Choosing an SEO agency is one of the higher-stakes decisions a law firm makes, because the downside is not just wasted money. Bad SEO, thin content and risky links, can get your site penalized and cost you rankings you had. Here is how to choose well, framed as the questions to ask before you sign.
1. Do you specialize in law firms?
Legal marketing is not like marketing a plumber. Law is a regulated, high-stakes market with Law Society of Ontario advertising rules, YMYL ("your money or your life") content standards from Google, and clients making anxious, urgent decisions. A generalist agency running the same playbook for a restaurant and a litigator will miss all of this. Ask how many law firms they work with and whether they understand LSO rules.
2. Can you show real results from real firms?
Vague promises are easy. Documented outcomes are not. Ask for specific, verifiable results: keywords ranked, leads generated, cities won. A credible agency can point to work like moving a firm to a 1.00 average Map rank, or growing a client from 162 to 5,390 monthly organic clicks, and explain how. If every answer is a range with no example behind it, be cautious.
3. Will you work with a competitor of mine?
If an agency ranks two personal injury firms in the same city, they are competing against themselves with your budget. Ask whether they limit themselves to one firm per practice area per city. We do, precisely so your rankings are never handed to your competitor down the street.
4. Is everything LSO-compliant?
Every page, ad and testimonial has to follow Law Society of Ontario advertising rules: no misleading claims, no improperly displayed testimonials, no guarantees of outcomes. An agency that does not raise compliance unprompted may be exposing you to risk you will answer for, not them.
5. What exactly do I get each month, and how do you report?
You should know the monthly scope before you sign, and see clear reporting after: rankings, traffic, leads and what was done. Beware anyone who cannot describe the deliverables plainly, or who reports "impressions" and "activity" instead of leads and cases.
Red flags to walk away from
- Guarantees of "number one on Google" or a specific ranking. No one can guarantee that honestly.
- Prices far below the market with no clear scope. Cheap SEO usually means thin content and risky links.
- Secrecy about methods. Legitimate SEO follows Google best practices and can be explained.
- No named person accountable for your account.
- Long lock-in contracts with no performance transparency.
The takeaway: hire the agency that specializes in law, shows real results, protects you from conflicts and LSO risk, and reports in leads rather than vanity metrics. Everything else is noise.
A fair way to start
Before committing to anyone, get a plain audit of where your firm stands on Google, Maps and AI search, and a clear plan. We offer that on a free call, with no obligation. Compare it against any other agency you are considering. You can also read more about our law firm SEO services and client results.