Law Firm SEO Audit: How to Check Your Website's SEO in 7 Steps

A law firm SEO audit checks whether Google can find, understand, and trust your website. You can run a first one yourself in an afternoon with free tools: Google Search Console for indexing and queries, PageSpeed Insights for speed, your Google Business Profile, a crawler such as Screaming Frog, your directory listings, and your E-E-A-T signals.

The SEO Academy:
Level 0: The basics (understand)
Level 1: The foundations (set up)
Level 2: Optimization (improve)
Level 3: Expertise (perform)

A word from Kélian, founder of Hendy

Knowing whether your website ranks well is like reading a compass: it tells you whether you are heading in the right direction. At Hendy, I review dozens of law firm websites every week and adjust each strategy step by step, based on the practice area, the city, and the goals.

I often tell our clients: if you do not measure your visibility, you are flying blind. Here is the method I use to audit a website, built as a checklist anyone can follow. You do not need to be a developer. A little curiosity and a free afternoon are enough, so keep Google open in another tab.

Enjoy the read,
Kélian

What is a law firm SEO audit?

Three questions every website SEO audit answers

A website SEO audit answers three questions: does Google see your site, what does it understand about you, and what does it show to people looking for a lawyer like you? A law firm audit adds two checks that generic checklists often skip: your local presence (Google Business Profile, state bar and directory listings) and the trust signals Google expects on legal content. It is the first step of any law firm SEO strategy.

When to run one

Run an audit after a redesign or a platform change, when calls from the website drop for no clear reason, and before you hire an agency, so you can judge its proposal. Otherwise, a quick pass every quarter catches problems, such as a stray noindex tag, before they sit unnoticed for months.

The free tools you need

• Google Search Console: indexing and the searches that bring visitors.
• PageSpeed Insights: speed and Core Web Vitals, page by page.
• Your Google Business Profile.
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider: a crawler, free for up to 500 URLs per crawl.
• A spreadsheet to record what you find.

Your law firm SEO audit checklist at a glance

The seven steps start with the basics (can Google index your pages?) and end with reputation (does Google trust them?). Each one covers what to check, what good looks like, and how to fix it.

Step 1: Check indexing and queries in Google Search Console

What to check in Search Console

Type site:yourfirm.com into Google. If pages from your law firm website appear, Google has indexed at least part of it. If nothing shows up, Google does not see you. Google notes that this operator does not necessarily return every indexed URL, so treat it as a first signal only.

Then open Google Search Console. The Page indexing report lists your indexed pages and why the others were left out. The Performance report shows the searches that led to your site, with clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR), and average position.

What good looks like

Your key pages are indexed: home page, practice area pages, attorney bios, and contact page. Not every URL needs to be. In Google's words, "You should not expect all URLs on your site to be indexed, only the canonical pages."

Your queries match your work, such as "wrongful termination lawyer Austin" for an Austin employment firm. Several pages earn clicks, not just the home page, and your core queries sit at an average position under 10. As a rule of thumb, fewer than 100 visits a month from Google signals a visibility problem.

How to fix indexing and relevance problems

The usual culprits are a noindex tag left on after a redesign, a page blocked in robots.txt, or a site too new to have been crawled. Note that robots.txt does not keep a page out of Google: for that, Google says to use noindex. Submit an XML sitemap, then request indexing of your key pages with URL Inspection.

If Google shows you for searches unrelated to your practice, your content is too vague. Build one precise page per practice area, with a clear title, a meta description, and your city.

Step 2: Test speed and Core Web Vitals with PageSpeed Insights

What to check in PageSpeed Insights

Run your home page and your main practice area page through PageSpeed Insights. Field data comes from the Chrome User Experience Report and reflects real visitors over the previous 28 days. Lab data comes from Lighthouse, which loads the page in a simulated environment and lists what slows it down.

The Core Web Vitals report in Search Console groups your URLs as Good, Need improvement, or Poor, for mobile and desktop. A small website may not appear there, because a group of URLs needs a minimum amount of real-user data.

What good looks like

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): within 2.5 seconds, for the main content to appear.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): 200 milliseconds or less, for the page to respond to a tap.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): 0.1 or less, so the page does not jump while it loads.

Google assesses these thresholds at the 75th percentile of page loads, so most visitors, not just the lucky ones, should get a fast page.

How to fix a slow law firm website

On law firm websites, the heaviest items are often the attorneys' hero photo, background videos, chat widgets, and stacked tracking scripts. Compress and resize images, serve them as WebP, and lazy-load what sits below the fold. Remove unused plugins and scripts. Set a width and height on images and embeds so the page does not jump.

Step 3: Review your website the way Google does, mobile first

What to check on mobile

Google "uses the mobile version of a site's content, crawled with the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking." What a visitor sees on a phone is what Google ranks. Compare your site on a phone and on desktop, page by page, and look for text or sections that disappear on mobile. The live test in URL Inspection shows a screenshot of the page as Google renders it.

