The following was written by PowerAdvocates founder Richard Lozano and appeared in Trial Magazine and various Lawyers Weekly publications throughout the country. This article has been updated for 2011.
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Are you promoting your law firm through the internet? More importantly, is your internet promotion meaningful? In order for your internet presence to be meaningful, it must employ a strategy designed to meet your goals. For many, the goal is to receive new business, which is the focus of this article. The internet can be one of the most effective venues for telling your firm’s story if you pay careful attention to key issues.
Your law firm simply must take advantage of the pervasiveness and power of the internet’s unique ability to distribute information. Millions every day use the Internet to gather information. Regarding attorneys, the vast majority of people do not have a direct relationship or connection with one. When legal problems arise, they aren’t sure where to begin. These people may not find traditional lawyer advertisements appealing or they may want a little more information before picking up the telephone. Moreover, have you checked yellowpage advertising rates lately? There is a reason why they are plunging. The stream of traffic has moved online.
Promotion on the Internet
Promoting your firm on the internet begins with establishing a presence. This presence must begin with your own website. Think of your firm website as your virtual marketing office. Here you can tell your firm’s story any way you choose. This is your opportunity to show who you are, what you are about and why you are the right attorney.
Some firms rely solely on listings in attorney directory websites as their internet marketing solution. This is a mistake. Attorney directories are an excellent component of promoting your firm online, but should not be the basis of your internet presence. When you list your firm in a directory, you are at the mercy of the directory website to promote the directory. When clients do find the directory, your firm competes with many others for attention. Moreover, your listing most likely will not provide an Internet address that you can reference in your other marketing efforts (i.e. www.thisismylawfirm.com)
This is not to say directory listings aren’t important, because they are, which we will touch on a little bit later. But, promoting your website online must include your ability to market your website independently. You also want to maintain complete control over the look and feel of your website as well as search engine submissions. You want to have the ability to promote your website in a way that will drive high traffic to it. These things can only be accomplished by maintaining your own independent website.
Moreover, the attorney-client relationship is as much about interpersonal connection as anything else. You are the commodity and you must put yourself on display, allowing the prospective client to take a look and kick the tires. People appreciate and want as much information as they can get. Law firms that have a strong Internet presence therefore enjoy a significant advantage over those that do not.
Building a website
Websites can vary greatly. Some firms simply build a one-page website with basic firm information. Others build elaborate sites with attorney bios, news and other features designed to establish a connection with prospective clients. So, what is a website, technically speaking? Don’t worry, no one is giggling, Being an attorney, I know that most of us are technical wastelands and believe the internet is some magical land of pixie dust.
A website is like any other document on your computer. What makes it unique is a web document is built on a universal code called HTML. This code enables web browsers, such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, to display the contents of the document. HTML also enables you to utilize features such as navigation buttons and pull down menus to effectively organize your information.
To use a simple illustration, many of you use Microsoft Word. Word gives you the option to save your document as an HTML file. If you choose this option, your document will not look any different, but it can suddenly be read by a web browser. When properly placed on a web server, anyone on the Internet can read the document.
I will assume that you do not intend on sitting down with a slide ruler and cup of coffee to build your own site, but hopefully this de-mystifies the whole Internet thing a bit. Many companies are standing by ready to build your site for you.
Still, you should have an idea of what you want your site to be. Search websites and think about what you would like yours to be like. What features are you looking for? Do you want just basic information presented or do you want the site to be interactive and constantly changing? Try not to look only at other attorney websites. Have a reason to do things a certain way other than “all the other lawyers do it this way.” They went to law school, not business school. Put yourself in the shoes of the client and think about what they might find appealing.
The most effective law firm websites are both informative, simple and attractive. Most importantly, your website must achieve the prime directive. Are you selling legal services? I don’t think that’s a good idea. There is you and a thousand others just like you selling the exact same bill of goods. What you are selling is confidence. Your message is essential in creating new client inquiries. Your prospective client wants to know that you can best solve their problem.
I have my website, now what?
Sadly, millions of fantastic websites will never be seen because they can not be found unless by chance. Their owners have failed to promote the site and it just sits there undiscovered by modern man. There are affirmative steps you must take in order to lead prospective clients to your site, not the least of which is publishing it on a web server. Your web design company will either be able to provide this service or direct you to a company that does.
There are many ways to promote your website. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of promoting your website to the natural or organic search results. Early on, most if not all listings were organic. Getting at the top of these listings meant visibility and traffic. Now a search engine results page is complex. A typical Google results page also includes a Google Places™ listing (maps) and pay-per-click listings (Google AdWords). These three combine to make up most if not all of a search results page. Each requires a different strategy and has its own cost.
What strategy is best for your firm is largely driven by your market, your competition, your practice area(s) and your budget. Don’t spend $50 to get a $45 speeding ticket, for example. But with a scientific approach and understanding of your market, your return on investment can be tremendous.
