It’s time for the Consultwebs monthly Legal Digital Marketing Industry Updates! If you’re new here, each month we round up the must-know legal digital marketing updates for busy attorneys. Explore this month’s highlights of bite-sized, need-to-know news below.
Let’s Get to the Updates!
🤖AI
- Brand mentions boost AI Search Rankings: Study by Ahrefs. Study finds – if your law firm brand is being mentioned in several places online, AI systems are much more likely to mention you in conversations, as well. Branding is an often-neglected piece of the marketing puzzle due to the nature of vague attribution. But it is a key to modern-day best practices for legal digital marketing.
🔎SEO
- Google is updating to simplify search page results. With this update, Google aims to clean up search results and remove support for certain structured data types in Search Console and its API. This will begin January 2026. This is in line with the trend we have noticed of technical SEO shifting toward quality over quantity. Clear, useful markups that enhance user understanding are necessary.
📣Paid Advertising
- Google is phasing out call-only ads by 2027. Attorneys relying on phone leads will have to transition to Responsive Search Ads with Call Assetts. Google has provided a step-by-step migration plan for affected users here.
- ChatGPT advertisements are on their way. Based on CEO Sam Altman’s comments, it seems that these are a ways off yet, but in the source article, he goes into detail about how he envisions them functioning. Spoiler: it’s nothing like other advertising platforms have tried before. The full video interview is available here
- Changes to automated lead credits for LSAs. Google has updated how Local Services Ads handle low-quality leads. Instead of charging you first and issuing a credit later, Google now screens leads before billing. Low-quality inquiries won’t be charged at all. You may still see a small number of auto-credits within the first 24 hours as the system catches up, but overall, you should expect: Fewer charged leads, fewer credited leads, no change to total lead volume or net spend.
SOURCE: Consultwebs Trusted and Verified Google Partner Representative
📱Social Media
- Responding to your comments on social media makes a huge difference in engagement. According to a study completed by social media platform management tool, Buffer, reach experiences a lift when actively responding to comments on posts (across all industries). Approximately, the increases can be up to: LinkedIn 30%, Instagram 21%, and Facebook 9%. For attorneys seeking to maximize their social media presence, active community engagement is key.
- Instagram tests competitor insights for professional accounts. This new feature allows you to choose up to 10 accounts to compare your performance against, with side-by-side comparison data on relative follower growth and posting frequency (across Reels, feed posts, ads and more). This new feature is a great way to benchmark how frequently you should be posting and what the industry standard engagement metrics are. The feature is not fully available yet, but is slowly beginning rollout.
Stay LAWsome–We’ll See You Again Next Month!
Thanks for checking out this month’s roundup! See you next time with more tips, trends, and insights to help your law firm grow.
