How Thompson Law Went From Brand New to #1 in Salem Criminal Defense
We partnered with Thompson Law from day one, building their entire digital presence from scratch and turning a new practice into the most visible criminal defense firm in Salem.
Starting a Law Practice With Zero Online Presence
Jason Thompson is a former prosecutor with 20 years of criminal defense experience, recognized as a Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorney by The National Trial Lawyers. When he launched Thompson Law LLC in Salem, Oregon, he had the credentials and courtroom record to compete with any firm in the state. What he didn't have was a website, a Google Business Profile, or a single search ranking.
No Existing Website
Thompson Law was a brand-new practice. There was no website to optimize, no domain authority to build on, and no existing search footprint. Everything had to be built from the ground up.
Established Competition
Salem's criminal defense market was already dominated by firms with years of SEO equity, hundreds of reviews, and entrenched local pack positions. Breaking in required a deliberate, multi-front strategy.
18 Practice Areas to Cover
Criminal defense spans everything from DUI to sex crimes to federal charges. Each practice area needed its own optimized landing page, keyword strategy, and content to capture high-intent searches.
Building a Market Leader From Scratch
Most SEO engagements start with an existing site that needs improvement. This one started with nothing. We built Thompson Law's entire digital presence from the ground up, designed to dominate from day one.
Custom Website Build and Technical SEO Architecture
Designed and built a conversion-focused website from scratch with SEO baked into every decision: site architecture mapped to practice areas, mobile-first responsive design, Core Web Vitals optimization, and structured data markup on every page.
18 Practice Area Pages With Deep Content
Created in-depth, attorney-reviewed content for every practice area, from DUI defense to sex crimes to Measure 11 cases. Each page built around high-intent keyword clusters with E-E-A-T signals, FAQ schema, and strategic internal linking.
Google Business Profile and Local SEO
Built and optimized the GBP listing from scratch, established consistent NAP citations across legal directories, implemented LocalBusiness schema, and created location-specific landing pages for Salem, Albany, Corvallis, and Portland.
Ongoing Optimization and Content Growth
Continuous keyword monitoring, content refinement based on ranking data, and expansion into supporting content like "Misdemeanor vs. Felony DUI" and "Appeals vs. Post-Conviction Relief" to capture informational searches and build topical authority.
From Zero to Market Leader
Over six years, Thompson Law went from having no website to ranking in the top 3 for 59 keywords, holding 124 page-one positions, and generating over 4,000 organic search sessions per year. Here are the numbers.
Top Rankings by Practice Area
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