A lawyer SEO retainer should tell you which search problems the agency will address, what work your firm will receive and how you will judge it. A keyword report alone cannot answer whether the practice pages, technical fixes and enquiry tracking you bought were delivered.
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This checklist is for managing partners, firm administrators and marketing directors reviewing an SEO proposal or renewal. Use it to turn broad promises into work your team can approve and inspect.
Discuss your law firm’s SEO scope. Bring your website, priority practice areas and current deliverables list. Keep client names and matter details out of the enquiry.
Start with the matters and markets you want to serve
Write down the practice areas, jurisdictions and offices the engagement covers. Identify the enquiries your intake team can handle and the services your firm does not provide. A broad traffic target can hide a shift toward searches that have little commercial value to your firm.
Separate branded searches from people discovering your firm through a service or question. Review priority practice pages independently of general articles. This helps the partner reading the report see whether visibility is growing where the firm intends to invest.
What should a lawyer SEO retainer include?
The right mix depends on the site’s condition and the agreed objective. Ask for each workstream to have a named owner, an approval dependency and evidence of completion.
- Search and page planning: a list of existing pages to improve, missing topics to assess and overlapping pages to resolve. Each recommendation should explain the intended visitor and next action.
- Content production: a brief, a draft, attorney review and the final published URL. Identify who checks legal statements, service descriptions and attorney biographies.
- Technical work: the issue, affected URLs, proposed change and verification after release. An audit recommendation and an implemented repair are separate deliverables.
- Internal linking: relevant routes between supporting articles, practice pages and contact options. Require links to work on the published page.
- Local presence, when included: a defined list of profiles and directories, documented changes and firm approval of business details.
- Measurement: agreed search, website and enquiry definitions, with reporting access for the firm.
Set the delivery quantity after reviewing the work involved. Rewriting a complex practice page and correcting a broken link should not be treated as equivalent units of output.
Accept content against a brief
Before a draft is written, agree on the question it answers, the relevant service, the intended location and the evidence the firm can supply. Confirm whether an existing page already answers the same question. Adding a second page may create unnecessary maintenance instead of a useful new resource.
The firm’s reviewer should confirm legal statements and any descriptions of experience, outcomes or credentials. The agency should check readability, page structure, links and the route to enquiry. Neither review replaces the other.
For acceptance, record the final URL, approval date and approved version. Check the published page on a phone. Make sure the title, main heading and contact route describe the same service.
Ask for a change log you can use
A useful monthly record names the work completed, why it mattered and how it was checked. It also shows items waiting for access, development or attorney review. This gives the firm a way to resolve delays instead of repeatedly discussing a flat traffic chart.
| Review item | Record for your firm |
|---|---|
| Priority page | URL and intended enquiry |
| Agreed change | Approved brief or repair |
| Responsible people | Delivery and firm reviewer |
| Completion evidence | Published version and checks |
| Open dependency | Decision needed and owner |
| Next review | Agreed date and evidence |
This is a blank review structure, not a performance benchmark. Fill it using your agreement and actual work records.
Connect search reporting to enquiries carefully
Search impressions, clicks and website visits describe different stages. A click on a phone number is an interaction; it does not confirm that a conversation happened. Ask the report to distinguish completed enquiries, duplicates, spam, consultations and retained matters where the firm’s records support those measures.
Keep reporting periods and practice-area definitions consistent. Show unknown sources instead of assigning every enquiry to SEO. Use aggregate outcomes for the agency review and keep confidential matter information in the firm’s approved systems.
If the commercial question is the overall budget, use the separate guide to law firm SEO costs and scope. This checklist focuses on accepting the work you commission.
Set access and handover terms before renewal
Document who controls the website, domain, Search Console, analytics and relevant business profiles. Agree on appropriate agency access, change approvals, backups for affected work and how access will be removed when the engagement ends.
For an initial audit, Google recommends read-only Search Console access and realistic estimates of the work involved. Its guidance also warns against guaranteed first-place rankings. Use a delivery commitment you can inspect rather than a promised search position.
Questions before signing an SEO retainer
Should every month include new articles?
Only when they serve the agreed priorities. A month focused on improving existing practice pages or resolving technical problems may be appropriate. The proposal should explain the trade-off and the completed work.
Does an SEO retainer include website development?
Confirm this explicitly. Ask which changes are included, what requires a separate estimate and who tests the release. Do not assume that identifying a problem includes fixing it.
What if reporting shows clicks but no consultations?
Review search intent, landing pages, enquiry delivery and intake records before deciding on the next action. The records may reveal a demand problem, a conversion problem or missing measurement.
Bring a concrete SEO scope to the conversation
Send your website, target markets, priority practice areas and the part of your current scope you cannot verify. We can discuss the work, dependencies and reporting your firm needs. Fees and commitments belong in an agreed written proposal.
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