Comparison
A full-service legal marketing agency suits a firm that wants paid ads, campaigns and the website handled under one contract and one account manager. A managed studio suits a firm that wants the website itself done properly, priced openly, with no fixed term and the domain in the firm's name, and is happy to run ads separately or with a specialist.
What it is
Traditional legal marketing agencies typically bundle website design, search engine optimization, paid advertising and sometimes intake services. Many quote after a discovery call, and terms vary widely from agency to agency.
Agencies range from excellent to poor. The questions that separate them are about scope, reporting, contract length and ownership, rather than the size of the promise.
Read the ownership clause first
Some agency agreements keep the website, the content or even the domain with the agency when the contract ends. Always check. On our plans the domain stays in the firm's name and the firm receives an export of its content on cancellation.
Price you can see
Agency pricing is often bespoke. Ours is published: Solo Practice at $137, Multi-Attorney at $297, Multi-Office at $747 a month, plus a $797 build fee invoiced only after launch. You can compare without a sales call.
What we do not do
We do not run paid ad campaigns. If you want ads managed, an agency or a paid-search specialist is the right hire, and a fast, specific practice area page makes a strong landing page for them. We work happily alongside either.
Side by side
Twelve things a law firm should compare. Statements about A marketing agency come from its own published pages, listed under sources, or describe it in general terms.
| What matters | A marketing agency | AttorneyWebStudio |
|---|---|---|
| Speed and Core Web Vitals | Varies by agency and platform. | Hand-coded static pages served from Cloudflare's edge, 90+ PageSpeed on mobile and desktop, guaranteed and kept. |
| SEO control | Usually included as an ongoing service. | A page per matter type, per office and per attorney, with written titles, canonicals, sitemaps and redirects, done for you. |
| Schema and JSON-LD | Varies by agency. | LegalService, LocalBusiness per office, Person, Service, FAQPage and BreadcrumbList, generated from the same data as the page. |
| AEO and GEO readiness | Varies; ask what they do for AI assistants. | Answer-first pages with FAQ blocks, an llms.txt file and consistent names for the firm, offices and attorneys. |
| Hosting and security | Often hosted by the agency. | Cloudflare hosting, SSL, monitoring and versioned deploys inside the fee. No plugins or CMS login to secure. |
| Maintenance burden | Tickets to the agency; scope defined by the contract. | None for the firm. Weekly detail updates plus revisions, handled by the studio. |
| Who does the work | An account manager and the agency's team or subcontractors. | A designer, a developer and a writer at the studio, with a person to email. |
| Content and blog | Often included, volume set by the contract. | 2 researched, cited articles a week (3 on Multi-Office), never written as legal advice. |
| Design quality | Ranges from custom to templated. | A design system made for the firm and applied to every page, office and profile. |
| Accessibility and compliance pages | Varies by agency. | Privacy policy, terms, cookie consent that gates scripts, an accessibility statement, WCAG 2.2 AA in mind, and the advertising disclaimers the firm specifies. |
| Cost model | Often a custom quote and a fixed-term contract. | From $137 a month, plus a $797 build fee invoiced only after launch. No fixed term. |
| Lock-in and ownership | Depends on the contract; check who owns the site and domain. | The domain stays in the firm's name; on cancellation the firm gets an export of its content and articles within 14 days. |
Be honest
You want paid ads, SEO campaigns and the website under one contract.
You want one account manager accountable for all of marketing.
You have the budget for a full-service retainer and value the convenience.
And when we are
You want the website done well and priced openly, without a long contract.
You want the domain and content clearly the firm's.
You already have, or will hire, someone for ads, and need a strong site for them to send traffic to.
Switching, or using both
Many firms keep an agency for ads and move the website to us.
- 01We build and run the website; your agency keeps running campaigns and sends them to the right practice area pages.
- 02Inquiries from ads and organic search land in the same CRM, tagged with matter type, office and page.
- 03If you are leaving an agency, we help recover the domain and content and redirect every old URL.
