SEO for solicitors: what 36 law firm websites get wrong
We ran the same checks as our free scan on 36 independent solicitors' websites across the South West in September 2026. Here is what came up most, what it costs a firm, and what to fix first.
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The problems that came up most often
Based on 36 law firms. Each figure shows how many sites it was measured on.
86%of sites took more than four seconds to show their main content on a phone (31 of 36). Only 1 loaded in the time Google counts as good.
Someone who has just been handed a court date or a house completion is searching on their phone, often out of hours. If your page is still loading, the next firm in the results gets the call.
First fix: Start with the large photo at the top of the homepage: resize and compress it, and make sure nothing else has to load before it.
44%of sites were missing a page title or description on more than 30% of the pages we sampled (15 of 34).
Google then writes your search listing for you, often from whatever text it finds first. For a firm, that can be a regulatory footer rather than the reason to choose you.
First fix: Give each practice area page its own title and description: the service, the area, and what the client gets from calling you.
Check your titles and descriptions33%of sites had no valid SPF record for their email domain (12 of 36).
Criminals who impersonate a firm's email to redirect completion money rely on inboxes not being told which servers may send as you. SPF is that list.
First fix: Publish a single SPF record listing the services that send your email. It stops fakes sent from your exact domain, though not from lookalike domains, so keep warning clients about bank details by email.
Check your SPF record36%of sites had no DMARC record at all, and only 13 of 36 told inboxes to quarantine or reject fake email sent in their name.
DMARC is the instruction that turns SPF into protection: without it, inboxes are left to decide for themselves what to do with a message that fails the check.
First fix: Add a DMARC record to your domain, start it in monitoring mode, then move it to quarantine once your own email passes.
Check your DMARC record
What to fix first
If you run a law firm, this is the order we would take these in. Then run the free scan to see which apply to your site.
Lock down your email domain
Add SPF and DMARC records. For a firm handling client money, this is the fix with the most at stake, and it is a one-off job for whoever manages your domain.
Make the first screen fast on a phone
Compress the hero image and put your phone number and practice areas where they load first.
Write a title and description for every practice area
Conveyancing, family, wills, employment: each needs its own page title naming the service and the area.
About this research
- 36 independent law firms across twelve South West towns, audited on 26 September 2026 with the same checks our free scan runs. No site is named on this page.
- Homepage plus up to six further pages per site. Mobile speed is Google PageSpeed Insights lab data, measured twice and averaged.
- A site counts as failing a check only when it clearly misses it. Borderline results, such as a DMARC record in monitoring mode, are counted separately and not included in the fail figures.
- Some checks could not be measured on every site, for example when a page would not load. Each figure says how many sites it is based on.
Common questions
Further reading
All postsWhat Is a Title Tag? The One HTML Element Most Small Sites Get Wrong
The title tag is one of the smallest pieces of code on your page and one of the biggest factors in whether anyone clicks through from Google. Here's what it is and how to write one properly.
Read moreMeta Description Length: What Actually Fits (and Why It's Not a Hard Limit)
There's no strict character cap on meta descriptions - Google truncates by pixel width, not character count. Here's what reliably fits and how to write ones people actually click.
Read moreWhat Are Core Web Vitals? The Metrics That Affect Your Google Ranking
Core Web Vitals are three speed and experience signals Google uses to rank your site. Here's what they mean and how to improve them.
Read moreStart with one page. Then let AuditCrow watch the rest.
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