For 15 years, I have supported law firms to build high-performing websites, rank competitively in Google, craft compelling ads, and design conversion-focused landing pages.

And despite how it may feel, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not a cryptic system understood only by Google engineers.

Further, Google Ads, while often considered an expensive way to advertise, can be a powerful growth lever for law firms when used strategically. And websites, despite common belief, perform better when they are simplified, focused on usability, and written for real client decision-making rather than flashy design.

At the time this case study began, organic search rankings were the primary driver of online visibility and growth. While discovery mechanisms have evolved since then, the underlying principles of authority, trust, and conversion remain the same.

These myths hold back the vast majority of law firms:

• Outsourcing to an agency will fix all of your firm’s marketing problems
• It’s impossible to get to #1 in Google’s search results
• Google Ads are too expensive and ineffective
• Fancy website design matters more than usability and content

With the right marketing partner and strategy, predictable growth is possible.

But first, let’s rewind to 2013.

It was the year Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” dominated the radio. Corona meant a lime-topped beer, not a pandemic. And it was the year I met attorney Michael Oykhman.

At the time, Michael was a young lawyer starting his firm.

He had clear, practical goals:

• Establish a marketing program for his firm
• Get to the top of Google
• Get more sales leads
• Generate more revenue

Together, we identified three strategies:

• Get his website onto Google’s first page for competitive criminal defence keywords
• Replace leads from legal directories, Yellow Pages, Avvo, and FindLaw with Google Ads
• Build a foundation that would allow future expansion into new locations

To accomplish this, we started with our law firm SEO methodology.

At the time, it didn’t have a fancy name. Today, we refer to this approach as Elevate, our proprietary system for generating rankings in highly competitive legal markets.

What I learned after more than a decade of providing SEO services to law firms is this:

Successful SEO is not about tricks or hacks.
It comes down to disciplined execution, applied consistently over time.

Anticlimactic, I know.

But for more than ten years, our team has documented every step, technique, and insight learned while working with law firms across North America.

We have tested SEO strategies in markets like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, and Calgary. Time and again, results followed execution discipline.

Every SEO project is systemized and documented.

When we onboard a new client, each step is pre-populated in our project management system and linked to internal process documents. Execution becomes repeatable. Quality remains consistent.

Website Audit

To kick off Michael’s project, we audited his website across multiple dimensions:

Onsite Optimization

Title tags, meta descriptions, schema, URLs, contact pages, location data, and more.

Website Content

Long-form practice area pages, FAQs, resources, and blog content.

Website Usability

Mobile responsiveness, forms, phone visibility, user flow.

Backlinks

Link quality, relevance, and authority distribution.

Local SEO

Google Business profile, citations, and consistency.

At the time, Michael did not have a verified Google Business profile. Fixing that alone resulted in immediate local visibility gains.

Keyword Research

Next, we identified over 70 keyword opportunities for Michael’s practice area pages. Practice area pages consistently produce the highest-quality traffic and leads. That proved true here as well.

We targeted keywords like:

• “criminal lawyer Calgary”
• “domestic violence lawyer”
• “DUI lawyer”

At the time, these terms represented roughly 4,000 monthly searches. Ranking #1 for a single keyword could generate hundreds of visits per month. Our goal was broader: dominate entire keyword clusters. Criminal defence is one of the most competitive practice areas online. Most firms ranking at the top have invested heavily to get there. We knew we could beat them.

Within six months:

• The firm ranked #1 for over 100 local keywords
• Case volume increased more than fourfold
• Website traffic increased by over 1,500 percent

Michael put it best:

“The summer before I hired Calin, I was panicking. I was opening very few files and struggling to keep the lights on. By the next summer, I was opening more than four times the number of files, and most were coming from our website.”

With predictable demand in place, the firm expanded.

• First, Edmonton.
• Then Toronto.
• Then Saskatchewan.
• Then Victoria, British Columbia.

Each location required its own strategy. Local competition, search behavior, and positioning were evaluated independently. The principles stayed consistent. Execution remained custom.

As the firm expanded, so did its team. Associates and support staff were added. Revenue stabilized. The business gained confidence.

Eventually, the firm rebranded to Strategic Criminal Defence, reflecting its scale, specialization, and authority.

What began as a single-lawyer practice became one of the most prominent criminal defence firms in Canada.

The growth did not come from a single tactic. It came from:

• A conversion-focused website
• Targeted SEO
• Strategic Google Ads
• Aggressive local SEO and reviews
• Systems that supported expansion

The tools have evolved since 2013. AI now influences discovery. Authority signals matter more than ever.

But the lesson remains unchanged.

This case study is not about rankings. It never was.

It is about what happens when marketing is treated as a system instead of a set of tactics.

• Custom strategy beats templates
• Authority beats volume
• Integration beats silos
• Ownership beats vendors

This firm scaled because marketing decisions were owned, adapted, and refined over time.

That is the same model we apply today, updated for a more complex and AI-driven landscape.