Business owners and general counsel rarely pick a law firm from an ad. They ask peers, look up who has written about their problem, and more often now, ask AI. We build the pages, bylines, and mentions that put your firm on that short list.
By Robert McCrayUpdated 14 minute read
Most business clients are referred, and then they look you up. BTI, which interviews legal decision makers at large companies, reports that 71% of law firm hires start with a single recommendation.4
Bios and articles are what they read. After recommendations, a firm's articles and its attorney bios are among the things in-house counsel weigh most when they research outside firms.3
New businesses keep forming. Americans filed 5.67 million new business applications in 2025, up from 3.5 million in 2019.1 There are already 36 million small businesses.2
Buyers use AI now. In Forrester's 2026 State of Business Buying report, 94% of business buyers said they use AI during the buying process.5
Bio and technical fixes can show up in weeks. Service pages and articles usually take three to six months, and press mentions build over a longer period.
The basics
Business law SEO is the work of making a business or commercial law firm easy to find and easy to trust when an owner or in-house lawyer is deciding who to call. It covers searches for your firm's and your attorneys' names, Google's regular results, AI answers from tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews, and the rankings and press that back you up.
BTI reports that 71% of law firm hires start with a single recommendation.4 The person who got that recommendation still searches your name before they call.
When in-house counsel research outside firms, 78% say articles and talks by the firm's lawyers matter, and 67% say the bios on the firm's website do.3
In a 2025 study of nearly 4,000 business buyers, across all kinds of vendors, the winner was already on the buyer's first-day shortlist 95% of the time.6 A firm nobody has heard of rarely gets the call.
Of law firm hires start with a single recommendation4
BTI's interviews with more than 500 corporate counsel at large companies
Of in-house counsel say a firm's articles and talks matter when they research outside firms3
67% say the same about attorney bios
Of business buyers say they use AI during the buying process5
All kinds of business purchases, not legal only
New business applications filed in the US in 20251
Up from 3.5 million in 2019
How clients search
Business law searches are fewer, but each one is worth more. Many are name searches from someone who was just referred to you.
Example searches. Part of our law firm SEO work.
The name search
Business clients tend to come by recommendation, and then they look you up. In a 2024 survey of in-house counsel, 92% said trusted recommendations matter when they research outside firms, and 67% said the bios on a firm's website do too.3 What they find when they search your name is the first test.
A bio should say which problems the attorney solves, for whom, and with what results. A list of schools and bar admissions doesn't do that.
A search for a firm's name usually brings up its Google Business Profile, with reviews and hours. Google added a Business attorney category in January 2024, so check that yours uses it.13
Rankings, press mentions, and directory profiles back up what your site says. In the same survey, 56% of in-house counsel said peer rankings and directories matter, and 67% said LinkedIn connections or endorsements do.3
Pages
A business owner with a contract dispute doesn't search for a full-service firm. They search for the problem, often with their industry attached. Once they have your name, they read the bio. Each of those needs its own page.
One main page for the practice, with service pages, industry pages, and bios linked under it.
Buyers often search with their industry attached, like "construction contract lawyer." An industry page works when it shows you know that business. It doesn't work as a copy of another page with one word changed.
Content
Owners and in-house lawyers search these questions before they call anyone. A short, useful answer under an attorney's name ranks, gets quoted by AI tools, and shows you've handled the problem before.
A plain comparison of liability, taxes, and paperwork, and when each one makes sense. No one-size-fits-all answer.
Ownership, decisions, money, exits, and what happens in a dispute. A checklist readers can use.
First steps, what to save, and the options from a demand letter to a lawsuit.
What a lawyer handles in a sale, what due diligence means, and what it usually costs.
Hourly, flat fee, and monthly outside counsel plans, with honest ranges.
The signs that an owner or a small legal team needs help, and how the relationship works.
Each article is short, carries an attorney's name, and gets reviewed before it goes out. The byline is the point.
AI search
Business buyers have taken to AI quickly. Forrester's 2026 State of Business Buying report, based on a survey of nearly 18,000 business buyers, found that 94% use AI at some point in the buying process.5 When one of them asks who handles a problem like theirs, the tools answer from firm sites, directories, rankings, and the business press.
