I still remember the day I met Barrett Thomas. He’s a family law attorney in Texas who felt defeated by digital marketing. His firm (then called Blanchard & Thomas, now Lighthouse Legal Services) was struggling online. In our very first conversation, Barrett vented that his website felt like a “digital ghost town” – the phone just wasn’t ringing. He’d poured money into online marketing only to feel like he was “throwing it into a black hole”. Competitors dominated Google’s results while his law firm remained virtually invisible. He told me bluntly, “We were paying for SEO and ads month after month and saw nothing – it felt like they were just taking our money and not doing anything.” Barrett was skeptical and frustrated – burned by a previous legal marketing agency that overpromised and underdelivered.
Yet, as we talked, I saw a spark of hope. He wanted to believe his firm could turn around, but he needed proof. Little did he know, just one year later, he’d be looking back on a 174.8% increase in leads, a 19.9% lower cost per lead, and an explosion in organic traffic that would transform his practice. Fast forward another eighteen months, and his cost per lead would plummet to 28.5% lower than where he started. Here’s the story of how we made that happen – and how you can achieve a similar transformation for your family law firm.
Transform a "digital ghost town" into a lead-generating powerhouse for a family law firm
174.8% increase in leads, 19.9% lower cost per lead, and explosion in organic traffic
"Finally, the phone is ringing off the hook! I used to Google our firm and nothing came up. Now we're all over the search results – it's like we exist in a way we never did online."
— Barrett Thomas, Lighthouse Legal ServicesBarrett’s experience is far too common among family law firm owners. His online presence was practically invisible. When local families searched Google for terms like “divorce lawyer near me” or “child custody attorney Waco,” his firm barely showed up – if at all. In a competitive market (where divorce-related keywords can cost over $50 per click on Google Ads!), not being seen was a death sentence for lead generation. Barrett lamented to me, “If people can’t find us on Google, they can’t become clients.”
"We're tired of potential clients finding our competitors first."
Worse, every time he did go online, he saw rival law firms seemingly everywhere – topping search results, running flashy ads, flaunting 5-star reviews. He felt “lost in a saturated sea” of competitors. “We’re tired of potential clients finding our competitors first,” he admitted. It was demoralizing. His website wasn’t attracting or converting anyone, and he suspected it might even be turning people away. (In his words, it was outdated and “wasn’t doing us any favors.”) Every month that passed without results felt like another month of losing cases to the firm down the street.
To make matters worse, the marketing agency he’d hired previously had drained his budget for over two years with nothing to show. Barrett described writing check after check and getting only excuses in return. He had “lost substantial amounts of money to over-promising and under-achieving marketing agencies” before. By the time we spoke, his trust was shattered. He was close to giving up on digital marketing entirely, convinced that all agencies might just be smoke and mirrors.
Barrett's frustrations were completely valid. In competitive family law markets, being invisible online means missing out on clients who desperately need your services. But this painful starting point was exactly what would make his eventual transformation so dramatic.
A clear, side-by-side snapshot of the turnaround
Sound familiar? If you’re a family law firm owner reading this, you might recognize some of Barrett’s pain points in your own experience. An underperforming website... Ads that burn through cash without ROI... Competitors overshadowing you online... It’s exhausting and scary, especially when your firm’s growth is on the line.
But Barrett’s story proves it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, his journey from frustration to flourishing contains the exact steps that can turn things around for any firm stuck in digital despair. Let me walk you through how we tackled each challenge head-on.
When Barrett reached out to Rule Your Kingdom (RYK), I could hear the mix of hope and hesitation in his voice. He was desperate for real results, but also guarded – he’d been burned before. I’m the founder of RYK, and I’ve talked with many attorneys like Barrett. I told him what I’ll tell you now: it is entirely possible to revive your online presence and start getting the steady stream of high-quality client leads you want. You just need the right plan and a partner who cares about results as much as you do.
Early in our discussions, I laid out a vision of what success could look like for his firm. We talked about concrete goals: making his phone ring consistently with new divorce and family law inquiries, ensuring he appears prominently when locals search for an attorney, and rebuilding his website into a modern, client-converting machine. I also addressed his biggest fear upfront – transparency. Unlike his last agency, we’d track everything and provide clear reporting, so he’d never have to wonder “what are we getting for our money?”
