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Pew/Internet reported early August that the percentage of internet users who use search engines on a typical day has been steadily rising from about one-third of all users in 2002, to a new high of just under one-half (49%). With this increase, the number of those using a search engine on a typical day is pulling ever closer to the 60% of internet users who use email on a typical day.

The report provides data supporting the fact that those who are using search engines on an average day are more likely to be socially upscale, with at least some college education and incomes over $50,000 per year.

Accordingly, search engine marketing continues to increase in importance for law firms. FindLaw's white paper "Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for Law Firms" covers that an effective SEM strategy can be a key competitive advantage for law firms that want to generate more visibility, more qualified traffic and, ultimately, more new clients in the online legal marketplace.

Using appropriate keywords and keyword phrases are a key success factor. Effective keyword selection starts with thinking through what makes your law firm unique, in terms of its client base, competitors and practice goals, and working with your SEM expert to build a diverse set of keywords and keyword phrases around those qualities.

 

A good rule of thumb is that you’re usually better off competing for and winning a higher number of unique, small-volume word combinations (“I need to hire a lawyer because I was arrested for DUI in Pittsburgh”) than going after just a few high-volume, and highly competitive, searches (such as “DUI lawyer”).

 

Why is that the case?

• Because 40% of Internet searches are unique searches; they’ve never been done before.
• Because very specific queries usually come from highly motivated prospects.
• Because while being #1 in the search engines for a more common search is great, it’s all about converting new clients — and going about it in a strategic (and realistic) way.

The more specific the search, the more likely it is that a person who clicks-through from that search will be a better prospective client for you. If a law firm specializes in dog bite law in Arlington, Texas, a person who finds the law firm through the search query “Arlington TX dog bite law” is likely to be a far more qualified lead than someone who found the law firm through the query “personal injury law.”

 

You can’t anticipate every one-of-a-kind search, and your Web site would be unreadable if you tried. But a firm can improve its odds of generating traffic from specific, one-off queries (known as “Long Tail” searches). The key: maintaining a well-written, content-rich site filled with a broad range of relevant keywords.

 

By taking that approach, you’ll be more competitive for both Long Tail searches and more popular search terms as well. An SEM expert who understands how legal prospects think and the search terms they use can help you cast a wide net and bring a greater number of well-qualified prospects to your Web site

Edwin Van Riessen

I thought of this on my way to work this morning, when I got to a stop light and saw a small sign that said “Squeegee Squad” and had a web url that I could not read. And my first thought? What do you squeegee? Why do I need your services?

Now think, a potential client lands on your website, and asks: “What do you do?”

“Well, since my company name ends with ‘Attorney at Law…,’ isn’t it pretty obvious?”
Not so much…
With tens of thousands of law firms out there, (seriously, go do a search for law firm, I got millions of  results) you need to separate yourself.

This is why you need a ‘positioning statement’ on your site. Some attorneys do a great job of this. “California Criminal Defense Attorneys” has a strong, short description on their home page, with the flash in the banner further highlighting the firm’s strengths. This personal injury firm created a tag line that separates themselves from their competition, “Not All Attorneys Can Rise Above the Pack.”

These positioning statements help visitors make the decision to stay on your site, and contact you to determine if you are the one who can handle their issue.

Nick McLawhorn

Today’s audience for online video is 300 million people worldwide. With this number expected to increase to 1 billion by the year 2012, is there a better way to reach your customer-base?

FindLaw’s newest online video product, Studio-Shot 1, is an efficient yet professional method for entering this rapidly growing segment. Studio-Shot 1 is a one-minute video clip filmed at a pre-determined location and allows attorneys the opportunity to engage visitors on their Web site.

Ultimately, a more engaged visitor increases their likelihood of contacting the firm. In fact, a FindLaw study shows that 58% of consumers indicate that video increases their likelihood to contact the firm.

