The flawed logic behind “outspending” rival law firms

A lawyer writes in and asks:

“There’s another lawyer in my niche who’s currently ranking number one on Google. If I find out how much he’s spending on SEO, and give you the same budget, can you replicate what he’s doing?”

I shook my head and smiled, because this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten that question.

A lot of lawyers want to quantify their marketing results this way, by correlating it to their budget one-to-one!

But it just doesn’t work like that.

In my experience, you don’t need to outspend your competitors to rank higher than them on Google.

You just need a better SEO strategy.

It’s totally possible to rank #1 while spending less than the next guy.

However…

I also think that in the early days of a law firm, or of a lawyer’s career, trying to compete with the biggest fish in your niche right away is a mistake.

If you bite off more than you can chew with your marketing budget, it can have a huge negative impact on your long-term success.

Which is why for newer and/or smaller firms, I recommend patience.

We’re playing the long game here.

The most productive way to think about SEO isn’t:

“How can I outrank my competitors as fast as possible?”

It’s:

“What can I spend consistently month after month, without going up to my eyeballs in debt? And can I spend that amount every single month for the next few years?”

If you’ve got a big player like Morgan & Morgan competing in a smaller local market, it is possible to outrank them.

But their resources are vast, and they spend an absurd amount of money on their advertising.

So, you wouldn’t expect to take them down overnight, charging in with a full frontal assault, right?

You’ll need an effective, long-term siege strategy.

I’m not just talking about theory here, either.

At ApricotLaw, we help law firms compete with the biggest competitors in their area every single day.

To help you get started on this journey, I’ve got something special for you:

We’ve just launched our “Get in the Game Trust Bundle” – specifically designed for attorneys in personal injury, family law, criminal defense, bankruptcy, real estate, immigration, estate planning, and business law.

Within just 14 days, you’ll get:

• A comprehensive website audit revealing critical errors and improvement opportunities
• Deep competitor analysis outlining their strategies for driving web traffic
• A custom content map with dozens of must-have topics for your practice area
• 10 pages of keyword-optimized custom content
• 20 optimized legal directory listings with backlinks to your website
• And AI prompts for creating future content, based on your ideal client profile

The best part?

No long-term commitment, no website access required, and a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee.

Due to our commitment to delivering results, we’re limiting this to just 10 law firms – and only 6 spots remain. 

Once they’re gone, the offer closes until we have more capacity.

Book your strategy call today to claim your Get in the Game Trust Bundle before the remaining spots fill up.

The Trusted Law Firm will be back with another excellent reader question on Thursday!

See you then,

— Kellen Bachman
Head of Client Strategy at ApricotLaw