A
AISO Studio

Is your criminal defense website keeping up? Here's what the data shows.

Criminal Defense Website Audit Report

We scanned 320 criminal defense websites across the United States to benchmark their performance for search engines, AI answer engines, and accessibility.

Industry: Legal · Sample size: 320 sites · Scan date: March 14, 2026

Overview

The criminal defense industry faces a clear challenge online. Most websites in this space score well below what search engines and AI systems need to surface content. The average AISO score across all 320 sites is just 55 out of 100. That is a low bar. It also means there is a big opportunity for businesses that invest in their web presence now.

The strongest area for criminal defense sites is SEO, with an average of 83. The weakest area is AEO, at just 23. According to Google's SEO documentation, sites that fail to meet basic technical standards risk losing visibility in both traditional and AI-powered search results.

What does this mean for your business? If your site scores above 55, you are already ahead of most competitors. If it scores below, you risk losing traffic to rivals who fix these issues first. According to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, accessible websites also reach a wider audience and reduce legal risk.

Key insight: 24% of criminal defense websites score below 50. The majority of sites in this vertical are underperforming across multiple dimensions.

Summary Scores

55

AISO Score

83

SEO

43

Readability

77

Engagement

23

AEO

54

WCAG

Key Findings

24%

Score Below 50

A significant portion of sites need improvement.

12%

Missing Schema Markup

These sites have no structured data, making them harder for search engines and AI to understand.

5%

No Open Graph Tags

Without OG tags, shared links on social media appear without rich previews.

What This Means

These findings tell a simple story. Most criminal defense websites were built without modern optimization in mind. They load, they look fine, but they fail to communicate with the systems that drive traffic today.

Search engines need structured data to understand your pages. AI answer engines need clear, direct answers to cite your content. Screen readers need proper HTML to serve users with disabilities. Missing any of these means missing out on visitors, customers, and revenue.

Key Takeaways

After analyzing 320 criminal defense websites, here's what stands out most. These are the three most important points from the data.

  1. Most sites score poorly overall. An average AISO score of 55 means the typical criminal defense website misses more than half of what modern search and AI systems look for.
  2. AEO is the weakest link. At just 23 on average, this dimension drags down overall scores. Fixing it first gives the biggest return.
  3. Basic technical issues are widespread. 12% of sites lack schema markup. 5% have no Open Graph tags. These are quick wins that most sites have not addressed.
Bottom line: The criminal defense industry is behind on web optimization. Early movers who fix these issues will gain a real edge in both search rankings and AI visibility.

How to Improve Your Score

Want to beat the average? Follow these steps in order. Each one builds on the last. Start with the basics and work your way up.

  1. Step 1: Fix your technical SEO. Add a meta title, meta description, and canonical URL to every page. Add schema markup using JSON-LD. Add Open Graph tags so your links look good when shared. These changes take less than an hour and have an immediate impact.
  2. Step 2: Improve readability. Rewrite your main pages at an 8th grade reading level. Use short sentences. Use simple words. Break up long paragraphs. According to Google, clear and simple content performs better in search results.
  3. Step 3: Add engagement elements. Use headings, bullet lists, bold text, and blockquotes. Add images with descriptive alt text. Make your content easy to scan. Visitors decide within seconds whether to stay or leave.
  4. Step 4: Optimize for AI engines. Add a FAQ section to your key pages. Use direct answer formats. Define what your business does in one clear sentence at the top of your homepage. AI systems like ChatGPT and Perplexity prefer content that gives a straight answer.
  5. Step 5: Check accessibility. Run a WCAG audit. Ensure all images have alt text. Check that color contrast meets minimum ratios. Use semantic HTML elements like headings, lists, and landmarks. According to the W3C, over one billion people worldwide live with some form of disability.

Score Distribution

The charts below show how scores are spread across all 320 sites. The histogram groups sites by score range. The grade chart shows how many sites earned each letter grade. A score of 80 or above earns an A. Below 30 is an F.

AISO Score Ranges

0-9
0
10-19
0
20-29
0
30-39
20
40-49
57
50-59
128
60-69
111
70-79
4
80-89
0
90-99
0

Grade Distribution

A
0 (0%)
B
4 (1%)
C
111 (35%)
D
128 (40%)
F
77 (24%)

Dimension Breakdown

Average scores across all 320 criminal defense websites for each scoring dimension.

SEO
83
Readability
43
Engagement
77
AEO
23
WCAG
54

Full Results

The table below lists all 320 websites ranked by their overall AISO score. Each row shows the total score, letter grade, and individual dimension scores. Use it to see how sites in the criminal defense space compare against each other.

