A Real-Life Example of Rankings Lost
In the competitive world of legal marketing, staying visible online is key to keeping your pipeline full of potential clients. Achieving page 1 rankings on Google for high-value terms like "car accident lawyer" or "personal injury attorney" in your specific market is no easy feat—but maintaining those rankings is even tougher. So, what happens when a law firm decides to leave a full-service, expert-driven marketing strategy? The results, as you’ll see, are often costly and dramatic.
A painful fall from Page 1
We’ve seen it before: a firm leaves Big Voodoo, confident it can sustain its rankings on its own or with a cheaper option. But in one major legal market in Ohio, this decision turned out to be a costly mistake.
Before leaving Big Voodoo, this personal injury law firm ranked at the top of page 1 for highly competitive terms like “car accident attorney” and “motorcycle accident lawyer.”
They also held prime visibility in the Google Maps local pack for local searches, making them the go-to choice for clients searching for legal help in their area. However, after moving on, their once-strong rankings took a nosedive:
- “Car Accident” terms: Dropped from the top of page 1 to the bottom of page 1, ultimately slipping further down to page 2.
- “Motorcycle Accident” terms: Once consistently at the top, these terms tumbled to the bottom of page 1 and then onto page 2.
- “Truck Accident” terms: These also fell from prime page 1 real estate to page 2, drastically reducing visibility.
- Google Maps: The firm’s position in the Maps listings also dropped, leaving them out of the top few spots that typically drive the most calls and traffic.
For law firms, these kinds of drops have a direct and immediate impact on lead generation. When you’re not at the top of the search results, potential clients are far less likely to find—and contact—you.
Why SEO isn't a "set it and forget it" strategy
Many law firms think that once they’ve achieved great rankings, those positions will stick. Unfortunately, search engine optimization (SEO) doesn’t work that way. Good SEO is an ongoing process that requires consistent attention to content, technical optimization, and citations from authoritative content sources (among many other things). Without expert guidance, it’s easy for rankings to slip or completely fall off.
Take another example: after leaving BVI, a firm that focused on nursing home abuse cases saw its once stellar rankings plummet. Valuable keywords that were once in the top 3 spots on page 1 fell to page 10—or worse, completely disappeared. The result? A huge drop in organic leads and a big hit to the firm’s visibility.
It’s important to remember just how fragile search rankings can be. If you’re not actively maintaining your SEO strategy with expert support, you’re putting yourself at risk of seeing a rapid decline.
Why firms lose when they leave Big Voodoo
The firms that leave Big Voodoo often don’t realize the depth of the support we provide until they leave and it’s too late. Our comprehensive approach to SEO includes:
- Expert content creation: Continually updating your site with fresh, authoritative, and helpful content that Google and users love.
- Technical SEO: Ensuring your site is optimized for speed, mobile-friendliness, and other key factors that help boost rankings.
- Citation strategy: Using trusted, authoritative sites to reach consumers like Law.com to build credibility and strengthen your site’s rankings. It’s not about the number of backlinks but the quality of those citations—one authoritative citation to your website can be more valuable than dozens of low-quality ones. Our strategy focuses on securing meaningful, high-quality citations through claimed listings, Power Profiles, and expert articles.
- Local SEO: We make sure your firm dominates search terms in your specific market, ensuring potential clients in your area find you first.
When firms move away from this level of support, they risk losing their hard-earned rankings—and fast.
Staying ahead of Google’s ever-changing algorithm
Google constantly updates its search algorithm, which means staying on top of SEO trends is critical. We’ve seen firms that left Big Voodoo experience significant drops in their rankings after only a few months simply because their new agency wasn’t keeping up with the latest best practices.
At Big Voodoo, we stay ahead of these changes, adjusting strategies and ensuring that your firm stays visible in search results. Our job is to help your firm continue to grow, attract new clients, and maintain your spot at the top of search.
Don’t let your rankings—and your leads—slip away
The bottom line is this: leaving a full-service marketing agency like Big Voodoo can result in a major drop in search rankings, lost traffic, and a decline in leads. But it doesn’t have to be that way. By utilizing an expert-driven, comprehensive marketing strategy, you can protect your firm’s visibility and keep growing. As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for,” and the quick, low-cost spam many agencies offer is a path to long-term failure for your law firm.
If you’ve noticed a dip in your rankings with your current agency or are thinking about changing your marketing strategy, contact us today to see what we can do for you. We’ll help you stay competitive, keep your visibility high, and ensure your firm attracts the clients you need.