By the end of that call, I could tell Barrett’s skepticism was fading, replaced by something new: belief. He told me, “I just want our marketing to finally work.” I promised him that if he trusted us with his firm’s online strategy, we would treat it like our own business. No gimmicks, no fluff – just honest, data-driven work to get results.
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If you’re reading this and feeling the same frustrations Barrett had, I invite you to take the first step. Get a free website evaluation and marketing consultation – no strings attached. Let’s figure out why your phone isn’t ringing and how to fix it.
Barrett decided to take that leap of faith. What followed was one of the most dramatic turnarounds I've ever been a part of. Here's exactly how we did it.
The shift from skepticism to belief was crucial. Barrett needed to see that not all agencies are the same – that transparency, clear communication, and genuine partnership could produce the results he'd been desperately seeking. This foundation of trust would be essential for the dramatic transformation ahead.
Rule Your Kingdom's proven methodology that transformed Lighthouse Legal Services from invisible to industry leader
We scrapped the inefficient structure from the previous agency and rebuilt his Google Ads campaigns from the ground up. This meant better keyword targeting (no more wasting budget on broad, irrelevant terms), compelling ad copy tailored to family law clients, and proper conversion tracking on every call or form lead. We focused on the most valuable keywords (while avoiding super-costly clicks that weren’t likely to turn into clients) and structured campaigns for each practice area (divorce, child custody, etc.). Our goal was to make every dollar count – and to know exactly which ads were generating calls.
Efficient ad spend starts with proper campaign structure. By rebuilding from scratch with targeted keywords and clear conversion tracking, we ensured Barrett could see exactly which ads were bringing in quality leads.
Strategic Google Ads rebuild that transformed Lighthouse Legal's lead generation overnight
Wasted Budget • Poor Quality Score • No Attribution
Practice-Focused • Higher Quality Score • Full Tracking
Strategic landing page optimization that instantly boosted Lighthouse Legal's lead capture rate
Because Barrett’s existing website was underperforming (and a full redesign would take time), we quickly rolled out stand-alone landing pages to use with the new ad campaigns. These pages were laser-focused on converting visitors into leads, with clear headlines addressing client pain points, trust signals (like client testimonials and awards), and prominent “Call Now” and “Schedule Consultation” buttons. By sending Google Ads traffic to these optimized pages rather than the old generic site, we immediately improved his conversion rate. Essentially, we put a “band-aid” in place to start capturing leads right away, even as we worked on the bigger rebuild.
Don't wait for perfection. Quick-win landing pages allowed us to start capturing leads immediately while the full website rebuild was in progress. Every day of delay is potential revenue lost.
Next, we dug into SEO. Barrett had virtually no organic search presence – his firm ranked for only a handful of keywords, if any. We performed a deep analysis of the local competition: which family law keywords they ranked for, what content was on their sites, how many backlinks they had, and where their traffic came from. This competitive intel gave us a roadmap to outshine those firms online. We identified dozens of high-value search terms (e.g. “Waco divorce lawyer”, “child custody attorney Texas”) that no one had optimized Barrett’s site for. We also researched common questions and concerns of his ideal clients to guide our content strategy. This phase was all about finding opportunities – the gaps where we could help Barrett’s firm leapfrog into visibility in search results that mattered.
Know your competition inside and out. By analyzing what competitors were doing (and missing), we found exact opportunities for Barrett to dominate search results in his local market.
Strategic SEO analysis that uncovered hidden opportunities for Lighthouse Legal's market domination
Complete website re-engineering that turned Lighthouse Legal into a modern client-converting machine
With data in hand, we embarked on a complete website redesign and re-engineering for what would become Lighthouse Legal Services’ new site. We built the new site to be fast, modern, and mobile-friendly (no more clunky old site scaring off mobile users – in fact, we know if a site is slow or hard to use on a phone, “people will leave before they even see what you offer”). The design was professional yet welcoming, instilling trust for sensitive family law clients. More importantly, we overhauled the site architecture and content for SEO and conversions. Every service (divorce, custody, adoption, etc.) got its own optimized page targeting specific keywords and including persuasive content that spoke to client pain points. We added clear calls-to-action throughout (“Book a consultation” buttons on every page), client testimonials, and an easy-to-use contact form. This new site wasn’t just about looking pretty – it was engineered to rank well and turn visitors into leads.