One clear sentence on what each attorney does and for whom. AI tools lift that line.
An article with an attorney's byline ties the expertise to a person. Google encourages clear authorship too.12
Trade publications, local business journals, chambers of commerce, and industry groups.
We ask the main AI tools the same buyer questions every month and record which firms and attorneys they name.
Be careful with words like "best." The ABA's model rules bar false or misleading claims.7 The Florida Bar, for one, lets a lawyer say they were listed in Best Lawyers for a given year but not call themselves one of the best lawyers.8
Foundation
Three things sit under everything else. For a business firm, the first two are about people, not pages.
Business clients leave fewer reviews, so other kinds of proof carry more weight. Whatever you show has to be accurate.
In one survey, 84% of in-house counsel called search engines a valuable source of business information, and 80% said the same of firm and company websites.3 They find you through what your attorneys publish.
Good work often sits in PDFs and old client alerts that search engines and buyers never find. Most of the fix is structure.
Budget
Nothing replaces a recommendation. The question is what happens in the hour after someone gets one, and whether you ever hear from the people nobody referred.
| Referrals alone | Sponsorships and listings | SEO and AI search | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | With time and relationships | Per year, per listing, or per table | For the work, not per click or lead |
| Who it reaches | People who know someone who knows you | People at that event or on that list | Anyone researching the problem or your name |
| What it shows | That one person trusts you | That you're active in the community | That you've handled the problem, in your own words |
| What you keep | The relationship | A logo until the term ends | Bios, articles, rankings, and mentions that keep working |
Google also sells Local Services Ads for business, contract, and litigation lawyers.10 They're charged per lead, not per click.11 For most business firms they are a small part of the picture.
Timeline
Timelines depend on how much of your site is already in good shape. Name searches improve first, because bios are the quickest thing to fix.
Name search results improve quickly.
Bios start drawing more of the right visits.
Articles begin to rank and get quoted.
Authority builds over this stretch.
Reporting
Rankings are a means to an end. We track which pages and searches lead to inquiries, and we ask every new contact how they heard of you, because a referral and a search often work together.
See how we reportWhat to avoid
Schools and bar admissions don't tell a buyer what you can do for them. Lead with the problems you solve.
A page that covers everything ranks for nothing. Each service needs its own.
Search engines and AI tools handle web pages far better. A PDF alert is close to invisible.
Clients search "partner broke our agreement," not "breach of fiduciary duty." Use their words first.
A case study is public commentary. A client's identity is protected unless the client gives informed consent.9
"Top-rated" with nothing behind it reads as empty, and a claim you can't back up can break bar rules.14
Try it yourself
You don't need us for this part. Six quick checks will tell you where you stand.
Found gaps? That's what the free audit covers, in detail.
Get a free AI visibility auditCareful by default
Case studies and matter lists are cleared with the client first, or kept anonymous.
Awards and rankings are named with who gave them and when.
Outcomes are described accurately, with the disclaimer your state requires.
FAQ
Something else on your mind? Ask it on your audit call.
Yes. Referrals still look you up before they call. SEO makes sure what they find, on Google and in AI answers, backs up the recommendation.
Bio and technical fixes can show up in a few weeks. Service pages and articles usually take three to six months. Authority from press mentions builds over a longer period.
It depends on the size of the firm and the state of the site. Rebuilding forty bios is a bigger job than tuning ten. We scope it after the free audit, so the plan and the price are based on your actual gaps.
The questions clients ask in the first meeting. We turn those into short articles and guides, and your attorneys review them.
They help people choose, and AI tools often mention them. We list them accurately, with the source and year.
Yes. When someone searches your firm's name, the profile is usually what shows beside the results, with your reviews and hours. It should be accurate and complete.
The ones who want new work should. In one survey, 67% of in-house counsel said LinkedIn connections or endorsements matter when they research outside firms.3
Yes. They pull from firm sites, directories, rankings, and the press. We track what they say about your firm and fill the gaps.
Free audit
We'll check how your firm shows up on Google, the map, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews, and show you what to fix first. Free, with no pitch deck.
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