Recently, I was able to experience a Studio-Shot 1 video shoot in Chicago and was extremely impressed. On-site was a FindLaw Video Field Producer along with a fully equipped videographer and sound/lighting technician. The customer, Valerie Leopold of Leopold & Associates, arrived at the shoot location feeling prepared for the interview-style video because a call had already taken place with the Video Field Producer to craft questions that would form the “story” conveyed on camera.

The Video Field Producer put the attorney at ease by guiding them through the questions and directing the camera work. Rather than worry about the details of the shoot, Valerie was able to focus on communicating the benefits and personality of the firm. The Video Field Producer even provided feedback about what she could or couldn’t say based on the rules specific to the State Bar Association.

The final edited version of the video portrayed Valerie as professional, well-spoken and personable throughout the web. After editing the video footage, FindLaw embedded the video on the Leopold & Associate FirmSite and provided search engine optimization value by tagging and transcribing to add the much needed visibility in search results. A last step is to distribute the video to major search engines like Google Video, YouTube, Yahoo! Video and more. The search engine optimization, tagging and transcription added much needed visibility in search results.

We are all familiar with the quote “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Based on my experience at the shoot, FindLaw online video is an excellent way to make a great first impression and increase the amount of qualified contacts from your Web site.

For examples of FindLaw Online Video, click this link…

John Mayer

Most law firms interested in driving business from the web are appropriately focused on getting more traffic to their Web site. And why not? Using the web as a starting point to search for and find an attorney to hire is becoming more and more frequent. The beauty of online marketing is that the product performance (search, directory or display ad, email campaign or video) is visible to the advertiser in the form of marketing analytics and reporting which makes figuring out the marketing return on investment (ROI) easier than ever. Here at FindLaw our tracking and reporting of online clicks shows one important distinction: all clicks are not equal.   

Progressive marketers know that clicks from relevant websites, those that are niche focused or are highly differentiated with content-rich user experiences, produce, per click, many more conversions. As users research topics and create pathways to specific content they reveal a lot about themselves, their preferences and most importantly their intent. Understanding the users “online behavior” helps you to figure out the difference between passive browsing behavior and deliberate activity. My colleague Brian Ledis describes the idea of using granularity, sorting out the good prospects from the bad in a sea of traffic, in a previous post on this blog. In effect, sourcing traffic from highly differentiated destination sites does the sorting: visitors to these types of sites are more likely to purchase goods and services than those on general portals, where many visitors have only a passive interest in the goods and services they are exposed to. 

For instance, take the search term “immigration law”. Who might be making that search and what’s their intent? It could be an immigration lawyer looking for a resource. It could be a college student looking for research material. Or a blogger looking for political fodder. Or a law student writing a paper. Or someone looking for an immigration lawyer. Which click would your firm want? Which click would you pay for? 

Now, compare that click with one from a user who is on a vertically focused destination site specializing in helping non-experts navigate the law. That user might research “Immigration Law Overview”, proceed to Immigration Law FAQ and then jump to Role of an Immigration Attorney and proceed to a directory of immigration lawyers. The intent of the user is expressed through their “online behavior” and a lot of it is available in the tracking and reporting metrics. Research by FindLaw shows that a click to a law firm Web site from a relevant site, such as findlaw.com, by a user who has been down the legal research path is much more likely to turn into a client than a user who clicks from a less targeted site such as a general search engine. 

That’s not to say traffic isn’t important. Traffic, multiplied by conversion rate gives us a “net converted” metric, which then can be evaluated in an ROI calculation. It’s at this level of analysis that marketers can truly evaluate the effectiveness of the online marketing efforts in producing what really matters: converted contacts that can be turned into clients.   

Charlie Vanek

Consumers often have products that include confusing instructions regarding assembly, and/or how to avoid risk or injury.  One of the most important pieces from any purchase is an avenue to contact someone when there are questions.  Missing parts or pieces?  It won’t turn on, off, left, or right as it says it would?  Call this number, and ask someone about it.