Your website should work as hard as you do. The new site was built with dual purposes: attract search traffic through SEO optimization and convert that traffic into paying clients through strategic design and messaging.
In the middle of this project, Barrett made a big decision – to rebrand Blanchard & Thomas into Lighthouse Legal Services with a new domain name (llslaw.com). Changing a business name and website URL can be terrifying from an SEO perspective; done wrong, you can lose years of hard-earned search rankings overnight. We carefully managed the domain migration to ensure zero loss of momentum. This included setting up 301 redirects from every old URL to its new URL counterpart, updating Google Search Console and Google Business Profile with the new domain, and revising all on-page SEO elements to reflect the new brand. We timed the new site launch so that the switch happened instantaneously – one moment the old site was live, the next moment the new Lighthouse Legal site was live at the new domain, minimizing any downtime. We monitored Google’s indexation and traffic like hawks during this transition. The result? A flawless transition. After a few months of Google digesting the implications of all our work, the new domain picked up right where the old one left off. In fact, thanks to the improved site, SEO performance continued to climb after the rebrand.
Strategic domain migration that preserved SEO value while transitioning to Lighthouse Legal Services
Careful domain migration designed to preserve all search rankings and traffic
Domain changes don't have to be disasters. With proper planning, 301 redirects, and careful monitoring, we successfully rebranded Barrett's firm without losing any search engine momentum.
Consistent NAP citations across all online directories that boosted Lighthouse Legal's local search visibility
Along with the domain change, we also updated citations and online listings across the web. Consistency is key for local SEO, so we made sure that directories, legal listings, and review sites all reflected the new firm name and linked to the new website. We updated addresses, phone numbers, and firm descriptions wherever they appeared. We encouraged the Lighthouse Legal staff to reach out to past clients for fresh Google reviews under the new brand name, to build up the new brand’s online reputation quickly. By cleaning up old information and amplifying positive reviews, we ensured that anyone searching for his firm (or reading about it) would find accurate info and social proof of quality. This boosted his credibility and local search visibility even further.
Consistency builds credibility. Updating all online citations and profiles with accurate information reinforced the new brand and improved local search rankings while building trust with potential clients.
True to my promise of transparency, we implemented CallRail tracking and robust analytics on all of Barrett’s campaigns. Every phone call that came through the website or ads was logged and recorded via CallRail, so we knew exactly which source (organic search, Google Ads, Google Maps, etc.) generated each lead. We built intuitive dashboards to show Barrett monthly progress: number of leads, cost per lead, which practice areas were hottest, and so on. This closed the loop – no more mystery about ROI. Barrett could see and hear the results for himself. (Imagine being able to listen to a recording of a client call that came from your Google ad – that’s the level of insight we provided.) This data-driven approach not only proved our value, but it also helped us continually refine the campaigns for even better performance.
Transparency builds trust and drives results. By tracking every call and providing clear reporting, Barrett always knew exactly what his marketing investment was producing – and we could optimize based on real data.
Advanced call tracking and analytics that revealed exactly where every lead came from and what it cost
Every phone call tracked, recorded, and attributed to its marketing source with complete ROI visibility
Each of these steps was critical. Taken together, they formed a comprehensive strategy to pull Lighthouse Legal Services out of the digital abyss and into the spotlight. But what truly matters is what happened next: the results.
Things started modestly, but it didn’t take long for the impact of our work to become evident. By the end of the fourth month of launching the new Google Ads campaigns with our landing pages, Barrett saw 25% more leads come in than he had in an average four-month period with his old agency. It’s never been that bad since. The phone that had been silent was now ringing a few times a day with prospective clients. I remember getting an excited call from Barrett: he sounded equal parts astonished and relieved that “finally, the phone is ringing off the hook!”
How Rule Your Kingdom delivered 174.8% more leads in just 12 months for Lighthouse Legal Services
From 533 leads with previous agency to 1,465 leads with RYK - more than 2.7X more leads every month.
Barrett saw a 19.9% reduction in cost per lead in the first year, with 28.5% lower costs after 18 months.
From ranking for basically 1 keyword to 154 keywords on Google after 16 months on new domain.
From effectively 0 visitors a month to 218 monthly organic visitors, valued at $738/month in free advertising.
