How to Fix: Case results handled

Case results handled is an important SEO check in the Legal (YMYL) category. This is a medium-priority issue. While not urgent, handling it correctly protects both your search visibility and your standing with the bar — which is why I treat it as more delicate than its priority suggests.

What is This Check About?

This check looks at whether your firm presents case results — verdicts, settlements, dismissals — in a way that is both useful to prospective clients and compliant with attorney-advertising rules. Legal sites live in Google’s YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) territory, where the bar for trust is higher than almost anywhere else. A “$2.4M settlement” splashed across a page with no context, no disclaimer, and no supporting content is exactly the kind of thin, risky signal that both search evaluators and bar regulators dislike.

Handled well, case results are one of the strongest trust assets a law firm has. Handled carelessly, they are a liability. This check is about the difference.

Why Does This Matter for SEO?

For a legal practice, case results sit at the intersection of conversion and credibility, and Google reads both:

• Expertise and trust (E-E-A-T). Documented outcomes are direct evidence a firm has actually done the work. That is the trust signal YMYL ranking leans on hardest.
• Conversion. A prospective client comparing three firms will linger on the one that shows relevant, real results in their practice area. That dwell time and engagement is a signal in its own right.
• Compliance risk cuts the other way. Most state bars require a disclaimer that past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Omit it and you risk far more than a ranking — you risk an ethics complaint.
• Thin, disclaimer-free result pages read as low quality to search engines and can drag down the practice-area pages around them.

How to Check This Issue

Audit how your firm currently presents outcomes:

1. Find every page listing case results, verdicts, or settlements — dedicated “Results” pages, attorney bios, and practice-area pages.
2. Check each one for a visible, unambiguous disclaimer that past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
3. Confirm the rules for your specific jurisdiction — attorney-advertising requirements vary by state bar, and some prohibit or restrict certain result claims outright.
4. Assess the substance around each figure: is there context (case type, what was at stake, how it was resolved), or is it a bare number floating on the page?

How to Fix This in WordPress

Difficulty Level: MEDIUM – This fix requires some technical knowledge or familiarity with WordPress settings and plugins.

Estimated Time: varies

Here is the approach I would take.

Step 1: Make Case Results a Structured Content Type

Do not scatter results in loose paragraphs. Create a “Case Results” custom post type (ACF or a legal-directory plugin) with consistent fields: practice area, case type, outcome, and a short narrative of what the firm did. Structure makes the content easier to maintain, easier to filter by practice area, and easier for search engines to parse.

Step 2: Add the Required Disclaimer Everywhere Results Appear

Attach the “past results do not guarantee future outcomes” disclaimer to every result — ideally via the template, so it renders automatically and can never be forgotten on a new entry. Confirm the exact wording against your state bar’s advertising rules before you ship it.

Step 3: Give Each Result Genuine Context

A number alone is thin content. Surround it with the story a prospective client actually wants: the type of case, the challenge, the resolution — anonymized where confidentiality requires. This turns a compliance checkbox into a page that ranks and converts.

Step 4: Verify

1. Clear your WordPress cache if you’re using a caching plugin
2. Confirm the disclaimer renders on every result, including the newest entries
3. Re-run the SEO Roadmap audit to confirm the issue is resolved

Recommended Tools & Plugins

These tools can help you fix and prevent this issue:

• Yoast SEO – Comprehensive SEO plugin with built-in checks
• Rank Math – Feature-rich SEO plugin with detailed analysis
• Google Search Console – Free tool to monitor your site’s search presence
• SEO Roadmap – Complete SEO audit and action plan tool

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Publishing bare figures with no disclaimer and no context
• Copying disclaimer wording from another state without checking your own bar’s rules
• Overstating or cherry-picking results in a way that could be read as misleading
• Leaving confidential client details in a “real” case result

Need More Help?

If you’re still working through this, consider:

• Reviewing your state bar’s attorney-advertising guidelines directly, or with your compliance counsel
• Consulting a WordPress developer to build the structured Case Results content type
• Reviewing your theme and plugin documentation for legal-directory options
• Running a complete site audit with SEO Roadmap for a prioritized action plan

This guide is part of the SEO Roadmap knowledge base – your complete resource for WordPress SEO optimization.