Tela have analysed the topics mentioned on the top 100 law firms websites to find patterns and trends in the topics of conversation on homepages.
How we Analysed the Homepages
The team gathered information on the various topics mentioned on law firms homepages and tallied them up in a spreadsheet. We then looked at the topics we had and decided if any could be merged. For example, we originally had banking and finance as separate topics but decided to group them together.
Our Results
The results from our research are displayed below.
International Content
As you can see in the pie chart below, the most popular topic on law firms homepages is currently international content with 17.1% of the top 100 law firm websites displaying this topic on their homepages. This could be due to a lot of law firms in the top 100 being international firms so they have displayed content for all regions on their homepages.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
A close second is environmental, social and governance (ESG) with 15.4% of the top 100 law firms including this topic on their websites. Tela has worked on a number of projects helping clients to promote their ESG content so we were not surprised by this result. By providing guidance, insights, and legal expertise in ESG matters, law firms demonstrate their commitment to responsible and sustainable business practices while enriching their role in shaping a more conscientious and accountable corporate world.
Careers
8.6% of the top 100 UK law firms have careers content on their homepage. Competition to hire the top legal talent is fierce so positioning prominent access to careers content on the website homepages will help to drive potential candidates through to the content.
AI
Tela initially completed this research to see how popular AI content was as we have seen a big increase in the amount of AI content being produced. AI has been mentioned on 5.7% of the top 100 law firms websites which positions it alongside the more established, popular topics of technology (mentioned by 8%) and digital (mentioned by 6.3%). We would expect an increase in AI and tech-related content over the next few years on all websites.
Lowest Percentages
Gaming, GDPR and UPC have come in last place with only 0.57% of the top 100 law firms websites mentioning these topics on their homepages. Closely followed by Transport and Restructuring which only 1.14%.
Final Thoughts
The research demonstrates that where there is opportunity, top 100 UK law firms will often promote their global reach. This immediately gives clients an insight into the size and breadth of expertise which can help build confidence.
ESG has been a hot topic in recent years and Tela finds that a lot of firms like to promote some of the more technically focused areas of law (for example, technology, data, AI, digital, cyber and crypto) above the more traditional service areas. These topics portray a modern outlook by demonstrating knowledge and experience which positions them at the forefront of new and emerging areas of law.
Careers content will continue to be important to the top 100 UK law firms with a lot of the larger firms having independent digital marketing strategies (of often, separate websites) to promote their employer brands to a different (often younger) audience.
