Troubleshooting a decline in your law firm’s web traffic
Noticed a sudden drop in your website traffic or engagement? For many small Australian law firms, maintaining steady online performance can feel like trying to hit a moving target. Algorithms change, user behaviour shifts, and even the smallest technical glitch can have a big impact.
In this article, we look at some of the top things to consider if your law firm’s website traffic or engagement is unexpectedly on the decline. Whether it’s a drop in enquiries, lower blog views or fewer phone calls, these practical checks can help analyse where things might not be as they should.
Have your Google rankings dropped?
A sudden dip in traffic (visits to your site) often points to a drop in your Google search rankings. This can be caused by:
- Google algorithm updates;
- poor site health – like broken links leading to 404 errors, duplicate content or black hat initiatives like keyword stuffing;
- content no longer matching user intent (or keyword intent).
What to do
- Check your keyword positions using tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs or Google Search Console.
- Review your blog pages, practice area pages and other relevant content on your site for accuracy and relevance.
- Remove or rewrite underperforming content.
Tip: Google’s algorithm favours helpful, people-first content, especially after the page experience updates back in 2021 and Google’s drive towards user experience in recent years.
Have you lost Google Business Profile visibility?
If local clients aren’t finding you anymore (e.g. on Google Maps), your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) may be affected.
Check for:
- suspended listings (for any of your locations);
- changed opening hours, categories or services;
- a drop in Google reviews, and equally important, your responses to those reviews.
What to do
- Log in to your Business Profile and check for alerts or updates
- Make sure your profile is complete and accurate
- Continue replying to reviews and adding fresh posts regularly
Reminder: A healthy Google Business Profile is essential for local SEO (getting found for what you do in the locations you do it in), especially for law firms competing in specific suburbs or cities.
Has something significant changed on your website?
If your website has recently been updated, migrated, or changed hosts, there may be technical issues at play.
Check (in Google Search Console) for:
- broken links (internal and external) or missing pages (404 errors);
- slower load times;
- pages being de-indexed.
What to do
- Run a site audit using Screaming Frog, Google Search Console or similar.
- Check your robots.txt and sitemap.xml files.
- Make sure redirects (301s) are properly in place after any content moves or URL changes.
Tip: Technical SEO is the behind-the-scenes work that ensures your site stays healthy and visible to Google and usable for visitors.
Is your blog content still performing?
Blog articles can lose visibility over time, especially if they’re not refreshed/updated or relevant to current legal topics.
Investigate:
- Are your blog topics still aligned with client interests, and are they still accurate?
- Do your posts answer real questions people are typing into Google?
- Are older blogs competing with newer ones on similar topics?
What to do
- Update older posts with new information, legislative reforms, fresh examples and internal links.
- Add “last updated” dates to show content is still relevant.
- Revisit keyword targets - are they still worth going after, or have new keywords emerged since the blog was first written?
Content decay is real, but it can often be reversed with small, strategic tweaks.
Have user behaviour or expectations changed?
Sometimes the drop isn’t caused by your content or your technical SEO. It may be changes in what users want or need and how they enter that into a search engine.
For example:
- More people may be using mobile than desktop – is your site mobile optimised?
- Users may prefer short, FAQ-style content over long articles. You may want to consider adding an FAQ page to your site.
- Clients may expect different ways to communicate with you and/or online bookings.
What to do
- Review engagement metrics like bounce rate and time on page (using Google Analytics).
- Test your site on mobile - does it load fast and display well without having to scroll left and right?
- Consider adding call-to-action buttons, chat features or online enquiry forms.
User experience (UX) is a growing SEO factor. Google rewards sites that people actually enjoy using.
Have you lost valuable backlinks?
Backlinks (links to your site from other reputable sites) signal authority to Google. If you lose a few key backlinks over a short period of time, it can affect your rankings and visibility.
Check for:
- lost backlinks from legal directories, other blogs, or industry sites;
- PR links that have expired or been removed.
What to do
- Use backlink monitoring tools to track gains/losses, for example, Semrush and Ahrefs.
- Reconnect with referral partners or update legal directory listings.
- Build new backlinks through guest posting, partnerships or digital PR.
Is your website traffic drop just a normal seasonal dip?
Finally, don’t panic. Some dips are seasonal or expected. Many law firm websites see lower engagement during:
- school holidays;
- long weekends;
- end-of-year shutdowns.
What to do
- Compare year-on-year traffic using Google Analytics to see seasonal patterns.
- Plan future blog or campaign content around known quiet periods.
- Focus on building visibility during key decision-making times; for example, January is often good for family law content, post-Easter for general content and financial year-end for commercial content.
Don’t panic – be methodical
Traffic drops can be alarming, but most can be explained, and many can be fixed with minimal effort or cost. Start by ruling out technical issues, then review your content, SEO, user experience, and search visibility.
As a digital marketing agency for small Australian law firms, we encourage you to see content and SEO as living, evolving tools rather than a set-and-forget task. And remember, even small updates can have a big impact over time.
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