(Last Updated: May 26, 2021)
We gathered data from the top ranking websites, across four legal practice areas, in the 50 largest metros of the United States.
We started this study back in 2016 and have now completed it four times. Follow this post through to the end to see how things have changed from before.
Key Takeaways
- Local Service Ads (LSA’s) are here to stay and they are taking up a ton of local real estate. During our study, on desktop searches, they were visble over 50% of the time!
- With Google’s changes to site security and notifying site visitors on an “unsafe” site for not using an SSL, we found that 97% of all the sites we looked at had an SSL certificate.
- The average number of reviews across the platforms we looked at (Google, Facebook, Avvo, Yelp) was up by 32% from 2019. The average number of reviews on Google alone is 67!
- Usage of client testimonials and videos (both solid tools to build trust with potential clients) has also grown since 2019. Testimonial usage is up by 12% and video usage is up by 5%
2021 Study
We’re back! The Nifty Study took a year off because of a little thing called Covid-19, but we are back and ready to share what we found with current trends accross the legal industry. This year we included data around the newly launched Google product, Local Services Ads (LSA’s). If you haven’t heard about this product yet, or if you have but still aren’t using them for your firm, it’s time to pick up the phone and give us a call. We worked tirelessly with Google to help bring this product to market and refine it over the last 7+ months. Our experts here at Nifty understand the ins-and-outs of LSA’s, and we have seen some pretty stellar results for our clients. For reals, give us a ring!
As a quick refresher to what the Nifty study is, searches were done in the largest 50 metros in the United States for the following practice areas: Business, DUI, Injury, and Estate. We searched popular phrases within these practice areas and looked at numerous metrics across onsite, offsite, paid, UX etc. to identify trends and tactics that top ranking firms across the country are using to outperform the competition.
Look through the data and compare it to your own site. See how you stack up!
If you want us to put together an industry analysis for you where we compare your site to the numbers from our study, we can do that too. Just click here to get started.
Here is what we found.
Ready To See What We Can Do For You?
Contact UsStatistics pulled from the infographic above.
97%
of sites are using an SSL
88%
have the firm’s NAP visible
87%
of top landing pages are using H1’s
78%
of local searches show a 2-1 clustering
69%
of top pages have their location in the title tag
67%
of top landing pages were home pages
63%
of top landing pages have their business name in the title tag
56%
of top landing pages had keywords in their H1
54%
of top landing pages have testimonials
53%
of search results had Local Services Ads (LSA’s) present
49%
have the firm’s name, address, and phone number in schema
48%
of top listings had questions
47%
local pack ads showing on desktop
46%
are using Google Posts
35%
have the location or keyword in their GMB business name
33%
of top landing pages have a video
33%
have embedded a Google map on their landing page
32%
of top listings have answers
29%
of top landing pages ranked in maps and in organic listings
1,732
is the avg number of backlinks to a top pages
919
is the average word count on top landing pages
76
is the average number of referring domains to attorney sites
78
is the average Google desktop speed score
45
is the average Google speed for mobile
67
is the average number of reviews on Google
16
is the average aHrefs Domain Rank
22
is the average Moz Domain Authority
25
is the average number of reviews on Facebook
18
is the average number of reviews on Avvo
10
is the average number of reviews on Yelp
2019 Study
We made it a priority to incorporate some new data points again this year that we didn’t have in the past. We looked at GMB Category usage across the practice areas we analyzed, included referring domains to the link section, and the usage of SSL’s.
The rest of the study stayed the same. Searches were done in the largest 50 metros in the United States for the following practice areas: Business, DUI, Injury, and Estate.
Look through the data and compare it to your own site. If you want us to put together a industry analysis for you where we compare your site to the numbers from our study, we can do that. Just click here to get started.
Here is what we found.
Ready To See What We Can Do For You?
Contact UsStatistics pulled from the infographic above.
