Keyword Research for Lawyers: 2025 Step-by-Step Guide

No one in law school taught you about marketing your firm—especially not through digital means like SEO (search engine optimization), which helps firms climb higher in search engine rankings. It's often when lawyers start practicing that they realize just how vital SEO is to building their brand and attracting more clients. In fact, research shows that 53% of potential clients find attorneys through organic search. If you're not investing in SEO, you're losing out on millions.

How does keyword research play a role in this? Keyword research for lawyers is a foundational element of SEO, as keywords are critical ranking factors. Keyword research may be quite challenging, but it becomes manageable with the right tools, knowledge, and team on your side.

In this guide, we'll discuss what keywords are, what legal keyword research is, and how to conduct keyword research in nine steps, as well as cover top keyword research tools lawyers can use.

What Are Keywords?

Keywords are the phrases potential clients type into search engines.

Think of them as the questions your clients are asking in their time of need- anything from “car accident lawyer near me” or “how to file for divorce.” These SEO keywords for lawyers help Google understand what your website offers, so it can match you with the right clients.

— Short-Tails vs. Long-Tails

When it comes to keywords, you’ll run into 2 main types:

• Short-tail keywords – Broad phrases, usually 1–3 words, like “personal injury lawyer.” They pull in tons of searches, but the competition is brutal. Everyone’s fighting for those spots.
• Long-tail keywords – Longer, more specific phrases, like “best personal injury lawyer for car accidents in Chicago.” Fewer people search for them, but the ones who do usually know exactly what they need... and they’re closer to hiring.

Short-tails help get your name in front of a big audience, but long-tails are where the real leads come from.

Example: A keyword like “workers’ comp lawyer free consultation Chicago” may only have 20 searches a month. That might not sound like much, but think about it, that’s 20 people in your city actively looking for a lawyer right now.

Those 20 clicks are far more valuable than 1,000+ people casually searching “lawyer near me.”

What Is Legal Keyword Research?

Keyword research for lawyers is the core of a good digital marketing strategy. It's the strategic process of identifying and analyzing the specific terms potential clients use when searching for legal services online.  It allows you to understand prospective client intent and align your content with what they're actually seeking. 

You need well-targeted keywords to get higher in the search rankings, increase your law firm's website traffic, and improve conversion rates. For instance, targeting “workers' compensation lawyers in Los Angeles” ensures you attract clients specifically seeking that service in your area. If your keyword strategy is lacking, you'll end up wasting your marketing dollars on irrelevant traffic, generating clicks that never convert into paying clients.

— Keyword Research Parameters You Need to Know

Keyword research for law firms isn't just about picking random phrases. You need to identify keywords that bring in people with the right intention. To choose the right keywords and boost your rankings, you need to consider a few key parameters. These criteria are essential for identifying the most impactful SEO keywords for lawyers.

• Keyword search volume: Measures how often a term is searched. High volume means more potential traffic, but also more competition.
• Keyword difficulty: Indicates how hard it is to rank for a keyword. Lower difficulty means easier rankings for your firm.
• Keyword intent: Reveals the searcher's underlying motivation and behavior: are they seeking information, comparison, or ready to hire?
• Keyword relevance – Even if a keyword gets searched a lot, it’s worthless if it doesn’t match your services. For example, if you only handle personal injury cases, ranking for a particular keyword phrase like “divorce lawyer Chicago” won’t bring you the clients you want.

How to Conduct Keyword Research for Law Firms in 10 Steps

Keyword research for law firms starts with a clear, actionable plan. These nine steps will help you uncover high-value keywords that drive traffic, boost rankings, and attract the right clients. Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Do Customer Research

Before you even think about keywords, ask yourself, "How do my clients actually talk about their problems?" That’s what customer research is all about.

There’s a big difference between someone Googling “divorce lawyer near me” and someone searching “how much does a divorce cost?” The first person is ready to hire. The second is still gathering info.

So how do you uncover the language real clients use? Simple, start listening in the right places:

• Intake calls → Write down the exact words clients use when explaining their situation.
• Live chat transcripts → These are goldmines for real questions people are asking in the moment.
• Your staff → Ask paralegals or admins what FAQs they hear every single day.

Once you spot the patterns, you’ll have a bank of natural phrases and questions that can become the backbone of your keyword strategy. In other words, your clients will hand you the keywords... you just need to listen.

Step 2: Carry Out Keyword Research and Competitor Analysis

Have you figured out how clients talk about their legal problems? Nice! It’s time to turn that into a list of high-value keywords. Let's do a little keyword research and competitor analysis.

Start with tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and SEMRush to uncover search volume, trends, and keyword difficulty.

Pay close attention to keyword competition analysis — some terms may be too saturated to rank for quickly, while others are hidden gems with less competition and higher conversion potential.

Next, see what your competitors are ranking for. Checking competitor keywords helps you identify missed opportunities and gaps in your own strategy.

