Most people looking for a family solicitor start on Google, often late at night and usually at one of the hardest points in their lives. They’re not comparing firms the way a business client would. They’re looking for someone who seems to understand, who’s close by, and who they can reach quickly.
Indeed, we have seen with the pandemic, the importance to provide a qualitative experience online especially when most of the research for divorce or family law matters is done online.
We help family law firms be that firm. Marketing Lawyers works only with law firms, and we’ve built SEO, PPC and website strategies that bring in divorce, financial remedy and children enquiries for firms across the UK, including one specialist firm now generating over 400 family law leads a month through SEO.
For a free initial discussion and for a no-obligation quote, please call us on 0330 133 8783 or email info@marketinglawyers.co.uk
A Marketing Agency That Understands Family Law
Generic agencies treat a family law firm like any other local business. That’s how you end up with a single “Divorce” page, a blog that hasn’t been touched since no-fault divorce came in, and Google Ads spend going on people looking for free advice.
Our Managing Director, Ben Trott, holds an LLB and previously headed up SEO and digital marketing for a top 200 UK law firm. He also led the strategy that grew one national law firm’s online revenue from around £250,000 to over £2.2 million a year. That legal background shapes how we work. We know a family practice needs dedicated pages for financial settlements, child arrangements, cohabitation disputes, pre-nuptial agreements and TOLATA claims, and that each of those needs content built around the questions clients actually ask.
Our Head of Digital Marketing & Client Strategy, Jon Budge, has more than 15 years’ digital marketing experience, much of it in-house at law firms including Irwin Mitchell, Hugh James and Healys LLP. He’s led the marketing strategy for a 16-department legal division, delivered a campaign that generated £1.8m in fees against a £1m target, and ran national PPC campaigns at a minimum 1:10 return on ad spend. Jon holds an MSc in Marketing from Swansea University and knows how firms work from the inside, from SRA rules and GDPR to Legal 500 and Chambers submissions.
Why Marketing a Family Law Firm Is Different
Your clients are vulnerable, and your marketing has to reflect that
Someone searching “how to leave an abusive partner” or “will I lose my house in a divorce” needs reassurance and clear next steps, not a hard sell. We write in plain, calm language, make it easy to get in touch discreetly, and build in safeguards like quick-exit buttons on domestic abuse pages.
Most searches are local and urgent
“Divorce solicitor near me” and “family lawyer [town]” are where a lot of instructions start. Your Google Business Profile, reviews and local landing pages often matter more than your homepage. We make sure you show up in the map results for the towns you actually serve.
Demand rises and falls through the year
Enquiries traditionally spike in January and again after the summer holidays. We plan content and adjust ad budgets ahead of those peaks so you’re visible when demand is highest, and not overspending when it’s quiet.
You’re competing with national fixed-fee brands
Online divorce providers and national firms spend heavily on generic terms. A local or specialist firm usually wins by going deeper: complex finances, high-net-worth matters, children disputes and the specific questions that national brands don’t answer well.
Not every enquiry is one you want
Since legal aid for most private family matters was removed, many people searching are looking for free or legally aided help. If you don’t offer it, your marketing should filter those enquiries out rather than paying for them. We use targeted keywords, negative keywords and clear fee messaging so your team spends time on enquiries that turn into instructions.
Regulation and accuracy matter
Family law marketing has to sit comfortably within the SRA Standards and Regulations and stay accurate as the law changes. Our content is written by legal copywriters who understand the current position, from no-fault divorce to the role of MIAMs and mediation, and we only use white-hat SEO that follows Google’s guidelines.
Our Family Law Marketing Services
SEO for family law firms
We build a page and content structure that matches how people search: divorce and dissolution, financial settlements, child arrangements, cohabitation, pre-nups and post-nups, domestic abuse and injunctions, surrogacy and more. Each core service gets supporting guides answering the real questions clients have, such as “how long does a divorce take?” or “who gets the house?”.
View more on our SEO services here.
Local SEO and Google Business Profile
We optimise your Google Business Profile for every office, build location pages for the areas you cover, and help you collect and respond to reviews so you stand out in the local map pack.
View more on our Local SEO services here.
PPC and Google Ads
Paid search puts you in front of people ready to instruct now. We structure campaigns by matter type, exclude low-value searches, track calls and form fills back to keywords, and schedule ads around when your team can pick up the phone.
View more on our PPC services.
AI search and Google AI Overviews
More and more people ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews about divorce and children issues before they ever click a website. We structure your content so AI tools can find, trust and cite it. For one specialist firm, that approach has secured positions in AI Overviews for 87 keyword terms and a 222% month-on-month rise in traffic from ChatGPT.
View more on our AI and GEO services.
Website design built for enquiries
Your website should feel calm, credible and easy to use on a phone. We design family law sites with clear routes into each service, visible contact options, live chat or call back requests, staff profiles that show who clients will be speaking to, and fee information where you choose to publish it.
View more on our Website Design service
Legal content and copywriting
Our legal copywriters produce service pages, guides and blogs that are accurate, up to date and easy for a non-lawyer to read. We can write everything or support your in-house team with strategy and editing.
View more on our Copywriting services.
Reviews and reputation
In family law, people want proof that others trusted you at a difficult time. We help you build a steady flow of reviews on Google and independent platforms, respond to them properly, and showcase accreditations such as Resolution membership or Law Society accreditation where you hold them.
Family Law Marketing Results
- 400+ family law leads per month. We helped a specialist firm generate over 400 family law leads per month through SEO.
- 310% increase in organic leads. A regional single-office firm saw monthly organic enquiries rise by over 310% over two years.
- £250,000 to £2.2 million a year. Ben Trott led the strategy that grew a national law firm’s online revenue more than eightfold.
How We Work With Family Law Firms
- Free review. We look at your website, rankings, Google Business Profile, ads and competitors, and show you where enquiries are being lost.
- We agree the matter types, locations and client profiles you want more of, and build a plan around them.
- We handle the SEO, content, ads and website work, with one point of contact who understands family law.
- We report on enquiries, cost per lead and, where you can share it, instructions, not just traffic and rankings.
We don’t tie you into long-term contracts. Our service runs on a rolling monthly basis.
Family Law Marketing FAQs
How long does SEO take to work for a family law firm?
For most firms, meaningful ranking improvements take around six months. In competitive cities it can take twelve months or more to reach the top positions for terms like “divorce solicitor”. PPC can generate enquiries from the first week while SEO builds.
How much does family law marketing cost?
It depends on your size, the matter types you want to grow, how competitive your area is and where you’re starting from. We’ll give you a free review and a transparent quote based on what your firm actually needs.
Can a small or local firm compete with national divorce brands?
Yes. National brands are strong on broad terms but often weak on local searches and detailed questions about finances, property and children. That’s where a local or specialist firm can win, and it’s usually where the better-value instructions are.
Do you write the content, or do we?
Either. Most family law clients ask us to handle content entirely, written by our legal copywriters. We also work with firms that have in-house writers and just want strategy and editing support.
How do you handle sensitive topics like domestic abuse?
Carefully. We use plain, non-judgemental language, include quick-exit buttons and discreet contact options on sensitive pages, and make sure urgent next steps are clear.
Can you stop us getting enquiries we can’t help with?
We can reduce them a lot. Clear messaging on fees and services, negative keywords in your ads and well-designed enquiry forms all help filter out legal aid or free-advice enquiries if you don’t offer them.
Book a Free Family Law Marketing Review
As specialists in the legal industry, we can assist you wherever you are based. To learn more about how we can help you, then contact us today for a free initial discussion, please call us on 0330 133 8783 or email info@marketinglawyers.co.uk.
