Strategic insights from practicing attorneys who are shifting from paid directories to owned authority
From rented profiles to owned authority
Five years ago, premium directory placements felt essential. Today the attorneys we spoke with are reallocating that spend to assets they control. The shift is deliberate and favors compounding returns over rented visibility.
Jonathan F. Marshall | Owning the hyperlocal map
The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall
Starting around 2021 we saw a clear decline in both referral traffic and rankings tied to directory links. By 2023 the ROI was down by more than half while costs stayed the same.
Jonathan F. Marshall
Marshall’s team redirected budget into long form pages aligned to real world intent including charges, counties, specific court systems, and the procedural realities clients face. These pages produce organic leads without the monthly fee of a directory subscription.
We leaned into client reviews, Google Business optimization, and data driven paid campaigns to remain visible in competitive markets.
Jonathan F. Marshall
Kalim Khan | Tracking the economics
Listings that cost roughly fifteen thousand dollars annually generated three inquiries over eighteen months with zero retained cases.
Kalim Khan
Khan’s analytics told a blunt story. Directory traffic fell about sixty percent year over year while Google Business and organic increased. His firm shifted spend to detailed case studies and neighborhood specific pages that rank directly in search results.
Directories made sense when Google could not surface local businesses directly. Now they mostly extract money from lawyers who have not realized the landscape changed.
Kalim Khan
From backlink volume to behavioral relevance
Backlinks that sit on static profiles no longer move the needle like they once did. Attorneys are winning by aligning content to behavior, jurisdiction, and business intent.
Derek A. Colvin | Localized relevance beats generic authority
Site clicks were down about twenty two percent and domain authority dipped a couple of points. Traditional directory backlinks do not carry what they used to.
Derek A. Colvin
Colvin’s response focused on niche authority for Virginia entrepreneurs in franchising. Although the subject spans federal law, buyers act in states and cities. The firm built region specific resources and shifted ad spend to reach searchers where decisions are made.
The full effects are difficult to predict. We hope the shift restores credibility in Google’s eyes but remain skeptical that current approaches help consumers.
Derek A. Colvin
Daniel Abiodun | Trust is earned through proof
D.A. Commissioning & Legal Services
Since early 2023 directory referrals and conversions declined. Localized SEO, verified client reviews, and original thought leadership now deliver forty percent higher engagement and lead quality.
Daniel Abiodun
Abiodun’s team doubled down on jurisdiction specific insights and active Google Business management. The effect is twofold. Humans see credibility. AI systems see consistent, verifiable signals.
From legacy SEO to measurable demand capture
Directories are not the only thing losing ground. Boilerplate backlink work has also degraded. Attorneys are reallocating to channels with clear accountability.
Michael G. Romano | Keep the link if it is truly earned
I stopped all backlink work and directory listings. I would never turn away a link from a site with real reach, but most placements now live on weak sites. PPC still works. We are going hard on social.
Michael G. Romano
Romano favors channels with verifiable results. Paid search for high intent queries. Social for reach and relationship. Links are welcome when they come from audiences, not sellers.
Practical playbook to replace directory spend
- Map real queries by venue, charge, industry, and city. Build pages that answer those journeys completely.
- Operationalize reviews. Assign an owner. Trigger requests after key milestones. Respond to every review.
- Maximize your Google Business Profile. Categories, services, products, Q&A, photos, posts, accurate hours, and practitioner listings where allowed.
- Publish jurisdiction specific thought leadership. Short answers for common questions and deep guides for complex matters.
- Instrument analytics. Attribute calls and forms to channel. Track signed matters and revenue. Cut spend that does not convert.
- Balance paid and organic. Use PPC to cover competitive gaps and feed winning angles back into content.
Key metrics to watch
- Signed matters and revenue by source and by city
- Google Business actions per view and call connect rate
- Organic entries to hyperlocal pages and time on task
- Review velocity and response time
- PPC impression share and cost per signed matter
- Residual referral quality from any directories you keep
Bottom line
Directories feel easier, but owned authority compounds. The firms highlighted here chose compounding. If a channel does not create retained matters at a sustainable cost, reallocate. Build content that makes it easy for both clients and AI systems to trust you.