What good looks like

Google asks for the same content, headings, structured data, titles, and meta descriptions on mobile and desktop. For a law firm, add a phone number that dials when tapped, a call button that stays visible as visitors scroll, and a short form that works with one thumb.

How to fix mobile problems

A responsive design, where one page adapts to every screen, avoids most gaps between versions. If your mobile theme hides content, bring it back. Make every phone number a tap-to-call link, then call the firm and fill in your own form from a real phone, as a prospective client would.

Step 4: Audit your Google Business Profile and your name search

What to check: your name, then your practice area and city

Search your full name and your firm's name, for example "attorney Jane Miller Denver." Your website should come first, with your Business Profile beside it. If not, Google does not see your site as the main source of information about you, and the foundations need work. Try misspellings and inverted word order too.

Then search like a client: "employment lawyer Tampa" or "DUI attorney Phoenix." You do not need to rank first at the start, but you need to appear in the local pack or in the organic results below it.

What a strong Google Business Profile looks like

Your Google Business Profile uses your real-world firm name, with no keywords or city added. Google's guidelines state: "Including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile." The profile shows a real office where clients can reach you during stated hours (virtual offices are not eligible), the fewest categories that describe your core practice, a website link, and recent reviews with replies.

How to fix your local visibility

Google ranks local results on relevance, distance, and prominence, and "there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking." Complete every field, remove keywords from the name, and pick the most specific primary category. Ask satisfied clients for reviews within your state bar's rules, and never reveal client information in your replies. Our guide to local SEO for law firms covers each lever.

Step 5: Crawl your website with Screaming Frog

What to check with a crawler

A crawler visits every page the way a search engine does. Enter your domain in Screaming Frog and review the response codes (404 errors, redirects), titles, meta descriptions, H1 headings, canonical tags, and noindex pages. Then check one key page, such as your employment law page, by hand:

• Does the title contain a clear keyword and your city?
• Does the first paragraph say plainly what the page is about?
• Is the content organized with H1, H2, and H3 headings?
• Does the page link to other pages of the site, and do they link back?
• Does it have a relevant meta description?

What good looks like

No internal link points to a broken page. Each key page has its own descriptive title, a meta description, and one clear H1 followed by logical H2 and H3 tags. Google asks for "distinct text that describes the content of the page" in each title and warns against keyword stuffing.

How to fix on-page problems

Repair broken URLs or send them to the closest live page with a 301 redirect. Rewrite duplicate titles, for example "Wrongful Termination Lawyer in Austin | Firm Name." Link your articles to the matching practice area pages, then repeat the check on every important page. Our guide to law firm content marketing explains how to write pages that pass it.

Step 6: Check your state bar and directory citations (Avvo, Justia)

What to check in your listings

A citation is any mention of your firm's name, address, and phone number (NAP) on another site. Start with your state bar's public lawyer search, then legal directories such as Avvo and Justia, general platforms such as Yelp and Apple Business Connect, and your local bar association. Search your phone number on Google to find outdated listings.

In Search Console, the Links report shows the top sites that link to you. Each relevant backlink works as a vote of confidence.

What good looks like

Your name, address, and phone number read the same everywhere and match your Google Business Profile exactly. Your Avvo and Justia profiles are under your control, list your practice areas, and link to your website. A few links come from bar associations, local organizations, law schools, or legal publications.

How to fix inconsistent citations

Update your state bar record first, then claim or correct each directory profile and remove duplicates. Do not buy links or reviews: ABA Model Rule 7.2(b) forbids giving anything of value to someone for recommending your services, beyond the reasonable cost of advertising. A paid directory listing is advertising. A paid recommendation is not.

Step 7: Check E-E-A-T signals on a YMYL website

What to check: who you are and why Google should trust you

Google gives "even more weight to content that aligns with strong E-E-A-T" on topics that could significantly affect people's health, financial stability, or safety, which it calls "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL). Legal questions touch people's finances, freedom, and families, so a law firm website sits in this category. Review your site as a skeptical prospective client would:

• Is the whole site served over HTTPS?
• Does each article name the attorney who wrote or reviewed it?
• Does each attorney bio list bar admissions and education?
• Are the firm's address and contact details easy to find?
• Do you have recent Google reviews, with replies?
• Is your legal content accurate and current?

What good looks like

Google states: "Of these aspects, trust is most important." A trustworthy site makes it "self-evident to your visitors who authored your content," shows credentials anyone can verify, and avoids claims such as "the best DUI lawyer in Phoenix," which can be misleading under ABA Model Rule 7.1. Rule 7.2 also requires the name and contact details of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for the content.

