How to Do Competitor Analysis for Law Firm SEO

In a highly competitive digital landscape, law firms can no longer rely solely on word-of-mouth and referrals to fill their case pipelines. Modern clients are increasingly turning to search engines to find reputable legal services — and that’s where SEO comes in. But simply optimising your website isn’t enough. To truly rise to the top of search engine rankings, you must understand what your competitors are doing and how you can do it better. This is where competitor analysis becomes a vital part of your strategy for law firm SEO.

Competitor analysis for SEO isn’t just a checkbox, nor is it a one-time task. It is an ongoing strategy to uncover what firms in your practice area, location or specialism are outperforming you — and why. For lawyers and solicitors, this information is pure gold. By reverse-engineering your competitors’ digital strategies, you can identify gaps in your own approach and make informed decisions that boost your visibility and lead generation.

Why Competitor Analysis Matters for Law Firms

The legal sector is saturated with firms competing for the same top-ranking positions on Google and other search engines. Whether you’re a boutique solicitor or a larger practice with multiple disciplines, understanding your SEO competitors helps you to:

• Identify which keywords drive traffic in your niche or region
• Discover backlink opportunities from authoritative legal platforms
• Analyse site structure, content strategy and user experience trends
• Spot content gaps you can fill to gain a competitive advantage

Ultimately, competitor analysis helps law firms develop data-driven SEO strategies with a tangible return on investment. A strong search presence doesn’t just get you seen — it helps establish authority, build trust, and convert leads into clients.

Step 1: Determine Your SEO Competitors

This is not necessarily the firm down the road, or the one whose name you hear in court. Your true SEO competitors are the firms ranking on the first page of Google for the keywords you’d like to rank for. Start by identifying your most valuable keywords — these may include “family solicitor in London”, “personal injury lawyer Manchester”, or “commercial litigation firm UK”. Search for those terms and see who appears consistently in the top organic positions.

Make a list of these domains and firm names. You might find you’re not just competing against established law firms, but also aggressive online legal directories and legal tech platforms. Understanding this landscape will help you compete smartly.

Step 2: Analyse Keyword Strategy

Once you’ve identified your top five to ten SEO competitors, the next step is dissecting what keywords they’re ranking for. Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or SE Ranking make this process accessible, even for in-house marketing teams. Plug in their domain names and evaluate their organic keyword portfolios.

Pay close attention to:

• Keywords bringing the most traffic
• Search terms in your niche you aren’t targeting yet
• Location-specific keywords
• Question-based search terms like “how do I contest a will in the UK?”

This exercise helps you spot what’s missing from your own keyword strategy. It may also highlight areas where you’re competing indirectly, such as for blog content-focused keywords rather than service-based ones.

Pro Tip: Focus on long-tail keywords. They may have lower search volumes but often convert at a higher rate because they reflect specific intent.

Step 3: Evaluate Their Content Strategy

Your competitors’ blogs, landing pages and service descriptions contain the clues to their content strategy. Go through their websites and assess the depth, structure and frequency of their content. Look for:

• How detailed their service pages are
• Whether they regularly update blogs or news sections
• Authoritative legal guides and downloadable resources

Note the tone, readability, and technical accuracy of their writing. These are markers of quality that Google takes seriously. If your competition is publishing well-researched guides on niche legal matters and you’re only offering short brochures, you may already be behind.

Also, observe their internal linking structure. Are they linking intelligently between related practice areas or blog content? Effective internal linking supports SEO and improves user experience — both ranking factors.

Step 4: Review Their On-Page SEO Implementation

On-page SEO refers to how a webpage is optimised at the code and content level. You’ll want to check things like:

• Title tags and meta descriptions – Are they compelling and keyword-optimised?
• Header tags – Do they use H1s and H2s properly?
• URL structure – Are they clean and descriptive?
• Alt text on images – Often overlooked, but important

You don’t need to become a web developer, but using tools like Screaming Frog can help you scan competitor websites for these details. This information is invaluable when revamping or planning new pages for your site.

Step 5: Assess Site Authority and Backlink Profiles

One of the strongest indicators of higher rankings in law firm SEO is the strength of a site’s backlink profile — that is, the number and quality of other websites linking back to theirs. Think of backlinks as endorsements; the more you have from trusted niche-relevant sites, the greater your authority in Google’s eyes.

When analysing your competitors’ backlinks, take particular note of:

• Links from legal directories like Law Society, Lexology, or Chambers
• Guest blogs on reputable legal or business platforms
• Mentions in press or local news outlets

This gives you a roadmap for your own outreach and link building efforts. If they’re acquiring links from legal periodicals or regional publications, you can aim for similar exposure.

Pro Tip: Prioritise backlinks from UK-based legal or government websites — these are high-trust and particularly relevant for British law firms.

Step 6: Compare Technical Website Aspects

Law firms often underestimate the impact of technical SEO. If your competitors’ websites are lightning-fast, secure, mobile-optimised, and easy to navigate, they’re likely to be favoured by both users and search engines.

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to evaluate:

• Page load time
• Mobile responsiveness
• HTTPS implementation
• Structured data markup

A slow, clunky, or outdated website — no matter how good the content — will struggle to climb up the rankings. Clients spending thousands on legal services expect a professional online experience that mirrors the quality of your legal advice.

Step 7: Monitor Social Presence and Brand Signals

While social signals are not direct ranking factors, there is a strong correlation between robust online social activity and organic performance. Check if your competitors are actively sharing legal insights on LinkedIn, contributing to discussions, or posting updates on firm activities.

This builds brand authority and can drive significant referral traffic. Some firms also use YouTube and podcasting to discuss legal updates, further expanding their footprint and creating rich content Google loves to rank.

Step 8: Identify Gaps and Opportunities

After compiling all your findings, the final goal is to identify achievable wins. Are your competitors doing well with blog content but ignoring local SEO? Perhaps they target general keywords, leaving niche long-tail phrases open for you to dominate. Is their backlink profile strong overall, but missing from major legal directories?

Your advantage lies in these insights. Use your analysis to tailor your SEO approach — whether it’s by publishing more localised practice pages, conducting smarter outreach, or creating useful content your competition hasn’t considered.

Make It Actionable

Effective competitor analysis is only valuable if it informs execution. Translate your findings into a practical SEO action plan, segmented by priority and area — technical SEO, content marketing, local citations, backlink outreach, etc.

And remember: the legal sector evolves fast. Regulatory updates, changing user behaviour, and Google algorithm shifts all mean your competitors could outpace you at any time. Perform competitor analysis on a quarterly basis to ensure you’re not falling behind.

For an in-depth understanding of how SEO works for legal practices, refer to our comprehensive law firm SEO guide designed specifically for solicitors and lawyers in the UK.

Conclusion

In an industry where reputation and authority are everything, mastering competitive SEO analysis could be the edge you need. A strategic, data-informed approach allows your law firm to uncover what works, fix what doesn’t, and outperform competitors in the search results where clients are looking. Combined with legal expertise, a robust SEO strategy driven by competitive insight can more than double your online visibility, create brand distinction, and offer consistent leads across your areas of practice.

Need expert assistance implementing this strategy into your marketing mix? Choose a trusted seo agency for law firms to guide your firm’s digital growth with precision and experience.