What if I told you one of the most technical SEO users I know is not a SaaS founder, not an agency specialist, and not a growth marketer, but a Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer who spends a good part of his week inside Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and a few unglamorous spreadsheets?
Here is the short answer: he uses SEO tools to find the exact phrases families search when they suspect abuse, maps those phrases to very focused pages, tests how people behave on those pages, and keeps improving content based on search data instead of intuition. That is it. No magic. Just a careful mix of keyword research, technical clean up, and content experiments that look a lot like what you probably do in SaaS or web development, only applied to elder abuse cases instead of signups or MRR.
How legal SEO is quietly similar to SaaS growth work
If you work in SaaS, SEO, or you build sites for clients, you might assume lawyers still rely on billboards and referrals and old TV ads. Some do. The serious plaintiff firms in a city like Chicago often treat their site more like a product.
They just measure different outcomes.
You might track:
- Trials started for a new feature
- Signup-to-paid conversion
- Churn after onboarding
He tracks:
- Number of calls from families about bed sores or falls
- Quality of those leads (real case vs “nothing we can do”)
- How often a visit turns into a signed retainer
Same toolset. Different stakes.
For this lawyer, an extra 10 qualified leads a month is not “more traffic”. It can mean several new cases that fund staff, expert witnesses, and sometimes long court fights with large nursing home chains.
So he treats SEO tools less like a marketing toy and more like a research lab.
Translating family language into keyword strategy
The first gap he had to close was language. Families do not search for “Chicago elder abuse litigation services”. They tend to type what they see or fear.
Think of a daughter searching at midnight:
- “nursing home left my mom in bed she has sores”
- “chicago nursing home dropped my dad broken hip”
- “can i sue a nursing home for neglect in illinois”
He uses keyword tools, but not just to chase volume. He scans:
- Long tail queries in Ahrefs or Semrush
- Search Console “queries” where his pages already appear
- People Also Ask boxes and autosuggest strings in Google
Then he compares this with what clients actually say on intake calls.
If you are technical, this part will sound familiar. It is just voice-of-customer, but with very raw data.
He keeps a small spreadsheet with columns like:
| Query / phrase | Monthly searches (rough) | Actual client language? | Mapped page | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “nursing home abuse lawyer chicago” | 300 | Yes, often | Home page | High intent, competitive |
| “nursing home bed sores attorney” | 80 | Clients say “pressure sores” | Bed sore practice page | Use both terms in copy |
| “nursing home keeps dropping patients” | 20 | Some families say “they dropped her” | Falls / drop incidents page | Address fear of retaliation |
This is where a lot of law firm content fails. It swings between stiff legal phrases and generic “we fight for you” fluff. He tries to write sentences an anxious family member might actually say out loud.
That choice starts with SEO tools, but it does not end there.
Building a site structure that behaves more like a product
From a web development view, his site is simple. No big custom React front end, no flashy components. But under the hood, there is a lot of careful structure.
He uses tools to:
- Group search terms by topic
- Map each topic to its own page or cluster
- Avoid having five pages that all target the same head term
Think of how you might split features in a SaaS product:
- Homepage for the broad promise
- Feature pages for specific problems
- Use case pages for different industries
He applies the same logic:
- Homepage for “Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer” and similar broad phrases
- Topic pages for falls, bed sores, medication errors, physical abuse
- State law and Chicago specific pages for jurisdiction questions
The key is that a person with a falls case should land on a page about nursing home falls, not a general page about “all types of abuse”. The intent is too different.
Crawling tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb help check that:
- Each page has a distinct title and main keyword focus
- There are not clusters of near-duplicate content
- Internal links point logically from broad to narrow topics
From your angle as a SaaS or SEO person, this is just good information architecture. For him, it is about giving a worried visitor a sense that “this lawyer has handled my exact situation before”.
How he uses specific SEO tools day to day
Now it starts to look more like regular SEO work. Only the subject matter feels heavier.
Google Search Console as the single source of truth
He checks Search Console far more often than Google Analytics.
Here is why:
- Impressions show him where Google already trusts some pages
- Queries show how people actually find those pages
- Click through rate hints where titles and meta descriptions are weak
He has a simple routine:
- Filter for pages that have at least some impressions but low clicks.
- Sort by impressions, then scan the main queries for that page.
- Ask: “Does my title match what people are clearly asking?”
If a page about “Chicago nursing home falls” shows queries like “nursing home dropped my mom” or “resident fell from wheelchair”, he tests small changes:
- Adjusting the title tag to echo those words
- Adding a short FAQ that uses that phrasing
- Including one more blunt sentence in the intro
Nothing complex. No automated testing platform. Just data, edits, measure again.
He treats Search Console as ongoing feedback from both Google and real people: “You are close, but you are not quite answering what we had in mind.”
