“I’ve invested in SEO. I’m top-ranking for my target keywords in my market. Now what?”
Sound familiar?
Maybe your site is dominating the search results for “personal injury lawyer Atlanta” or “estate planning attorney in Chicago.” You’re seeing solid leads come in, and things feel steady. So naturally, the question creeps in:
Do I really need to keep spending money on SEO?
The short answer: Yes.
So, let’s discuss what ongoing SEO actually is—and why it matters even after you hit the top spot.
What Is Ongoing SEO?
SEO is an ongoing process. It’s the work that keeps your website visible, competitive, and up to date after you start ranking.
Getting to the top of search results is a big win. But staying there? Maintaining your search ranking takes consistent effort.
Ongoing SEO includes:
- Regular updates to existing content to keep it fresh and relevant
- Keyword research, and creating new content (like a blog post) to target emerging questions
- Building new backlinks and maintaining your site’s authority
- Monitoring technical performance (site speed, mobile-friendliness, etc.)
- Tracking competitor activity and adjusting strategies accordingly
- Adapting to Google algorithm updates (because they happen. A lot.)
So no—ongoing SEO isn’t just busy work or an upsell. It’s how you protect and extend the ROI of your SEO investment.
What Happens When You Stop SEO?
Let’s say you pause your ongoing SEO strategy. You might not see the effects right away, but if you stop your law firm SEO efforts, here’s what could happen over time:
- Your content becomes outdated. Maybe it references 2022 law changes or old statistics.
- Your competitors invest more heavily in SEO and start outranking you, leading to a dip in organic traffic.
- You miss shifts in what potential clients are searching for (new terminology, new questions, etc.).
- Your backlinks get stale while others are building fresh ones.
- Google updates its algorithm—and your site doesn’t keep up.
All of this can chip away at your rankings—and eventually, your leads.
SEO Is an Ongoing Strategy Because Google Doesn’t Sit Still
You wouldn’t tell your receptionist to stop answering the phone just because you’ve had a good few months, right?
The same goes for SEO. Google is constantly tweaking how it ranks websites. What worked last year might not work now. And if you’re not actively staying in the game, someone else will take your spot.
The Payoff: Compounding Growth and Defensible Rankings
Here’s the good news: if you stay invested, SEO pays off in layers.
The firms who stick with it don’t just maintain rankings—they expand them. They branch into new practice areas, open new locations, target surrounding cities, show up in more featured snippets, and build a stronger digital brand over time.
That’s how you go from ranking well to owning your market.
A Summary for the Busy Attorney
- Ongoing SEO keeps your law firm’s website competitive, relevant, and visible
- Rankings are not permanent; they need to be protected and built on
- Your competitors are likely investing in ongoing SEO—even if you’re not
- The longer you invest, the stronger your SEO get
So if you’ve been wondering whether SEO is something you can “complete,” the short answer is: not if you want it to keep working. SEO isn’t a one-time thing if you want long-term success.
The attorneys who win online aren’t the ones who rank once—they’re the ones who stay ranked.
Still thinking about whether to keep investing in SEO—or already feeling the dip after stopping?
You’re not alone. We talk to law firms all the time who hit #1, paused, and then slowly watched their leads dry up. Or worse—kept paying an agency that wasn’t actually doing much anymore.
If you’re unsure what’s next, or you want a second opinion before things slide further, let’s talk. We’ll give you a clear, honest look at where you stand and what it’ll take to stay competitive.
Contact us today—before your competitors get the edge.