06/10/2026
50% of law firms that have been burned by SEO can trace it back to the same mistake: working with an agency they should have walked away from before signing a contract.
The damage a bad agency does is not always visible until you are already locked into a long-term partnership. Before you commit to anything, watch for these red flags:
1. Guaranteed rankings or specific timelines
Google's algorithm is not something any agency controls, and an agency promising a #1 ranking immediately is either misinformed or counting on you not knowing enough to push back.
2. Upfront month-to-month contracts
SEO is front-loaded, meaning the heaviest investment of resources happens in the first 60-90 days before rankings begin to move. An agency that will not commit to a meaningful timeline is telling you something important about their confidence in their own work.
3. One agency contact who is managing everything
If the person selling you the engagement is also the one building your website, managing your local presence, and running your paid ads, no single part of your strategy is getting the attention it requires.
4. Content outsourced to writers with no legal expertise
Google holds legal content to a higher standard than general web content, and writers without legal backgrounds do not clear that bar.
5. No verifiable results in competitive markets
Enthusiasm is not a substitute for proof. Any agency worth signing with should be able to show you rankings in markets that actually compete.
At LawRank, Client Success, SEO, paid media, UX design, web development and content creation are six distinctive functions with six separate owners because we firmly believe every part of your strategy deserves someone whose entire focus is on getting it right.
For the full breakdown of what separates the right agency from the wrong one, read this post: https://tinyurl.com/ybb9yh4x