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How to Evaluate Cost Savings With Seo for Your Law Firm

Written by Kevin Daisey on . Posted in , .
Home > Blog > How to Evaluate Cost Savings With Seo for Your Law Firm

If you are just starting, establishing your law firm can be difficult. You decide to market and build brand awareness, but is SEO worth it? Every article always seems to say it pays off, but you don’t want to take a risk with money that you could use for more guaranteed results. Those more guaranteed results come with higher price tags that leave you questioning your options.

Our digital marketing agency is transparent with you. You will know what you are getting with us. We have multiple tiers of SEO services, and the quality does not diminish because you go with a smaller SEO plan. Let the professionals at Array Digital build you a custom SEO strategy. Have questions along the way? We stay in contact with your firm on a frequent, ongoing basis so that you’re never in the dark.

Time Vs. Money: the Debate Between Ppc and Seo

When attorneys decide where to spend their marketing money, this debate is nearly always a starting point. Let’s be frank with you. Creating search-optimized content that generates organic traffic should reduce the money you are spending on keywords. The problem is it takes time for your blog to appear in the top position – and the longer you wait to get started, the more difficult and time-consuming that process is. Pay-per-click, or PPC, is a type of paid advertising method. You pay a fee every time someone clicks on the ad they see. When you run a PPC campaign, every click will cost you money, but the ROI could be worth it if those clicks convert. That’s the key, though. You pay for each click even if they do not contact you or become a lead. This can be financially difficult to maintain for a small business like a new law firm. Still, PPC offers business owners the ability to get leads faster since your ads appear sooner.

Benefits of a Ppc Campaign

Google Ads overview
There are benefits to incorporating a PPC advertising campaign into your law firm marketing. Some benefits include the following.
PPC allows you to create targeted ads based on people’s search keywords and factors like geography, language, time of day, and more. This is very laser-targeted advertising.
It’s faster to get people to your site. You can create a PPC campaign and ramp it up in just a matter of days or weeks. When you buy paid search engine advertising, it will get more people to your site in most cases.

Your ad appears high on the page in the ads section of the search engine results pages (SERPs). That means it’s right where people can see it.

Benefits of an Seo Campaign

Google Analytics traffic source by medium
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the long play. It’s the process of doing keyword research and then incorporating keywords into your website and blog to help the search engines to find your site. With SEO, the goal is to show Google and other search engines that your site is so valuable that it meets searchers’ needs. Some of the benefits of SEO include the following.

  • The cost per click is much lower. The traffic you get from organic searches — people typing into the search engines — costs nothing. You pay for SEO services to implement the strategy, but then it keeps working for you without added cost. It offers a much better ROI in most cases, making it cost-effective.
  • Awareness and branding are two powerful tools of SEO marketing. The search engines find and value your site for targeted keywords, which drives awareness of your law firm. It also aids in building your brand, credibility, and trust.
  • SEO marketing is also sustainable. That means it will continue to work for you over time. It’s not a one-time-click-and-done type of ad.

For a comprehensive list of keywords your law firm should use, view this article from our team.

Is Seo a Necessary Expense for Law Firms?

Yes, SEO is a necessary expense for law firms. Here’s why it has to be a part of your marketing strategy. If your law firm started SEO in 2015 and continued to the present day, you would have gotten in at the “ground level” or close to it. SEO then was easier to rank for and less structured.

Today, SEO and algorithms themselves are far more complex. SEO is popular because it is effective, especially with law firm marketing. Google is unlikely to disappear anytime soon, either, meaning SEO is unlikely to disappear. It’s the long game.

Is SEO at its height, then? We don’t know, but you probably don’t want to wait to find out. Debating for two years about if you should start working with an SEO agency means you are two years behind. You could have been ranking for keywords within two years.

Seo Is a Necessary Expense, but Is It Expensive?

The answer to this question is relative to your definition of expensive. A large law firm that pays for an SEO package with 20,000 words per month for its blog might not consider SEO as expensive compared to its alternatives. A smaller firm with a more modest budget could feel that investing in SEO will take too long for the ROI. You could say that affordable SEO is a thing — it is possible to tailor your SEO strategy to meet your budget needs and still get effective SEO results. To do that, we highly recommend a targeted effort with the help of SEO experts.

No SEO? Your competitors are taking your future clients. Schedule a free consultation to see how we can change this.

What Makes Seo So Cost-effective for Law Firms?

SEO will save you money, but how does it save you money? We are not talking about using cheap SEO services that don’t use tried-and-true methods or create good content. Any type of low-quality material or strategy is not going to give you the type of results you need in a Google search.

On-page SEO delivers ongoing results, allowing for an investment that continues to offer long-term results. Ultimately, the work you do on-page continues to produce for you, building your reputation and aiding in getting organic traffic.