Remember, research + competitor insight = a smarter keyword strategy that gets your firm seen by the right clients.

Step 3: Create a List of Seed Keywords

Once you clearly understand the intention behind clients’ searches, you should define primary keywords based on your practice areas, like “divorce lawyer Chicago.” These keywords serve as the starting point to build a broader, more targeted list of related keywords for your research.

Strategy #1: Find Top Legal Questions Your Clients Ask

Clients may phrase their searches differently—like “personal injury lawyer near me” or “injury attorney in my area”—but they often share the same intent: finding a local expert to handle their case. So, start with Google's "People Also Ask" (PAA) feature to discover real questions potential clients are searching for. These natural inquiries often reveal valuable long-tail keywords that other firms might miss. Remember, your clients won't phrase things the way a lawyer would.

Strategy #2: Use Legal Forums to Find Popular Search Terms

You might not know this, but forums like Avvo, Justia, and legal subreddits are great channels for learning how people discuss their legal issues. Pay attention to the specific language and terms they use. These forums are goldmines for discovering how clients naturally describe their legal problems, helping you align your content with their search patterns.

Strategy #3: Identify Easy-Win Keywords with Google Search Console

Review your Search Console data to find keywords where you're already ranking on page two or three. These represent quick opportunities for improvement. Focus on queries with decent search volume but where you're just missing the first page. Small optimizations here can lead to significant traffic gains.

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Step 4: Expand Your Keyword List

Creating a list of seed keywords is just the beginning. To capture a wider audience, you need to expand your list. This ensures you’re not missing out on competitive keywords that potential clients might use. For example, if your seed keyword is “personal injury lawyer,” expand it to include terms like “car accident attorney” or “workplace injury legal help.” Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to discover related terms and questions. This expansion helps you capture different stages of the client journey and various ways people phrase their legal needs.

Step 5: Filter Out Irrelevant Keywords

There are so many keywords out there, and while some seem flashy, they're not necessarily worth targeting. You need to filter out irrelevant terms to ensure your efforts are focused on high-intent searches that drive results. Here's how to refine your list:

• Include a filter: Keep keywords that match your practice areas and geographical location. Example: "DUI lawyer in Boston" for a local criminal defense practice.
• Exclude filter: Remove terms that don't align with your services or indicate a different intent. Example: Exclude "lawyer jobs" or "free legal advice."
• Commonly excluded special characters: Eliminate symbols and special characters like hyphens or asterisks that don't impact search intent but complicate tracking.
• States and cities: Focus on your service areas. Include state abbreviations and common city name variations.
• All words vs any word modes: Use exact match for specific service targeting and broad match to capture related searches.
• Wildcard usage – Wildcards let you grab multiple keyword variations without having to list every single one. For example, using “law”* would capture searches for lawyer, lawyers, law firm, law office, and so on.
• Anti-local filtering – If you handle national cases like class actions or immigration, exclude “near me” terms so you’re not wasting money on irrelevant local traffic.

Filtering this way ensures you’re investing in the keywords that align your services with the right clients.

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Step 6: Export and Organize Keywords

Organizing your law firm keywords doesn’t just keep things tidy, it helps you maintain control over your SEO strategy. Export your keyword data into a CSV file or Google Sheets to track search volume, competition, and relevance. Create separate tabs for different practice areas, making it easy to identify gaps and opportunities. 

Use keyword tools like Ahrefs to download comprehensive keyword lists, then organize them by intent, volume, and practice area. This organization helps you quickly identify which keywords belong in specific content campaigns and which need new content development. Remember to maintain consistent naming conventions and categorization to make future updates easier.

Step 7: Group Keywords into Clusters

Keyword clustering transforms scattered terms into strategic content opportunities. Instead of creating separate pages for "car accident lawyer," "auto accident attorney," and "vehicle crash legal help," you can group these related terms into a single, comprehensive cluster. This approach strengthens your content's authority and prevents keyword cannibalization.

Start by identifying core themes within your practice areas. Then, build clusters that include primary keywords, variations, and related terms. For example, a personal injury cluster might include consultation-related terms, specific injury types, and location-based variations. This organization helps create content that naturally covers all relevant search terms.

Step 8: Optimize With Related Keywords

Okay, stick with us. It's about to get slightly more complex.

Search engines don’t just look at exact keywords anymore. They understand context and intent.

If someone searches “divorce help,” Google knows they might also be interested in custody arrangements or property division, even if those words weren’t typed in.

That’s why "semantic search" is important. By adding related terms (often called LSI keywords), you give Google more context, which boosts your chances of ranking.

Example: Search “divorce lawyer Chicago” and scroll to the bottom of the results page. You’ll see related searches like “cheap divorce lawyer Chicago,” “divorce attorney free consultation Chicago,” and “family law attorney Chicago.”

Tools like LSIGraph and Google’s own “Related Searches” can help uncover these phrases. The more naturally you weave them in, the better your content performs in search results.

