps earning your business.
Red flags to watch for
- Guaranteed first-page or number-one rankings
- No clear answer on how links are built
- Accounts created under the agency's name
- Reports with traffic charts but no calls or leads
- Content published without your review
The short version
Hire the agency that answers these questions plainly and puts the answers in writing. If you'd like a second opinion on your current setup, we offer a free audit of your profile, site, and rankings. See our packages or request an audit.