Law Firm SEO Glossary
Your SEO agency should never hide behind jargon. This glossary explains the terms you will see in audits, reports and strategy calls, in plain English and with examples from real practice areas. Each entry covers what the term means, why it matters for a law firm, and what you can do about it.
Aditya Chauhan
Head of SEO, PageOne Lawyers
Last updated September 26, 2026
A
ABA Model Rule 7.1Bar ComplianceABA Model Rule 7.1 prohibits lawyers from making false or misleading communications about themselves or their services.AI OverviewsAI Search & GEOAI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, combining information from multiple web pages with links to the sources.Anchor TextLink BuildingAnchor text is the visible, clickable text of a hyperlink.Attorney Advertising DisclaimerBar ComplianceAn attorney advertising disclaimer is a notice, such as 'Attorney Advertising' or 'Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome', that some state bar rules require on law firm marketing.
C
Call TrackingLeads & AnalyticsCall tracking uses unique phone numbers, often assigned dynamically on the website, to show which marketing source generated each phone call.Canonical TagTechnical SEOA canonical tag (rel='canonical') is a line of HTML that tells search engines which URL is the preferred version of a page when similar or duplicate versions exist.Client Testimonial RulesBar ComplianceClient testimonial rules are state bar requirements governing how law firms can use client reviews and testimonials in marketing.Content PruningContent & On-PageContent pruning is the process of reviewing a website's existing pages and updating, merging, redirecting or removing those that are outdated, thin, duplicated or getting no traffic.Core Web VitalsTechnical SEOCore Web Vitals are three Google metrics that measure real-user page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading, good at 2.5 seconds or less), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness, good at 200 ms or less) and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability, good at 0.1 or less).Cost Per CaseLeads & AnalyticsCost per case, or cost per signed case, is the total marketing spend for a channel divided by the number of clients signed from that channel in the same period.Cost Per Click (CPC)PPC & Paid SearchCost per click (CPC) is the amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks their search ad.Crawl BudgetTechnical SEOCrawl budget is the number of pages Googlebot is willing and able to crawl on a website in a given period.
E
E-E-A-TContent & On-PageE-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness.Entity SEOAI Search & GEOEntity SEO is the practice of helping search engines and AI systems recognise a law firm, its attorneys and its locations as distinct real-world 'entities', with clear attributes and connections.
G
GA4 Key EventLeads & AnalyticsA key event is an action in Google Analytics 4 that a business marks as important, such as a phone call click, form submission or chat start.GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)AI Search & GEOGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of making a website's content more likely to be found, cited and recommended by AI-powered search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews.Google Business Profile (GBP)Local SEOA Google Business Profile is the free listing that controls how a law firm appears on Google Maps and in the Local Pack.
I
L
LegalService SchemaTechnical SEOLegalService is a Schema.org type for businesses that provide legal services.LLM CitationAI Search & GEOAn LLM citation is when a large language model tool, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini, names or links a website as a source or recommendation in its answer.llms.txtAI Search & GEOllms.txt is a proposed standard: a plain-text Markdown file placed at a website's root that gives AI tools a short summary of the site and links to its most important pages.Local CitationsLocal SEOA local citation is any online mention of a law firm's name, address and phone number, usually on directories such as Avvo, Justia, FindLaw, Yelp or a local bar association site.Local PackLocal SEOThe Local Pack is the block of three business listings with a map that Google shows for searches with local intent, such as 'DUI lawyer near me'.Local Services Ads (LSA)PPC & Paid SearchLocal Services Ads are Google ads that appear at the very top of some local searches.
P
PBN (Private Blog Network)Link BuildingA private blog network (PBN) is a group of websites, often built on expired domains, that exist mainly to link to other sites and manipulate rankings.Practice Area PageContent & On-PageA practice area page is a dedicated page on a law firm website describing one area of law the firm handles, such as car accident claims or DUI defense.
S
Schema MarkupTechnical SEOSchema markup is structured data, usually written in JSON-LD, that describes a page's content in a standard vocabulary from Schema.org.Search IntentContent & On-PageSearch intent is the goal behind a search query: whether the person wants information, a specific website, to compare options, or to take action such as hiring a lawyer.
See how these terms apply to your firm
Get a free audit that shows where your site stands on local rankings, technical health, content and AI search.