Firm Shopping
published in the Daily Journal
Dear Searching:
You are wise to be looking for alternatives. Buyers of legal services
certainly have many more sources now when looking for counsel. Here
are some to think about.
Directories
Martindale-Hubbell is probably the most recognized lawyer directory.
But although the directory offers two modules to better serve clients:
a lawyer-resource site (martindale.com), and a consumer-oriented
site (lawyers.com.) lawyers are still more familiar with the publication
than consumers. Comments from in-house counsel suggest that they
turn to Martindale for information about firms they have already
identified, but not to find a lawyer or firm. Data shows that consumers
still turn to friends or Yellow Pages to find lawyers, but growing
numbers are turning to the Internet.
Internet Listings
Listings and portal sites include Abanet.org, LawInfo.com, FindLaw.com,
and of course the many state and local bar association directories.
AttorneyFind.com is a low-cost listing option. For $100 per year,
per category, and per location your firm information is added to
their database. One free option is LawGuru.com. This portal provides
access to legal FAQs, news articles, free employment listings, free
e-mail, live chat rooms, and links to additional web resources.
Firms can also join strategic alliances, such as LawyerPages.com.
Beyond legal listings, look to more creative sites where your firm
won't be surrounded by other law firms. For example, Chambers of
Commerce, city and community websites, and on-line telephone directories.
Many newspapers and radio stations offer free or low-cost listings
on their sites to promote business within their area of coverage.
Think about your prospective clients' bookmarks – what sites
do they visit frequently? Consider placing banner ads that link
to your site on portal sites targeting specific industries.
Positioning Your Site
Searching for a lawyer can be difficult and frustrating. For example,
searching on the key word "lawyer" brings up mixed results. URLs
appear for national associations, legal television shows, firms
of all sizes, legal portals, and even jokes about lawyers. In fact,
consumers are unlikely to search for "lawyer." They will search
for a specific problem such as wrongful death, age discrimination,
or sexual harassment. Again, a keyword search for "sexual harassment"
will link to pages regarding sexual education, health services,
HR/personnel information, hotlines and counseling services. Sexual
harassment legal advice is harder to find. However, a search of
"wrongful death" will display information about numerous law firms
and free legal advice. It seems that consumer lawyers are more adept
at reaching their target audience than corporate law firms.
Site Registration
To make sure your firm can be found easily, your site must be registered
adequately. Many sites offer one-stop registration with leading
search engines such as Yahoo, InfoSeek, and Ask Jeeves but that
is not enough. Each major search engine has different criteria for
adding URLs. For example, Yahoo will usually only index the top
level URL for your site and the information must be provided in
the exact format they require. Obviously, with nearly a half a billion
pages on the rapidly growing Web, finding your site will become
harder, not easier, for visitors. Find ways to help visitors find
your site. All search engines function similarly, but each uses
a unique formula for identifying matches. For example, sites such
as Lycos read page titles, body copy, and other elements of your
site. Others, like Infoseek, abbreviate the process to focus primarily
on metatags – key words you have selected to identify your
site. That makes positioning of key words on your site critical.
Check how frequently your key words appear. A search engine will
pull sites based on "relevance" i.e., how often the search words
appear within selected sites. The placement of key words on your
site is also of importance. Key words should appear at the top of
your home page, in headlines, or the first few paragraphs of text.
Also, use key words that visitors are likely to use, not internal
or industry language familiar to you. Website design is an additional
factor to consider when positioning key words. Navigational columns
often cause key words to be identified at a lower position than
they visually appear. Understanding how Internet search engines
operate can make your site easier to find. Remember, your website
is a dynamic vehicle that requires frequent tuning and updating,
but it can also be more than informational – it can bring
you business.
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