Case Study

Professional Services SEO

How We Helped an Attorney and a Dentist Dominate Local Search

Two separate professional service clients approached The Buy Reviews with similar challenges: both were highly qualified in their fields, but neither was ranking well in local search results. One was a personal injury law firm in Chicago, and the other was a family dentistry practice in Phoenix. Despite years of experience, positive patient and client reviews, and strong referral networks, their online visibility was poor.

Client Background

Law Firm Client

A boutique personal injury law firm with three attorneys specializing in car accidents, slip and falls, and wrongful death cases. They had a basic website with minimal content and a Google Business Profile that was claimed but not optimized.

Dental Client

A family dentistry practice offering general dentistry, cosmetic procedures, and orthodontics. They had a modern website but struggled to rank for high-value terms like "emergency dentist Phoenix" and "Invisalign near me."

Both clients needed a comprehensive local SEO strategy to attract more qualified leads and grow their practices.

The Challenge

Both clients faced common professional service SEO obstacles:

Law Firm Challenges

Low organic visibility for personal injury keywords
No local content targeting specific neighborhoods in Chicago
Weak backlink profile with no legal industry authority links
Google Business Profile incomplete and rarely updated
Few client reviews (only 12 total, average rating 4.2 stars)
Poor internal linking structure on practice area pages
No schema markup for legal services

Dental Practice Challenges

High competition for dental keywords in a saturated market
Slow website speed affecting user experience and rankings
Duplicate or inconsistent NAP across directories
No structured data for medical or dental services
Limited local citations on health and dental directories
Low review volume compared to competitors

The Solution

We implemented parallel local SEO campaigns tailored to each industry, following a proven methodology for professional service providers.

Phase 1: Google Business Profile Optimization (Both Clients)

We started by fully optimizing each client's Google Business Profile:

Verified and updated all business information
Selected the most relevant primary and secondary categories (e.g., "Personal Injury Attorney," "General Dentist," "Cosmetic Dentist")
Wrote keyword-rich business descriptions
Added high-quality photos of the office, team, and services
Enabled messaging, appointment booking, and Q&A features
Responded to all existing reviews and set up a review management system

Phase 2: Local Citation Building & NAP Consistency

We conducted a full audit of existing citations for both clients. For the law firm, we built and corrected citations on legal directories like FindLaw, Avvo, Justia, and local bar association sites. For the dental practice, we focused on health directories like Healthgrades, Vitals, Zocdoc, and dental-specific platforms. We ensured 100% NAP consistency across all citations.

Phase 3: Review Generation & Management

We implemented review generation strategies tailored to each profession:

Law Firm: We created a follow-up email sequence for past clients, requesting reviews on Google and Avvo. We also added a review link to email signatures and the firm's website.
Dental Practice: We implemented a text message follow-up system after appointments, with a direct link to leave a Google review. We also placed QR codes at the reception desk.

Within 90 days, the law firm received 28 new 5-star reviews, raising their average rating from 4.2 to 4.9 stars. The dental practice received 52 new 5-star reviews, raising their average rating from 4.3 to 4.9 stars.

Phase 4: Content Creation & Local Landing Pages

We created location-specific service pages for both clients:

Law Firm: We built individual pages for each neighborhood in Chicago, targeting terms like "personal injury attorney Lincoln Park" and "car accident lawyer Wicker Park." Each page included unique content about the firm's services and local knowledge.
Dental Practice: We created pages for each service (general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, orthodontics, emergency dentistry) and optimized them for local keywords like "Invisalign Phoenix" and "teeth whitening Scottsdale."

We also published blog posts addressing common client questions and legal or dental topics.

Phase 5: Technical SEO & Schema Markup

We addressed technical issues for both websites:

Optimized page speed and Core Web Vitals
Implemented legal service schema for the law firm (LocalBusiness, Attorney, LegalService)
Implemented medical and dental schema for the practice (MedicalClinic, Dentist, HealthAndMedicalBusiness)
Fixed broken links and improved internal linking
Submitted XML sitemaps to Google Search Console

Phase 6: Link Building

We executed link building campaigns tailored to each profession:

Law Firm: Secured backlinks from legal directories, bar association websites, and local news outlets covering their case wins.
Dental Practice: Secured backlinks from dental associations, health blogs, and local business partners.

The Results

Both clients saw massive increases in visibility and revenue. Below are the metrics captured for each business.

Law Firm Results (12 months)

Metric	Before	After (12 months)	Improvement
Organic Traffic	850 visits/month	3,400 visits/month	+300%
GBP Views	410 / month	2,100 / month	+412%
Phone Calls from GBP	25 / month	110 / month	+340%
Contact Form Submissions	18 / month	68 / month	+278%
Average Rating	4.2 stars (12 reviews)	4.9 stars (40 reviews)	+0.7 stars
Local 3-Pack Rankings	Not in top 10	#3 for "personal injury attorney Chicago"	Top 3
Practice Area Rankings	6 terms on page 2	22 terms on page 1	Significant

Dental Practice Results (9 months)

Metric	Before	After (9 months)	Improvement
Organic Traffic	1,200 visits/month	4,800 visits/month	+300%
GBP Views	620 / month	3,100 / month	+400%
Phone Calls from GBP	45 / month	180 / month	+300%
New Patient Appointments	35 / month	110 / month	+214%
Average Rating	4.3 stars (35 reviews)	4.9 stars (87 reviews)	+0.6 stars
Local 3-Pack Rankings	#7 for "dentist Phoenix"	#2 for "dentist Phoenix"	+5 positions
Service Page Rankings	4 terms on page 1	18 terms on page 1	+350%

The law firm saw a 300% increase in organic traffic and a 340% increase in phone calls, leading to a significant boost in new case signings. The dental practice experienced a 214% increase in new patient appointments, resulting in record monthly revenue.

Key Takeaways

This attorney SEO case study and dentist SEO case study reveal several important lessons for professional service providers:

Google Business Profile optimization is the highest ROI activity. Both clients saw immediate improvements in local pack rankings after completing their GBP profiles.
Reviews drive trust and conversions. A high average rating and a large volume of recent reviews directly impact click-through rates and new client inquiries.
Location-specific landing pages capture nearby searchers. Creating pages for individual neighborhoods or service areas helped both clients rank for "near me" searches.
Schema markup gives you an edge in search results. Legal and medical schema enabled rich snippets that improved click-through rates.
Consistent NAP across citations builds local authority. Cleaning up inconsistent citations was essential for both clients to compete in their markets.
Professional services SEO is a long-term investment. Both clients saw the most significant results after six to twelve months of consistent effort.

Why This Law Firm & Dental SEO Case Study Matters

This law firm SEO case study and dental SEO case study demonstrate that even in highly competitive professional service markets, a well-executed local SEO strategy can transform your practice. Whether you are an attorney, dentist, doctor, or other professional, the principles remain the same: optimize your Google Business Profile, earn positive reviews, create local content, and build authoritative citations and links.