Estate planning is a trust-and-education sale, so the marketing that fills a firm's calendar is different from personal injury or DUI work. The channels that pay are a strong Google Business Profile and reviews, content that answers "do I need a will or a trust," referral relationships with financial advisors and CPAs, and local seminars. A full estate plan runs $1,500 to $5,000, so a couple of new clients a month usually covers the whole marketing spend — which reframes how you judge each channel.
We build websites, lead capture, and SEO for local professional firms, and run our own service companies on the same stack — so this is the order we'd spend a planning firm's budget, with the honest caveats included.
Financial advisors, CPAs, and insurance agents send clients who need wills and trusts — and these referrals arrive pre-trusting and ready to retain. For most planning firms this is the single most profitable channel. It scales slowly, but the close rate is unmatched.
Clients Google "will vs. trust," "what happens without a will in [state]," and "estate planning attorney [city]" before they call. Pages that answer those plainly rank, get cited in AI answers, and book consultations for years. It compounds; an ad doesn't.
Older clients especially lean on reviews and the map pack to vet an attorney. A complete profile and a steady review habit cost nothing and quietly raise your close rate. Most firms under-invest here.
Local "estate planning workshops" still convert well for retirees, and ads can fill them. But estate-planning ad clicks are pricey, so track which keyword and page produced each booked consultation, or you'll fund the wrong one.
We turn down work that won't pay off. Hold off if:
A solo attorney with a steady referral stream may not need paid marketing at all — and we'll say so rather than sell you a retainer you don't need.
Our Grow in Google plan is $597/mo: a hand-built firm site, the monthly SEO content engine that publishes the will-vs-trust and probate explainers that rank, Google Business Profile management, and lead attribution. Start Getting Leads at $249/mo is the site plus AI intake. Month-to-month, and you own the site, the domain, and every lead — no firm should rent its own web presence.
Related: estate planning website design, marketing by trade, what local SEO costs, and the AI receptionist that captures after-hours consultation requests.
A strong Google Business Profile and reviews, educational SEO content, referral relationships with advisors and CPAs, and local seminars. Ads can work but the clicks are expensive, so track conversions.
Most small firms spend 5 to 12 percent of revenue, often $1,500 to $6,000 a month. Because a full plan is worth thousands, a couple of new clients usually covers it.
Yes. Clients research wills and trusts before calling, so content that answers those questions and ranks locally books consultations. It takes three to six months, so pair it with referrals for near-term work.
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