Potential Leads Are Asking Questions Your Firm Can Answer

people also ask for "separation agreement virginia"

Have a legal question? The first place people turn to is the search engine. Attorneys are in a unique position to help answer these search queries and take advantage of a potential lead who may need an attorney. Why else are they Googling this question?

When you answer these questions, you:

  • Build brand authority
  • Build brand awareness
  • Create quality content that Google ranks high on the SERPs

Seo for Long-term Success

SEO is a long-term game. Depending on the keyword, it could take years to acquire a top position in the search engines. It is not all about time, either. If you only put in the time but not the maintenance, you’re wasting that time. Creating 20 blogs and then not continuing or maintaining those pages means their value will depreciate.
There are various types of SEO we want to consider including.

  • Technical SEO: This is the focus of some of the behind-the-scenes work like title tags, meta descriptions, and web design strategies.
  • Local: Local SEO focuses on driving people from your local area to your website since these are often your most likely prospective clients. We use various local SEO strategies to do this.
  • Off-page SEO: These strategies work outside your website to improve your Google search results. That includes strategies like link building to gain backlinks and using social media sites
    like LinkedIn.
  • On-page SEO: On-page SEO is a type of SEO that focuses on specific strategies using elements like keywords on pages visible to users.

These SEO techniques help improve your domain rating, which is what Google uses to determine when to position your site in front of searchers.

Legal Keywords Are Expensive

Targeting legal keywords for a PPC campaign will be expensive. It may be a little less so if you target a niche area, but every click will cost you money. This is not the case if you acquire that same keyword through SEO. You’ll lower the cost of your SEO efforts by focusing on gaining keywords organically.

We Were Told to Ignore the Ads

At one time, people would ignore the paid or sponsored ads listed at the top of SERPs. Why? Organic links — those lower on the page — seemed more reliable. They didn’t just pay to get to the top of the page. Organic results earn it. Ads paid to be at the top of search results seem less valuable. How do we know their information is accurate if they paid for their spot?

This premise is why 70 percent of people ignore the paid ads on the first page of the search results and look for the links below to a service provider or attorney they need.

Why Cheap Seo Is Not Sustainable Long-term

If you are going to invest your marketing budget in SEO, do it right. Cheap SEO packages or super low-cost SEO often use black hat strategies that Google does not accept. Once Google realizes your site is using black hat SEO strategies, your site gets flagged and penalized. Rather, we focus on white hat strategies that work and are within Google’s acceptable methods.
Cheap SEO packages are not delivering on the benefits of SEO. The value of your content is significant to Google and the potential leads who view it.

The Price of a Ppc Campaign

The cost of a PPC campaign for legal terms is often expensive. How expensive it is depends on how competitive the keywords are that you are using. For example, if you are in a city dense with competitors, PPC will be more expensive than if your firm serves a smaller town. The legal field is one that people search consistently for, and as a result, there are extremely competitive keywords. That drives up the cost of this form of online marketing.

How Much Does the Average Ppc Campaign Cost?

Again, this answer will depend on the type of keywords you target and your location. Live in a city with a large number of bad drivers? “Car accident attorney” will be more costly.

How Does a Ppc Campaign Work?

A PPC campaign is a type of digital marketing strategy requiring payment for each click of an ad. To get high-quality results, you must create ads that are very on-target for your law firm. Quite typically, your entire marketing budget could go towards the cost of paying for these ads.

Other Ways of Getting a Website to Rank Higher

Ranking your website higher in the search results means considering all aspects and types of SEO. Don’t undervalue the importance of technical SEO or off-page SEO. These are core components of your online marketing strategy because they help show Google your site’s value.

Website Design for User Experience

Technical SEO focuses heavily on website design. Is it easy for people to access your website, and does it load fast enough? Can they go from your initial page to your contact page easily? That could impact your conversion rate.

Social Media

woman using social media on her smart phone

Social media is also a valuable form of content marketing. It lets you repost and advertise your blog content. Your SEO company will likely recommend using social media to help build your brand.

Some strategies are detrimental to your website’s success. For example, you do not want to use black hat link building, as that is something Google will discover quickly and blacklist your site. Also, spammy content stuffed with keywords doesn’t help turn someone who visits your site into your client.

The Difference an Extra 1,500 Words a Month Could Make for Seo

When you decide to start SEO, it’s always the goal to rise quickly to a good position for a keyword. The more words per month you allow an online marketing services provider to write for you, the better the results. Legal blogs often run longer than your average blog on the internet. We understand that these longer blogs will eat up your word count. We encourage you to contact us to hear about our content tiers so you can find the one that fits your firm best.

Seo Content Sprints

Content sprints are bursts of content on a high-value or priority subject. They can help you to gain a significant amount of improvement in a short amount of time. Sprints are all about building momentum and having a very focused effort in doing so.

