Should a Law Firm Have Separate Websites for Each Practice Area or Office?
Last updated: November 12, 2026 · By Kayce Sadler, Founder & CEO, Abode Marketing
In almost every case, no. One domain with a well-built page for each practice area and each real, staffed office will outperform a cluster of keyword microsites. It’s also easier to keep inside Google’s doorway policy and Louisiana’s trade-name rules. A second site earns its keep only when it represents a genuinely separate firm or brand that you actually practice under.
Key takeaways
- Google’s spam policies list “having multiple domain names or pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page” as doorway abuse.
- Every new domain starts with no links, no reviews and no brand searches. Links that point to a microsite don’t help your main site.
- Louisiana Rule 7.10(c): you can’t advertise under a trade name unless it’s the firm name on your letterhead, cards, sign, fee contracts and pleadings.
- Rule 7.6(b) makes every firm-controlled website disclose all licensing jurisdictions and a bona fide office location.
- Office pages belong only to real offices. Louisiana defines a bona fide office as one where at least one lawyer is “regularly and routinely present.”
Somebody pitches this to nearly every firm I talk to. Buy lafayettetruckaccidentlawyer.com, put up a five-page site, and watch it rank. It was a real tactic once. Today it mostly produces a handful of thin sites that nobody maintains, all competing with the firm’s main website.
Why do agencies still pitch practice-area microsites?
Because they’re easy to sell and easy to build. An exact-match domain sounds like a shortcut, and each new site is a separate deliverable. What usually goes unsaid, in my experience, is that the keyword in a domain name carries very little weight compared with the reputation of a site that has years of links, reviews and real content behind it.
Here’s my take. If a vendor recommends a microsite, ask them what it does that a page on your existing site can’t. If the answer is “it has the keyword in the URL,” that’s not enough.
What does Google’s doorway policy actually say?
Google’s spam policies define doorway abuse as “when sites or pages are created to rank for specific, similar search queries” that “lead users to intermediate pages that aren’t as useful as the final destination.” The examples read like a description of the typical microsite network:
- “Having multiple websites with slight variations to the URL and home page to maximize their reach for any specific query”
- “Having multiple domain names or pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page”
- “Creating substantially similar pages that are closer to search results than a clearly defined, browseable hierarchy”
The scaled-content section adds “creating multiple sites with the intent of hiding the scaled nature of the content.” A firm that spins up eight near-identical injury sites, each funneling to the same intake number, is close to the line Google drew.
Doesn’t a second site give us twice the chances to rank?
It gives you twice the work and half the strength. When a local reporter, a bar association or a referring lawyer links to your firm, that link helps one domain. Your Google reviews attach to your Business Profile, which links to one website. Each microsite starts from nothing and stays weaker than the main site for as long as it exists.
AI tools add another wrinkle. When ChatGPT or Google’s AI Overviews describe a firm, they piece together your name, address, lawyers and practice areas from many sources. Two or three websites with different names and layouts give them more chances to describe your firm wrong.
What do Louisiana’s rules say about domain names and trade names?
This is a summary, not legal advice. Confirm your situation with the LSBA’s Ethics Counsel or your own ethics counsel. I didn’t find a rule that addresses domain names by name, but the trade-name rules reach the question quickly.
- Rule 7.10(c) says a lawyer “shall not advertise under a trade or fictitious name” unless the lawyer actually practices under it. The same name has to be the firm name on letterhead, business cards, office sign and fee contracts, and appear with the lawyer’s signature on pleadings.
- The LSBA’s advertising handbook gives an example: a firm advertising as “Anytime Maritime Law Firm” while practicing as “Smith & Jones,” without full disclosure, is a violation. A microsite branded with a made-up name like “Bayou Injury Center” invites the same question.
- An older LSBA committee opinion (07-RPCC-012, 2007) said a lawyer “may not use multiple business identities simultaneously.” It was written under earlier rule numbering and is advisory, so treat it as background, not the final word.
- Rule 7.6(b) applies to every website “controlled, sponsored, or authorized” by the firm. Each one must disclose all jurisdictions where the firm’s lawyers are licensed and a bona fide office location. Websites are exempt from LSBA filing under Rule 7.8(g), but not from the rules themselves.