Domains are partially blurred to protect privacy. Scores range from 0 to 100. Higher is better.

#DomainScoreGradeSEORead.Eng.AEOWCAG
1russell***********75B9755905390
2kycrimin*************72B9457854190
3wkla*****70B9252904872
4amburg*********70B9764902674
5thedad***********69C87471003386
6gowith***********69C89621004053
7stlouiscri****************69C9757832889
8millera*************69C8957804680
9lvcrimin*************69C9552905354
10criminalat******************69C9447903393
11rudolph***********68C8465851893
12farns*******68C9456753887
13gigst*********68C81471005361
14shahee***********68C9150903382
15jezic********68C9162905338
16coganla***********68C9748853879
17rensc********68C8957852594
18nashvillecrim************************68C9461653393
19hazzar*********67C92429025100
20serpa*******67C87331003893
21carney***********67C8746952693
22grabe********67C7453905369
23oberho***********67C94481004348
24tsigl*********67C8451904177
25columbuscr******************67C9240904579
26pittsburghc*******************67C9746803389
27steveno************66C8661855337
28orlando-cri********************66C91561003345
29pioneercri****************66C8357953660
30kentuckycrimi**********************66C87566335100
31sieben***********66C9539805867
32mccormic*************66C8755851893
33criminaldef********************66C8157903569
34newmexico**************66C9148754082
35bynumandje******************66C89511002667
36rjaff********65C8661733574
37fryela**********65C8935854880
38moranand**************65C89471003356
39branst*********65C8356954643
40criminal**************65C8446903381
41urbel*********65C8450901893
42spartac*************65C97431005622
43okdu*****65C89531003050
44novade***********65C8747901894
45polson***********64C8739902593
46bll.*****64C9251833067
47georgiacri****************64C7949754379
48atlantacri*****************64C8156852679
49808la*********64C92556518100
50kevinog***********64C9153933352
51zeril*********64C8652883854
52tamburin*************64C8858951861
53renon********64C10034904854
54tippc*********64C8726905377
55nmlawo*********64C9155951860
56robertc*************64C7866951865
57texasde*************64C9751783856
58westvirgini******************64C8748851894
59milwaukee-c******************64C9740902679
60dmcan*******63C8930904374
61dougno*********63C8851952656
62aerlaw*********63C9453753360
63arreste***********63C7866882652
64jlawg********63C8360952647
65legal********63C7971851067
66federal*************63C9444706147
67eustac*********63C8857952648
68koffe********63C9759853336
69wyatt*******63C9749801881
70zste******63C8959751088
71thedorwa*************63C8857951858
72sccrimi***********63C8450905630
73grandst***********63C8933952587
74westvirgini********************63C8462701887
75spauldi***********62C7862832658
76mayest*********62C8654933638
77attorne*************62C8454633380
78albert***********62C8657951856
79josephh************62C9243833362
80pwsco*********62C92378018100
81central*************62C9448933338
82jeffrey************62C8449782680
83portlandfe****************62C8251733082
84samurp*********62C8658602687
85crain*********62C8772451893
86california*****************61C8658904318
87hmichael*************61C8946901080
88mccarth************61C8947752574
89digiul***********61C8737901093
90brockhu***********61C8642934639
91smithh*********61C9730733385
92mississip**************61C7753801095
93becker***********61C9245903835
94newjerseycri********************61C8259851864
95romero***********61C8654801868
96bgjatt**********61C9535803864
97joshl*********61C8454752572
98cicca*********61C76481003348
99jedsil**********61C86421003345
100blair*******61C8446851089
101nelsonan*************60C7859802656
102crawfo***********60C9449754829
103kellerl*************60C8938802575
104ike-*******60C7851951860
105lvnvla*********60C8440951869
106omahad**********60C7660881860
107dannyglo**************60C8245851879
108vasque**********60C9522733889
109criminalatt*******************60C9448901063
110philadelphia********************60C8930852584
111kilroy***********60C8941901868
112legalp*********60C9140952653
113boschl**********60C8646952550
114criminal*************60C8148852858
115ervinki***********60C9456903320
116lawgro*********59D9249782056
117wolflaw************59D9460901035
118landycr*************59D9236903841
119yourdelawar*******************59D7963601088
120tomfol*********59D8454551893
121ga-crimi**************59D8359881842
122keegan*********59D8356882638
123deweyb***********59D9744853038
124crossl**********59D8349951852
125aggressive*****************59D8951754136
126souther*************59D8939851085
127johnt*********59D9460902612
128thephoenixc*******************58D86441001838
129kocia********58D82445525100
130atlantade****************58D8653902530
131es.*****58D9753702638
132michigancr****************58D7470751057
133tannehi*************58D8651852538
134dltla*********58D8958701854
135goodman************58D9443951836
136newmexico***************58D8946631883
137jasonkn***********58D8939681886
138ryanbea***********58D8254551892
139collin*********58D8249803343
140schatza***********58D6756782569
141blackla************58D8443952544
142prla*****58D8157881842
143washingtonc********************58D7949852555
144moorela***********58D7957881847
145davisan***********58D7253751876
146revill***********57D8645851854
147sterlin************57D8953701064
148jaxcri*********57D81401003330
149schwartza**************57D8955803515
150bublitz***********57D9148951038
151lawgro*********57D8345752659
152indycrim**************57D8659752531
153lexingtonc*****************57D7663732542
154criminal**************57D8958701060
155mpmde*********57D8648833530
156criminal.at*******************57D8244752859
157michigan**************57D7256853038
