By now, you’d know that I believe good law firms grow with a strategy-first approach—everything after that is just tactics and tools. That’s what my agency, Practice Proof, does day in and day out. And I do strategy.
The Reality for 2025
The way marketing worked in 2024 won’t work in 2025.
Google is already losing searchers as more people turn to AI-driven products for help.
And I guarantee your SEO strategy so far has been one-dimensional—focused solely on Google search. That’s no longer enough. You need a multi-dimensional approach—ranking across multiple platforms to capture search traffic wherever it originates. It’s now called Search Everywhere. And that means more competition, higher costs, and a chaotic landscape as agencies scramble to adapt.
If you do nothing—which, let’s be honest, most law firms will—expect significantly less website traffic, fewer leads, and fewer file opens.
Google Ads? Same Story.
Already, Google Ads have been pushed further down the search results.
Try searching for “best family lawyer” today—the first result isn’t an ad anymore. It’s AI-generated content from Google’s Gemini, suggesting law firms based on its own data. If you’re not there, you miss the opportunity.
Getting there is harder than you think. But this needs to be part of your 2025 strategy.
And here’s the kicker—if you’ve been relying on Google Ads, you’re in for a rude awakening. With SEO traffic declining, law firms will flock to paid ads, driving up costs in an auction-based system. More competitors, fewer leads, and skyrocketing CPCs.
Think Meta will save you? Sure. But thousands of firms will be doing the same thing. Because nothing works like it used to.
AI is Changing the Game—Faster Than You Think.
I know some of you will say, “AI won’t impact my practice area.”
But here’s the thing—it will. AI is evolving so rapidly that we can’t even predict what it will look like three months from now. As Daniel Priestley says, “In 100 days, the landscape will be unrecognizable.”
What Do You Do?
Start with strategy. Then work with an agency that understands the tactical shifts happening right now.
The framework I recommend? The Three Horizons Model—developed by McKinsey and battle-tested by businesses navigating transformation.
- Horizon 1: Optimize your current marketing strategy (SEO, PPC, lead gen).
- Horizon 2: Expand into new channels (AI-driven search, multi-platform rankings).
- Horizon 3: Future-proof your firm with long-term innovation (AI integrations, automation, digital-first legal services).
If you’re not thinking in horizons, you’re not thinking ahead.