One site or several? A side-by-side
| Factor | One site, with practice and office pages | Separate microsites |
|---|---|---|
| Links and authority | Every earned link strengthens the same domain | Links split across domains; each site starts at zero |
| Google Business Profile | Each office profile links to its own location page | Each profile has one website field, so microsites get none of the review strength |
| Google spam policy | A browseable hierarchy, which is what Google asks for | Close to the doorway examples if the sites target cities or near-identical queries |
| Louisiana bar compliance | One set of Rule 7.6(b) disclosures to keep current | Disclosures on every site; possible trade-name issues under Rule 7.10(c) |
| Upkeep | One CMS, one set of plugins, one place to update attorney bios | Several sites that drift out of date, often with old lawyers still listed |
| Tracking | One analytics property, cleaner attribution | Scattered data; hard to tell which site signed which case |
When does a second website make sense?
When it’s a genuinely different business. A separately owned firm that shares your building should have its own site. So should a distinct brand you’ve cleared with ethics counsel and actually practice under on your letterhead and pleadings. Spanish-language content is not a reason for a new domain. Put it on your main site as a translated section, so it benefits from the same authority.
How should office location pages be built?
Only for offices that pass Louisiana’s definition. Rule 7.2(a)(2) defines a bona fide office as “a physical location maintained by the lawyer or law firm where the lawyer or law firm reasonably expects to furnish legal services in a substantial way on a regular and continuing basis,” with “at least one lawyer who is regularly and routinely present.” A shared conference room you visit twice a year doesn’t qualify.
A real office page gets the full street address, hours, the lawyers who work there, parking and directions, photos of the actual building, and the courts that office handles most. Link it from that office’s Google Business Profile. That’s the structure Google rewards and the one clients trust.
What we’d check first if you already have microsites
- Every domain you own. Which sites are live, which redirect, and which still list a lawyer who left.
- Thin or near-duplicate pages on each microsite that look like the doorway examples in Google’s policy.
- Your Business Profile links. Whether each office’s profile points to the right page on your main site, with matching name, address and hours.
- Practice-page depth on the main site, plus mobile speed, LegalService schema and a clear path to call or submit a form.
- AI descriptions. Whether ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews describe your firm under one consistent name, or mix in a microsite brand.
- Ad landing pages. Whether paid traffic lands on a microsite that tracking can’t connect to signed cases.
If the answer is consolidation, 301-redirect each microsite page to the closest matching page on your main site. Google’s site-move guidance recommends keeping redirects in place “generally at least 1 year.”
Related reading: local SEO for Louisiana law firms, how the map pack works for law firms, and questions to ask before you hire marketing help.
If you’re sitting on a few domains and aren’t sure what to keep, our free visibility audit looks at each site, your Google profiles and how AI tools describe you, then tells you plainly what we’d fold into one.
More owner questions we’ve answered: How Fast Should a Law Firm Respond to New Leads, and How Many Are Missed? · Changing Your Law Firm’s Name? How to Keep Your Google Rankings and Reviews · Should Each Attorney or Doctor Have Their Own Google Business Profile?
Frequently asked questions
Is a subdomain better than a separate domain for a practice area?
A subdomain like family.yourfirm.com keeps the brand connection, but a folder like yourfirm.com/family-law is simpler and keeps everything in one place. Unless a practice group truly needs its own platform, a folder is the cleaner choice. Either way, the content quality matters more than the address.
We bought keyword domains years ago. Should we let them expire?
If they have no links or traffic, letting them lapse is fine. If they do, redirect them to the matching page on your main site so you keep whatever value they built. Check before you decide, because some old domains still get calls from printed materials.
Can a law firm blog live on a separate website?
It can, but you give up the main benefit of blogging, which is building the authority of the site clients actually contact. Put the blog on your main domain and link posts to your practice pages. A separate blog also needs its own Rule 7.6(b) disclosures if it describes your services.
How many practice area pages should one site have?
One for each area you actually handle in meaningful volume, with sub-pages only where the questions genuinely differ, like truck wrecks versus car wrecks. A page that just repeats another with a word swapped doesn’t help anyone. Depth beats count.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search — Doorway abuse definition and examples; scaled content abuse incl. multiple sites hiding scaled content
- LSBA: Louisiana lawyer advertising rules (effective Jan. 1, 2022) — Rules 7.10(c) trade names, 7.6(b) website disclosures, 7.2(a)(2) bona fide office definition, 7.8(g) website filing exemption
- LSBA: Lawyer Advertising Handbook — ‘Anytime Maritime Law Firm’ trade-name example; website must comply with Rule 7.6
- LSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee Opinion 07-RPCC-012 (2007), summary — Multiple simultaneous business identities not allowed; advisory, older rule numbering
- Google Search Central: Site moves with URL changes — Keep redirects generally at least 1 year when consolidating
- New Media Campaigns: Should your law firm use separate practice area microsites? (2020) — Firms often ask this; subdomain alternative
