Search Visibility Benchmark Series

How Does Your Firm Compare to 350+ Others?

The first objective, large-scale assessment of search visibility across family law. 20 markets. 15 states. No surveys. No self-reported data. Just what search engines and AI systems actually see.

Free. No sales call. Just the data.

Key Findings

54/100

Average search visibility score across 321 firms in 20 metropolitan markets

56%

Of firms scored in Critical Gap — their websites fail to communicate qualifications to search systems

$2.4M

Monthly PPC spend identified across the dataset — much of it compensating for weak organic foundations

15+

Board-certified specialists scoring below their non-certified peers across multiple states

20/20

Metros where placeholder content — template text, default posts, unfinished pages — was found on live sites

0

Surveys. Every data point is objective and externally observed — no self-reported metrics

What's in the Report

This report measures what search engines and AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews actually see when they evaluate a family law firm's website.

Scoring Framework

How we measured EEAT Visibility, Entity Presence, and Content Quality across a standardized 300-point rubric

20-Metro Comparison

How markets from Madison, WI to Reno, NV stack up — and what local economic conditions drive the differences

Five National Patterns

The credentials paradox, PPC dependency, agency attribution problem, entity presence gap, and placeholder epidemic — with data from every region

What Top Firms Do Differently

The 7% that scored above 70 share specific, replicable traits that any firm can adopt

What AI Search Means for the Profession

Why firms invisible to structured data systems today won't become visible by accident — and what the transition window looks like

Why This Study Exists

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 and a standardized framework. The result is the first objective picture of where the profession actually stands.

This is the inaugural report in 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.

Coming soon: Estate Planning, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury

Who This Report Is For

Attorneys

Benchmark your website against peers in your market. Understand where you stand before investing in improvements.

Bar Association Leaders

See the digital landscape your members navigate. Inform practice management programming and technology recommendations.

Marketing Professionals

Identify the patterns and gaps that define the industry. Sharpen your recommendations with national benchmark data.

Download the Family Law Report

22-page PDF with full methodology, metro-by-metro analysis, and five national patterns.

We'll send the PDF to your inbox. No spam. No sales sequence.

Portland ME · Providence RI · Lancaster PA · Grand Rapids MI · Madison WI · Des Moines IA · Boise ID · Eugene OR · Tucson AZ · Albuquerque NM · Reno NV · Wilmington NC · Asheville NC · Durham NC · Chattanooga TN · Huntsville AL · Mobile AL · Pensacola FL · Palm Bay FL · Port St. Lucie FL