Just when you thought you had a handle on SEO, GEO steps onto the scene and demands your attention.
We’ve seen explosive changes not only to the SERP, but across the search marketing and digital landscape. These changes look like AI-powered algorithms, AI-generated overviews, hyper-personalization, and real-time search results. Search has been evolving at a breakneck pace, leaving not just law firms but businesses in every sector scrambling to adapt.
Now that this emerging technology has been integrated into our institutional tech platforms—Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Microsoft’s Copilot, etc.—the rate of change should ease up. Generative AI will continue expanding the search landscape, but more steadily. The best approach to search marketing has always been to remain agile and adaptable—AI is here to stay, and the law firms that will rise to the top in this new environment are those that embrace the disruption as new search opportunities.
Luckily for us all, GEO naturally meshes with digital marketing best practices your law firm should already have in place. If you maintain a robust, updated SEO program for your firm, you’re already ahead on GEO. In this article, we’ll brief you on GEO basics—what it is, what it means for law firms, what it requires from you, and what Nifty is doing to keep our legal clients competitive in a zero-click search world.
GEO for Lawyers: What Is It?
Let’s break it down: GEO stands for “generative engine optimization.” “Generative engine” refers to any AI that can generate content from prompts. It includes LLMs, or large language models, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, as well as platforms like Midjourney and other AI-powered design tools. “Optimization,” in this case, refers to the optimization of digital content for visibility within GE and/or AI-driven search results. This includes visibility in Google’s AI Overviews and Gemini-powered SERP widgets, as well as visibility within AI platforms when they’re used for web search.
SEO vs. GEO in Legal Marketing
Think of it like this: SEO optimizes for the traditional SERP layout. You’re looking for your blue link to appear before the fold. GEO builds on your SEO best practices for AI-built results. You’re looking for your content to be included, referenced, or linked in generative “answers” on the SERP and within chatbots.
GEO as it stands today is like advanced SEO—you’re still optimizing for topical authority, content relevance, and user intent, but now you’re layering in additional signals, context, and markup to prompt AI to surface your content to relevant audiences.
AI Answer Optimization and the Zero-Click Web
We have to address the elephant in the room: CLICKS. Visibility is not the be-all and end-all of SEO. In the eternal words of Brandy when she learned 106 & Park was giving her new work out for free, “We need the audience to buy the album!” We need the audience to CLICK the link!
Visibility alone does not equal conversions—it doesn’t even guarantee clicks. With traditional SEO, the ultimate goal is to drive users to click through to your site—but with GEO, the objective shifts away from clicks. Instead, you want your website, content, or firm surfaced, referenced, or incorporated into AI-generated responses, even if the user never leaves.
According to a 2024 study, 58.5% of searches conclude without a click because users can now find the information or answers they need directly on the SERP or through the LLM or chatbot. This is what we call “zero-click searches” or the zero-click web. This aspect of AI integration wasn’t totally a surprise—we had our first meltdown about it back in the 2010s, when Google first introduced knowledge panels, snippets, and other interactive widgets aimed at keeping users on the SERP. But that decline in clicks was nothing compared to today, with LLMs and AI overviews potentially displacing the click altogether.
AI Answer Optimization: The Lawyers’ Guide to GEO
Okay, that was a lot. “But what does this mean for ME?” GEO for law firms looks like a heavy focus on localizing content, securing citations and mentions, and establishing topical authority as a reference source for AI assistants, LLMs, and zero-click search results. Even if users do not click through to your site during that session, your visibility entrenches your firm as the go-to source for AI-generated or AI-powered answers. Allowing these LLMs to reference you and your partners directly puts your expertise front and center, letting the world see you as the authority you are in your practice areas.
Creating AI-Optimized Legal Content
To become the go-to source that AI assistants and LLMs reference, your content needs to clearly demonstrate expertise, trustworthiness, and relevance. That means organizing your site, pages, and supporting materials so AI systems can understand exactly who you are, what you do, and why users should rely on your guidance.
- Semantic SEO adds context by grouping related concepts—practice areas, case types, statutes—so AI platforms can accurately reference your firm in generated answers.
- Entity SEO assigns clear identities to your attorneys, practice areas, and cases, linking profiles, case studies, and credentials to reinforce trust in AI-generated citations.
- Structured Data & Schema Markup outlines services, attorney credentials, FAQs, and reviews in a machine-readable format, increasing the likelihood AI systems quote your content.
The goal is to ensure your legal content is understandable, trustworthy, and accessible to AI platforms. If you’re already practicing SEO due diligence—localization, prioritizing education, assistance, and value, etc.—you’re already ahead of the game on GEO. The content on your firm’s site should all contain conversational clarity, correct information, and technical precision.
