STRUCTURED DATA · SEO GLOSSARY
Attorney Schema
The schema.org type for law firms and individual attorneys — Attorney, a subtype of LegalService → LocalBusiness — with properties including address, geo, openingHoursSpecification, areaServed (jurisdiction coverage), knowsAbout (practice areas), and aggregateRating. Enables knowledge panel features for legal service queries and jurisdiction-specific local search relevance.
Definition
`Attorney` is a schema.org type in the `LocalBusiness → LegalService → Attorney` hierarchy for law firms and individual attorneys. The type hierarchy allows: `"@type": "Attorney"` for a firm or individual attorney; more specific subtypes include `Notary` and `BarAssociation`. Key properties for legal SEO: **`areaServed`** — jurisdictions where the attorney or firm is licensed to practice. Accepts an array of `AdministrativeArea` (or `State`, `City`) objects. Critical for jurisdiction-specific query relevance beyond office proximity — an attorney licensed statewide should list the full state in `areaServed`, not just the city where the office is located. **`knowsAbout`** — practice area specialisations: "Criminal Defense", "Personal Injury", "Estate Planning", "Immigration Law". This is the signal connecting the firm to practice-area-specific queries. **`priceRange`** — a fee range indicator (e.g., "$$$$") for the type of legal representation. Optional but provides context. **`aggregateRating`** — client review rating. Must match the visible rating on the page; must reflect genuine client reviews (not self-assessment). **`hasMap`** — URL linking to the Google Maps listing for the office location. For individual attorney profiles (vs firm pages), use `Person` JSON-LD with `worksFor` pointing to the `Attorney` entity, `alumniOf` for law school, and `memberOf` for bar association membership. Both the firm-level `Attorney` schema and individual attorney `Person` schema should be server-rendered in the initial HTML.
Why it matters for SEO
Attorney schema is the structured data signal that enables Google to display knowledge panel features for legal service queries: office hours, practice areas, geographic coverage, and star rating. Without `areaServed`, the firm\'s schema has no explicit jurisdiction signal — it can only be associated with its direct proximity geography, which misses statewide or multi-city coverage. Without `knowsAbout`, practice-area-specific queries ("DUI defense attorney") have no schema-level practice area match for the firm. DeepSEOAnalysis audits show that `areaServed` is absent on the majority of law firm sites despite being the highest-value property for jurisdiction-specific relevance.
How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this
DeepSEOAnalysis validates `Attorney`/`LegalService` JSON-LD for: presence of required and recommended properties (`name`, `address`, `geo`, `telephone`, `openingHoursSpecification`, `areaServed`, `knowsAbout`, `aggregateRating`), correct format for each property, and server-rendering in the initial HTML response. Missing `areaServed` and missing `knowsAbout` are flagged as high-priority gaps for legal sites.
Useful tools and resources
GLOSSARY
Related terms
technical
Legal SEO
SEO practice applied to law firms, attorneys, and legal service providers — characterised by YMYL content standards, jurisdiction-specific keyword targeting, Attorney/LegalService schema, intense aggregator competition (Avvo, FindLaw, Martindale), and Local Services Ads (Google Screened) for local legal query visibility.
Read definition →structured data
Professional Service Schema
Schema.org structured data for licensed professional service providers — including Attorney (legal), Physician (medical), Dentist (dental), AccountingService (financial), FinancialService, and other LocalBusiness subtypes for regulated professionals. These types add profession-specific properties to the LocalBusiness foundation that enable knowledge panel features and local search relevance for professional service queries.
Read definition →structured data
LegalService Schema
The schema.org type for legal service providers — LegalService, a subtype of LocalBusiness — that serves as the parent type for more specific subtypes including Attorney, Notary, and BarAssociation. Used for law firms, legal aid organisations, and other legal service entities to provide structured location, practice area, and contact data to search engines.
Read definition →structured data
areaServed (Schema Property)
The schema.org property on LocalBusiness (and subtypes including RealEstateAgent, ServiceBusiness) that specifies the geographic areas a business serves — as a list of Place objects, AdministrativeArea objects, or a GeoShape. Critical for service-area businesses and multi-location businesses where coverage extends beyond immediate physical proximity.
Read definition →technical
Local Services Ads (LSA)
Google\'s pay-per-lead advertising format for local service businesses — appearing above the organic local pack and standard Google Ads for covered service categories. Unlike Google Ads (pay-per-click), LSA charges per qualified lead (phone call or message). Eligibility requires Google Guaranteed or Google Screened badge verification depending on category.
Read definition →See how your site scores on Attorney Schema.
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