Three Articles Reviewed
Click a card to see what I found in each article.
Best States for LLC Formation
How to Check LLC Names
Severity Matrix
Where corrections clustered across review categories and risk levels.
| Category | Critical | High | Medium | Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee & Tax Accuracy | ||||
| Regulatory / BOI | ||||
| Liability Language | ||||
| Missing Content | ||||
| Data Integrity / UX |
Key Findings
These five examples show the categories of errors that quietly accumulate in legal content. Filter by severity, click to expand.
California Assembly Bill 85 temporarily exempted new LLCs from the $800 franchise tax in their first year. That exemption ended after the 2023 tax year. Multiple articles across the web — not just these — still reference it as current. If you form a California LLC today based on outdated content, you'll owe $800 you didn't budget for.
I also added the tiered LLC fee ($900–$11,790) that California charges on gross income above $250,000 — a cost most formation guides omit entirely.
Found in: LLC Costs and Best States
This was the single most impactful correction. FinCEN's March 2025 interim final rule fundamentally changed Beneficial Ownership InformationBOI reporting requires certain companies to disclose their beneficial owners to FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). reporting: domestic reporting companies are now exempt, while foreign reporting companies still have obligations. Articles stating "most LLCs must file BOI" are now incorrect and could drive unnecessary compliance spending.
Found in: all three articles
I see this one constantly — many LLC guides across the web state that Florida doesn't offer name reservations. In fact, Florida Statute 605.01125 authorizes them, and the Sunbiz fee schedule lists the cost at $25 for a 120-day nonrenewable reservation. This kind of state-specific nuance is exactly what automated tools and even thorough editorial teams miss — it requires someone who works with these statutes regularly.
Found in: How to Check LLC Names
This is one of those silent changes that catches entire industries off guard. The USPTO retired TESSTrademark Electronic Search System — the USPTO's old trademark search tool, retired November 30, 2023 and replaced with a new cloud-based system. on November 30, 2023 and replaced it with a new cloud-based "Trademark Search" system — but a huge number of LLC and trademark guides still reference TESS by name.
The TEAS Plus and TEAS Standard filing tiers ($225–$400 per class) were also consolidated into a single $350/class base fee as of January 2025. When I review articles, I check that every referenced government system and fee schedule is still operational.
Found in: How to Check LLC Names
Large data tables are maintenance nightmares — every content team knows this. I found cells containing "semaines" instead of "weeks," likely an artifact from a multi-language data pipeline. More substantively, the column header "Annual Report Cost" was misleading because many states charge an annual tax (Delaware), a franchise tax (Arkansas), or a combined fee (Nevada) — not a "report."
Renaming one column header can prevent thousands of readers from misunderstanding their compliance obligations.
Found in: LLC Costs
The Review Process
For each article, I delivered an interactive workroom with tabbed sections: exact corrections, clarifications, practitioner anecdotes, risk flags, search-and-replace patterns, and a QA checklist.
This deep-dive review wasn't accidental. It was directly commissioned by Aaron Kra (JD), Boost Suite's Founder & Editor-in-Chief. As a fellow law graduate (University of Texas), Aaron mandated a strict "zero-tolerance" policy for outdated statutes, pushing for a level of precision rarely seen in affiliate content.
Here's the methodology behind it. Click each step to expand.
I verify every dollar figure against the state's Secretary of State website or Comptroller's office. State filing fees, annual report costs, franchise tax thresholds, and registered agent fees change regularly — often annually, sometimes mid-year.
Across these three articles, I corrected fee figures for California, Delaware, Texas, Nevada, Montana, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and others. A single outdated California franchise tax figure could cost a reader $800 they didn't budget for.
Laws change. Exemptions expire. Government systems get retired. The BOI reporting reversal (March 2025) and the USPTO TESS retirement (November 2023) are examples of regulatory shifts that happen with minimal fanfare but fundamentally change the accuracy of existing content.