How to fix weak trust signals

Add a byline or a "reviewed by" line to every article, linked to an attorney bio with bar admissions readers can verify. Use E-E-A-T as your checklist and LegalService structured data for the firm: schema.org flags the older Attorney type as deprecated because "LegalService is more inclusive and less ambiguous." Update articles when the law changes, and read our guide to lawyer advertising rules before you publish case results or testimonials.

How much does an SEO audit cost?

A do-it-yourself audit costs your time

Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and your Business Profile are free, and Screaming Frog's free version covers up to 500 URLs per crawl. Its paid license, listed at £199 a year on the publisher's website, lifts that limit and adds features such as JavaScript rendering. For a small firm, the real cost is an afternoon.

What a paid agency audit should include

Prices vary with the size of the website and the depth of the review, so compare deliverables. A useful audit ranks problems by their impact on calls and signed cases and gives the fix for each one. An automated export of hundreds of warnings is not an audit.

Which SEO agency is best for law firms?

Google suggests asking any SEO provider for examples of previous work, its experience in your industry and city, and how it measures success. It also warns that "no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." Add one question of your own: how does the agency handle your state bar's advertising rules? A free written audit from Hendy is one way to judge our work before you commit.

How to check your website's SEO with Google Search Console

Search Console is Google's free tool to see how the search engine views your website. Unlike Google Analytics, it covers your presence in Google Search only.

1. Add and verify your website

Sign in at search.google.com/search-console and add a property. A Domain property covers all subdomains and protocols (http, https, www) and is verified only through a DNS record. A URL-prefix property covers only the exact address you enter and accepts several verification methods, which makes a first setup easier.

2. Read the Performance report

• Impressions: how often someone saw a link to your site on Google.
• Clicks: how often someone clicked a link from Google to your site.
• CTR: clicks divided by impressions.
• Average position: your average ranking, where 1 is the top position.

Ask three questions. Do you have impressions? If not, Google is not showing your pages. Do you have clicks? If not, your titles and descriptions may not make people want to click. Is your average position under 10? Beyond that, you are usually off the first page.

In the Queries tab, queries with many impressions and few clicks need better titles, and queries unrelated to your practice need sharper content. In the Pages tab, if only your home page earns clicks, your strategy is too concentrated.

3. Find what blocks indexing

Under Indexing, open Pages to see the pages left out and why: not found (404), redirect, noindex tag, blocked by robots.txt, or crawled but not indexed. Fix the cause, inspect the URL, and click Request indexing. Google says indexing "typically takes only a day or so, but can take much longer in some cases," and a request does not guarantee it.

5 signs your law firm website is well ranked

Your starting SEO score

1. Google knows your website: your key pages are indexed.
2. You appear in search results: your pages earn impressions.
3. People click on your links: you get clicks and a healthy CTR.
4. Several pages bring traffic: not only the home page.
5. The right keywords bring visits: targeted searches, at an average position under 10.

Ranking well is a matter of clarity, not luck. So how many of the seven steps can you answer "yes" to today?

Habits to keep after your first audit

• Set up Search Console as soon as a website goes live.
• Check the indexing of your key pages once a month.
• Watch the average position and CTR of your strategic pages.
• Record your progress in a spreadsheet to see what to adjust.

To turn the audit into traffic, read how to improve your law firm website's SEO and how to build a law firm blog that attracts visitors every month.

Quiz: did you get the essentials?

Questions 1 and 2

Question 1: In E-E-A-T, the first "E" stands for...
a) Ethics
b) Experience
c) Expertise
Correct answer: b

Question 2: To find out whether your website is indexed, you use...
a) Microsoft Word
b) Google Search Console
c) ChatGPT alone
Correct answer: b

Questions 3 and 4

Question 3: Google's AI Overviews are...
a) AI-generated summaries shown above some search results, with links to sources
b) a plugin to build websites
c) Facebook's new search engine
Correct answer: a

Question 4: If your website does not appear on Google at all, you first check...
a) that it is indexed, in Google Search Console
b) whether you posted on Instagram
c) whether your password is secure
Correct answer: a

Level 0 of the SEO Academy: recap and next steps

What you learned in Level 0

1. Why SEO matters for law firms: the foundation of lasting visibility.
2. The essential SEO terms: H1 tags, backlinks, CTR, internal linking.
3. SEO vs. SEM: long-term organic visibility and paid search are not rivals.
4. How Google Search works: crawling, indexing, ranking, and AI Overviews.
5. How to audit your own website: this checklist, with Google Search Console.

You now know what to look at, what to ask, and what to fix, so no provider can take you for a ride.

What Level 1 covers

• Choosing the right keywords
• Structuring your pages
• Writing effective meta descriptions
• Writing your practice area pages
• Building your topic clusters

Want an expert to run the audit?

If you would rather hand this checklist to someone who runs it every week, request Hendy's free written audit. Send us your URL: within 48 hours, you get a written diagnosis of what keeps your firm off the first page of Google, and the concrete fixes.