The largest objective assessment of search visibility in estate planning. 30 markets. 24 states. No surveys. No self-reported data. Just what search engines and AI systems actually see.
Free. No sales call. Just the data.
Average search visibility score across 509 firms in 30 metropolitan markets
Of firms scored in Critical Gap — their websites fail to communicate qualifications to search systems
Reach a Strong Foundation for AI-era search — just 2 firms out of 509
Never name their attorneys in the site code an AI reads — so to an answer engine, those lawyers don't exist
The gap between a firm's visible authority (57) and whether AI can actually find it (41) — the study's central finding
Surveys. Every data point is objective and externally observed — no self-reported metrics
This report measures what search engines and AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews actually see when they evaluate an estate-planning firm's website.
How we measured visible authority (EEAT), whether AI can find the firm (Entity Presence), and content quality across a standardized 300-point rubric
How markets from Sarasota, FL to Peoria, IL stack up — and why states with an estate or inheritance tax score lower, not higher
The credentials paradox, the findability gap, "has a website" vs. "can be found," the hardest markets scoring lowest, decayed and abandoned domains, and what the leaders prove — with data from every region
The 4.3% that scored above 70 share specific, replicable traits — and most are a tune-up, not years of reputation-building, away from leading their market
Why firms invisible to entity-recognition systems today won't become visible by accident — and what the transition window looks like for estate planning
Most marketing benchmarks in legal rely on self-reported data — firms describing their own activities and budgets. Those studies consistently skew toward firms that are already marketing-aware.
This study takes a different approach. We analyzed live websites using automated tools, a standardized framework, and a deterministic structured-data check. The result is an objective picture of where the profession actually stands.
This is the second edition of Cascade's Search Visibility Benchmark Series — an ongoing effort to measure how professional services firms appear to search engines and AI systems across every major practice area. The first edition studied family law.
Coming next: Criminal Defense, Personal Injury
Benchmark your website against peers in your market. Understand where you stand before investing in improvements.
See the digital landscape your members navigate. Inform practice management programming and technology recommendations.
Identify the patterns and gaps that define the industry. Sharpen your recommendations with national benchmark data.
24-page PDF with full methodology, metro-by-metro analysis, and six national patterns.
We'll send the PDF to your inbox. No spam. No sales sequence.
Sarasota FL · Knoxville TN · Cape Coral FL · Wilmington NC · Asheville NC · Greenville SC · Savannah GA · Ocala FL · Tri-Cities TN · Myrtle Beach SC · Huntsville AL · Lexington KY · Springfield MO · Cedar Rapids IA · Wichita KS · Rockford IL · Lincoln NE · Rochester MN · Peoria IL · Fayetteville AR · Lubbock TX · Albuquerque NM · Prescott AZ · Fort Collins CO · Boise ID · Eugene OR · Roanoke VA · Allentown PA · Portland ME · Worcester MA