Key Highlights
- Own more of the client-acquisition path. Reducing dependence on third-party platforms gave the firm more control over how prospective clients found and engaged with the business.
- Fix the destination before driving more demand. Rebuilding the website gave SEO and paid campaigns a stronger place to send prospects and supported consultation requests more effectively.
- Search and reputation influence the same decision. Prospective clients may discover a firm through search, then use reviews and website content to decide whether it belongs on their shortlist.
- Measure what happens after the inquiry. Lead tracking helped connect marketing activity with consultations and client acquisition, giving the firm a clearer view of business impact.
- Use channels for the jobs they do best. SEO supported ongoing visibility around family law topics, while paid search reached people already looking for an attorney.
- Long-term marketing partnerships should adapt with the business. Since 2018, WSI’s role has expanded as Anderson Boback & Marshall’s digital program and growth needs have developed.
A referral can put a law firm on someone’s shortlist. What a prospective client finds online can determine whether that referral turns into a consultation.
People looking for legal counsel may check reviews, look up attorneys and practice areas, read about issues similar to their own, and compare firms before making contact. The online experience needs to reinforce the reputation a firm has already built through years of client work.
Anderson Boback & Marshall wanted its online presence to contribute more directly to business development. Since 2018, WSI Consultant Elaine Mikesell and her team have led the firm’s website, SEO, content, paid search, reputation management, marketing automation and lead tracking, creating a stronger path from online research to client inquiry.
Marketing leads increased 393%, while internet-sourced revenue grew 327%. The digital marketing program had become a much larger source of new business, with gains in both lead volume and client acquisition.
The Growth Challenge: Turning an Established Reputation Into More Online Opportunities
Anderson Boback & Marshall is a Chicago-based family law firm founded in 2003, with a practice covering divorce, child custody, child support, asset distribution and other complex domestic relationship matters.
Professional networks, referrals and third-party platforms had been important sources of new business. The firm wanted its own website and digital channels to take on a bigger role in generating client opportunities.
The website was primarily informational and wasn’t generating direct leads. Search visibility was limited, and the firm’s online reputation didn’t yet reflect the credibility it had built through its legal work. The goal was to give prospective clients a clearer route from search to consultation while creating a direct, measurable source of inquiries for the firm.
A personal recommendation may start the research process, but prospective clients can still search the business, read reviews and compare alternatives before taking the next step.
Anderson Boback & Marshall needed those digital touchpoints to support the reputation it had already earned offline.
How WSI Connected Search, Reputation and Lead Management
WSI approached the work as a connected client-acquisition program. The website gave prospective clients a stronger destination, search created more ways to discover the firm, reputation management supported the evaluation process, and lead tracking helped connect marketing activity with what happened after an inquiry.
Website Redesign Made Consultation the Clearer Next Step
WSI redesigned Anderson Boback & Marshall’s website to communicate the firm’s family law experience more clearly and make it easier for prospective clients to move through the site.
Improved navigation, stronger messaging and clearer routes to consultation gave the firm’s SEO and paid campaigns a destination built to support consultation requests.
Law Firm SEO and Paid Search Reached Clients During Active Research
WSI developed search-focused content around family law topics and used paid search to reach people already looking for legal help.
The two channels addressed different search behavior. SEO and content built visibility around the issues prospective clients were researching, while paid campaigns put Anderson Boback & Marshall in front of people actively searching for an attorney.
The firm’s own website and content could now play a larger role in that first interaction with prospective clients.
Client Reviews Played a Bigger Role in How Prospects Evaluated the Firm
WSI also addressed the part of the decision process that happened outside the website: online reviews.
Anderson Boback & Marshall’s Google rating increased from 2.8 to 4.7 stars, supported by more than 100 new client reviews. Prospective clients comparing family law firms could see feedback from previous clients alongside the firm’s own website and search content.
Those reviews gave prospective clients third-party feedback to consider alongside the firm’s own content and credentials.
Marketing Automation Improved Lead Tracking and Follow-Up
WSI also introduced marketing automation to improve lead tracking and follow-up.
As more inquiries came through digital channels, the firm gained a clearer view of what happened after someone made contact. Lead tracking brought measurement closer to the business question behind the marketing: how many inquiries were progressing toward new client relationships.
The Results: 393% More Marketing Leads and 91% Growth in Client Acquisition
The program produced gains across visibility, leads, client acquisition, reputation and internet-sourced business.
Reported results included:
- Website traffic increased 290%
- Marketing leads increased 393%
- Client acquisition increased 91%
- Internet-sourced revenue increased 327%
- The firm’s Google rating improved from 2.8 to 4.7 stars, supported by more than 100 new client reviews
The gains continued beyond traffic. Marketing generated more inquiries and clients, while internet-sourced business became a much larger contributor.
The change also gave Anderson Boback & Marshall a stronger direct route to prospective clients. Someone could discover the firm through search, research its attorneys and family law experience, see feedback from previous clients and contact the firm without depending on a third-party platform to make the connection.
Referrals could continue contributing to the business alongside a digital acquisition channel the firm could measure and develop over time.
How Referrals and Digital Marketing Work Together in Professional Services
The same buying pattern appears across many professional services: a recommendation starts the process, then online research shapes the shortlist.
A Referral Often Leads to Online Research
Prospective customers can hear about a business from someone they trust and still search its name, visit the website and read reviews before reaching out. That makes branded search results, the website and online reputation part of the referral experience itself.
For Anderson Boback & Marshall, strengthening those touchpoints helped its digital presence catch up with the reputation the firm had already established through its work.
Reviews Help Prospective Clients Compare Their Options
Reviews are sometimes treated as a separate reputation-management exercise. In this case, they sat much closer to client acquisition.
A prospective client comparing several law firms could encounter search content, visit the website and check Google reviews during the same research session. Improving the firm’s rating from 2.8 to 4.7 gave that buyer another reason to keep Anderson Boback & Marshall under consideration.
The website visit is often one step in a wider evaluation.
Lead Tracking Shows What Happens After the Inquiry
Clicks, calls and form submissions tell a business that marketing generated activity. Client acquisition tells it whether that activity progressed further.
WSI’s automation and lead tracking gave Anderson Boback & Marshall a clearer view of that progression and a better basis for judging the digital program against business development.
What Anderson Boback & Marshall Says About Working With WSI
Anderson Boback & Marshall has worked with WSI since 2018. During that time, the work has expanded across the website, SEO, content, paid media, reputation management, marketing automation and lead tracking as the firm’s needs have developed.
The client describes the relationship this way:
“Our phone started ringing, our online presence improved, and we finally had a real digital strategy. Working with WSI and Elaine was one of the best decisions we’ve made. Our only regret is not finding her and her team sooner.”
— Jessica M., Anderson Boback & Marshall
Anderson Boback & Marshall was one of six runner-up projects recognized in WSI’s 2026 People’s Choice Awards. See WSI Client Success Stories roundup, alongside the three winning projects and other recognized client work.
Make Digital Marketing a More Reliable Source of New Business
Traffic, rankings and lead volume show activity. Business leaders still need to know whether that activity is producing consultations, clients and a larger share of new business.
Anderson Boback & Marshall gained that visibility as WSI connected search, the website, reputation management and lead tracking more closely to the firm’s business-development process. The result was a clearer picture of where new opportunities were coming from and how digital marketing was contributing further down the funnel.
Clear measurement shows which channels are producing qualified opportunities, what happens after someone gets in touch, and where follow-up may be losing momentum.
WSI can help identify where that connection is weak and build the next stage of the program around measurable business growth. Talk to a WSI Consultant about making digital marketing a stronger source of new business.
