Yes, Your Legal Practice NEEDS an Active Blog
Think blogging is dead? Think again.
I’ve been in legal marketing for three decades, and I can’t count how many times I’ve heard lawyers dismiss blogging as something that’s not important or relevant for their firm.
But I’m here to tell you why an investment in your blog might be the most important marketing decision your law firm makes this year (yes, even in the AI era). Blogging is still one of the most powerful ways to boost your visibility online, establish trust with your audience, and scale your client acquisition efforts.
Whether you’re running a solo practice or part of a larger firm, an active blog can be the secret weapon to your law firm marketing success.
8 Reasons Why Every Law Firm Needs to Have an Active Blog on Their Website
Truthfully, there are countless reasons why your legal practice should be blogging. But rather than overwhelming you, I’ve narrowed down my top eight:
1. Law Firm Blogs Actually Attract Leads
Research shows that 29% of law firm websites say clients found them from a blog. This makes a ton of sense.
When people search the web for legal information, what’s going to be in the results? Lots of blogs.
Your homepage or a basic services page likely won’t answer any legal-specific questions a lead might have. That’s what your blog can be used for.
It’s a natural opportunity for you to soft pitch your services here as well. If a lead searches for something like, “what to do if I was injured at work,” then your blog might tell them to contact a personal injury attorney.
2. Legal Blogs Build Trust and Establish Authority
People facing legal issues need to find a lawyer who they can trust. Someone who understands their specific problems, and a lawyer who will have their back.
An active blog helps you demonstrate your expertise before someone even picks up the phone.
Let’s say someone is dealing with a workers’ compensation claim. They find a detailed blog post explaining the process, common pitfalls, and what to expect. You’ve already positioned yourself as the knowledge attorney that they need.
You’ve answered their questions, addressed their concerns, and shown that you understand the situation.
This is exactly how Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) evaluates content. When you publish quality content that demonstrates your expertise, search engines take notice—and so do potential clients.
3. Fresh Blog Posts Fuel Your SEO Strategy
Blogging is an absolute must for law firm SEO. There’s no other way to target keywords at scale, other than just spending every marketing dollar you have on PPC ads (which isn’t sustainable).
Over one-third of people seeking legal services start with an online search. If you’re relying solely on your homepage, it just doesn’t work.
Your homepage and landing pages aren’t designed to describe intricate details to unique questions. But your blog is.
Plus, organic traffic on your blog is highly targeted. If someone searches for terms like “how to create a living trust” then your blog on the subject is going to be 10x more relevant than a generic estate planning services page.
4. Your Law Firm Can Attract Backlinks and Boost Domain Authority
Every time you publish a new blog post it gives the chance of acquiring organic backlinks, especially if you’re citing something that isn’t available in other places on the web.
When other credible websites link to your blogs, it starts to boost your domain authority.
Domains with higher authority scores have a greater chance of ranking higher in the SERPs, which leads to exponential growth in organic traffic.
Once you start climbing the rankings, you get more clicks, which boosts your authority, leading to even more clicks, and so on. It’s a loop that feeds itself and generates continuous traffic without having to spend a ton on ads.
5. Active Blogs Ensure Your Law Firm Website Looks Alive
I see this all the time. I’m doing a marketing audit for a potential client, and when I land on their blog, the last post is from 2021, or 2019, or never.
What will a potential client think when they land on your site and see you haven’t published anything new in years?
In today’s digital age, a site without fresh content is quickly perceived as outdated. This can really hurt your credibility. And worse, it can make prospects think twice about reaching out.
Conversely, an active blog with fresh content shows anyone browsing your site that the firm is very much still in business and cares about how they’re perceived online.
Which is why 65% of lawyers say their website delivers the highest return on investment for their marketing efforts, and the average 3-year ROI for law firms is 526%.
6. Blogs Are a Great Place to Share Your Podcast Episodes
Like blogging, podcasting has tons of benefits for lawyers. But one of the most challenging parts of running a legal podcast is getting people to find your content.
The average person isn’t browsing through Apple Podcasts or Spotify to find the latest legal podcast. But the average person does run Google searches every day.
Your blog can be the perfect complement to your podcast because publishing the transcript allows you to share episodes in a way that’s easier to discover via search.
