SEO for Lawyers — mandates from Google, without BRAO risk
Expert content that ranks by practice area, a local profile that shows up in inner-city searches, and review workflows that pass §§ 43b BRAO, 6 BORA and 5a UWG.
Your reality as a law firm
Why marketing for lawyers is different from any other industry SEO.
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BRAO, BORA, UWG — the minefield
§ 43b BRAO, §§ 6–10 BORA, § 5a UWG, plus BGH case law on specialist and success claims. One wrong headline is enough for the regional bar to write or a competition association to issue an injunction.
- No success, quota or fee promises
- No client names without consent (privilege)
- „Specialist“ only with proof — otherwise Fachanwalt title required
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Competition: anwalt.de, anwaltauskunft, large firms
Generic keywords („lawyer employment law Berlin“) are owned by platforms and big firms. Pure onpage optimization is not enough — we use depth of substance, local long-tails and targeted association and industry-portal links.
- Platforms block top-3 for generic searches
- Large firms dominate national keywords
- Long-tail and local specificity is the only way
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Privilege and GDPR
Standard tracking (GA4, Meta Pixel) is problematic in a law firm setting — who searches which legal question falls under special protection categories. We build stacks that don't leak sensitive user data to third parties and don't damage client trust.
- Server-side tracking, no third-party pixels
- Forms without SaaS third parties
- GDPR-compliant, non-manipulative cookie banner
Our services for law firms
Three levers that actually work in legal practice — all BRAO-compliant.
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Practice-area SEO
Instead of „lawyer Berlin“, we meet clients at the actual problem: „review termination agreement“, „speeding ticket 30 km/h over“, „avoid forced heirship“. High purchase intent, professional depth, low competition.
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Local SEO & Google Business
Google Business Profile per office, categories by practice area, review workflow, local landing pages. „Lawyer + district + practice area“ is the most profitable channel for many firms.
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Expert content & reputation
We research current rulings, regulatory changes and FAQ topics per practice area, you review the substance. Plus: PR outreach to industry portals (anwalt.de, beck-online, jurion), surfacing association memberships, building author-level E-E-A-T.
How we work with law firms
Sharpen practice areas, respect BRAO, qualify clients.
Then the BRAO audit of the existing site: every line is checked against § 43b BRAO and § 5a UWG. „Best law firm“, „90 % win rate“, „specialist for …“ without proof — all out. What remains is factual information with real legal depth that ranks at the same time. The only kind of law-firm marketing that holds up long-term.
Typical project flow in a law firm
9–12 months to stable visibility — going faster in such a regulated profession would not be serious.
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Phase 1 — Practice-area & BRAO audit
Month 1
Workshop on practice areas and ideal clients, keyword research per area, BRAO/BORA review of the site, Google Business baseline check.
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Phase 2 — Strategy & clean setup
Month 1–3
Topic architecture per practice area, schema.org LegalService + Person markup for the lawyers, GDPR-compliant tracking, Google Business per office set up cleanly.
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Phase 3 — Expert content & reputation
Month 3–9
2–4 expert articles per month (ruling updates, practice guides, FAQs per area), review workflow, outreach to industry portals, local landing pages.
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Phase 4 — Qualify & scale
Ongoing
Form qualifies practice area, mandate value and region; monthly reporting with mandate-mix KPIs; topic roadmap derived from real client questions.
Frequently asked questions from law firms
- § 43b BRAO and §§ 6–10 BORA allow factual, profession-related information about the form and substance of legal work. Forbidden: promotional self-display, success or fee promises, misleading specialization claims, and case-specific solicitation. We draft every text against these lines and document the reasoning in case the regional bar (RAK) asks.
- Only very carefully. The German Federal Court (BGH, judgment of 24.07.2014 — I ZR 53/13) allows „specialist“ when competence is at least equal to that of a Fachanwalt — which is hard to prove if challenged. Safer route: describe concrete practice focus („focus on construction and architects' law since 2015, more than 200 closed mandates“) instead of blanket specialist claims.
- Asking clients for reviews is generally permitted, but reviews must not be conditioned or rewarded (otherwise UWG § 5a and BORA violations). We build a workflow with a closing email that contains a neutral review link, no scripted review text, no compensation — properly documented in the file.
- Yes, for two reasons. First, a large share of people seeking legal help searches „lawyer + city“ even for nationwide firms. Second, „lawyer + city + practice area“ is far less competitive than pure national keywords — and delivers high-value inquiries immediately. We position the firm nationally in parallel through expert content.
- Forms run on our own server (no US SaaS), data is not exposed to tracking tools, transmission is TLS-encrypted, case-specific content is not collected via the form (only contact details and a rough legal question). Actual mandate initiation happens via encrypted email or your client portal.
- Areas with clear search triggers and manageable competition work well: employment law (termination, settlement agreements), traffic law (accidents, fines), tenancy, inheritance, IT law, data protection. Highly competitive (and expensive): family law, criminal law in major cities. We check upfront whether the investment is economically viable for your firm.
What is and isn't allowed under BRAO/BORA for law-firm advertising?
Can we call ourselves „specialists in …“ without a Fachanwalt title?
How do we collect Google reviews in a legally compliant way?
We represent clients nationwide — is local SEO still worth it?
How do you protect attorney-client privilege in contact forms?
Which practice areas are particularly well-suited to SEO?
Ready to make your practice areas visible on Google?
30 minutes — we review practice areas, location and BRAO risks of your current website.