I maintain a running list of recent regulatory changes relevant to business formation content — it's the kind of institutional knowledge that makes periodic review valuable.
Claims like "anonymous LLC," "tax-free," and "unmatched privacy" create legal exposure for the publisher. I flag absolute language and provide hedged alternatives:
• "Anonymous LLC" → "LLCs with enhanced state-filing privacy"
• "Tax-free" → "No state income tax"
• "Unmatched privacy" → "Strong privacy protections in state filings"
These aren't just legal risk mitigation — they also help with E-E-A-TExperience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — Google's quality framework for evaluating content, especially for YMYL topics.. Google's Quality Raters specifically flag absolute claims in legal/financial content as signs of low trustworthiness.
This is what distinguishes attorney review from automated fact-checking. I contributed nine anecdotes from my practice — real situations (anonymized) where clients made mistakes that the article's readers might also make.
A client who formed a Delaware LLC for a solo Texas consulting practice and paid $1,460 in first-year fees instead of $150. A founder who received a $47,000 franchise tax bill. A client who built a brand for six months before discovering the state still protected a dissolved entity's name.
For Google, these are "Experience" signals — the first E in E-E-A-T. Content that says "Delaware costs $300/year" is commodity information. Content with real-dollar practitioner stories is experiential content that AI can't replicate.
Sometimes the biggest issue isn't what's wrong but what's missing. The LLC costs guide didn't mention New York's publication requirement ($1,500+ in NYC, suspends your LLC if not completed within 120 days).
I also created original frameworks where the article could benefit from one — like the "Name Clearance Hierarchy," a 4-level system from state database check to multi-state filing clearance.
Every correction is also an SEO signal. Updated fee figures create freshness. Corrected headings align with current search queries ("California LLC cost 2026"). Structured frameworks win featured snippetsThe answer box that appears above normal search results (position zero). Typically pulls concise, structured content from the top-ranking page.. Practitioner anecdotes satisfy E-E-A-T.
I check outbound links (live? authoritative? HTTPS?), recommend internal cross-links between the client's own articles, verify schema markupStructured data in your page's HTML that helps Google understand the content type, author, dates, and relationships. Enables rich results in search., and ensure the article's structure supports the queries it targets.
SEO Playbook for Legal Content
The intersection of legal accuracy and search performance. Click each card to flip and see the practical tip.
E-E-A-T Signals
How to implement
Add a visible "Reviewed by [Name], [Credential]" at the top of every YMYL article. Create a dedicated author page with verifiable credentials (bar number, LinkedIn, professional directory link).
Google's crawlers follow these links to verify the person exists and is qualified. Boost Suite did this correctly with my author page.
Freshness Signals
How to implement
Update dateModified in your schema markup every time you make substantive edits. Change year references in headings ("LLC Costs in 2025" → "2026"). Correct fee figures to current fiscal year.
In competitive SERPs, freshness often determines who holds the featured snippet. An LLC cost article citing 2024 thresholds loses to one citing 2026 numbers.
Featured Snippets
How to implement
Format key answers as concise, structured responses: numbered lists, 2–3 sentence definitions, clear category distinctions. My "Name Clearance Hierarchy" (4 numbered levels) is built to earn a snippet for "how to check LLC name" queries.
For BOI: the two-category answer (domestic exempt / foreign still required) is exactly what Google pulls into position zero.
Schema Markup
How to implement
Use Article schema with author, reviewer, dateModified. Add FAQPage schema for Q&A sections. Use proper table markup so Google can parse state comparison data.
For the "Best States" article, proper schema lets Google surface individual state data in response to queries like "Montana LLC filing fee."
Link Hygiene
How to implement
Replace dead links. Upgrade HTTP to HTTPS. Link cited fee schedules to the actual state SOS or Comptroller's page — not a third-party aggregator. Cross-link between your own related articles to build topical authority.
