GEO checklist for law firms 2026 in New York City
What New York City Clients Actually Ask AI
- What New York City Clients Actually Ask AI
- "best employment lawyers in Manhattan near financial district"
- "family law attorney in Brooklyn who handles custody disputes under $5000"
- "immigration lawyer in Queens accepting new clients 2026"
- "personal injury lawyer in the Bronx with free consultation"
- "commercial real estate attorney in NYC specializing in lease disputes"
- "tax attorney in New York City experienced with audit defense"
What We Found Auditing New York City law firms
What We Found Auditing New York City Law Firms
We audited 14 active law firm websites across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx this week. Here's what the data shows:
Zero of 14 sites (0%) have FAQPage schema implemented. This means their frequently asked questions aren't formatted for AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity to cite them directly.
Eleven of 14 firms (79%) do display author/professional credentials on their pages—bar admission numbers, years of experience, past case outcomes. This is your strongest category.
Only 8 of 14 sites (57%) clearly display service descriptions or pricing information above the fold. The remaining six bury this content or omit it entirely, forcing AI crawlers to infer what you actually offer.
None of 14 sites block AI crawlers in robots.txt, which is correct behavior—but it's also passive. You're not actively optimizing for AI discovery.
The average GEO health score across all 14 firms: 39/100.
Why These Gaps Cost You Clients
Why These Gaps Cost You Clients
When ChatGPT or Perplexity responds to a query like "employment lawyer in Manhattan," the system pulls from indexed pages that have clear, structured answers to common legal questions. If your FAQ section exists but isn't marked with FAQPage schema, the AI system can't reliably extract and cite your answers. Your competitor with schema-marked FAQs appears instead.
Pricing and service information gaps create friction at the decision stage. A potential client in Queens searching "personal injury lawyer free consultation" needs to see those words and dollar amounts immediately. If your site makes them dig three pages deep or call to ask, they click the next result. AI systems also weight specificity—"family law" ranks lower than "uncontested divorce under $3000."
Your credentials (which 79% of you display correctly) only convert if they're visible where AI crawlers look first: page title, first 200 words, and structured data fields. Buried credentials don't influence ranking or citation likelihood.
30-Day GEO Checklist for New York City Attorneys
- 30-Day GEO Checklist for New York City Attorneys
- Day 1-3: Add FAQPage schema to your services page. List 6-8 questions clients ask. Format with Question, Answer, Author (your name, credentials, bar number). This is non-negotiable for AI citation.
- Day 4-6: Audit every service page. Add specific pricing or fee structure to the first 150 words. Examples: "uncontested divorce: $800-1200," "initial consultation: free (60 min)." Don't hide this in PDFs.
- Day 7-10: Create location pages for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Each page must include: your office address in that borough, neighborhoods served, local case results, and a unique FAQ (with schema) for that area.
- Day 11-15: Extract and format credentials everywhere. Your page title should include: "Name, License #, Practice Areas — NYC Attorney." Your about page must list bar admissions, years licensed, and specific case wins (numbers, types, not just testimonials).
- Day 16-20: Build a "What Clients Ask" section on your homepage. Use real search queries from Google Search Console (if available) or common calls to your office. Add FAQPage schema here too.
- Day 21-25: Audit your service pages for specificity gaps. Replace "family law" with "contested custody, support modification, prenuptial agreements." Replace "business law" with "LLC formation ($400), partnership disputes, contract review ($250/hour)."
- Day 26-30: Test. Use Google's Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) to validate FAQPage schema. Search your own name + "law firm" and check if your FAQ appears in results or AI previews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need FAQPage schema if I already have a FAQ section?
Yes. Schema tells search engines and AI systems which content is a Q&A pair. Without it, systems like ChatGPT can't reliably extract and cite your answers. 0 of 14 New York City firms audited had this implemented. It takes one developer 2-4 hours to add.
Should I list my hourly rate or flat fees on my website?
Both if applicable. Flat fees (uncontested divorce: $800; initial consultation: free) help clients filter and allow AI systems to match queries with pricing. Hide fees and you lose 40-60% of web visitors before they contact you. Eight of the 14 NYC firms audited made this mistake.
How specific should my location pages be—just my borough or each neighborhood?
Start with borough pages (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx). If you have multiple offices or serve specific neighborhoods heavily (e.g., Financial District for commercial law), create neighborhood-level pages. Each needs unique content, local case results, and neighborhood-specific FAQs with schema.
Does blocking AI crawlers help me rank better in Google?
No. None of the 14 NYC firms audited block AI crawlers, and for good reason: blocking crawlers hurts both Google ranking and AI system discovery. You want to be indexed everywhere. Instead, optimize content structure so AI systems cite you accurately.
Related GEO Insights
More Resources
AltorLab (ex-Microsoft AI team) audits New York City law firms for GEO readiness. We'll show you which AI queries surface competitors instead of you — and the specific fixes.
Book a free GEO audit →Or email amanda@altorlab.xyz