Explore U.S. legal search behavior trends, discover regional keyword volumes, popular practice areas, and opportunities for targeted local SEO.
Millions of Americans still turn to search engines like Google to find legal services. There are certain problems that can only be resolved with the help of a professional lawyer. Where there is high demand, there is intense competition. So, it’s no surprise that marketing competition in the legal industry is intoxicatingly strong. In fact, the average Google Ads Cost per Click (CPC) is $6.75 for the legal industry – some of the highest among all sectors. Adding to this, CPCs can spiral to over $50 in certain locations and specialisms.
This presents several painful issues (and opportunities) for law firms. On the one hand, advertisers can end up sinking more revenue into paid marketing. If it goes well, they’ll reap the rewards, but all too often, it results in a poor return.
To compound issues, people with genuine legal needs don’t get the best help they need, instead ending up with the attorneys who have the deepest pockets to compete in this saturated market.
But there is good news. Deep market studies paired with the right marketing strategies can give law firms a window into the public’s legal troubles and serve their needs in the right place at the right time.
That’s why dNovo has taken this data-driven approach to produce this report that analyses the search behavior and legal struggles of the American public. In the course of our study, we’ve created a ‘legal needs map’ that provides unseen insights for service providers, policymakers, and researchers.
The report covers an extensive study of the legal search patterns from 40 major US cities. It reveals a distinctive variation in regional needs and issues. The search data was compiled using the top 30 legal specialties and combined with population data to normalize the comparisons. The results are eye-opening, exposing unique stories about the challenges Americans face.
Here’s what the key findings include:
For the analysis, we collected Google search volume data for 30 top lawyer specialties, such as “personal injury lawyer” and “immigration lawyer,” across 40 major US cities. This is delivered in 1200 localized legal specialty keyword combinations for the base of the data collection.
For each keyword combination, the following data points were collected using SEMRush:
To normalize the data for fair analysis, population data was used with the following formula:
Searches per 100,000 residents = (Search Volume ÷ City Population) × 100,000
This ensured that patterns reflect genuine variations rather than being influenced by population size.
From a top-level view, the results reveal patterns across wider regions of the country. South East and South West areas show dramatically more intense legal requests compared to Northern and Mid-East cities. It shows locations where people are more likely to look for legal help to solve disputes and issues.
The top 10 cities by legal searches per 100,000 residents are:
In contrast, the cities with the lowest legal search intensity include:
Five of the top 10 cities for legal search intensity are in the Southeast. Florida alone is home to three of the top five positions. It highlights one of the most significant patterns in the data.
Several factors may be the cause of this finding:
An unexpected finding is that the most densely populated areas showed lower per capita search volume. Surprisingly, New York ranks bottom for this legal search intensity, while Chicago and Los Angeles also fell in the lower rankings.
Residents of mid-sized cities show a clear tendency to look for legal help relative to their population density. Atlanta, Orlando, and Las Vegas came in high in results, showing a pattern for legal needs or search behavior doesn’t scale with population size.
With national and regional patterns identified for overarching search intensity, the data could then be segmented further into legal specialties. This quickly revealed district-regional legal requirements and the type of legal issues Americans are facing.
Across the nation, personal injury law searches were the highest of any legal specialist, with 72,190 total monthly searches across all cities. However, there were large regional variations in legal requests identified.
The top 5 cities for personal injury lawyer searches per 100,000 residents are:
It’s a striking result for the South East concentration. Atlanta’s personal injury legal search volume is almost 8 times that of New York and 4 times higher than Chicago.
In addition to this, tourism and transport hubs, like Orlando and Las Vegas, show a disproportionately high personal injury search interest.
Immigration law searches have a high volume of 46,450 total searches. Regionally, the results were largely as expected.
The top 5 cities for immigration lawyer searches per 100,000 residents are:
Miami’s high ranking is unsurprising as an immigration gateway, but Orlando’s top position is perhaps more surprising. It might reflect a growing immigrant population from the tourism industry hiring needs. Interestingly, the border state location in Texas shows substantial search interest but is ranked lower than might be expected. Although the report was conducted with English language keywords, this could skew the accuracy of results.
Criminal law and DUI searches offered clear regional patterns, too. Entertainment capitals lead the way with notably high search volumes.
The top 5 cities for criminal lawyer searches per 100,000 residents are:
For DUI lawyer searches, the leaders are:
A correlation between destinations like Las Vegas and Orlando and DUI searches points to a connection between tourism and nightlife requirements.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh show Northeastern representation, with both ranking in the top 5 for criminal law searches. This is an interesting contrast with their lower rankings in immigration law.
Seasonal patterns were reflected clearly in DUI searches:
Several sunbelt cities could also be referred to as the “Divorce Belt”, with search data revealing requirements for family law support. Atlanta, Phoenix, and Charlotte have divorce law in their top 3 legal search types. A potential connection between regional divorce-related needs and awareness?
The top 5 cities for divorce lawyer searches per 100,000 residents are:
There was also a noticeable overlap between high divorce and child custody searches. This suggests these legal needs often occur simultaneously.
Interestingly, divorce searches have a clear seasonal trend pattern across all regions. January is the peak, with searches 59% above the annual average, while the trend declines through the year until a trough in November and December.
A noteworthy data point is a Southeastern concentration of searches related to workplace and right-to-work laws. This is reflected in three of the top five rankings. This could point to employment problems with businesses in service-dominant economies.
The top 5 cities for employment lawyer searches per 100,000 residents are:
Bankruptcy law searches indicate potential regional patterns. Orlando’s legal requirements extend into bankruptcy searches, which are more than twice that of second-place Atlanta. Again, tourist-based economies often sit high on the list. Could this be a reflection of the fluctuating demand and cash flow challenges of the tourism industry?
The top 5 cities for bankruptcy lawyer searches per 100,000 residents are:
Across the nation, there are distinct seasonal patterns that show how legal needs change through the year. The patterns help to identify annual struggles related to holidays, weather, and financial requirements.
The winter holiday season shows a particular set of stresses people face related to finance, social engagements, and family.
Legal search patterns can function as unofficial economic indicators across regions. Of course, several findings were unsurprising, while other results flagged significant issues that people need legal help with.
High bankruptcy rates in tourism hotspots, such as Orlando and Vegas, suggest a vulnerable economy in this sector. Adding to this, employment law searches in similar service-based economics could also indicate workplace issues that need resolving more regularly.
Immigration correlations between search interest and gateway cities like Miami confirm the region as a major travel hub for Latin America, although other Texas-based locations didn’t show up high on the list. A potential reflection of language or legal accessibility in the two district areas. Plus, surprising locations were served high on the list, such as Minneapolis, suggesting strong requirements for legal services in these non-traditional immigration hubs.
Accident economies emerged, particularly for personal injury legal support, Atlanta revealing itself as a hotspot in demand for personal injury lawyers.
DUI searches during the winter holiday season are not altogether unsurprising but draw attention to the need for seasonal prevention. For law firms, it’s important to be prepared for this serious requirement increase. As for family troubles, two snapshots reveal demand for services in January along with a regional “Divorce Belt” pattern emerging.
For lawyers and law firms operating in a competitive sector, the report above delivers invaluable insight into the demand for specialist services. The findings can be used to tailor services based on the search for specific regions and seasons. It shows a number of strategic market opportunities:
For law firms investing in marketing, the report highlights the importance of delivering campaigns in a timely fashion. Advertising budgets and content creations can be tailored based on the seasonal findings:
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