A step-by-step SEO audit framework you can implement this week

This checklist is built for managing partners and in-house marketers at law firms who want to audit their own website before investing in SEO support. It's also useful for firms already working with an agency — use it to understand what should be happening and to validate whether your current effort covers all bases.

The checklist works for solo practices to 50+ attorney firms. The priority will vary by firm size and practice area, but the checkpoint categories remain the same. For example, a personal injury firm needs aggressive local SEO and review management. A corporate practice needs deeper topical authority and branded thought leadership. But both follow the same technical foundation.

You don't need technical expertise to complete most of these items. Many are WordPress settings, Google Business Profile configurations, or content decisions. The technical items that require development time are flagged clearly so you can hand them to your website team or agency.

Why this matters first: If your site isn't crawlable, fast, and mobile-friendly, Google won't rank your content regardless of quality. Technical debt compounds — fix it before building on top.

Core technical items:

• SSL certificate installed and all HTTP traffic redirected to HTTPS
• Mobile viewport tag present and site responsive on phones
• Page speed (Core Web Vitals): LCP under 2.5s, FID under 100ms, CLS under 0.1
• XML sitemap generated, updated, and submitted to Google Search Console
• Robots.txt configured to allow crawling of important pages
• No noindex tags on indexable pages (check head tags and Search Console)
• Internal link structure: navigation and footer links crawlable, hierarchy clear
• Duplicate content resolved (canonicals, parameter handling, www vs non-www)
• SSL/TLS version current (TLS 1.2 minimum)
• Domain redirects in place and clean (www consolidation, old domains)

Run these audits in Google Search Console (Coverage, Core Web Vitals, Mobile Usability) and PageSpeed Insights. Screenshot results for your records. If you see crawl errors or coverage issues, those are your first fixes.

On-page optimization: Each page needs a unique, descriptive title tag (50–60 characters), a meta description that previews your value (120–155 characters), and an H1 that matches the primary keyword or intent.

• Title tags: unique, under 60 characters, include primary keyword or intent
• Meta descriptions: unique, 120–155 characters, includes call-to-action or value promise
• H1 per page: exactly one, matches search intent
• Keyword distribution: target keyword appears in title, H1, first 100 words, and naturally 2–3 times in body
• Internal anchor text: uses keyword-relevant anchors to related service/practice pages
• Image alt text: descriptive, includes relevant keywords where natural (not stuffed)
• Header hierarchy: H1, then H2, then H3 — no skipped levels
• Content length: service pages minimum 500 words, practice area overviews minimum 800 words

Schema markup (highly important for legal):

• Organization schema: firm name, address, phone, hours, practice areas
• LocalBusiness schema (with attorney names, bar numbers where allowed)
• BreadcrumbList schema on nested pages (service area > practice type > specific practice)
• FAQPage schema on FAQ sections (legal-specific questions)
• Article schema on blog posts (author, publish date, modified date)
• Attorney/Person schema for individual lawyer profiles (name, credentials, contact)

Schema errors in Google Search Console (Rich Results report) are critical — fix those immediately. Missing schema doesn't tank rankings, but present schema gives you advantage in local pack and featured snippets.

For any firm with a physical office location (which is most law firms): Local SEO drives visibility in Google Maps and local results. Citations (consistent name, address, phone listings) are the foundation.

Google Business Profile:

• GBP claim verified and owned by firm email domain (not Gmail)
• Business name matches website header exactly (if multi-office, suffix added: Name — Office Location)
• Address verified by postcard or phone, address format matches firm letterhead
• Phone number: local line, not general reception (direct to attorney or legal team preferred)
• Website URL points to relevant practice area page (not homepage if homepage is generic)
• Service areas defined (if multi-state practice, list all states where you serve clients)
• Practice categories: select appropriate legal practice areas (e.g., Personal Injury, Estate Planning)
• Posts published monthly (minimum), photos updated quarterly
• Review response rate: respond to all reviews within 3 days, bar-compliant tone

Citations and directories:

• Listings audit complete: NAP (name, address, phone) consistency across top 15 directories (Justia, Avvo, FindLaw, local bar directories, industry-specific directories)
• Incorrect citations removed or corrected
• Directory links visible in footer or resources page (adds credibility, Google signals)

Use a citation audit tool or manually check the top 5 directories relevant to your practice area and state bar. Consistency matters more than volume.

Content wins SEO for law firms over time. Google ranks law firms based on topical depth in their practice areas — not just traffic or backlinks. A firm focused on family law needs more comprehensive family law content than a generalist with one family law page.

Service and practice area pages:

• Dedicated pages for each main practice area (not one big service menu)
• Service pages include: overview (what clients face), process (how your firm handles it), local variations where relevant, firm credentials (years, verdicts, settlements if ethics-compliant)
• Related service pages linked contextually (e.g., Divorce links to Custody, Child Support, Property Division)
• Service page H1s target long-tail keywords (e.g., "Divorce Attorney in [County], [State]" not just "Divorce")

Blog and topical depth:

• Blog topics tied to practice areas (not general business advice)
• Blog posts link back to service pages (drives topical relevance)
• Publishing frequency: minimum 1 post per practice area per quarter
• Old blog posts audited and updated (especially posts with outdated legal information)

Bar compliance consideration: Your content must avoid false advertising under state bar rules (ABA Model Rule 7.1). This is part of your SEO checklist: every claim about results, success rate, or expertise must be truthful and not misleading. This discipline actually helps SEO — Google ranks authentic authority, not exaggeration.

You don't have to do all 67 items in one sprint. Use this matrix to sequence your effort.

Quick Wins (do these in weeks 1-2): These take 1-4 hours per item and often show ranking movement within 4-6 weeks.

• Verify and optimize your Google Business Profile (all fields, photos, posts)
• Fix any mobile usability errors in Google Search Console
• Correct name/address/phone inconsistencies in top 5 directories
• Add missing title tags and meta descriptions to top 20 service pages
• Create or claim bar association directory listings (Justia, FindLaw, state bar site)

Authority-Building (weeks 3-8): These take 4-16 hours per item and show results in 2-4 months.

• Audit and rewrite your 3 main service pages (500-1000 words each, proper schema)
• Implement Organization and LocalBusiness schema across site
• Add review generation process (ethical solicitation, documented in GBP)
• Create one pillar blog post per practice area (1500+ words, links to service pages)

Long-Term Plays (months 3+): These require ongoing effort but compound over time.

• Monthly blog publishing (tie to practice areas, link back)
• Quarterly content updates (refresh old blog posts, service pages with current info)
• Quarterly GBP posts and photo updates
• Monthly review response and rating monitoring

Many firms make the mistake of trying to do everything at once. Sequence instead. Quick wins build momentum and often self-justify the larger effort.

The full 67-point checklist is provided as a downloadable PDF and spreadsheet. Use it to assign items to team members, track completion, and note which items need outside support (development, content writing, directory updates).

How to use the checklist:

1. Download the spreadsheet and assign each item to a responsible party (in-house, agency, vendor)
2. Set a deadline for quick wins (2-3 weeks) and authority-building items (8-12 weeks)
3. Schedule a follow-up audit in 90 days using the same checklist
4. Note which items are deferred (don't pretend they don't exist — track them)

The checklist includes a status column (not started / in progress / complete / deferred) and a notes column for context or questions. Share this with your SEO agency or internal team so everyone knows what's being tracked.

Note: This checklist is a general framework. Your specific priorities depend on firm size, practice areas, market competition, and current website authority. If you're working with an SEO firm, this checklist should match their audit — if it doesn't, ask why they're doing things differently.