What actually happens month-by-month when a law firm happens month-by-month when a law firm invests in SEO

This page is for transparent breakdown [managing partners](/resources/attorney/hire-attorney-seo-agency) need, practice group leaders, and marketing directors who are evaluating SEO for their firm and need honest expectations about timing and investment duration.

If you're comparing SEO to other marketing channels (PPC, direct mail, referral networks), this page will help you understand the rhythm of organic results. If you're asking "when can we drop this and reallocate budget," that's a sign you need both the realistic timeline here and the ROI analysis on the conversion chain to justify the upfront commitment.

This is educational content about SEO timelines. It's not legal or accounting advice. Individual results vary significantly based on market conditions, firm resources, and execution quality.

Rather than "when will I see results," think about what's being built in each phase. SEO for law firms doesn't work like PPC (where you turn on spend and get clicks). It works in overlapping phases with distinct milestones.

Phase 1: Foundation (Months 1–3)

Technical SEO setup, site architecture review, keyword research by practice area and geography, initial content plan, and competitive landscape analysis. During this phase, you're not trying to rank yet—you're making sure the site is crawlable, your authority signals are clear to Google, and your content strategy aligns with how people actually search for your services.

Expectation: Minimal ranking movement. Few new inquiries directly from SEO. This phase feels slow because you can't point to visible results, but it's the difference between sustainable growth and wasted effort later.

Phase 2: Early Traction (Months 4–6)

Content publishing on target keywords, on-page optimization, and initial link-building momentum. Practice areas with lower keyword difficulty start ranking. Local map pack visibility improves (if applicable). You'll see the first wave of ranking improvements for secondary keywords and long-tail queries.

Expectation: 3–8 inquiries per month from SEO (varies by practice area, market, and starting point). Ranking positions on primary keywords improve from "not ranking" to page 2–3 range.

Phase 3: Compounding Growth (Months 7–12)

Content depth increases. More internal linking. Brand mentions and authority signals accumulate. Ranking positions stabilize on first page for competitive keywords. Inquiry volume increases 20–40% month-over-month as more keywords rank and more searchers find the firm.

Expectation: 8–20+ inquiries per month, depending on practice area. Geographic expansion if targeting multiple markets.

Phase 4: Optimization and Scale (Month 13+)

Focusing on high-intent keywords and conversion rate optimization. Refining content for competitive keywords. Expanding into adjacent practice areas or geographies. This is where ROI typically becomes clearest because you have 12+ months of data to work from.

Competitiveness varies wildly across practice areas. Personal injury SEO moves faster than estate planning SEO, not because the strategy is different, but because there's less established authority in the market and lower search volume means fewer competitors bidding for rankings.

Important: These timelines assume you're starting from a baseline (existing website, no major technical issues). If you're starting from zero online presence, add 2–3 months. If your practice area is very local (single metro), you move slightly faster. If you're competing nationally in a crowded space (personal injury), expect the longer end of the range.

Two law firms running the same SEO strategy in the same practice area can see very different timelines based on market size and starting point. Understanding these factors helps you set the right expectations.

Market Size Impact

Small-market firms (population under 250,000) typically rank 1–2 months faster than metro-area firms. Why? Fewer competitors, less established authority in the market, and geographic targeting is more straightforward. A divorce attorney in Bozeman, Montana might rank for "family law attorney Bozeman" in 3–4 months. A divorce attorney in Los Angeles might take 7–8 months for "family law attorney Los Angeles" because the search volume is higher and competitors are more entrenched.

Conversely, if your firm serves multiple markets or geographies, you're essentially running parallel SEO campaigns. Ranking in 5 markets takes longer than ranking in 1 market, but you're building authority that compounds across all of them.

Starting Authority Impact

If your firm already has existing online presence (citations, reviews, mentions), you're ahead. If you're starting from zero—new domain, no backlinks, no reviews—you're essentially building authority from scratch. This typically adds 2–3 months to the timeline.

