I also do SEO work for lawyers, primarily PI and mass torts type stuff. It does work - to an extent. There are certain technical things you need to get right and that alone can rank you decently, especially locally. There is low hanging fruit that can put you miles ahead of the competition and I've done this time and time again.

The problem with SEO and why I have a grudge against the industry is past success by gaming google with PBNs has led to hoisting up a few sites that can dominate because of their past. Those sites used spam tactics, then ranked high, that led to actual relevant backlinks, google got confused, and now keeps them at the top for any new content. Others must also utilize these dicey methods and pour serious money into it to do well. At least nationwide. I'm praying for the day that house of cards comes tumbling down.

Until then, having a better site, with better copy (done by a professional writer not farmed out), and using Adwords typically is the go-to.

I decided to stop pitching SEO and instead pitch "growing your business." SEO alone is not going to cut it and it is dangerous for any business to rely on one source of leads. Also thinking about Growing a business allows me to keep looking for sources of revenue and improving conversion rates. Haven't had success with Adwords (Family Law), you should email me so that I have your contact (email in profile).

Definitely agree. I tell most clients the same thing, you shouldn't rely on one source of leads forever, especially not SEO. I'm open to any medium. Radio, newspaper, tv (I wish I had the budget for tv commercials or could convince some to try it), whatever yields the best cost per acquisition.

I haven't touched Family Law but it might be similar to PI. PI on Adwords is brutally expensive and that's why hyperlocal SEO works well in that regard.

This 100%.

SEO is often more jumping between things that don't fit most peoples preconceptions of SEO than it is about editing a title tag or submitting a sitemap.