From page-two obscurity to the top of search — and the AI answers.
In under nine months, a solo Calgary criminal defence lawyer went from near-invisible to ranking for 2,713 keywords, dominating local results, and being actively cited across AI search — driving a 16,900% increase in monthly organic clicks.
clicks
ranking
AI Overviews
by AI
A sharp solo practice, all but unfindable online.
This criminal defence law firm is a Calgary, Alberta based practice led by a lawyer with a background in engineering who brings a rare, analytical approach to the courtroom. The firm handles assault, domestic violence, drug offences, and DUI matters, and offers free consultations and payment plans.
The problem wasn’t the practice — it was visibility. Despite a strong offering and a clear point of difference, the firm was being outranked by competitors across the Calgary market, with no foothold on the search results that actually generate calls.
Solo Practitioner Criminal Defence Law Firm
- Calgary, Alberta — solo practitioner
- Assault · Domestic violence · Drug offences · DUI
- Free consultations & flexible payment plans
- Engineering-trained, analytical defence strategy
“A rare analytical perspective to the courtroom, and a relentless approach to criminal defence.”
Stuck below the line that matters.
At our first audit on August 14, 2025, the firm had a website and a Google Business Profile — but neither was working. Core terms ranked far from the top, the profile sat dormant, and organic traffic was negligible.
A structured system, built around what made this lawyer different.
We started on August 25, 2025. Rather than chasing isolated tactics, we built an integrated organic system — engineered, like this lawyer’s defence work, around the specifics of the Calgary market and the firm’s unique strengths. Every play was designed to rank for both traditional search and AI answer engines at the same time.
Search-intent content engine
Two blog posts and two Google Business Profile posts every month — informational and high-intent, mapped to what Calgary searchers were actually looking for, and structured to be picked up by both search engines and AI models.
Demand-led keyword targeting
Keywords selected from real search demand in the service area, deliberately capturing searchers looking for related and adjacent services — widening the firm’s reach beyond a handful of head terms.
Out-execute the local field
Competitor analysis to find where rivals were strong — then a plan to outperform them on those exact fronts, paired with an activated, consistently-posted Google Business Profile.
Content & keyword optimization
On-page work focused on aligning content and keyword targeting across the site so every page pulled its weight for the terms that matter.
Built to be cited by AI
Content explicitly structured so AI systems could parse, trust, and quote it — positioning the firm to appear in AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Gemini, not just blue links.
Technical foundation
Strong technical SEO — schema markup, robots directives, and clean crawlability — giving both search engines and AI models a clear, structured read of the site.
Visibility, traffic, and calls — all moving in one direction.
Over the trailing 12 months, Google Search Console recorded 17.1K clicks and 2.74M impressions at an average position of 6.4 — and GA4 shows Organic Search as the firm’s leading channel, with sessions up roughly 1,785% over the period.
Early milestone: within the first three months, daily organic clicks climbed from 0–3 to 50–60, and daily impressions rose from ~1,000 to ~9,000.
From zero AI presence to a cited source.
As AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Gemini increasingly answer legal queries directly, being named and cited inside those answers is the new front page. This criminal defence law firm went from no AI footprint to consistent visibility across every major platform.
Brand mentions in AI answers 0 → 17
Pages cited by AI 0 → 51
51 unique pages cited in total; platform counts overlap, as a single page can be cited across multiple AI engines. Alongside this, 311 keywords now trigger an AI Overview where the firm is visible — up from zero.
Nine months, in one table.
| Metric | Aug 2025 | May 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly organic clicks | ~30 | ~5,100 | +16,900% |
| Total ranking keywords | 100 | 2,713 | +2,613 |
| Keywords in top 3 | 0 | 143 | +143 |
| Keywords in top 10 | 13 | 482 | +469 |
| Keywords in AI Overviews | 0 | 311 | +311 |
| AI brand mentions | 0 | 17 | +17 |
| Pages cited by AI | 0 | 51 | +51 |
| Monthly organic calls | 11 | 25 | +127% |
Reporting verified via: Google Search Console · Semrush · Ahrefs · Google Business Profile. Aug 2025 figures are starting baselines; May 2026 figures are current as of the engagement date shown.
Straight from the dashboards.
[Kaizen Growth] has been fantastic to work with. I noticed immediate results, and they’ve continued to grow.
[Kaizen Growth] is responsive to any inquiries I have, and provides excellent advice on what I can do to increase my website traffic.
Want results like these?
We build the same structured organic systems for law firms, trades, and service businesses — engineered to win both search and AI.
Book a Strategy Call