In our experience working with law firms, firms with established authority signals (50+ Google reviews, listed in relevant directories, some existing backlinks) see ranking movement 2–3 months faster than firms with minimal online footprint.

If you're migrating to a new domain or rebrand, plan for a 3–4 month "reset" period where rankings temporarily drop, then recover stronger.

Months 1–2: Silence (This Is Normal)

Website audit completed. Technical issues fixed. Keyword research finalized. Initial content outline created. You may see zero new inquiries from SEO. Partners get anxious. This is where many firms bail.

Month 3: Small Movements

First content pieces published. Indexing confirmed. You might see 1–2 inquiries from branded searches or long-tail keywords. Still feels slow. Competitive keywords are ranking on page 3+.

Months 4–5: Early Wins Appear

Secondary keywords start ranking on page 2–1. You see 2–5 inquiries per month. They're often not your highest-intent keywords yet, but they're real prospects. This is the "proof of concept" phase—the moment you can point to results and say "it's working."

Months 6–8: Traction Becomes Visible

5–12 inquiries per month (varies widely). Primary keywords moving into page 1 for non-competitive variations. Geographic rankings solidifying. You can now compare this month to last month and see growth. ROI conversations shift from "will this work?" to "when do we expand?"

Months 9–12: Compounding Effect

Inquiry volume steady or growing. Some keywords rank on page 1 consistently. Rankings stabilize. You have enough data to report trends. By month 12, you can answer: "For every dollar we invested in SEO, how many inquiries did we get?"

Month 13+: Maintenance and Expansion

This is where firms ask: "Do we keep going, scale up, or optimize existing content?" The answer depends on your ROI and capacity to handle new inquiries. Many firms choose to expand geographically or add practice areas at this stage because the foundation is proven.

Some practice areas have seasonal patterns in search volume and inquiry urgency. This affects how inquiry flow looks month-to-month, even if ranking positions stay the same.

• Tax law and IRS disputes: October–April are heavy inquiry months. May–September are slower. Your SEO rankings won't change seasonally, but your inquiry volume will.
• DUI and criminal defense: December–January spike (holiday-related incidents). Friday and Saturday nights have higher search intent. This doesn't change your ranking timeline, but it does affect when inquiries arrive.
• Divorce and family law: January (New Year resolutions) and summer (school year planning) see higher inquiry volume. Again, rankings stay steady; inquiry volume fluctuates.
• Personal injury: More consistent year-round, with slight dips during holidays and summer vacation periods.

The key: don't over-interpret seasonal dips as "SEO stopped working." Your rankings are holding steady. Seasonal search behavior is simply reflecting when people search for these services.

Urgent-intent queries ("DUI lawyer near me," "injured in accident yesterday") typically rank faster than informational queries ("what is a DUI charge") because there's less content competing for them. If your practice area relies on urgent intent, you might see inquiry results faster, but sustained growth depends on building authority across informational and commercial keywords.

These ranges are based on campaigns we've managed across solo practices, mid-size regional firms, and national firms. Results vary significantly by market, practice area, and firm capacity to convert inquiries.

Months 1–3: 0–2 inquiries per month. Most inquiries come from branded searches or existing relationships. Expectation: SEO hasn't delivered value yet.

Months 4–6: 2–8 inquiries per month. Depends heavily on practice area and market size. Personal injury in major metros might be 4–8. Tax law in smaller markets might be 1–3. This is the phase where ROI discussions become real.

Months 7–12: 8–25 inquiries per month. Growth is typically 20–40% month-over-month during this phase. By month 12, you have enough data to calculate actual ROI and cost per inquiry.

Month 13+: 15–40+ inquiries per month (varies wildly by market and vertical). At this stage, the question isn't "is it working?" but "can we handle this volume and are we optimizing for quality over quantity?"

Critical note: These ranges assume your conversion rate stays constant. Many firms see conversion rates improve as they refine landing pages and intake processes. A firm getting 10 inquiries with a 10% conversion rate is actually getting 1 new client per month. After 12 months, that might improve to 15% conversion, meaning 1.5 clients from the same inquiry volume.