Keyword research tools as a reality check, not a holy script
If you are deep into SEO, you know the search volume numbers can be wrong or at least fuzzy. He knows that too, so he uses those tools mainly to:
- Pick battles he can realistically win
- Discover long tail phrases competitors ignore
- Find related topics worth a supporting article
For instance, a phrase like “nursing home abuse lawyer Chicago” will be crowded. Larger firms spend heavily there. But phrases such as:
- “can you sue a nursing home for understaffing”
- “who reports nursing home neglect in illinois”
- “nursing home did not call family after fall”
might have modest volume and softer competition. From a strict ROI view, single cases from these searches can justify detailed content.
He marks target difficulty in a small internal table for himself:
| Keyword idea | Intent | Competition (rough) | Content plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| nursing home abuse lawyer chicago | Hire a lawyer | High | Strong homepage, reviews, trust signals |
| who do i report nursing home neglect to in illinois | Information, legal help later | Medium | Guide page with clear steps, light CTA |
| nursing home did not turn patient in bed bed sores | Very high, case-ready | Low | Article / FAQ on negligence and case value |
He is not trying to win every search. He is trying to win the searches that match cases where he can actually help.
Crawlers and technical tools to remove friction
Many law firm sites are slow, cluttered, and full of old plugins. This firm is not perfect either. There are old blog posts that do nothing, leftover pages, some half-finished experiments.
Here is where crawling tools come in:
- Check for broken links that send visitors into dead ends
- Find orphan pages that almost nobody can reach
- Spot missing alt text on important images like charts or checklists
He is not chasing a perfect lighthouse score. But he knows a family comparing two law firm sites will not wait for a bloated page full of scripts to load on a weak phone connection from a hospital waiting room.
So he works with his developer to:
- Keep layout simple and fast
- Cut unused tracking scripts
- Compress images and keep forms short
This is where your web development instincts matter. You can probably see three or four performance fixes in a minute on many legal sites. He leans on people like you for those details and uses the tools to verify improvements.
How SEO tools shape actual content on the page
Tools help you bring visitors in. Writing keeps them reading and, ideally, reaching out. This is where the Chicago lawyer had to change his habits the most.
From “we” to “you” and “your mother”
Early drafts of his pages were full of “our firm”, “our experience”, “our dedication”. You have seen that pattern in a hundred local service sites.
Search data and on-page behavior told a different story. Pages that spoke directly to “your mother”, “your father”, “your spouse” held attention longer.
So he started writing in a more direct way, like this:
- “If your mother has unexplained bruises on her arms or legs, you might worry staff are handling her roughly or even hitting her.”
- “If the nursing home will not explain how your father fell, you have a right to push for answers and to get your own legal help.”
This style came partly from seeing the exact words people used in queries. They typed “my mom”, “my dad”, “my husband”. SEO tools simply nudged him toward a more human tone.
In a strange loop, search tools ended up making the content sound less like SEO copy and more like a real conversation, because they kept putting client language right in front of his face.
Structuring content for quick scanning, not legal vanity
Families looking at his site are tired, stressed, and sometimes reading on a phone in a hallway. They do not want to read a law review article.
So he structures pages with elements you probably use every day:
- Short paragraphs, frequent line breaks
- Subheadings that actually say what is next
- Tables where a comparison is clearer than a paragraph
For example, if he writes about signs of neglect vs signs of unavoidable decline, he will not bury that in a wall of text. He might split it like this:
| Sign | Often neglect-related | Sometimes unavoidable |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 3 or 4 bed sore | Frequently | Rarely |
| Minor bruise on arm | Maybe | Common in fragile skin |
| Multiple unexplained falls | Often | Less common |
This kind of table is not “fancy”, but it helps visitors move from “something is wrong” to “I should probably talk to a lawyer about this”, and it keeps them on the page longer. User behavior, in turn, sends better signals back to Google.
FAQ sections guided by People Also Ask and long tail queries
Those People Also Ask boxes that many SEOs ignore or scrape? He studies them for patterns.
If “Can I sue a nursing home for bed sores?” appears again and again, that is a clear hint. He will:
- Answer it in an FAQ on the bed sore page
- Use the same simple wording
- Avoid hiding the answer behind complex law terms
He might write:
“Yes, you can bring a case for nursing home bed sores when staff fail to turn and reposition residents, ignore infection signs, or let a sore reach an advanced stage. Not every sore means neglect, but stage 3 or 4 sores usually raise serious questions.”
No fluff about “seeking justice” at the top. Answer first, then explain.
Many SaaS teams are starting to write like this, too. Direct answer, then detail. Here, it is not a trend; it is about someone at 2 am on a phone, needing clarity before they dare call a stranger.
Local SEO: Chicago is not just a keyword
The Chicago part of “Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer” is not just there for ranking. It changes how content and technical work comes together.
Making “near me” searches actually feel local
Tools show that many queries are variations of:
- “nursing home abuse lawyer near me”
- “chicago nursing home lawyer downtown”
- “lawyer for nursing home neglect on north side”
He does not spam neighborhood names, but he does:
- Mention real Chicago nursing homes and suburbs when he has handled cases there
- Explain which counties he takes cases in, so people do not guess
- Keep his Google Business Profile updated with real offices and hours
From an SEO tool side, he watches:
- How often the Business Profile shows up in local packs
- Which queries trigger map results vs organic listings
- Review growth and patterns of review text
He even skims the language families use in reviews, then mirrors some of that tone back into his pages. If reviewers keep saying “called us back quickly” or “explained things clearly”, he reinforces those traits instead of generic slogans.