These are also quick wins for keeping your blog fresh, as you don’t actually have to write anything. You’re just embedding a link to the episode and transcribing your spoken words.
7. An Active Legal Blog Gives Your Law Firm a Voice
While your website service pages are still important, they’re primarily designed to say who you are and what you do. There’s not much room here to showcase your personality, expertise, and perspective on different subjects.
Blogs allow lawyers to establish thought leadership.
You can share your opinions on industry developments, explain your approach to common issues, and show potential clients who you are beyond the credentials. It’s almost a way where clients can “meet” you before they fill out a form or visit your office.
I’ve also seen lawyers get invited to conferences and speaking opportunities because of their blogs. So it’s just another great way to promote yourself that can lead to even more exposure for the firm.
8. Blogs Can Easily Be Repurposed to Support Other Marketing Strategies
A single well-researched blog can instantly become multiple pieces of content across different channels. For example, let’s say a blog post covers personal injury for someone hit by an eighteen-wheeler.
That blog can become:
- A series of social media posts highlighting key points.
- A new video for your YouTube channel.
- Part of an email newsletter to your subscriber list.
- A downloadable guide for lead generation.
- Content for speaking engagements or webinars.
- Inspiration for your next podcast episode.
The ability to repurpose content for your blog maximizes the return on investment for content creation. Instead of creating something entirely new for each channel, you’re just slightly reformatting existing content to reach different audiences and platforms.
Content can be repurposed in the other direction, too. Let’s say you’re struggling with what to write about. Simply take something from another channel, like a YouTube video, and turn it into a blog.
How to Start (or Revive) Your Law Firm’s Blog
Now that you understand the importance of blogging, it’s time to put this theory into practice. Whether you’re starting a legal blog from scratch or reviving a stale blog that hasn’t been touched in years, these quick wins will get you moving in the right direction:
Step 1 – Set a Realistic Publishing Schedule
The very first thing you need to do is establish a publishing cadence that you can commit to. For many law firms starting from zero, aiming for a new blog every day isn’t very realistic. Once you miss a day, it quickly snowballs into missing multiple days.
More is better. But consistency is best.
I recommend starting with one blog per week and see if you can scale up from there. Commit to six months and then re-evaluate if you can continue at this pace or maybe ramp up to 5-6 per month.
Step 2 – Focus on Questions That Your Clients Actually Ask
Next, you need to figure out what to write about. Opening up a blank page without a topic or plan is a recipe for disaster. So carve out 30-60 minutes to brainstorm ideas.
This is easier than you think.
You’re a professional. Without having to rely on fancy tools or software, just pull from your memory—what do clients need to know? That’s the best place to start because you’ll be attracting targeted traffic based on those searches.
For example, publishing a blog post titled, “What is Personal Injury Law?” might initially seem like something that’s SEO-friendly and belongs on your site. But who the hell is actually searching for it? No potential leads.
Instead, blog posts along the lines of “What’s the Average Payout of a Slip and Fall Claim at Work?” or “How Hard is it to Win a Car Accident Lawsuit?” are significantly more relevant to anyone searching for these terms.
Step 3 – Play the Long Game
Publishing one blog today isn’t going to move the needle tomorrow. That’s just the reality.
Blogging and SEO are a long-term play—something you need to commit to for a minimum of 12-18 months before you start seeing noticeable results.
Will traffic increase after six months? Maybe? Can you get a quality lead or two in the next year? Probably. But the real benefits don’t start paying off until years later, especially if you’re starting from scratch.
Just focus on answering questions for now, and don’t let the SEO aspect get in your head. Good things come to quality content published on a consistent basis over time.
A single lead can potentially be for your entire year’s worth of blogging. Everything else on top of that is a bonus.
Final Thoughts
I’m a huge advocate of blogging for legal practices.
The benefits are just too good to ignore, and thinking you can get by without a blog is an expensive mistake that can potentially cost you millions over time—not just in missed revenue, but in costs sunk into PPC ads that continue to reach new highs for single clicks.
Starting your legal blog now also gives you an edge on your competitors. And failing to start just gives other law firms a bigger advantage in the search results.
