Search is changing fast. The rise of AI-driven results, evolving user behaviour, and new ways of discovering information online are redefining how people find and assess law firms.
Members of our SEO and content teams attended brightonSEO’s conference last week, where experts from across the industry shared their views on what this means for marketers.
Below are ten key takeaways we will be exploring, testing, and sharing more about in the months ahead, along with what they mean for law firm marketing teams adapting to this new landscape.
SEO Fundamentals Still Matter, but Strategy Must Evolve
Technical, on-site and off-site SEO remain essential, but the rulebook is changing. In an AI Search world, traditional ranking factors are no longer the only levers to pull. Law firm marketers need to think beyond keywords and focus on expertise, trust, and user intent.
Rankings and Traffic Are No Longer the Same Thing
AI Overviews and zero-click results are reducing the connection between rankings and website visits. Informational queries are currently most affected, but commercial ones are catching up. The lesson here is that visibility alone is no longer enough. Engagement and brand trust now play a much bigger role in driving results.
Validation Happens Off-Site
People are validating their decisions through third-party platforms such as Reddit and YouTube, rather than relying solely on your website. For law firms, this highlights the importance of online reputation management, client reviews, and video content that builds credibility before a potential client reaches your site.
Brand Is King
Mentions, reviews, and media coverage make your firm discoverable and trusted before anyone clicks. A strong brand presence leads to more branded searches, which usually convert at higher rates. Building and maintaining digital authority is now a vital part of SEO success.
Content Must Serve Two Audiences
In 2025, great content must engage people while also being structured for machines. This means creating useful, people-first content while ensuring clear hierarchies, schema, and structured data help AI systems understand and surface it.
Freshness Matters
AI tools prefer up-to-date information, with 65% of AI-surfaced content being under a year old. For law firms, this means regularly reviewing evergreen pages, such as “The Divorce Process Explained” or “How to Write a Will”, to keep them current and competitive.
Searches Are Becoming More Conversational
AI-driven search journeys are increasingly layered and conversational. People ask follow-up questions and explore topics in greater depth. Consider building topic clusters and content pathways that reflect this more exploratory search behaviour.
Technical Hygiene Still Counts
Schema markup, clear sitemaps, and crawlability remain essential to maintaining a healthy SEO foundation, even if their exact impact is debated. Think of these as hygiene factors that support all other aspects of your SEO strategy.
Track Emerging Metrics
As AI-driven exposure grows, traditional analytics may no longer provide the full picture. Tracking log files and click-stream data will become more important in understanding how your firm’s content appears in LLM-powered search environments.
Your Website Still Matters
Despite these changes, your website is far from dead. It remains your digital anchor, providing control over your brand narrative in an increasingly fragmented online landscape. It is where your expertise, authority, and brand story come together.
Our Final Thought
The search landscape is evolving rapidly, but one thing remains constant.
Law firms that combine strong technical foundations, credible brand presence, and genuinely helpful content will continue to thrive, whatever direction the algorithms take next.