Remember, remember… the marketing habits professional services firms shouldn’t forget

Marketing has changed a lot in a remarkably short space of time. Professional services firms are now thinking about answer engine optimisation (AEO) and generative engine optimisation (GEO) alongside search engine optimisation (SEO). This is to create content for increasingly sophisticated search journeys, experimenting with AI tools and working out how their expertise can be found and chosen when a potential client or referrer turns to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot or another platform for answers.

As things continue to change, keep reviewing your marketing and make sure it is still working as hard as it should. Successful firms that get the most from their marketing aren't just chasing the next spark of attention; they are steadily and consistently building visibility, trust, and authority.

Here are a few marketing fundamentals professional services businesses, including law firms, accountants, financial planners and property professionals, should remember if they want to create a spark and keep the fire going.

Consistency builds familiarity

Marketing often becomes more reactive when firms get busy, and a flurry of ‘knee-jerk’ activity around an event, new hire or service launch is inevitably followed by weeks of silence while day-to-day fee-paying client work takes priority.

That is understandable and the day job comes first, but being consistent remains essential in professional services.

Clients and referrers may see your firm several times before they ever make contact, for example, they might see a LinkedIn post, read an article from one of your experts, attend one of your events, come across the firm in the press or visit a service page weeks later when they actually need advice or make a referral.

Keeping a steady presence helps those individual interactions add up to a clearer picture of your firm and its expertise.

That does not mean publishing something every day. Having a realistic content plan that you can sustainably deliver is far more valuable than an over ambitious schedule that looks good on paper (or screen) but then disappears after a month.

Do not forget the content you already have

Particularly when we're busy, it is easy to forget about existing content when creating something new, and before adding another blog to the list, look at what is already sitting on your website and other digital assets, such as slides from a recent presentation, press release, social media posts etc.

A good evergreen article can continue answering client questions and attracting relevant visitors long after it was first published. But even strong content needs some attention over time.

Check whether:

• the information is still accurate
• links still work
• examples could be updated
• there are new questions clients are asking
• the article links naturally to relevant services and people
• a useful section could be expanded into its own piece of content

You may find that updating and strengthening an existing article creates more value than starting again.

The same applies to case studies, FAQs, videos and webinars. One strong piece of thought leadership content can often be developed across several formats rather than used once and forgotten.

Make your expertise visible

Professional services firms are full of knowledge, but much of it never leaves conversations, emails, client meetings or the heads of departments.

This creates a marketing opportunity, and thought leadership works when it reflects genuine expertise rather than simply repeating what has already been published elsewhere.

Hinge’s 2026 High Growth Study found that high-growth professional services firms are 2.5 times more likely to activate their subject matter experts to help build trust and visibility. Rather than simply repeating what has already been published elsewhere, thought leadership is strongest when it demonstrates and is applied to ‘real life’ experience and knowledge.  

• What questions are clients asking your team at the moment?
• What changes are affecting your sector?
• Where do clients commonly misunderstand an issue?
• What are your specialists seeing in practice that would be genuinely useful to somebody researching the subject?
• Do you have case studies and testimonials clearly demonstrating the solutions and value you deliver to your clients?

These are much stronger starting points for content than asking, “What should we post this week?”

This becomes particularly relevant as search changes and having clear, specific and useful content gives search engines and AI platforms more information about the areas your firm knows well, while also giving prospective clients and referrers evidence of that expertise when they reach your website.

Keep building trust

Trust has always been central to professional services marketing, and a prospective client or referrer is rarely choosing solely between several  websites. They are deciding who they are comfortable trusting with a legal issue, their future financial security, their business or another important problem.

Your marketing therefore needs to give them reasons to feel confident, and that might include detailed team profiles, relevant qualifications and accreditations, testimonials, client stories, awards, external media coverage or clear examples of the work your firm has successfully managed.

It also means keeping these things current

• An award won ten years ago is less impressive if your latest achievements aren’t shown
• A team page loses value if half of the people pictured have left the business or their job title has changed following promotion
• An old case study may still be useful, but it shouldn’t be the only evidence of success stories. If possible, back up any case studies with supporting testimonials illustrating the problem you solved, how it was dealt with, and what the client valued about your work

Trust is built through lots of small and incrementalsignals, and your digital presence needs to reflect the firm as it is today.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) work better together

Search is changing, but that does not mean everything firms have learned about digital marketing needs to be thrown away.

Good SEO remains an important foundation, and your website needs clear service pages, sensible structure, useful content and strong internal links so that search engines can understand what you do.

Pew Research found that when a Google AI summary appeared, users were less likely to click through to traditional search results. This reflects a wider change in search behaviour and being visible increasingly means appearing within the answer itself, not just ranking in the list of links below it.

AEO focuses more closely on answering the questions people are asking, whereas GEO considers how your expertise can be understood and referenced within generative AI answers.

In practice, there is considerable overlap and a detailed service page that clearly explains an area of work, answers common client questions, links to relevant specialists and demonstrates experience is useful to a ‘human’ visitor. It also gives Google and AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Copilot much more context about your firm.

When working closely with our own clients, this is why we prefer to think about visibility as a connected process rather than treating SEO, AEO and GEO as completely separate marketing activities.

Your website, people, content, PR, social media, case studies and wider digital footprint all contribute to the picture that AI tools use to help find and choose your services.

Measure what is helping the business

One sign of a marketing approach with real staying power is moving beyond activity for activity’s sake – becoming ‘busy fools’.

Twenty LinkedIn posts, four blogs and an email newsletter might look productive on a monthly report, but what did they actually contribute?

The answer will depend on what the firm is trying to achieve, and if the goal is to grow a particular service line, you might look at visibility for relevant searches, visits to key service pages, enquiries and the quality of those conversations.

If recruitment is the priority, engagement with careers content and candidate enquiries may be more useful.

For another firm, building relationships with referrers or developing recognition within a specialist market could be the focus.

Start with the business objective and work backwards, as it becomes much easier to decide which marketing activity deserves your valuable time and budget.

Keep doing the basics well and consistently 

There will always be a new platform, search feature, updated algorthym or marketing trend to consider, and some will be important,  AI-driven search for example cannot be ignored.

But adapting to change does not mean abandoning the fundamentals, so it’s important to be clear about who you help and how. Publish useful expertise, keep your website accurate, show the people behind the business, build and demonstrate evidence of your experience, stay visible consistently and make sure your marketing connects back to what the firm is trying to achieve.

Those principles have served professional services firms well for years, and they are becoming even more valuable as the way prospective clients and referrers search, research and choose advisers continue to evolve.

At Cal Partners, we help professional services firms develop joined-up marketing strategies that strengthen visibility across Google, AI search and the wider channels their clients and referrers use.

So, remember, remember that impactful marketing is about more than creating an initial spark and it is about building visibility, trust and authority consistently over time.

If you would like to review whether your current marketing is built for the long term, get in touch for a free consultation.