I feel like I need to get this off my chest. Running an immigration law practice, spent the last 6 months investing in Local SEO because apparently that's what everyone says we "must do."

Starting to wonder if this is still relevant in 2025. Our agency keeps talking about Google Business Profile updates, local citations, and all that, but I'm seeing a fraction of what we're putting in.

What's weird is one of my law school friends who runs a PI firm is absolutely crushing it with the same local SEO strategy. Meanwhile, I'm here watching my "local rankings" barely move. The agency keeps saying "it takes time" and "trust the process," but something feels off.

Just this morning, got their monthly report showing an "improvement in local visibility" but honestly, my phone isn't exactly ringing off the hook with local clients.

The real kicker? Just had coffee with another immigration attorney who told me they stopped doing SEO altogether because "Google's local algorithm doesn't favor niche practices anymore."

Anyone else feeling like local SEO might be turning into just another expense that worked in 2020 but isn't cutting it anymore? Especially curious to hear from other specialized practice attorneys - are you still seeing results from local SEO?

Alright, since you're actually listening, here's a PROPER strategy for immigration law SEO in 2025:

The Multi-Language Content Hub Approach First, understand this: immigration law is about trust before location. Create content hubs - not just random blog posts. Each visa type gets its own ecosystem of content. H1B? That's one hub. Marriage visas? Another hub. Build content pyramids, not content walls.

Language Implementation Your English content is competing with every immigration lawyer in America. But your Vietnamese H1B guide? Way less competition. Your Spanish DACA updates? Even better. Get professional translations - don't cheap out here. Google's getting scary good at understanding language intent.

The 20% Local SEO Strategy Yes, keep some local SEO. Why? Because after reading your content in their language, finding answers to their specific problems, they'll want to know if you're actually accessible. That's when location matters. But it's the final step, not the first.

Technical Framework

• Hub pages in English + each relevant language

• FAQ schema for every. single. page. (non-negotiable)

• Proper hreflang tags for language variations

• Mobile-first everything (your clients are reading this at 2AM on their phones)

Tracking What Matters Stop obsessing over general traffic. Track:

• Language-specific conversion rates

• Time spent on multilingual pages

• Consultation bookings by content type

Want proof? One of my clients went from 15 to 63 consultation bookings/month after ditching the "local SEO everything" approach. Their biggest traffic source? A Mandarin guide about L1 visa requirements. Location mentioned exactly once - in the contact section.

Remember: You're not a local business that happens to do immigration law. You're an immigration law expert who happens to be local.

This isn't 2020 anymore. General local SEO died for specialized practices. But targeted, client-journey focused SEO? That's printing money if you do it right.