Step 9: Analyze and Prioritize Keywords

Effective lawyer keywords require strategic prioritization. Start by examining search volume, but don't let high numbers alone sway your strategy. A keyword driving 10,000 monthly searches might seem attractive, but if it's not bringing in qualified leads, it may not be worth your time. For instance, "personal injury lawyer consultation" might have a lower search volume than "lawyer near me," but it indicates a stronger intention to take action. These high-intent keywords often lead to better case quality and higher conversion rates.

Legal keyword research requires the right tools to uncover how potential clients search for your services. Here are five essential tools that help law firms identify valuable keywords, analyze competition, and create content that ranks.

— Keyword Research Tools for Attorney SEO

• Ahrefs: A comprehensive SEO toolkit that helps law firms analyze competitor rankings, track keyword performance, and identify content opportunities. It shows you exactly which keywords bring clients to competing law firms and helps you develop strategies to outrank them.
• Google Trends: Perfect for understanding seasonal trends in legal searches and regional variations in how clients look for legal services. You can use it to track rising legal topics and adjust your content strategy to capture emerging client needs in your practice areas.
• Keyword Surfer: A free Chrome extension, Keyword Surfer provides search volumes, CPC data, and keyword suggestions directly in Google search results. It's perfect for attorneys seeking quick insights into relevant keywords without switching platforms.
• Moz: Moz offers a suite of SEO tools, including keyword research, rank tracking, and site audits. It's a great choice for law firms aiming to know keyword difficulty scores and SERP analysis specifically valuable for legal markets. 
• QuestionDB: This tool identifies popular questions related to legal topics, helping attorneys create content that answers client queries. It's ideal for uncovering long-tail keywords.
• SEMRush – One of the most powerful platforms to find SEO keywords for lawyers. Use it to see what your competitors rank for organically, and where you can fill gaps.
• SpyFu – Want to peek at what keywords competitors are buying in ads? SpyFu reveals paid strategies so you can refine your PPC campaigns and avoid wasting money.
• Ubersuggest – A budget-friendly tool that covers keyword ideas, site audits, and basic SEO insights. It's good for smaller firms testing the waters.
• KWFinder – Beginner-friendly and highly visual, this tool makes it easy to understand difficulty scores and spot keyword opportunities at a glance.
• GrowthBar – An AI-powered SEO tool that helps generate optimized blog outlines, track rankings, and is particularly useful for legal niches. This is useful when doing keyword optimization for lawyers.

If you're looking to streamline your legal practice, check out our guide on AI tools for lawyers for more ways to optimize your workflow.

— An Example of the Keyword Research Process [With Ahrefs]

Once you know the tools to use for your research, the next question is how you should go about it. Let's walk you through the process using Ahrefs as an example.

• Input a keyword into keyword explorer: Begin by typing a base keyword into the Ahrefs keyword explorer. For instance, you might input “contract law” to kick off your research.

• Analyze keyword metrics: After entering your keyword, Ahrefs will present detailed insights, including search volume, keyword difficulty, and trends. This information helps you gauge how often the keyword is searched and its competitiveness.

• Explore related keyword suggestions: Ahrefs doesn't stop at your initial keyword. It suggests related keywords that are gaining traction. This feature is invaluable for discovering new angles for content creation.

• Examine search rankings and competitors: The tool tracks how your chosen keyword has performed over time, showing you competitor URLs and their ranking positions.

• Access content exploration tools. Use your keyword to dive deeper into top-performing content. Analyze metrics like social shares, organic traffic, and domain authority to refine your strategy and create content that outperforms competitors.

Step 10: Optimize for AI Overviews and Voice Search

Search is changing at the speed of light.

Instead of typing stiff phrases like “DUI lawyer Chicago,” people are literally talking to their phones: “Who’s the best DUI lawyer near downtown Chicago that’s open right now?”

These are conversational keywords: long, natural-sounding questions that mirror how people actually speak. Thanks to Alexa, Siri, and now GPT-style requests, they’re exploding in popularity!

Our research shows 10–20% of discovery traffic is moving in this direction. That’s huge! Even if you’re skeptical, can you really afford to ignore that chunk of potential clients? Remember when Google killed the Yellow Pages, or when mobile overtook desktop? Voice-driven search is the next wave.

Turn Keywords into Clients with a Smart SEO Strategy

Keyword research is a critical piece of the SEO puzzle, but it’s just the beginning.

The real client-generating magic happens when you use your findings to create a robust, targeted content strategy. However...

Keyword research is an ongoing effort, and staying on top of trends and competitor moves is key to long-term success.

Ready to put a great keyword plan into action? Get in touch with Grow Law’s SEO experts today. We implement proven strategies in law firm SEO, PPC, and web design, ensuring your firm maintains visibility and attracts quality leads.

The proof is in the numbers: We've helped several law firms across the U.S. quadruple their ROI. Will you be next?

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