Using Google Trends to Study When People Seek Defense Help
Defense lawyers often say certain cases cluster at certain times. DUI arrests seem to rise around holidays, and some offenses seem to follow the school calendar. Those impressions come from experience, and they are often right. Google Trends offers a way to check them against search behavior, at no cost, using data Google has collected since 2004.
This note explains what Trends data is, what it can tell a defense firm about when people look for help, and where it misleads. Used carefully, it helps a firm decide when to publish, when to update pages and when to make sure the phones are covered.
What the numbers mean
Google Trends does not show search counts. According to Google's own explanation of the data, Trends uses a sample of Google searches and measures each term as a proportion of all searches at that time and place. The results are then scaled from 0 to 100, where 100 is the highest point of interest for the period and location you selected.
That has two consequences. First, a value of 50 means half the peak interest for that chart, which is a different quantity from 50 searches. Second, the scale resets every time you change the date range or region. A chart of the past year and a chart of the past five years for the same term will show different numbers for the same week. Compare shapes and timing, and treat the exact values with caution.
Questions Trends can answer
Trends works best for timing questions. A few that matter to defense firms:
- Does interest in DUI-related searches in your state rise around particular holidays or events?
- Do searches about expungement or record sealing change after a new law takes effect?
- Is interest in a specific charge growing, shrinking or flat over several years?
- Which related queries appear alongside a charge term in your state?
The related queries panel is often the most useful part. It shows other searches people made, and a "rising" list of terms that grew fastest. Those lists can point to questions your pages do not yet answer.
Questions it cannot answer
Trends cannot tell you how many people searched, so it cannot size a market or predict call volume. It is also weak for small areas and low-volume terms. If a term has too little data for a region, Trends shows nothing or a jagged line of zeros and spikes. Many specific charge terms fall into this category at the city level.
It also cannot tell you who is searching. A spike in searches for a charge name could come from people facing that charge, from news coverage of a famous case or from students writing papers. Before acting on a spike, check whether a news story explains it.
Pair Trends with your own data
Trends is most useful next to data only your firm has. Search Console shows actual impressions and clicks for your own pages. Your intake records show when calls and forms arrive and which charges they concern. If Trends shows a seasonal rise in DUI interest and your intake shows the same pattern a week or two later, you have a reasonable basis for planning.
A simple routine works for most firms:
- Pull a five-year Trends chart for your two or three main charge terms in your state.
- Mark the recurring peaks and note the weeks they fall in.
- Compare those weeks with your intake log for the same years.
- Plan page updates and staffing for the weeks where both lines rise.
Repeat it once a year. Patterns that hold across several years are worth planning around. A single spike usually is not.
Common mistakes to avoid
The biggest mistake is reading the 0 to 100 scale as volume. A second is comparing charts with different date ranges or regions. A third is mixing a search term with a topic. Trends lets you choose either, and a topic groups related searches across spellings and languages while a term counts only that exact phrase. Pick one and stick with it so your comparisons hold.
Finally, avoid treating Trends as proof of client behavior. It shows search interest. Your intake data shows clients. Those can move together or apart.
For more on legal marketing analytics, the collection of guides to legal marketing analytics and search data covers other tools. Trends only tells half the story without your own records, and this piece on tracking where every new case comes from explains how to build that side.
Questions about Google Trends for defense firms
Can Google Trends show how many people searched for a DUI lawyer in my city?
No. Trends shows relative interest on a 0 to 100 scale. For volume estimates you need a keyword tool or your own Search Console data.
Why does the same week show different values on two charts?
The scale is recalculated for every date range and region you choose. Compare timing and shape, and keep the date range the same when comparing terms.
How far back can I look?
Google's standard Trends data runs from 2004 up to roughly the last couple of days, with a separate real-time view for the most recent week.
SBD Marketing works only with criminal defense law firms, one firm per city, and helps them with website design, SEO for the charges they defend, visibility in AI search tools and SEO audits.