158michigancri******************57D8151701868
159nhdef*********57D9420782684
160njcrimina***************57D8659781836
161dughi*********57D8944851852
162rosenbe***********57D7952651086
163rendel**********57D9437881065
164newyork-cr*****************57D9453751845
165arnolds***********57D7435703383
166wncdefe*************57D9241601094
167centraltexa********************57D8942852544
168guadagn************57D8344952534
169bestshot*************57D8963753313
170oppenhe***********57D7754631876
171dmra*******57D8958752036
172criminal-de*******************56D8944833621
173chrismi***********56D8644702358
174jullian************56D8151803332
175musca*******56D8152903610
176combswa************56D9723903340
177joerob***********56D8452851050
178michigancr******************56D8651753330
179attorne************56D8136851076
180nmcrimi*************56D8961831818
181dellis*********56D9232731088
182texascrimin******************56D7454751859
183susanne*************56D8928855524
184kimand*********56D8153652063
185chambers*************55D7726802580
186defensel*************55D8953852613
187seanbuc***********55D8444701073
188lhmg*******55D8432752571
189carolinade****************55D8953731048
190jimgol**********54D8145752644
191bestla*********54D9427661878
192lexingt*************54D973854355
193mdcriminal*****************54D7743851846
194twibell***********54D8638902624
195hiltnertr**************54D9218901073
196scdefen************54D8756651053
197brenthu***********54D8946801044
198burke*********54D8447651857
199rmichae***********54D8142702657
200agh****53D8634851847
201michael*************53D8744681058
202hawaiicri****************53D7354702638
203criminald**************53D8943752531
204gcart*********53D7761681835
205nebraskad***************53D8430632671
206sandl********53D7483651018
207rhettbe***********53D9240731840
208calcag*********53D8943653329
209priceb***********53D8557651047
210rileyw***********53D8159751033
211fleen*********53D8444601867
212perlma**********52D8948652529
213garfinkel***************52D7946733320
214banksb*********52D9424803330
215criminalla****************52D8741782034
216shark********52D9129654040
217jhsteve***********52D8443551078
218thompso***********52D577360067
219dunha********52D970801889
220larsoni************52D7443601086
221az-def**********51D970831878
222markshe***********51D8943751827
223cohena**********51D6246601090
224edwardj*************51D8226601093
225dacla*********51D6942532080
226mallons************51D7955731031
227dala*******51D8133752542
228carterje*************51D7453751831
229utahcri************51D9232583838
230sawyer*********51D6641581093
231scottb***********51D7458651043
232dcmv*******51D8621751075
233washingtond*******************51D8942731042
234thestr**********50D8150481067
235clark*********50D59504310100
236silverma*************50D7624801073
237simoncrim***************50D9242652025
238stephen***********50D5464581067
239lustbe*********50D870903844
240oklahoma**************50D8537753316
241ketch*********50D7943751040
242johngr***********50D845903446
243callro**********50D7935852520
244washosp***********49F8435701050
245ljla*****49F8429681065
246olsenl***********49F8528732633
247lackeym************49F940753554
248heartlan**************49F8432602550
249shelton*************49F7939752526
250woodsla***********49F7154731034
251handelo***********49F8244731033
252crimin***********49F8943701818
253thefull*************49F7230631870
254occrime***********48F654075436
255ruaneat***********48F8438601840
256johnr*********48F7738801035
257leife*********48F8942602518
258djferna***********48F7760452524
259jscle*******48F6533551878
260nolacrimi**************48F9228703018
261lundgre************48F7922833325
262vogel*******48F870731096
263sjoshua***********48F8431783311
264mcgarrig*************47F864475109
265dwicrimin***************47F890734338
266johnar***********47F8729551062
267covenant**************47F6944631050
268ujs.******47F7224701073
269knoxcri************47F840835322
270shaneph***********47F894714338
271racin********47F6752701031
272wcdla*********47F746930850
273kuchle***********47F5750751832
274robert***********46F7954551023
275pisan********46F820681093
276kevins***********46F7946551041
277johnso**********46F8444501043
278miltenberg****************46F8243601029
279byeby********46F8937601031
280roygall***********46F715955038
281nyccrimin***************45F860903322
282virginiac***************45F8736631029
283warde*********44F5426751065
284lawyersau**************44F7642631022
285martens*************44F8320552540
286kaplan*********44F7438651724
287lawyers.l**************44F840601085
288alarid***********43F7942551027
289bk-law*********43F940733317
290vtle*****43F5243681041
291grgb*******43F7210731850
292alaskan*************42F713858046
293lawyer**********42F844901815
294mdcrimin**************42F920751047
295markicohe****************42F774268105
296denvercri****************41F7426751016
297bianchi************41F811803312
298griev********41F6630801017
299opa.doa***********40F4725531077
300defenseat***************40F740751057
301notguilt**************39F770683025
302maryland-c*****************39F7428451038
303nationa*************38F4245502519
304rmcatt**********38F615745019
305acdl*****37F4441601023
306cramml**********36F810652511
307publicde*************36F4923801013
308rudybaut**************36F4744481027
309paulja***********36F6916351058
310mcda*****35F374268108
311northstarc******************35F691601043
312markdk***********35F7719501021
313davidmcke***************35F740601042
314criminall***************34F860551817
315flori*********33F570801023
316mainele************33F45525008
317nvba*****33F572751024
318kcb*****33F4423701013
319whitecoll**************33F671601037
320oklahoma-cr******************30F69204088