Over the first 12 months, the numbers told a stunning story of transformation. Let’s compare the final year with his previous agency versus the first year with Rule Your Kingdom:
The previous agency generated 533 leads in their last 12 months, while Rule Your Kingdom delivered 1,465 leads in their first 12 months. That's a +174.8% increase in lead volume, meaning Barrett's firm was getting more than 2.7X more leads every month on average.
As you can see above, the difference was night and day. Instead of a trickle of leads, Lighthouse Legal Services was getting a flood of inquiries. In practical terms, this growth meant full calendars of consultations and the ability for Barrett to be more selective in the cases he took (since he now had plenty of potential clients to choose from).
Importantly, these weren’t just more leads – they were better leads. By targeting specific keywords and ad messages for the right clients, we helped filter out the “tire-kickers” and irrelevant calls that used to waste Barrett’s time. Now, when the phone rang, it was usually someone with a serious family law matter in Barrett’s service area – exactly the kind of client he wanted to attract.
Lowering the cost per lead was crucial for improving Barrett’s marketing ROI. Essentially, his ad budget was now delivering more bang for the buck. We achieved this by eliminating wasted spend (through tighter keyword targeting and negative keywords to weed out irrelevant searches), improving Quality Scores on Google (our ads and landing pages were highly relevant, lowering Google’s charges per click), and boosting the conversion rate (so a higher percentage of clicks turned into actual leads). In plain English: we got more leads from the same budget.
Barrett was thrilled – not only was he getting tons more inquiries, but he was also seeing money left over in the budget that used to evaporate without results. Every month, we’d review the numbers. Instead of the old dread he felt with his prior agency’s reports (when they even bothered to send reports), Barrett was now excited to see his marketing data. It became a motivator, not a source of stress, as he watched the metrics improve month after month.
And what about the SEO side of things? That turned out to be the sleeper success story. In the beginning, Barrett had essentially no organic reach. A brand-new domain (Lighthouse Legal Services) starts at ground zero with Google, so we knew it would take some months to gain traction. But our comprehensive SEO and content strategy paid off massively over the course of the next 16 months:
When RYK started, the firm was ranking for basically 1 keyword (virtually invisible). Now, just 16 months after the change to a brand new domain, combined with website re-engineering and ongoing SEO, the site now ranks for 154 keywords on Google – a testament to the breadth of content and authority built.
That climb in keyword rankings translated into real traffic:
Going from effectively 0 visitors a month from organic search to around 218 monthly organic visitors after our SEO work began to take hold. The curve trends upward as more keywords hit first page and local map pack positions. Importantly, these are targeted visitors – people searching for family law services in Barrett's areas.
Sixteen months after changing the brand, the domain, and the site itself, Lighthouse Legal Services is attracting hundreds of potential clients through free, organic searches – people who clicked on his site in the Google results (rather than on an ad). The SEO traffic alone is valued at about $738/month (if he were to pay for those clicks in ads), meaning that’s essentially “free advertising” he’s now getting thanks to ranking well. Where before he had to rely solely on paid ads for visibility, now he has a one-two punch: a robust Google Ads pipeline and a growing organic pipeline.
To Barrett, this organic growth was a bonus he almost didn’t believe possible given where we started. He told me at one point, “I used to Google our firm and nothing came up. Now we’re all over the search results – it’s like we exist in a way we never did online.” We were even able to get Lighthouse Legal showing up in the coveted Google Map Pack for searches like “Waco Family Lawyer,” thanks to the citation work and local SEO optimization. That local visibility is priceless for a multi-location firm like his.
Perhaps most satisfying was seeing Barrett’s mindset transform alongside the metrics. The man who once said he was “once bitten, twice shy” about marketing agencies was now one of our agency’s biggest advocates.
Now, the question is: Do you want to be our next success story?
Reading about Lighthouse Legal Services' journey, you might be thinking, "This sounds incredible, but can I really do all that on my own?" It's normal to feel a bit overwhelmed – running your business is a full-time job, and implementing all these steps on top of that is a major challenge. That's exactly why we're here to help. We don't just want to tell you about a blueprint in theory – we'd like to apply a customized version of it to your business. The fastest way to get started? Claim your Free Website Evaluation.