What you get with us
Every capability of the managed site, and which plan includes it.
| Capability | Solo Practice$137/ month | Multi-Attorney$297/ month + usage | Multi-Office$747/ month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pages that open instantlyStatic, hand-built pages served from the edge, 90+ PageSpeed guaranteed on mobile and desktop. | Included | Included | Included |
| Practice area pagesOne well-structured page for every matter type the firm takes, written answer-first. | Included | Included | Included |
| Office and attorney pagesA location page for every office and a profile for every attorney, all inside one site. | Included | Included | Included |
| Intake routerThree questions, then the inquiry goes to the right office or attorney with the consultation terms shown. | Included | Included | Included |
| Inquiries into your intake CRMEvery form, router and call inquiry lands in the CRM your intake team already uses. | Included | Included | Included |
| Weekly detail updatesAttorney moves, new hours, new bar admissions and fee changes published every week without using a revision. | Included | Included | Included |
| Researched articles2 long-form, cited articles a week on the questions people search before they contact a firm. | Included | Included | Included |
| Search, answer and AI visibilityTechnical and on-page SEO, office and service-area pages, answer-first FAQs, schema and llms.txt, so search engines and AI assistants can read the firm correctly. | Included | Included | Included |
| Managed hostingCloudflare edge hosting, SSL, backups and monitoring inside the monthly fee. Nothing itemized. | Included | Included | Included |
| The AI EngineAn AI receptionist, site chat and SMS, Messenger and Instagram agents that take inquiries and book consultations, never give advice. | Not included | Included | Included |
| The Content Engine3 articles a week, 3 social image posts, 2 reels and a managed Google Business Profile for each office. | Not included | Not included | Included |
In their words
The old legal intake address sits in hundreds of our sent messages; breaking it was not an option. Every legacy address was catalogued, mapped and tested before go-live. The relaunch felt safe rather than hopeful.
Mohan RathoreNew inquiries coordinator, Dispute resolution practiceNaperville, IL GotPage migration and redirect mapping for legal intake on Solo Practice
Updating legal intake content used to mean describing a change by phone and hoping. Every change is recorded as old text, new text, approver, then published from that record. Far easier than narrating edits and hoping they survived the telling.
Frederick CaldwellClient services coordinator, Criminal defense practiceSt. Petersburg, FL GotContent approvals and change requests for legal intake on Solo Practice
The documentation for the legal intake pages assumes nothing about the reader. It covers who to contact, how to request a change and what to check after publication. It has already earned its keep during one absence and one staff change.
Isaac NorcottCompliance officer, General practice law firmProvo, UT GotStaff handover and maintenance notes for legal intake on Solo Practice
Questions about A marketing agency and AttorneyWebStudio
01Should a law firm hire a marketing agency or a website studio?
If you want ads, SEO campaigns and the website bundled under one contract, an agency. If you want the website done properly, priced openly and owned by the firm, a studio. Many firms use both.
02Do you run Google Ads for law firms?
No. We build and manage the website. A fast, specific practice area page is a strong landing page for whoever runs your ads.
03What should we check in an agency contract?
Who owns the website, content and domain at the end, the minimum term, what is included each month, how results are reported, and what it costs to leave.
04Can you take over a site an agency built?
Yes, if the firm controls the domain. We rebuild the site on our structure and redirect every old URL. If the agency holds the domain, recovering it comes first.
05Is a studio cheaper than an agency?
Our prices are published, from $137 a month. Agency retainers vary. Compare scope: an agency may include ads management that we do not.
06Do you promise more cases?
No. We never promise outcomes. We build and maintain a site that is fast, well structured and easy to act on, and we route every inquiry to the right place.
07Can our agency and your studio share the CRM?
Yes. Inquiries from the site go to your CRM, where your agency can see and report on them alongside ad leads.
08Is there a long contract with you?
No fixed term. Cancel with 2 business days notice before your next invoice; your domain and content leave with you.
We aim to keep this comparison fair and current. If something about A marketing agency has changed, email and we will correct it.
More comparisons
Talk to the studio
From $137 a month, live in 7 days, build fee invoiced after launch. Book a demo, or email the studio and a person replies within one working day.