Ahrefs average organic traffic comparison

Our client did a content sprint in 2023 from March to May. In just a few months, his online presence had increased dramatically!

Get a head start with a content sprint! Contact us today to set up an initial consultation.

Will Ai-powered Seo Be a Low-budget Alternative in the Future?

That depends on the development of the technology.

Many AI generators now sit behind paywalls. They do not have up-to-date information. There could be pitfalls to using AI technology to generate your content. These pitfalls could include not having information on new laws, being lower quality, lacking original thought, and the potential of plagiarism or completely incorrect information.

We are not ruling it out, only that we want to see how it develops, as we know law firms might not be ready to invest too much in a normal SEO process.

Still Can’t Decide? Schedule a Free Consultation With Us

PPC and SEO are core components of any digital marketing strategy. Both have their place in building your law firm’s success online. We do not provide a one-size-fits-all solution, though. As a leading legal SEO provider, we work closely with our law firm clients to provide the best outcome based on their needs and budget. That includes offering affordable SEO services.
Let’s talk about a customized solution for your firm. Call 757-333-3021 or fill out our contact form now.

Kevin Daisey posing in a white shirt and blue suit.
Written By Kevin Daisey

Kevin Daisey is both the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Array Digital, with a legacy in the digital marketplace spanning over two decades. Kevin’s extensive experience in website design and digital marketing makes him a valuable strategic partner for law firms. He doesn’t just create digital presences; he develops online growth strategies that help law firms establish and lead in their respective fields.

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David Arato
August 18, 2026
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I own a content marketing company that works primarily with law firms - Kevin and is team are undoubtedly experts in law firm SEO and fantastic to work with. Highly recommend!
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Amber Wanner
July 23, 2026
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So grateful for the opportunity to speak with Kevin from Array Digital. He's incredibly knowledgable about the legal space and has a good pulse on the industry as a whole. It's very evident that he truly cares about his work and the people he serves not just because it's his job but who he is as a person. He also has a SUPER cool tool that does a full audit on your firms online presence to see areas that may be underperforming and ways to improve it. Highly recommend you check it out! Thank you for everything, Kevin!
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Daniel
July 21, 2026
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Kevin clearly knows his stuff when it comes to marketing. Extremely knowledgeable, easy to talk to, and brings a ton of value and deep industry insight to the table.
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Calum Welch
July 17, 2026
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The expertise, service, and results provided by the team is unmatched. The difference Array has made in our firm content and strategy is like day from night. The entire team is brilliant, friendly, and easy to work with - especially Christina!
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E. Merritt Farmer, Jr., Esq.
July 13, 2026
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Met Kevin this past spring at the PILMMA conference in San Antonio and have since become friends and gotten to know him and his business. Kevin's podcast is outstanding and provides valuable insight to lawyers, law firm owners, and business owners/leaders in general. Kevin and his company do an outstanding job on all fronts and, in the short time I have known Kevin, I have gained significant insight and knowledge.
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Russell Knight
July 12, 2026
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After years of doing my own SEO for my own law firm, I consulted with Erik Olson on a few tweaks he could help me with. He really set me straight and had a lot of great ideas for digital marketing.
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Gertsburg Law
April 8, 2026
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Really enjoyed working with Kevin and the Array Digital team. The entire podcast experience was smooth, well-organized, and genuinely enjoyable from start to finish. Kevin does a great job setting the tone and making the conversation feel natural, while still keeping things focused and valuable for the audience. It’s clear the team puts real thought into how they support and highlight law firm owners. I appreciated the preparation, communication, and overall professionalism throughout. I’d absolutely recommend Array Digital to any attorney looking to work with a team that understands our world and knows how to bring out meaningful conversations.
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Heuser & Heuser, LLP Colorado Springs
February 17, 2026
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Had a great experience with Kevin on "The Managing Partners Podcast with Kevin Daisey." We talked talked best practices, recent trends, AI, service vs. hospitality, and the legal landscape going forward in 2026. Kevin knows his stuff and provided excellent insight that I will be incorporating into my practice. Easy to work with and down to earth. Highly recommend!
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Brett Harrison
February 3, 2026
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My name is Brett Harrison, from The Harrison Law Group, P.C. - I really enjoyed speaking with Kevin Daisey on his Podcast. Kevin really allows you as a guest to be yourself. Kevin's Podcast and his guests provide great tips and ideas that can impact both you and your business. You can tell speaking with Kevin that he cares about people and wants to use his podcast platform to help business owners. Lastly, what I found refreshing is that Kevin does not try and sell you anything or promote himself or his business. -- Kevin, Stay Great!
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Michael Cohan
January 15, 2026
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Had the pleasure of appearing on the Array Digital podcast. Had a fantastic experience on conversation with Kevin - who is a uniquely talented. Thank you Array Digital.

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