Online visibility in 90 days: the plan for professional firms, week by week

Why a plan instead of one-off measures

Visibility builds on itself. A Google profile that links to a home page without practice areas achieves little. A LinkedIn post that leads to a website with no way to get in touch on a phone fizzles out. And a review campaign before the imprint is correct draws attention to a page that invites a cease-and-desist letter. That is why the order matters more than the volume.

The weeks are guidelines. If you are just starting out, ideally begin with the foundation before opening; the founding guides, such as starting a firm in Austria or starting a firm in Germany, show when admission, registration and website come together. If you already have a website, check in week 3 whether it meets the basics or whether a relaunch is worth it.

Weeks 1–2: the foundation

Weeks 3–6: website basics

Now the goal is to be found by people who don't know your name yet. They search by profession, topic and place: “Anwalt Mietrecht Graz” (tenancy lawyer Graz), “Steuerberater für Ärzte Köln” (tax adviser for doctors Cologne), “Mediation Trennung Linz” (separation mediation Linz). For this, the website needs four things.

• One page per practice area: with the questions clients have in exactly that situation, the process, documents and costs. The post on practice areas shows how to structure and name these pages.
• A contact page that leads to a call: tap-to-call phone number, address with directions, availability, what happens at first contact. More in the post on the contact page; online booking is an addition, not a must.
• Readable on mobile: Google indexes websites based on their mobile version, and many first contacts happen on a phone. What that means in practice is in the post on the mobile website.
• Fast: large images and unnecessary scripts slow things down. Google's benchmark is that the largest visible element should load within 2.5 seconds; more in the post on loading speed.

Add pages that build trust: a team page with professional titles and real photos, structured data such as LegalService, Notary or AccountingService, and an accessible design. Firm website content sums up what belongs on a firm website overall; profession-specific advice is in posts such as website for tax advisers or website for lawyers. Whether you build it yourself or have it built depends mainly on your time budget; comparing website costs helps with the decision.

Weeks 5–8: directories and reviews

Once the website is up, it pays to anchor it on the web. The official register of your profession counts most, followed by a few private directories where clients actually search. Thirty business-directory entries with different spellings do more harm than good. The post on online directories explains which portals are worthwhile and where commission models are a problem under professional law.

At the same time, start asking for reviews: neutrally, after a matter is closed, the same way for everyone. A QR code for your review link in the closing email is enough. For replies to reviews, the review reply assistant suggests wording that does not breach confidentiality.

The post on referrals shows how recommendations work without breaching professional law; the series on winning clients covers each profession, for example for tax advisers or for mediators.

Weeks 7–12: first expert articles and LinkedIn

Expert articles are the part that brings the most new visitors in the long run, and the part that takes the most time. Start small: three articles in six weeks on questions you answer over and over in first meetings. “What does an uncontested divorce cost?”, “Which receipts do I need for my employee tax assessment?”, “How does mediation work?”. Each article links to the matching practice-area page. The post on expert articles explains how to find topics and structure articles.

Clear answers to real questions also help with AI assistants, which people increasingly ask instead of a search engine; more in the post on AI search, and you can test it with the AI preview. Share each article on LinkedIn as well. A complete profile with your professional title, firm and a link to the website, plus a post every one or two weeks, is enough to begin with. What professional law requires on LinkedIn, such as the reference to the imprint, is covered in the post on LinkedIn.

From week 4: measure what works

Set up Google Search Console as soon as the website is live. It shows which searches your pages appear for, how often they are clicked and whether Google has trouble reading the pages, all without tracking visitors. For visitor numbers, a statistics tool without cookies is enough.

Don't expect big numbers in the first weeks. New pages often take weeks to months before they are found consistently. The direction matters more than absolute values. The post on measuring success explains how to read the numbers and which values are realistic for a small firm.

What you can leave out at first

Some measures make sense, but not in the first 90 days. They cost money or a lot of time and only work once the website and profile are in place.

Time budget for a small firm

The following figures are based on experience for a sole practitioner or a small team that has the website built by a provider and supplies the content itself. If you build it yourself, expect considerably more in weeks 3–6.

What differs by profession

The plan applies to all six professions, but professional law shifts the weighting. The country differences are in the advertising guides, the SEO specifics in the search engine optimisation series, for example SEO for lawyers.

• Notaries: in Germany, a website, search engine optimisation and a factual Google profile are allowed, Google Ads and encouraging positive reviews are not (§ 29 BNotO, guidelines of the chambers of notaries). In Austria, advertising is allowed as long as it informs truthfully and factually (§ 31 Abs 6 NO); testimonials with names are prohibited. For notaries, the emphasis is therefore on the website and factual information rather than reviews. Details: notaries in Germany, notaries in Austria, SEO for notaries.
• Mediators: in Austria, only people on the Ministry of Justice list may call themselves “eingetragene:r Mediator:in” (registered mediator), and payments for referrals are prohibited (§ 15 Abs 2 ZivMediatG). In Germany, “zertifiziert” (certified) is only allowed if the requirements of the training regulation are met. In both countries, texts and review requests address both parties to preserve neutrality. Details: mediation in Austria, mediation in Germany.
• Lawyers: “Fachanwalt” (certified specialist lawyer) exists only in Germany and only once awarded; in Austria you name practice areas. See advertising law in Austria and in Germany.
• Tax advice and auditing: expert articles on deadlines and changes work particularly well, and newsletters pay off earlier than in other professions. See tax advice in Germany and auditing in Austria.
• Bookkeeping: only advertise what your authorisation covers; in Austria under the BiBuG, in Germany within the limits of § 6 and § 8 StBerG. See bookkeeping in Austria and in Germany.