Content marketing for law firms: what to publish and what the rules allow

This guide is for a partner, practice manager or marketing lead at a small SRA-regulated firm in England and Wales who has been told to "do content". It covers what to publish, what the SRA and ASA allow, who writes and signs off, social media, and a 90-day plan you can run without an agency.

What is content marketing for a solicitors firm, and is it the same as SEO?

No. SEO is how your pages get found. Content is what they say, and whether a reader trusts you enough to call. A firm needs both.

Our guide to SEO for solicitors covers how pages get found, what to do yourself and what to pay for. This guide covers what goes on the pages and around them. Pages, posts, emails and short videos all count. So does an email sequence, which we cover in conveyancing lead nurture emails.

If you want the wider picture first, our local SEO and AI search service page sets out how content, your Google profile and AI answers fit together.

What should a firm publish at each stage from search to instruction?

A different type of page for each stage. A person who is searching needs a plain answer. A person comparing firms needs prices and proof. A person who has asked for a quote needs a reason to decide.

Five stages from search to instruction. The stages and what to publish are our judgement from running marketing inside law firms. Each step links to the rule behind it.

1. Searching. The client wants to know what this is and what happens next, so publish a plain answer page per common question.
2. Comparing. They want to know who you are and what you charge, so publish service pages, price information and who does the work.
3. Asking for a quote. They want to know whether you will reply, and how soon, so publish a short quote page, a clear form and a stated reply time.
4. Waiting to decide. They are asking whether this firm is right for them, so send follow-up emails and publish an FAQ and a short explainer of the process. Every email needs an unsubscribe, and some people instruct weeks later.
5. Instructed. They want to know what to do now, so send a welcome email, a checklist and a progress guide.

What the rules touch at each stage:

• When someone is searching, publicity must be accurate and not misleading^[1], so check that every statement of law is current and dated.
• When they compare firms, cost information must be clear and in a prominent place^[4], so make sure prices match your price page. See the SRA price checklist.
• When they ask for a quote, claims must be provable, such as a reply time^[7], so ring your own number and fill in your own form.
• While they decide, contact only people who asked you to^[1][2].
• Once they instruct you, client confidentiality applies^[1], so nothing identifies a client without consent.

Some people take weeks to decide, even after a quote. Our nurture emails guide shows what one UK conveyancing firm we work with saw from 28 September to 26 October 2026. It also covers what to send in those weeks. Results vary by firm, area and market.

Where do topic ideas come from?

From the questions people already ask your firm. Read the last month of enquiry forms and call notes, and list the questions that come up more than once. Search Console shows the searches that already bring people to your site. Our Search Console check for solicitors takes ten minutes. Write one answer per question, and reuse the same answer as a short post or an email.

Content is not only blog posts

The page a reader lands on matters as much as an article. One UK conveyancing firm we work with replaced its quote page. That was a new page, not blog content. Visits that became leads went from 7.0% (9 to 22 September 2026) to 9.9% in the new page's first 14 days and 11.4% from 13 to 26 October.

Those are PostHog page loads, repeat quotes count twice, ad traffic changed over the same weeks, and results vary by firm, area and market. We make no claim that content caused any of it. The conveyancing lead generation case study has the full figures.

What do the SRA and the ASA say about what you publish?

Publicity must be accurate and not misleading, you keep client affairs confidential, and you do not approach the public unasked. The ASA's CAP Code adds that claims need evidence.

The SRA's warning notice on marketing does not mention blogs or social media by name, and its stated focus is unsolicited approaches and "no win, no fee" promotion.^[2]

When does a firm's own post count as an advert?

When it is directly connected with selling your services. The ASA says its CAP Code applies to a company's own website, and to social space the advertiser controls, such as a Facebook page, Instagram profile or YouTube channel.^[5] Editorial content may fall outside it, depending on whether it is meant to sell. A page on a fixed-fee service, with a call to action, is selling; a neutral news note may not be.

The ASA also says an advert should be "obviously identifiable". A post that sells your services, from your firm's account with your name on it, is generally treated as obviously identifiable as your advert. It needs no extra "ad" label.^[6] If you work with an influencer or a lead source, the SRA expects you to check their material too^[2], and our claims marketing due diligence guide has the questions.

Can we use client stories, case studies and reviews?

Only if the client agrees and nothing identifies them without their consent. Do not publish an outcome in a way that suggests the same result for others.

• SRA Code 6.3 says client affairs stay confidential unless the law permits disclosure or the client consents.^[1]
• CAP Code 3.47 asks you to hold evidence that a quote is genuine, with contact details for whoever gave it. Rule 3.50 says to have their permission.^[7]
• CAP Code 3.44 bans fake consumer reviews. Rule 3.45 says to make clear where reviews were incentivised.^[7]
• The SRA warns against misleading statements about feedback from other claimants about your firm.^[2]
• When you publish a result, say what the case was and the dates, so no one reads it as a promise of a result.

Our local SEO and AI search page covers how to ask for reviews.

Who should write it, and who signs it off?

Someone who does the work writes it, and your compliance officer reads it before it goes out. A conveyancer knows what clients ask. A marketing person knows how to make that readable.

1. The fee earner or supervisor lists the five questions clients ask before instructing.
2. They, or a marketing colleague, write a plain answer to each, with dates and sources for any law.
3. The person who signs off reads each piece against the checklist above and approves it. Short social posts that only repeat a signed-off page do not need a second read.
4. Someone publishes it, records the date, and sets a date to review it.

Naelar is not a law firm, and nothing we build or draft is published before the firm signs it off. Each firm stays responsible for its own compliance.

Can we use AI to write drafts?

Yes, as a first draft. Google says its ranking systems are designed to "prioritize helpful, reliable information" that is "created to benefit people, and not content that's created to manipulate search engine rankings".^[8] That covers AI-assisted content too. Google adds that "AI or automation disclosures are useful" where a reader might ask how a page was made.^[8]

The firm stays answerable under SRA Code 8.8 for whatever an AI draft says.^[1] Check every fact, date and figure against the source before sign-off. We use AI ourselves, and we check what it writes against the sources.

Which social channels should a small firm use?

Pick by who your client is, and start with one or two. A firm that wants conveyancing buyers and sellers will find them on Facebook and Instagram before X. A firm that wants business clients will find them on LinkedIn.

The SRA says you may place an advert "online or on a social media platform", but you "cannot make direct or specifically targeted 'approaches' to members of the public".^[3] In plain words, a post anyone can see is advertising. A message to a stranger, or a comment aimed at someone who had an accident, is an approach. Our own agents and automations never call or text people who have not contacted the firm first.

Before a post goes out, check three things. It is accurate and you can prove it. Nothing in it identifies a client, and it is clear that it is your firm speaking. Staff who post about the firm should use the same checklist.

What should we post in the first 90 days?

A few pages per service first, then regular short posts. This is one suggested order of work for a firm to follow itself. It is not a result, and no date here promises one.

How do we know it is working?

Count enquiries by source, not page views. A page can have many visits and bring no calls.

1. A page or post is publishedNote the date and the address.
2. A person makes an enquiryAsk "how did you hear about us?" on the form and on the phone.
3. The answer goes in your CRMUse a source field, not a note, so you can count it.
4. Count once a monthList enquiries by source, then instructions by source.

Our suggested method. Our conveyancing CRM guide covers what to set up.

When is content marketing not for you?

When nobody answers enquiries within a working day, or no partner will give time to review what you publish. Fix those first. Content also takes time to show in search, and it is no use for an instruction needed this week. Ads are faster, and our lead generation page covers when they make sense.

Common questions