Eighteen months after our journey began, I sat down with Barrett to reflect on how far we’d come. We even filmed a short video testimonial so he could share his experience with other lawyers. In Barrett’s own words:
“As I've watched over the last year and a half, my company has continued to grow, and I think that's in large part to all of the things that Rule Your Kingdom is doing for us, whether it is managing our advertising closely, monitoring and reporting back about our Google Analytics, making sure that changes we make to the website are consistent with what Google looks at to make sure we rank high. They have done an exceptional job and I'm happy to be working with them. If you find yourself in a place where you just don't exactly trust your current provider or you feel like you need somebody that's more responsive and somebody that's going to work with you to grow your company more than work for themselves and grow their own company, I would highly recommend considering Rule Your Kingdom. I'm happy to talk to you about my experience, and Mr. Siegel at Rule Your Kingdom would have my permission to send you my email or my phone number, and if you'd like to know more about our experience, please give me a call.”
This kind of feedback is why I do what I do. Barrett’s trust in us was rewarded, and his firm’s success is the ultimate validation of our approach.
Barrett’s story isn’t just a feel-good case study for us; it’s proof to other family law firm owners that you don’t have to settle for mediocre results or shady agencies. The relief and excitement in his voice now, compared to the frustration and doubt a year ago, is like night and day. He often jokes that Lighthouse Legal Services has become “the lighthouse” in his market, shining bright online so clients can find them, whereas before they were in the dark.
By now, you’ve seen the arc of transformation: frustration to success, invisibility to prominence, skepticism to trust. You might be thinking, “Can I really get these kinds of results for my firm?” The answer is yes – and it doesn’t require luck or magic. It requires the right strategy, executed consistently by people who know what they’re doing.
Barrett’s case is unique in its details, but in essence, it’s not an outlier. We’ve helped numerous law firms (and businesses in other competitive industries) achieve similar turnarounds. The common thread is that we address the core pain points holding your firm back:
The step-by-step plan we used for Lighthouse Legal can be adapted to your situation. Maybe you don’t need a domain change, but you do need a site overhaul and better SEO. Or perhaps your website is fine, but your Google Ads are bleeding money. In our experience, effective digital marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s about diagnosing your firm’s specific challenges and opportunities, then applying time-tested strategies with expert precision.
The outcome we aim for is exactly what Barrett achieved: more (and better) leads at a lower cost, a growing pipeline of free organic traffic, and ultimately, growth in your revenue that far exceeds the marketing investment.
Now, ask yourself: What would doubling or tripling your lead volume in the next year do for your practice? How would it feel to have the phone ringing consistently with potential clients who found you first – before they even talk to a competitor? What would it mean to finally have confidence that your marketing budget is well spent and driving a real return, instead of wondering if it’s all for nothing?
For Lighthouse Legal Services, it meant the ability to hire more attorneys to handle the increased caseload and freedom to focus more on high-value cases. It meant no longer stressing over where the next client would come from. It meant reclaiming the joy of running his practice, because growth was no longer a guessing game – it was a given.
It’s a feeling I want you to have as well.
Barrett’s story had a happy ending because he decided to take action and not settle for the status quo. If you’ve read this far, chances are you’re looking for a change, too. Perhaps you see a bit of your firm’s story in Lighthouse Legal’s journey. The good news is, the next chapter for your practice is unwritten – and you have the power to shape it.
Here’s my offer to you: Let’s discuss how we can replicate this kind of success for your law firm. I’m personally inviting you to get a Free Website & Marketing Evaluation from my team. We’ll analyze your online presence, identify the biggest opportunities for improvement, and give you a game plan – whether or not you decide to work with us. There’s no pressure, no hard sell. If we’re not a fit, you’ll still come away with valuable insights. And if we are a fit, well… you’ve seen what we can accomplish.
Imagine a year from now, your firm as the next case study – leads pouring in, competitors wondering what your secret is, and you confidently saying, “I finally found a marketing partner that delivers.” That’s what I want for you.
I helped Barrett rule his kingdom – now let’s Rule Your Kingdom.
Let’s get started with your free evaluation. Your firm’s transformation might just be the next success story I write about – and I’d love to tell that story with you as the hero.
Rule Your Kingdom • Law Firm SEO Specialists • Helping Attorneys Dominate Google Since 2011
