This is the actual audit framework we use when a Webster, TX attorney calls us asking for a free audit. Work through it on your own site honestly and you’ll have a pretty accurate picture of where you stand in the 77598 market — without us, without paying anybody, without being sold anything. We’ll obviously do this for you faster and catch the things you’ll miss, but the framework is no secret.

For each item, score yourself 0 (totally broken or missing), 1 (partially in place, has obvious gaps), or 2 (solid, doesn’t need attention right now). Tally at the end. The interpretation is at the bottom.

Technical foundation (max 14)

  1. HTTPS everywhere. Every URL on your site loads over HTTPS, with a 301 redirect from HTTP. Mixed-content warnings in the browser console: zero.
  2. Mobile Lighthouse score above 60. Run a fresh Lighthouse audit on mobile (not desktop) for your homepage and your highest-traffic landing page. If either is below 60, score 0 here.
  3. Core Web Vitals passing. LCP under 2.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1. Check field data in Google Search Console, not lab data.
  4. XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console. Sitemap is live, fresh, and contains every URL you actually want indexed — and excludes admin, login, and template paths.
  5. Robots.txt does not block anything important. Surprisingly common to find robots.txt accidentally disallowing /blog/ or /services/. Check it.
  6. Schema markup on every practice area page. LegalService or Attorney schema, properly nested, validates without errors in the Rich Results test.
  7. No 4xx or 5xx errors in Search Console. Pull the last 30 days of crawl errors and clear them.

Local relevance to 77598 (max 12)

  1. Dedicated 77598 landing page exists. Not a generic ‘Webster, TX’ page. A 77598-specific page with at least 1,200 words.
  2. Page mentions real Bay Area Houston / Webster business corridor landmarks. Reference the Texas suburb anchoring the southeast Bay Area, near Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital. Generic ‘Houston’ content scores 0.
  3. Embedded Google Map. The page has a real, live embed showing your office or service area in relation to Webster, TX.
  4. NAP appears in footer of every page. Same exact format. Same suite number. Same phone number. Same.
  5. Internal links from other pages to your 77598 page. The page should not be an orphan. At least three internal links pointing to it from contextually relevant pages.
  6. Content references I-45 Gulf Freeway, NASA Parkway and the local geography. When clients describe their location, they think in terms of which highway exit, which mall, which intersection. So should your page.

Google Business Profile (max 12)

  1. GBP claimed and verified. If it isn’t, that’s the entire problem and we don’t need to read further.
  2. Categories: primary + 2 to 4 secondary. ‘Attorney’ as primary, then practice-area subcategories that match medical malpractice, personal injury, real estate, business law.
  3. Address consistent with website. Down to the suite number and the comma. Inconsistencies tank rankings.
  4. 20+ photos uploaded. Office interior, exterior, signage, team. Not stock photos. Real photos with EXIF data showing they’re from your area.
  5. GBP posts in the last 30 days. At least one. Ideally weekly. They’re a freshness signal Google watches.
  6. Q&A section seeded. You should have at least 5 to 10 anticipated client questions answered, with the answers coming from your business profile owner — not from random users.

Reviews and reputation (max 8)

  1. 50+ Google reviews, 4.5+ average. Below 25 reviews is a major handicap in this market. Below 4.0 average and the click-through rate suffers regardless of position.
  2. Review velocity steady, not bursty. 2 to 8 new reviews per month feels organic. 30 in one week looks fake to Google’s algorithms.
  3. Owner responses on every review. Yes, even the five-star ones. Especially the negative ones. Response language is professional, never defensive, never contains client identifying info.
  4. Reviews on at least 3 platforms beyond Google. Avvo, Yelp, Facebook, Lawyers.com, Martindale. Google is dominant but multi-platform reputation signals matter for trust ranking.

Content depth (max 10)

  1. 5+ practice-area pages, each 1,000+ words. Each one focused on a single practice area, not a ‘we do everything’ grab bag.
  2. Active blog with 12+ posts in the last 12 months. Real content, not 300-word fluff. Average post length 1,200 to 2,000 words.
  3. FAQ schema on practice-area pages. Properly marked up, eligible for rich results in SERPs.
  4. At least one piece of long-form content (3,000+ words). Pillar content that earns links and demonstrates expertise.
  5. Content references local courts, statutes, and ordinances. Harris County district courts, Harris County procedure, Texas-specific law. Generic content that could be from any state scores 0.

Authority and links (max 8)

  1. 5+ editorial backlinks from real publications. Houston Chronicle, Houston Business Journal, Texas Lawyer, local press, real industry blogs. Not directory submissions.
  2. Listed on the major legal directories. Avvo, Justia, FindLaw, Lawyers.com, Martindale, Super Lawyers, State Bar of Texas. NAP consistent across every one.
  3. Referring domains to your site: 30+. Below 30 unique referring domains and you’re competing with one hand tied behind your back, especially in a market like Webster, TX.
  4. No toxic backlinks. Run an audit through Ahrefs or Semrush. Disavow anything spammy. Bad links accumulated from old SEO work can be silently dragging you down.

Conversion mechanics (max 6)

  1. Phone number visible above the fold on every page. Sticky header on mobile. Click-to-call link properly tagged with tel: protocol.
  2. Contact form on every practice-area page. Not a ‘click here to go to a contact page’ link. The form is right there.
  3. Trust signals on landing pages. Reviews, awards, bar admissions, association memberships. The user shouldn’t have to hunt for proof you’re real.

Score interpretation

Total possible: 70.

  • 0–20: Your site is essentially invisible for 77598 legal queries. The good news is the lift will be dramatic when you fix even half of this — most firms in this range double organic leads within 6 months of a real engagement.
  • 21–40: Foundation is partly there. You’re getting some traffic but leaving 60-80% of the available Webster, TX 77598 market on the table.
  • 41–55: Solid but not dominant. You probably rank for some queries and miss a lot of others. Targeted work in your weakest categories will pay off fastest.
  • 56–70: You’re already doing most things right. Marginal gains from here, but they compound. This is the range where ongoing work is about defending position and capturing newly emerging keyword opportunities.

Want us to run this audit for you?

We do it free for Webster, TX attorneys. 48-hour turnaround. No sales pressure. The audit is yours either way — even if you decide not to engage us afterward.

What happens after the audit

If we end up working together, the first 30 days are triage on whatever scored 0 in the foundation and local-relevance sections. Months two and three are content depth and authority work. Months four through twelve are the compounding game — where the 77598 content built early in the engagement starts ranking for keywords you didn’t even target, and the lead flow stops being something you have to fight for and starts being something you have to manage.

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