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average AISO score for criminal defense websites?

The average AISO score for criminal defense websites is 55 out of 100. This is based on a scan of 320 sites in the legal industry. The score combines five dimensions: SEO (83), readability (43), engagement (77), AEO (23), and WCAG accessibility (54).

How do criminal defense websites perform on accessibility?

The average WCAG score is 54 out of 100. Many criminal defense websites still lack basic accessibility features like alt text on images, proper heading structure, and sufficient color contrast. Improving accessibility helps you reach more users and reduces legal risk.

Are criminal defense websites ready for AI search engines?

Not yet. The average AEO score is 23 out of 100. AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview need structured data, FAQ sections, and direct answer formats to cite a website. Currently, 12% of criminal defense sites have no schema markup at all.

What is the biggest weakness for criminal defense websites?

The weakest dimension is AEO, with an average score of just 23. This represents the area where criminal defense websites have the most room to grow. Focusing improvement efforts here will have the largest impact on overall scores.

How can I check my own website's score?

You can run a free audit on any website using AISO Studio. Enter your URL and get a full breakdown of your SEO, readability, engagement, AEO, and WCAG scores in under a minute. No signup required.

Methodology

We score each website across five areas. The AISO Score is a weighted mix of all five. It shows how well a site works for both people and AI systems. Here is what each area measures.

SEO (Technical Search Optimization)

Checks meta titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, schema markup, Open Graph tags, heading structure, and other signals that help search engines crawl and index a page.

Readability

Measures the Flesch Reading Ease score, average sentence length, and word complexity. Higher scores mean the content is easier for the public to read and understand.

Engagement

Looks at content formatting: headings, lists, bold text, blockquotes, images, and other elements that make content easy to scan and read.

AEO (AI Engine Optimization)

Checks how well content is set up for AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview. Looks for direct answer formats, FAQ sections, and clear definitions.

WCAG (Accessibility)

Tests for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines compliance: color contrast, alt text, ARIA labels, semantic HTML, and keyboard navigation support.

How Does YOUR Criminal Defense Website Score?

The average criminal defense website scores 55/100. Run a free audit to see where you stand and get actionable recommendations to improve your search visibility, AI readiness, and accessibility today.

Get Your Free Audit
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Criminal Defense Website Audit Report - AISO Studio | AISO Studio