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Entity-based local SEO is going to be the largest shift in business marketing your firm experiences this year.
And most firms have no idea it’s happening.
Google has quietly shifted its focus from keyword matching to entity matching. Essentially, before Google ranks pages now, it attempts to verify who a business is, what it does, and where it operates.
Rankings are now about trust.
If your goal is to consistently attract local clients and grow your practice… you need to stop worrying about keywords and start worrying about building a strong entity.
What You’ll Learn…
- What Is Entity-Based SEO?
- Why Local SEO Is MORE Important Than Ever
- The 5 Pillars of Entity-Based Local SEO
- Step-By-Step Action Plan to Dominate
Local SEO For Law Firms: The Shift To Entity Matching
Let’s break down exactly what entity-based local SEO is…
Entity SEO is Google’s method of identifying and cataloguing real-world entities — that means businesses, people, and places. So for law firms specifically, Google is scouring the internet for information on who you are, what you do, and where you’re located.
Google then attempts to create a profile of your firm from these signals.
You can think of entity signals like trust points. The more credibility your firm can show online through a connected, uniform presence…the more Google trusts your entity and ranks you.
Simple as that.
Solid law firm marketing these days is less about keywords, and more about establishing trust with Google (and thus clients). Mere mentions of a city name and specialty won’t convince Google you’re legitimate. Instead, your firm needs to be Google verifiable.
Easy to say. Harder to do.
But doing it will set your firm apart from your competition.
Why Local SEO Is More Important Than Ever
Here’s a stat that really drives home just how big of an opportunity local SEO presents:
46% of all Google searches are local intent searches. That means people searching for a lawyer near them. Every day.
And when they do?
Your competition is screaming at the top of their lungs to win those searches.
Law firms that rank in Google’s coveted local pack earn up to 44% of user clicks. Firms not appearing in the local pack? Well, they struggle to get noticed at all.
That’s nearly half of your market’s search traffic going to a handful of lucky firms every month.
Your clients aren’t just Google searching anymore. Most start with Google when looking for a lawyer.
The hard truth:
If your firm doesn’t appear in Google’s local three-pack…you may as well not exist to most local searchers. And because 66% of call conversions in law come from organic search… those rankings equal real-life phone calls from prospective clients.
The market for local clients is wide open. But that will soon change.
The 5 Pillars Of Entity-Based Local SEO
As with any good strategy, you need to build a strong foundation before going all-in. Miss one of these pillars and your whole entity strategy starts to crumble.
Google Business Profile Optimisation
First things first: your Google Business Profile. This is by far the most important local SEO asset your law firm has. Not just because of rankings, but because of the information it gives you access to post-optimisation.
Name, address, phone number, categories, hours, photos, and services should all be completed on your GBP. But don’t stop there. Use the dashboard to post updates, answer Q&A’s, and respond to reviews.
Every action you take strengthens your entity with Google.
NAP Consistency
Stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. Google must be able to match these three pieces of information across every listing on the web for your firm — from social media profiles to legal directories to local business websites.
Fail to have consistent NAP info, and Google gets confused when matching your entity. That confusion hurts rankings.
Do a citation audit and clean up any inconsistencies.
Schema Markup & Structured Data
Schema markup is code placed on your website that tells Google what type of entity your law firm is. When used properly, schema allows Google to match your firm to relevant local searches quicker and with more confidence.
Both LegalService and Attorney schema work for law firms. Use them.
Underutilised by most and powerful beyond words.
Local Content
Content is king. Period. We live in an age where 64% of people visit Google first with their legal inquiries and questions.
Publish locally relevant content that positions your firm as a thought leader in your practice area and region. Legal articles, location-based guides, and case studies that focus on location help build entity and trigger recognition with Google.
Reviews & Authority Signals
Reviews act as proof your firm’s entity exists. Every positive Google review helps establish your firm as a trustworthy, active business to Google.
Know what builds trust signals with Google? Being featured in the local pack.
93% of the time, the local pack will show up before organic results on SERPs for local intent searches. This means reviews aren’t just important for rankings, your firm needs reviews.
Step-By-Step Action Plan to Dominate Locally
Ready to get started building your law firm’s local SEO from the ground up? Here’s where to begin…
- Claim & optimise your Google Business Profile
- Perform a citation/names audit
- Implement schema markup on your website
- Develop a local content strategy
- Setup a process to collect reviews
- Conduct local citation building
Each of these items feeds into another creating an interconnected web of entity signals. By following this order, you’ll get results sooner and faster.
Think of it as a snowball rolling down a mountain.
Wrapping Things Up
Entity-based SEO isn’t some crazy new gimmick. At this point, it’s just SEO.
Google has moved past keyword-stuffing websites and into the real world. Firms that can establish a verifiable, trustworthy presence online will continue to see ranking success. Firms that do not? Will fall behind.
The race for local clients is on right now.
And your competition doesn’t know what hit them.
To Recap: The 5 Pillars of Entity-Based Local SEO
- Google My Business Optimisation
- Name/address uniformity
- Schema Markup
- Local Content Marketing
- Reviews
Master these five components and watching your firm climb SERPs.
