The Short Answer
Local SEO focuses on visibility for geographically-anchored searches — "lawyer near me" and Google Maps 3-pack results, driven heavily by your Google Business Profile and proximity. National (or broader) SEO focuses on ranking for informational and service-related queries that aren't inherently location-bound, driven by website content depth, schema, and topical authority. Most Vancouver firms need a genuine mix of both.
Which Practice Areas Lean Local vs. Broader
Practice areas where clients are actively searching for someone nearby right after an incident — personal injury and ICBC claims, criminal defense, family law during an urgent situation — tend to see the most value from strong local SEO. Practice areas involving more research and comparison before a client commits — complex real estate, corporate, immigration — tend to draw more value from deep, informational content.
Vancouver's real estate tax content is a good example of the broader category — someone researching the speculation and vacancy tax isn't necessarily searching "lawyer near me," they're researching the topic itself, which rewards content depth over local signals. See what keywords a Vancouver firm should target for how this shapes strategy.
Local SEO vs. Broader SEO
How This Connects
A Vancouver law firm rarely has just one of these questions — What Does a Technical SEO Audit for a Vancouver Law Firm Actually Check? and What Keywords Should a Vancouver Law Firm Target for SEO? tend to come up in the same conversation, followed closely by How Often Should a Vancouver Law Firm Blog for SEO?, How Do Vancouver Law Firms Build Backlinks Ethically?, and Do Legal Directories Still Help SEO for Vancouver Firms?. Two more worth bookmarking: What Should a Firm Look for When Hiring a Vancouver SEO Agency? and How Much Does Google Ads (PPC) Cost for a Law Firm in Vancouver?. AI Website Design for Vancouver Law Firms and AI SEO for Vancouver Law Firms cover the two sides of the work directly, and the Vancouver hub ties them together.