Death of the Neighborhood Law Firm
When Google reduced its local pack from seven listings to three in 2015, most small law firms quietly disappeared from local search. Here is what that shift meant and what replaced the old playbook.
When someone needs an attorney, how will they find you? An estimated three out of every four people looking for legal help use online resources like Google to choose their attorney. Yet changes to how Google surfaces local results have made it nearly impossible for small firms to show up at all.
What the Local Pack Used to Look Like
In the past, law firms could attract visitors through the Google local pack, which listed seven local businesses ranked by proximity, client reviews, organic SEO strength, and business citations from directories. Small businesses could rank highly even without large marketing budgets.
What Changed
In August 2015, Google reduced the local pack from seven listings to just three listings. In practice, it drastically reduced online traffic to local businesses. Firms with more than three competitors in their area could be completely removed from the local pack.
[REWRITE NOTE: Add a forward-looking section on the next shift: AI Overviews and ChatGPT-style answers now sit above the local pack. The firms that get cited in AI answers are skipping the local pack competition entirely. That is the argument this post should land on now.]
Written by Travis Luther