The Science Behind Legal Search Behavior

We crunched a load of different legal search queries using a combination of Google Search Console data from our law firm clients, Ahrefs keyword research and Google Analytics behavior flows and found something interesting about how people search for legal help.

Here’s exactly what we found:

Initial Search Patterns

Using Google Search Console data from various law firm websites we found:

• 73% of search started on Google
• 18% started on Bing
• 9% from other search engines

The real meat was when we looked at the search progression using Google Analytics user flow data:

• Average user made 3.4 searches before contact
• 82% followed a specific search pattern
• 64% started with question-based queries

Data-Driven Discovery Process

We used:

• Search Console query data (last 16 months)
• Analytics user behaviour flows
• Ahrefs keyword explorer
• Actual client intake interviews
• Heat mapping of landing pages
• Session recording analysis

Implementation & Testing

Based on this data, we:

Built emergency resource pages for panic searches

A/B tested different content types:

• FAQ: 2.3% conversion
• Scenario-based: 4.7% conversion
• Step-by-step: 5.2% conversion

Built answer pages that:

• Addressed immediate concerns
• Provided actionable steps
• Included local info
• Had click-to-call options

Real result: On-page time increased from 1:23 to 4:12, qualified lead conversion improved.