Timestamps
Corey Vandenberg has spent more than 15 years helping law firms get found online—and he believes the rules of SEO are being rewritten in real time.
Since 2019, Corey and Clixsy have managed the Mike Morse Law Firm’s SEO strategy. During that time, search has expanded beyond traditional organic results to include map packs, AI overviews and platforms like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity.
In this episode, Corey sits down with Mike to explain why the old “blog about everything” model is losing ground, why local maps remain one of the strongest sources of high-intent leads and how law firms can use real case data to build authority in the age of AI.
They also covered:
→ Why informational website traffic is declining across the legal industry
→ How AI decides which lawyers and law firms to recommend
→ Why the most valuable content may already exist inside your cases
→ How national ranking reports can create a misleading picture of performance
→ What law firm owners should ask their SEO agencies
→ Why reviews, Reddit, Yelp, social media and other third-party signals matter
→ How brand building is making a major comeback in legal marketing
→ Why traditional SEO remains the foundation of online visibility
The biggest takeaway: SEO is not disappearing—it is evolving. The firms that build recognizable brands, strengthen their local authority and turn real experience into credible content will be positioned to stay visible wherever clients search.
Corey, thank you for joining Mike and breaking down what law firm owners need to know about the rapidly changing search landscape!
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:34 Meet Corey Vandenberg of Clixsy
01:31 How AI is rewriting law firm SEO
01:54 Why “content is king” is changing
02:56 How law firms can protect their visibility
03:30 Why the gold is in your cases
04:42 Creating case content without compromising clients
05:22 Why the map pack still matters
06:24 How AI decides which lawyers to recommend
07:48 Questions to ask your SEO agency
09:02 Why national ranking data can be misleading
10:45 Competing with national firms in local markets
12:03 Can AI identify firms that are not truly local?
12:39 The third-party sources shaping AI answers
14:10 Does organic search still generate cases?
16:20 Understanding Google Search Console
17:44 How to evaluate your website’s performance
19:16 The return of brand building
19:58 Why social signals matter more than ever
20:34 Closing
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