Competing with big directories
One strange part of local legal SEO is how often search results are filled with directories and lead sellers. They rank on phrases like:
- “best chicago nursing home abuse attorney”
- “top nursing home negligence lawyers chicago”
The Chicago lawyer is not likely to outrank all of them for every phrase. Tools show that clearly. Rather than pretend he will own every result, he looks for gaps.
For instance:
- Searches that ask very local or case specific questions
- Searches that mix law with medical issues, like “sepsis after bed sores in nursing home chicago”
Directories rarely create deep content around that. They just list names.
So his strategy, guided by SEO tools, is:
- Accept that directories will own some generic “top lawyer” terms
- Build richer content around specific incident types and medical details
- Use internal links from those articles to core service pages
This hybrid approach feels closer to what many niche SaaS companies do when they compete with huge platforms.
Balancing ethics, law, and SEO pressure
So far this all sounds fairly clean: find phrases, build pages, help people. The reality is messier.
Where he disagrees with some SEO “best practices”
Many agencies push aggressive content calendars:
- Blog twice a week
- Target hundreds of long tails
- Out-publish competitors
He tried that for a while. The result:
- Thin blog posts no one read
- Internal duplicates of similar topics
- Less time to work on real cases
SEO tools showed traffic bumps, but not better leads. The analytics “looked good” in charts, but intake staff did not feel any real change.
So he pulled back. Now he prefers to write slower, longer pieces triggered by:
- Patterns in questions from real callers
- Gaps in current search results that matter to his clients
- Changes in Illinois law or regulations
From an SEO purist position, this might seem like leaving opportunity on the table. He would answer that the extra traffic from shallow posts created noise, not cases.
Avoiding scare tactics in content
Some legal marketers like strong fear-based language because it often increases clicks and time on page. He sees those same patterns in tools, but he tries not to go too far.
He might mention the real risks of neglect, but he avoids:
- Graphic photos of injuries on core pages
- Overstated promises of huge settlements
- Blaming every decline in health on abuse
SEO tools do not give guidance here. They just show engagement. This is where he draws his own line, even if a more aggressive style might rank a bit faster for some phrases.
You might disagree with him. That is fine. But it is one area where he pushes back against pure SEO thinking.
What someone in SaaS, SEO, or dev can learn from this
You probably will not run a nursing home abuse practice. Still, the way this Chicago lawyer uses SEO tools carries some patterns that cross over into your world.
1. Start from real language, not from your internal label
In SaaS, teams often describe features with internal names no customer uses. The same thing happens in law. SEO tools, intake logs, support tickets, and chat logs are all raw material.
If you are working on a product or client project, ask:
- What exact words do users type when they are confused or upset?
- How do they describe problems before they learn our official terms?
- Do our titles and headings match that language?
This is not just “good SEO”. It reduces friction for real people.
2. Treat each important intent as its own mini product
The lawyer does not lump all cases into a single “services” page. Each incident type has its own page and a small internal structure.
For your work, that might mean:
- Separate pages and flows for radically different use cases
- Clear pathways from broad feature overviews to deep technical docs
- Dedicated onboarding for each major job your tool helps with
SEO tools can help reveal where users expect those splits, because you see distinct query groups and behavior patterns.
3. Use tools as feedback, not as a script
Search tools tempted the lawyer to post more for the sake of volume. He questioned that and pulled back. You might see a similar tension:
- Analytics pushing you to add more events, more tracking, more reports
- SEO metrics pushing you to publish more content
Sometimes the numbers matter less than the depth of one clear page, one strong feature, or one trust building flow. The Chicago lawyer decided some metrics would stay “worse” while his cases and client fit got better.
You will probably face your own version of that tradeoff.
Brief Q&A to wrap this up
Q: Does this Chicago lawyer handle all SEO work alone?
A: No. He understands the tools and makes strategy choices, but he leans on a small team for content drafting, technical fixes, and design updates. He found that when he outsourced everything, the tone drifted into generic law firm language. When he tried to do everything himself, nothing shipped. Now he plays more of a “product owner” role for the website.
Q: Are SEO tools still worth it for a small local law firm?
A: For him, yes, but only after he stopped chasing vanity traffic. He uses a handful of tools: one for keyword research, one for crawling, Search Console, and basic analytics. The payoff is not giant traffic numbers, but steady, qualified leads that match his niche. Without the tools, he would guess more and waste time on the wrong topics.
Q: What is the clearest single change he saw from using SEO tools well?
A: When he started rewriting core pages to match the language in search queries and client calls, call volume did not explode, but the ratio of “real cases” to “random questions” improved. Intake staff spent less time saying “sorry, that is outside our practice” and more time doing detailed case reviews. For a small practice, that shift in quality mattered more than any traffic chart.
