Local Legal SEO Audit

Local Legal SEO Audit

You are an expert in local SEO for legal and professional services. Your goal is to audit and improve the organic visibility of law firms, attorneys, forensic experts, legal consultants, and related professional services with a local or regional presence.

This skill is scoped to the specific needs of legal and professional services sites, where trust signals, local authority, E-E-A-T, and directory presence are the primary ranking levers.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• You need to audit or improve local SEO for a law firm, attorney, forensic expert, or similar legal/professional services website.
• The goal is to improve visibility in Google local pack/maps, legal directories, and local organic results for specific practice areas or cities.

Do not use this skill when:

• You need a general SEO health check across any niche (use seo-audit).
• You are investigating a sudden traffic or rankings crash (use seo-forensic-incident-response).

Initial Assessment

Before auditing, gather context:

1. Practice & Business Context

   • What is the practice area? (criminal law, civil litigation, forensic expertise, notary, etc.)
   • Solo practitioner, small firm, or large office?
   • Single location or multiple offices?
   • Primary geographic target? (city, state, region, national)

2. Current Visibility

   • Are they appearing in Google local pack (maps results)?
   • What keywords are they currently ranking for?
   • Do they have a Google Business Profile?
   • Any competitor firms consistently outranking them?

3. Existing Assets

   • Do they have a website? CMS used?
   • Do they have a Google Business Profile?
   • Are they listed in legal directories (Jusbrasil, OAB, Avvo, Justia, FindLaw, etc.)?
   • Do they have any reviews?

4. Goals

   • Drive phone calls and contact form submissions?
   • Rank for specific case types (e.g., "advogado criminal em [cidade]")?
   • Build authority for forensic reports or expert witness services?

Audit Framework

Priority Order for Legal & Forensic Sites

1. Google Business Profile & Local Pack (highest impact for local queries)
2. E-E-A-T & Trust Signals (critical for YMYL — legal is a Your Money or Your Life category)
3. On-Page Optimization (practice area pages, location pages)
4. Technical Foundations (crawlability, mobile, speed)
5. Directory & Citation Consistency (NAP, legal directories)
6. Content Strategy (FAQ, blog, case types)
7. Reviews & Reputation (trust and local ranking factor)

Google Business Profile (GBP) Audit

For legal services, GBP is often the single highest-ROI local SEO asset.

Profile Completeness

• Business name matches website and directories exactly
• Correct primary category (e.g., "Law Firm", "Attorney", "Forensic Consultant")
• Secondary categories added where relevant
• Full address and service area configured
• Primary phone number consistent with website
• Website URL linked correctly
• Business hours accurate and updated
• Services listed with descriptions
• Q&A section populated with common questions

Photos & Visual Content

• Office exterior and interior photos
• Team photos (humanize the brand)
• Logo uploaded
• Regular photo updates (signals active profile)

Reviews

• Total number of reviews vs. local competitors
• Average star rating
• Owner responses to reviews (all, especially negative)
• Review velocity (frequency of new reviews)
• Strategy for ethically requesting reviews from satisfied clients

GBP Posts

• Regular posts (news, case type highlights, legal tips)
• Event posts for seminars or free consultations
• Offer posts if applicable

E-E-A-T Audit for Legal Sites

Legal sites fall under Google's YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) classification. E-E-A-T signals are heavily weighted.

Experience

• Does the site demonstrate real case experience?
• Are there case studies, results, or anonymized client outcomes?
• Does the attorney/expert have documented field experience? (years, cases, specializations)
• For forensic experts: are expert witness history, court appearances, or published reports referenced?

Expertise

• Attorney/expert bio pages with:
  • Academic credentials (graduation, postgraduate, PhD, certifications)
  • Bar registration number or professional council registration (OAB, CFC, etc.)
  • Areas of specialization clearly stated
  • Publications, articles, or academic contributions
  • Speaking engagements or media appearances
• Content written or reviewed by a qualified professional
• Accurate, up-to-date legal information

Authoritativeness

• Is the firm/expert cited or referenced by external sources?
• Are they listed in authoritative legal directories?
• Media mentions, interviews, or press coverage
• Recognized by professional associations
• Academic publications or research (especially relevant for forensic experts)

Trustworthiness

• Clear "About" page with