SEO / AEO case study: Mile High Legal
Dramatically Boosting Organic Traffic for New Criminal Defense Law Firm
- Industry: Legal
- Size: Small Business
- Services: Website Design, SEO, AEO
+1,255%
Organic Traffic
+450%
Top 10 Ranking Keywords
+225%
AI Citations
Overview
As a new criminal defense and personal injury law firm, Mile High Legal needed to ramp up its online presence quickly. Most important, the firm needed a high-performing, search-optimized website that would appeal to criminal defense clients and drive viable leads.
"I want to thank you for all your help this last year as I've gotten my business off the ground—I've received many compliments on the website you designed. Things have been going very well and that wouldn't be possible without y'all."
The Challenge
Criminal defense is one of the most competitive categories in local search. When someone is facing criminal charges, they search fast, compare quickly, and call the firm they trust first. Mile High Legal needed a website that could earn that trust, along with a search strategy that would put the firm in front of people at the moment they needed help.
Increasingly, people are seeking answers from AI-powered search experiences. For Mile High Legal, showing up well in traditional search was no longer enough. The firm also needed to become a source that AI search tools cite.
The Solution
Campfire Digital designed and built the new Mile High Legal website, giving the firm a professional, credible, search-friendly foundation. We then began a monthly SEO and AEO (answer engine optimization) program on our AEO Growth plan, which optimizes for traditional search rankings and for visibility in AI-driven search at the same time. These services included:
- SEO/AEO strategy + campaign setup
- On-page + technical SEO
- Local search optimization
- AI search foundations + page formatting
- Content marketing / blogging recommendations
- AI visibility monitoring
- FAQ + conversational-query content
- Key page content editing
- Online profile management
- Establishment of a custom analytics dashboard
The Results
In just nine months, from October 2025 to July 2026, the campaign delivered gains across every major measure of search performance.
| Metric | Oct. 2025 | July 2026 | Change |
| Organic traffic | 22 | 298 | +1,255% |
| Organic keywords | 206 | 805 | +290% |
| Keywords ranking in the top 3 | 3 | 10 | +233% |
| Keywords ranking in the top 10 | 10 | 55 | +450% |
| Google AI SERP features | 1 | 45 | +4,400% |
| AI citations | 8 | 26 | +225% |
| AI-cited pages | 5 | 10 | +100% |
| Backlinks | 742 | 2,378 | +220% |
| Site health score | 93% | 95% | +2 pts |
Visitors who found the site were far more engaged. Google Analytics shows the quality of the traffic improved along with the quantity:
- Engagement rate rose from 27.64% to 53.17% (+92%).
- Average engagement time nearly doubled, from 19 to 37 seconds (+95%).
- Engaged sessions increased 51%, from 233 to 352.
Most significantly, the site is generating inquiries. From a starting point of zero, the site generated 145 lead-generation form submissions between January and July 2026, with a high point of 23 contact form submissions in July—all from organic search.
Why It Matters
Ready to Grow Your Own Search Visibility?
Campfire Digital’s senior-level specialists manage SEO and AEO for small to medium-sized businesses that want to be found by their ideal customers, in both traditional search and AI-powered search. Contact Campfire Digital to talk about what an SEO and AEO program could do for your business.