Imagine seeing five different exit signs on the highway for the same destination. Confusing, right? Multiple sites for one firm can be similarly misleading for a law firm’s prospective clients.

Some firms come to us with several sites for a single practice. They may have been told that this is a way to get more irons in the fire and dominate the SERPs. While there are a few exceptions, the rule is that a multi-site strategy usually does more harm than good for a firm’s visibility. 

Let’s cover the whole scope: why multiple websites appeal to law firms, how Google treats a single brand with multiple sites and the SEO advantages of a single-site approach.

Why Firms Think They Need Multiple Sites

Tricking Google with multiple websites? A delightful illusion, unfortunately, that many lawyers cling to in a misguided attempt to dominate the search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Firms may feel that they could achieve ranking with several URLs for the same keywords, filling the first page of Google with multiple sites that drive traffic back to the main brand.

However, the multiple-site approach to SEO for lawyers tends to backfire. 

SERP cannibalization often leads to multiple pages and multiple sites from the same company competing for the same keywords. This can confuse search engines and dilute page authority. The result is that none of the pages rank well.

Plus, managing multiple sites stretches you thin, requiring unique content and SEO strategies for each site which leads to inefficiencies and inconsistency instead of boosting visibility.

Google’s View On Multiple Sites

“Duplicate content is not only confusing for users, it’s also confusing for search engines. Creating one great site instead of multiple microsites is the best way to encourage organic growth over time.” –Google

Google encourages businesses to focus on a single website. This is especially important in light of new algorithm updates that combat spam. 

Google ranks pages based on the authority of the site. Backlinks are generally good for SEO, but they can also be very spammy. A huge influx of backlinks, especially on new sites, may be viewed as inauthentic or spammy. 

Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Increasingly, Google is looking at other signals beyond backlinks to assess a site’s authority and trustworthiness.

Instead of spreading your SEO budget thin across multiple domains, Google is saying it’s more effective to create high-quality content and build genuine relationships with reputable websites.

SEO Disadvantages of Multiple Sites

• Splitting your resources: Each new site requires time and effort to develop content, gain backlinks, and establish domain authority. 

• Bye-bye budget: The financial commitment to succeeding with multiple sites is significant. Most firms are better off investing in a single, optimized platform.

• Reputation issues: Multiple sites can confuse prospects. When people encounter similar content across different sites, they may question your firm’s legitimacy. Decreased trust means decision fatigue and decreased leads.

SEO Advantages of a Single Site

Focusing your efforts on one robust website can more effectively communicate your value proposition and engage your audience.

• Reputation enhancement: By consolidating efforts into one site, you strengthen your firm’s authority and trustworthiness for both search engines and users.

• Better ROI: A single-site strategy offers better ROI by streamlining your SEO efforts. This approach simplifies management, reduces costs, and allows more investment in high-quality content, user experience, and technical SEO.

• Clearer data: A single site makes monitoring analytics easier, offering more accurate insights into audience behavior for informed decision-making. 

Exceptions

There are a few situations where multiple sites might be beneficial.

• Sub-brands: If you’re experimenting with reaching a whole new audience under an entirely different brand, you might try a separate site to avoid confusing your existing clientele. Perhaps you’ve been serving car accident personal injury clients in Chicago but you want to try reaching farm worker injuries in rural Illinois. In this case, the SEO strategies will be very different regardless. (We should note that we don’t usually recommend creating a second brand to reach different audiences; often when firms try to “branch out” with new brands they struggle with authority signals because the brand doesn’t have any history or momentum.)

• Microsite: If you’re launching a product or promoting an upcoming event, you may want to develop a one-off site. But the SEO investment in microsites should be proportional.

• Internationalization: If you’re working in multiple countries, you may need dedicated sites tailored to local markets. These sites should offer content and user experiences that resonate with cultural, linguistic, and legal differences (i.e., it goes beyond mere translation).

In each of these cases, separate websites can help ensure that your messaging aligns with your intended audience all while ultimately supporting your broader business goals.

Of course, multiple domains make a lot of sense if you’re trying to get ahead of common misspellings or name variations or prevent competitors from snapping up related terms. But these domains will usually point to the same single website.

Review and Next Steps

The right approach to legal SEO should combine tested principles with personalized tactics specifically adapted to your firm, your market, and your growth goals.