92%
of top landing pages were home pages
91%
of top landing pages were mobile friendly
85%
have the firm’s NAP visible
93%
have local pack ads showing on mobile
75%
of top pages have their location in the title tag
75%
is the average on-page grade from Moz
41%
of local searches show a 2-1 clustering
62%
of top landing pages have their business name in the title tag
42%
of top landing pages ranked in maps and in organic listings
38%
have the firm’s name, address, and phone number in schema
42%
of top landing pages have testimonials
28%
of top landing pages have a video
40%
of top listings had questions
26%
have the location or keyword in their GMB business name
21%
have embedded a Google map on their landing page
70%
local pack ads showing on desktop
51%
of top landing pages had keywords in their H1
44%
of top landing pages are using H1’s
17%
of top landing pages have reviews in schema
21%
of top listings has answer
25%
are using Google Posts
89%
of sites are using an SSL
2,457
is the avg number of backlinks to a top pages
1,015
is the average word count on top landing pages
129
is the average number of referring domains to attorney sites
80
is the average Google desktop speed score
49
is the average Google speed for mobile
50
is the average number of reviews on Google
22
is the average aHrefs Domain Rank
22
is the average Moz Domain Authority
19
is the average number of reviews on Facebook
15
is the average number of reviews on Avvo
7
is the average number of reviews on Yelp
2018 Study
As we started doing our research for the 2018 study, we made it a priority to incorporate some new data points. We added Google Q&A’s usage, other review sites beyond Google, the concept of the 2-1 clustering in local packs, and Google Posts. We not only wanted to look at the original data points from 2016 but made sure we included current SEO tactics.
We kept the rest of the study as similar as possible by performing searches in the largest 50 metros in the United States for the following practice areas: Business, DUI, Injury, and Estate.
Ready To See What We Can Do For You?
Contact UsStatistics pulled from the infographic above.
90%
of top landing pages were home pages
89%
of top landing pages were mobile friendly
83%
have the firm’s NAP visible
82%
have local pack ads showing on mobile
78%
of top pages have their location in the title tag
75%
is the average on-page grade from Moz
56%
of local searches show a 2-1 clustering
55%
of top landing pages have their business name in the title tag
48%
of top landing pages ranked in maps and in organic listings
44%
have the firm’s name, address, and phone number in schema
36%
of top landing pages have testimonials
30%
of top landing pages have a video
28%
of top listings had questions
25%
have the location or keyword in their GMB business name
22%
have embedded a Google map on their landing page
13%
local pack ads showing on desktop
11%
of top landing pages had keywords in their H1
11%
of top landing pages have reviews in schema
10%
of top listings has answer
6%
are using Google Posts
2803
is the avg number of backlinks to a top pages
935
is the average word count on top landing pages
74
is the average Google desktop speed score
73
is the average Google speed for mobile
53
is the average Moz local score of top landing pages
28
is the average number of reviews on Google
22
is the average Moz Domain Authority
14
is the average number of reviews on Facebook
12
is the average number of reviews on Avvo
7
is the average number of reviews on Yelp
2016 Study
Over four years ago we did research and created the infographic titled “The Anatomy of an Optimal Local Landing Page”. In that study, we focused on various industries such as food, automotive and insurance. A lot of things have changed in four years so we re-did this study to to identify what is working in todays results as well as solely focus on the legal industry.
To complete this study we performed searches in the largest 50 metros in the United States for the following practice areas: Business, DUI, Injury, and Estate. We then focus our attention on the top ranking site in the local map pack for each search term. Here is an example of a search result showing which site we would have gathered information from for our study.
Once we collected the list of over 200 top ranking sites, we started analyzing each site to determine what these sites were doing to outperform their competition.
Here is what we found.
Statistics pulled from the infographic above.
90%
of top pages have their location in the title tag
86%
of top landing pages were responsive designs
86%
of top landing pages were home pages
86%
have the firm’s name, address, and phone number
84%
of sites have a click to call phone number
82%
of top landing pages have a type of call to action
76%
of top landing pages ranked in maps and in organic listings
64%
display their company’s awards and trust symbols
61%
of top landing pages have a form
54%
of top landing pages have their business name in the title tag
46%
have the firm’s name, address, and phone number in schema
43%
have a photo of the firm’s staff
43%
of top landing pages have a local photo
40%
of the header images are of an attorney
38%
of top landing pages have testimonials
36%
of top landing pages have a video
24%
had links to sites to review their firm
19%
have a direction button or text
17%
have embedded a Google map on their site
12%
of top landing pages had keywords in their H1
10%
of forms have a captcha
10%
have parallax image or video background on the page
6%
of top landing pages have reviews in schema
2033
is the avg. number of backlinks to a top landing page
945
is the average word count on the top landing pages
95
is the average Google user experience score
75
is the average Google desktop speed score
62
is the average Google speed for mobile
62
is the average Moz local score of top landing pages
17
avg. number of reviews on Google
4
is the average number of onsite form fields
C
is the average on-page grade from Moz
There you have it. 3 years of data to help shape how the legal marketing landscape continues to change and get more competitive. Some of the items in our study add value in the form of stronger ranking signals, others help by increasing conversions once potential clients get to your site.
Go through each point of the study and make sure you have implemented each one in your own way. Not sure how to tackle the list? Feeling overwhelmed or confused by all the data? That’s what we’re here for. Contact us and let us help you level the playing field with your top competitors.