AI Search Is an Extension of Your Legal Marketing Strategy
We can’t stress it enough: GEO is not a siloed strategy. It overlays your existing SEO, local SEO, content marketing, reviews and citations, social media management, PPC and ads and magnifies results. Here’s what incorporation of GEO might look like across your firm’s digital marketing strategies:
- SEO & Content Marketing
- Develop structured content such as FAQs, resource hubs, top 10 lists, press releases, video transcriptions, and Q&A formats.
- Organize content in clusters around practice areas and case types so AI can parse and cite your expertise accurately.
- Local Search
- Ensure citations and directories are accurate—AI uses these to verify your firm’s location and relevance.
- Optimize GBP, CTAs, and website copy for local context (cities, state-specific laws, regional terminology) so AI links your expertise to a geographic footprint.
- Reputation Management
- Focus on user-generated content and collect mentions/informal reviews to highlight with formal reviews.
- Build local backlinks and partnerships to reinforce authority for both users and AI-generated answers.
- Social Media
- Actively share expertise, case highlights, and thought leadership in platforms and communities your audience frequents. All posts are indexed now, and AI can surface your legal content in answers or overviews.
- Paid Media (PPC, Ads)
- Use geofencing and localized campaigns to reinforce your firm’s relevance in specific markets.
- Tailor ads and landing pages to locations, practice areas, and user intent so AI can reference your firm contextually in zero-click responses.
The Nifty Approach to GEO for Law Firms
Now, let’s get into the (3D-printed) meat and potatoes. Our approach to lawyer GEO is evolving at the same pace search is changing—fast! We’ve already baked foundational GEO into our overall SEO program, and while everything is subject to change, we’ve identified some practical tactics your firm can use today to optimize for AI.
Your first step: pull up an LLM chatbot and ask some questions about your brand. “What do you know about [your law firm]?” In fact, ask a couple of bots—the feedback from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, CoPilot, and Google’s AI Overviews may differ depending on their references. Does it understand your practice? Does it know who you serve? These AI systems are analyzing your digital reputation holistically, and this is your starting point.
AI Visibility For Law Firms: 7 Simple Steps
- Make sure that your website is accessible for AI to crawl your website. You should avoid blocking AI traffic on robots.txt, and use relevant schema markup so bots can quickly and clearly identify what your website and pages are about.
- Use a clear value proposition with your target keywords in your website’s tagline or H1 that helps train the AI.
- Confirm that you are in all the relevant online directories and review websites.
- Put your brand at the top of a list post on your own website. “Top 10 best XYZ.”
- Create at least one press release.
- Include video transcriptions on your website.
- Be active in the expected online communities where your audience spends time.
- In addition to publishing new content, don’t forget to update existing content with updated insights and refreshed, optimized keywords.
The Nifty 360° SEO Approach: GEO For Lawyers
Our approach has to remain agile to evolve with the shifting search landscape. For today, these are our top recommendations for lawyers looking for AI visibility.
- Ensure consistent entity formatting and use schema markup.
- Restructure content into Q&A format and include FAQs.
- Create comprehensive resource pages and content clusters.
- Localize content, visuals, and UX for local markets.
- Include local references (city names, traditions, currencies).
- Localize CTAs for regional audiences.
- Use geofencing and beacon technology for location-based marketing.
- Optimize for voice search with natural language and long-tail keywords.
- Maintain and optimize GBP.
- Use AI tools for competitive analysis and monitoring.
- Encourage user-generated content and social proof.
- Build local citations and backlinks through partnerships and directories.
TL;DR AI Is Here, and GEO Is the New Marketing Frontier
Generative engine optimization isn’t overtaking SEO, it’s expanding it. Your law firm just gained a new audience segment—AI assistants, chatbots, and other LLMs. It’s still early, search is still changing dramatically, and rankings and results change by the day. Agility, curiosity, and an experimental spirit are the name of the game. Nifty is determined to embrace the change and the challenge—we’re in the lab testing tactics, measuring results, and refining our clients’ strategies. Welcome to the robot era, y’all!
Still reeling from all this AI search info? Let’s talk it out—we can build a GEO approach that works for your practice.
Hannah Bollman is Nifty’s talented and dynamic Content & Brand Manager. She develops compelling content across blogs, newsletters, social media, and ad campaigns, ensuring alignment with Nifty’s voice and mission. With a background in SEO, content marketing, and stand-up, Hannah brings a unique mix of creativity, strategy, and humor to everything she does. When she’s not shaping Nifty’s brand or growing visibility for legal clients, she’s on a run, on her bike, or enjoying a delicious falafel sammich.