Will writing: 6,600 searches a month, the unregulated competition, and the one thing a solicitor's page can say that theirs cannot
Will writing service: 6,600 searches a month, and will writing is unregulated. The page that prices a simple will and says what SRA regulation means.
By Daniel Stoychev, Webso Digital · 6 October 2026 · 7 min read
"Will writing service" is searched about 6,600 times a month in the UK (Google Keyword Planner, UK, twelve months to August 2026), and will writing is not a reserved legal activity, which means the first page of results is full of providers who are not solicitors and are not regulated as solicitors are. The searcher cannot tell the difference from the results. A solicitor's page wins that search by saying, in its first screen, the one thing the others cannot: that the firm is regulated by the SRA, carries professional indemnity insurance, is covered by the Legal Ombudsman and the compensation fund, and that the will is drafted by a named solicitor who will still be there when it is needed. Then it prices a simple will, because the unregulated providers all do and the searcher is comparing figures.
Who is searching
Three people. A couple in their forties with children who have been told they should have a will and want it done in an hour for a known price. A person in their seventies updating one after a death or a house move, who wants to see a person. And the adult child organising it for a parent, often from another town, who searches "will writing service near [parent's town]" and wants reassurance that the firm will treat the parent properly. The page speaks to all three with a price, a named solicitor and a plain statement of what happens if something goes wrong.
The regulated page, and the sentence that does the work
| What the client wants to know | An unregulated provider's page | A solicitor's page |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | A figure, often low, often for a template | A figure for a simple will and for mirror wills, and what makes a will not simple: a trust, a business, property abroad, a second family |
| Who is responsible if it is wrong | Usually nothing | That the firm is regulated by the SRA, insured, and that the Legal Ombudsman can be complained to; said in two sentences, linked |
| Where the will is kept | Varies | Storage, the register where used, and how an executor finds it |
| Who writes it | A name, sometimes | The solicitor by name, qualifications, photograph, and that they will see you |
| What happens next | Nothing | Lasting powers of attorney, explained in a paragraph, because the client searching for a will is the client who needs them |
The middle row is the whole difference between the two markets, and most solicitors' pages do not say it, because to a solicitor it goes without saying. To the searcher it is the only thing that separates you from the cheaper result.
Search "will writing service" with your town. Count how many results on page one are regulated firms. The page that says "regulated by the SRA, insured, Legal Ombudsman" in its first screen is competing on the one ground the others cannot enter.
The price, and what makes a will not simple
Publish a figure for a simple single will and for mirror wills, and then the list of what makes a will not simple: a trust for a disabled child or a second family, a business, property abroad, an estate near the inheritance tax threshold, a pension death benefit to think about. The list is honest, it explains why the cheaper result is cheaper, and it is what turns a will enquiry into estate planning. Probate price information is required under the transparency rules for uncontested estates and belongs on the probate page; the will page should link to it, because the client who makes a will is thinking about what happens after.
The questions the page should answer before they ring
- What happens if I die without a will: the intestacy rules in two sentences, and that an unmarried partner inherits nothing under them, which is the fact that books the appointment.
- Can I write my own will: yes, and what goes wrong when people do, in a sentence each: witnesses, gifts to witnesses, a will that does not deal with the whole estate, a second marriage that revokes it.
- How often should a will be reviewed: after a marriage, a divorce, a birth, a death, a house move or a business, and in any case every few years.
- What is an executor and who should I choose: a paragraph, because it is the question that stalls most people.
- Where should the will be kept: the firm's storage, the register where used, and how the executor is told.
Each of those is a search in its own right, each has a plain answer a solicitor can give without a disclaimer longer than the answer, and together they are the passage the AI assistants quote when someone asks whether they need a will.
The appointment and the profile
The seventy-year-old wants to see a person and the adult child wants to know their parent will be seen properly. Say how the appointment works, that home visits are possible if they are, how long it takes, and that the will is signed and witnessed at the firm. The Google Business Profile needs wills listed as a service and reviews that mention it; the adult child reads the reviews before ringing, and "looked after my mother" is the sentence they are looking for.
What to expect
A wills page with the regulated sentence and a price shows for the town searches within weeks on an established firm's site; the bare national term stays with the providers who advertise it. The measure is appointments booked from the page and the lasting powers of attorney that follow, which the booking form can count from the first week.
Questions on this topic
Do you need a solicitor to write a will?
No; will writing is not a reserved legal activity and anyone may offer it. What a solicitor's page can say that the others cannot is that the firm is regulated by the SRA, insured, and covered by the Legal Ombudsman and the compensation fund, which is the client's protection if the will is wrong.
Should a solicitor's wills page publish a price?
Yes, for a simple single will and for mirror wills, with the list of what makes a will not simple. The unregulated providers all publish a figure and the searcher is comparing; the list explains why the cheaper result is cheaper.
Is will pricing required under the SRA transparency rules?
Wills are not on the mandatory list; uncontested probate is. The wills page should link to the probate price information, because the client who makes a will is thinking about what happens after.
What should the page say about lasting powers of attorney?
A paragraph explaining what they are and that the client making a will is the client who needs them, with a price. It is the natural next conversation and the page that opens it earns it.
How many people search for will writing?
About 6,600 a month for "will writing service" in Google's Keyword Planner for the UK, twelve months to August 2026, with the near-me and cost variations on top.