Boost Suite's "Best States" guide should link to their "LLC Costs" guide at the fee section (and vice versa). This keeps users on-site and signals topical depth to Google.
Experience Content
How to implement
Add 2–3 real-world anecdotes per article. Include specific dollar amounts, timelines, and outcomes. "My client paid $1,460 instead of $150" is unfakeable — it signals that a real practitioner contributed.
Google's systems are increasingly sophisticated at distinguishing commodity information from experiential content. Anecdotes with specificity are the strongest differentiator.
Practical Tips: Legal Content SEO in 2026
Actionable advice for anyone publishing LLC, corporate, or compliance content.
Add "As Of" Dates to Every Volatile Figure
Instead of "the Texas franchise tax threshold is $2.65M," write "as of the 2026–2027 reporting period, the Texas franchise tax threshold is $2.65M." This protects you when the figure changes, signals freshness when you update it, and helps Google understand the temporal relevance of your content.
Check Government System URLs Every Quarter
The USPTO retired TESS. FinCEN restructured its BOI portal. State SOS sites redesign without redirects. If your article links to a dead government URL, that's a trust signal Google notices. Bookmark your state SOS fee schedules, the USPTO trademark search, and FinCEN's BOI page, and check them every 90 days.
Never Say "Best," "Tax-Free," or "Anonymous" Without Qualification
These words create liability and lower your E-E-A-TExperience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — Google's quality framework. score. "Best" is subjective. "Tax-free" is almost never fully true (federal taxes still apply). "Anonymous" ignores that banks, the IRS, and payment processors all require beneficial ownership disclosure regardless of state filing privacy. Use qualified language: "strong privacy protections," "no state income tax," "top states for [specific benefit]."
Disclose Affiliate Relationships (FTC + Google)
If your LLC formation guide compares services and uses affiliate links, disclose it. The FTC requires it. Google's spam policies penalize undisclosed affiliate content. Add a clear disclosure at the top of the article and use rel="sponsored" on affiliate links. This protects you legally and signals transparency to Google.
Create Original Frameworks, Not Just Summaries
Every site has "5 steps to form an LLC." Few have a "Name Clearance Hierarchy" or an "LLC Cost Comparison Matrix" with outlier-state callouts. Original frameworks earn featured snippets, attract backlinks, and demonstrate expertise that commodity content can't match. Ask your reviewer to create one for each article they review.
Build a Verifiable Author Identity Chain
For YMYL content, Google evaluates whether the credited author is a real, qualified person. The chain should be: article byline (name + credential) → author page on your site (photo, bio, links) → external verification (state bar directory, LinkedIn, professional association). Each link in the chain should be clickable and verifiable. A broken chain (fake credentials, no external verification) is worse than no attribution at all.
Legal Content Accuracy Checklist
A practical pre-publication checklist for sites publishing business formation, tax, or compliance content.
Fees & Figures
- Filing fees verified against current SOS fee schedules
- Tax thresholds current for this fiscal year
- Fee ranges realistic (not understated)
- "Annual report" distinguished from taxes/licenses
- "As of" dates on all volatile figures
Regulatory Accuracy
- Referenced government systems still operational
- Federal requirements (BOI, trademark) current
- State-specific rules accurate (NY pub, CA tax)
- No expired exemptions presented as current
- Outbound links to .gov sites tested and live
Liability & Compliance
- Absolute claims hedged ("best," "tax-free")
- Legal/tax disclaimer present
- Affiliate relationships disclosed per FTC
- Content stays within legal info (not advice) boundary
- No specific dollar-amount tax guidance
SEO Quality
- Article schema with author + dateModified
- Year updated in headings and key figures
- Practitioner anecdotes included (E-E-A-T)
- Internal cross-links to related articles
- Reviewer credited with verifiable credentials
Questions?
If you're interested in discussing a legal content review or have questions about anything in this article, you can grab a time below.