Case Study – KY Personal Injury Law Firm
A Big Win in a Small Town: Optimizing a Law Firm’s Google Maps Rankings
Personal injury law is one of the most cutthroat niches in SEO. If you’re in this space, you already know — everyone is fighting for those top spots because that’s where the clients are. And when someone searches “personal injury lawyers,” they’re not just browsing. They’re in a crisis, hurt, confused, and looking for help right now.
We’ve worked with several hundreds of law firms across the U.S., but this particular campaign stands out.
It showed that a principled approach towards Local SEO strategy can identify specific holes in the presence of a law firm. Bringing us to a position where we were able to quote the law firm a very small amount instead of providing a “full service” type of SEO package.
In this study, we walk you through exactly how we helped a small personal injury law firm break into the top three in their market, both in Google search and Google Maps.
The Challenge: Standing Out in a Competitive Legal Market
About the Client
This was a small, solo attorney personal injury firm serving just one mid-sized city. They had a solid reputation offline but struggled to translate that into online visibility. At the time, they offered a limited set of case types — car accidents, slip and falls, and a few others — and didn’t yet have a presence in nearby cities.
At the start, the attorney Tyler Fleck informed us that he had paid many so-called experts in the past. And that they did all of the recommended items for local SEO. Such as citations (tons of them), link building (only profiles and directory links), and a site that loads “very fast”. This is a typical situation that we see with law firms that have invested into SEO whether with freelancers or a large agency.
Everyone knows how to use Google Search or AI platforms to request help with rankings. So there are many marketers who simply perform such generic campaigns, lacking strategy from experience or knowledge.
Tyler had researched marketers and came to a conclusion that he should message me (Victor) directly for help identifying his issues.
This was when we noticed some major holes in the work that was previously done. The real kicker was that the competition was not very tough. But yet, Tyler’s law firm was still not ranking on page 1 in Google Search, or in the Maps for a significant radius.
Pain Points & Obstacles
We uncovered a few big challenges right away:
- Weak website authority and barely any quality backlinks.
- No meaningful presence in the Google Maps “near me” results.
- Thin site content, with only a handful of practice area pages and little topical depth.
- A laundry list of technical SEO issues: duplicate pages, broken links, poor sitemap structure, and missing indexation.
- Directory listings that had conflicting information.
- Missing important industry-specific citations
Our SEO Strategy: Local Focus with Data-Driven Tactics
Here’s how we tackled the problem step by step.
Step 1: Comprehensive SEO Audit
The first step we took — as with any campaign — was a thorough SEO audit. And let me tell you, this part is always eye-opening for clients. You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken.
We discovered several key issues holding the site back:
- Conflicting and duplicate pages creating confusion for search engines.
- Technical errors in Google Search Console, including broken pages and misconfigured redirects.
- A poorly set up sitemap, with important pages either unindexed or missing entirely.
Seeing these findings reminded me of something I tell every firm I work with: you wouldn’t argue a case without reviewing the facts first — and SEO is no different.
This audit gave us the roadmap we needed to move forward strategically, and it also helped the firm understand why their site wasn’t showing up where it should.
Step 2: On-Page & Content Optimization
We implemented a content plan that was realistic but impactful — one new blog per month focusing on specific legal questions people in their city were already asking.
We also guided the team on adding missing practice area pages, rewriting thin content, and having licensed paralegals contribute to ensure accuracy and trustworthiness.
Step 3: Link Building
Links still matter — but only if they’re the right ones. We focused on quality over quantity, earning backlinks from reputable websites through mostly guest blog posting.
We avoided anything that was cheap or free. Webmasters requested pay for each placement, even when being given quality content for them to use on their own sites.
This raised their Domain Rating steadily while keeping their backlink profile clear of anything that would either cause harm, or simply not have any effect.
Step 4: Local SEO Implementation
We fully optimized their Google Business Profile, and made sure all citations matched perfectly (NAP consistency).
We built internal links from their blog and service pages to their GBP and optimized for “high-intent” queries.
We made sure all lawyer directory sites that get traffic regularly have this law firm’s up-to-date information.
- We avoided any and all directory sites that don’t get at least 1k monthly organic traffic, as we classify those as spam.
This helped them capture searches from people that were even many miles away from their office location — clients they’d been missing before.
The Results: Website Rankings Skyrocketed
Maps Keyword Rankings Before & After
Across 4 months, we were able to completely transform the rankings for high intent searches such as for truck accidents and personal injury lawyer searches.
Today, they’re sitting comfortably in the top three spots for several of their most profitable keywords across each case type that they requested for us to work on.
Increase in Website Traffic & Leads
Their inbound leads more than doubled. Search Console showed clicks rising month over month, aligned with improved rankings.
Improved Google Maps Visibility
We also expanded their visibility beyond just the city center. GeoGrid analysis showed they were now dominating “near me” searches across the surrounding suburbs too — something they’d never been able to achieve before.
AI Search Rankings
What Set This Campaign Apart
Other than checking all the boxes, we focused first on performing these action items, which ended up being most of the heavy lifting that occurred over the first few months.
- High-quality, relevant citations.
- Avvo, Justia, FindLaw, SuperLawyers, HG.org, and others.
- Premium backlinks with real authority.
- Guest blog post backlinks using relevant articles, submitted to websites that get organic traffic of their own. Pointed towards the practice area pages which were targeting the city of which the GBP is located.
- Content that meets user intent and builds trust.
- High quality legal writers and best practices for adding words, phrases, and other relevant info across the articles.
- We did not write the content ourselves, and it was really only 1 or 2 blog posts put out each month. So this is only listed here to make a point that you can’t just do this with low quality content.
- Using GeoGrid insights to expand into untapped areas.
- Measuring the effects of our work for Local SEO with the only type of scan/report that lets you see what your visibility is actually like.
A large boost in rankings were seen within the first few months, bringing in a notable increase in calls from new prospects that needed help with their accident case. Afterwards, the efforts were shifted towards maximizing Google Search rankings using pages of the website to target different cities. After several months to a year of linkbuilding, we were able to achieve top 3 rankings across essentially every major case type that the law firm handles.
ChatGPT Search Rankings
Ready to Boost Your Law Firm’s SEO? Let’s Talk.
If you’re a law firm looking to improve your local visibility and stand out in a crowded market, we should talk. At Elevation Labs Consulting, my team and I bring proven strategies and real-world experience to help you rank higher in search and in Maps — and turn that visibility into clients.
We’d love to show you what’s possible for your firm. Reach out today for a free consultation.
FAQs
How long does SEO take for law firms?
It depends on your market and starting point, but most firms see meaningful results in 4–6 months.
Why is Google Maps visibility important for attorneys?
Because clients look for lawyers close to home — and Maps shows up prominently in search results.
What are GeoGrids and why do they matter?
GeoGrids visually show your firm’s map rankings across different areas of your city. They help you see where you’re strong — and where you can improve.
How do premium citations improve SEO?
They build trust and authority with Google while sending potential clients directly to your site.
Can you guarantee #1 rankings?
No. And you should be wary of anyone who claims they can. But we can guarantee a smart, ethical strategy that gives you the best chance at dominating your market.