But this “someone” typically ends up being a faceless, generic person who has a first name but no idea who their client is or what they may actually need.  John Q. Consumer, meanwhile, spends much more time having to explain more than they should rather than identifying the key issue at-hand and resolving it in a timely fashion.

Lawyers are consumers too, and marketing on the Internet can be just as puzzling as any other product.  FindLaw prides itself in offering to you a face, and a last name, and a sense of familiarity with you once your relationship with us has been initiated.  After we assemble your products – your website developed, your spot on our award-winning FindLaw portal secured – you are given a dedicated Account Manager including:

• their full name – first and last
• their direct telephone number
• their direct e-mail address

They serve as your all-around connection from that point forward.  Along with your client development consultant, they are your single-handed, multi-talented, jack of all trades. But if you have an inquiry about your FindLaw experience, you will know who you can talk to.  Personally.  We are masterful at attending to your needs.

Do you have questions?  If we can’t answer it ourselves, we will know where to go, and who to go to in order to get a solution for you.  We will stay in direct contact with you – via telephone, via e-mail – throughout any particular issue to ensure that you get your answers.  We can help you with:

• edits to your site once it’s published, live for potential clients to review
• any billing questions and inquiries from what you are charged
• ongoing  services, such as adding and updating your site (at no additional cost)
• consulting with you not only on traffic to your site, but also your online marketing objectives
• updating your directory products on www.findlaw.com to make sure that they are ideal for drawing clients to you
• any changes to your practice or your firm

This is just the beginning of what Account Managers can and will do for you.  We are the specific person you will want to call, and we are trained to get you what you need.  As quickly as possible.

My name is Sumner Musolf, and I am an Account Manager with FindLaw. I look forward to working with you.
 
Take care.

Today’s business owner is generally well aware of the importance of being found on the Internet to generate new leads. Even so, many folks still think that as long as they have enough clients and prospects today, they’ll continue to be able to sustain their future business growth based on referrals from today’s clientele. If that happens, great, but more likely is the case that you’d be missing a large QUANTITY of future business if you’re not easily found on the Internet.

Maybe even more important is the fact that you might also be sacrificing the QUALITY of potential clients and prospects if you are not using the Internet to bring in business. Just because your shop is running at max capacity doesn’t mean you are getting the highest returns from your invested resources!

The only way to establish an Internet presence that ensures both the QUANTITY and QUALITY of existing and future leads is to use a reputable company with extensive experience in the right areas.

With years of professional experience in the legal vertical, FindLaw services and solutions provide you the strong Internet legal presence you need to establish a foundation of quality contacts, both now and in the future.

Breaking the myth of the crammed Web site

My first real introduction to technology – at least in terms of something I was to interact with – was at the age of 9 when I used an Apple IIC to play Oregon Trail. And while I may have died a virtual death of cholera due to my lack of hunting skills (Hey, who hunts deer by walking in straight lines anyway?), leaving my wife, two children and a set of oxen to fend for themselves in the hostile American West, my “real” self loved this new world filled with pixels and floppy discs.

My first experience with the Internet, aside from being told that it was a series of inter-connected tubes, was late in college when I logged on to AOL; I indeed “had mail.” What a world. One interesting fact about the early years of the internet was the lack of page scrolling. AOL, for example, wouldn’t allow users to do any vertical scrolling, instead relying upon text fields and list boxes to display information (not to mention splash pages – yikes!). This new technology was limiting and, for me, a bit cumbersome.

The same can’t be said for my son whose first foray into technology - specifically that of the Internet - was at the ripe old age of 2. He could log onto the Web, open up his “favorites” folder and peruse a variety of Web links (Wiggles, Barney, Disney, et al). The amazing thing (and what is the most pertinent in terms of this article) was his natural inclination to scroll down the page. Inherent in his and each of our Web experiences is that we will and most definitely do scroll. By embracing this knowledge, FindLaw’s talented Web development teams don’t have to worry about cramming as much information and imagery at the top of a Web page as we first believed or were led to believe. We can now design open and user-friendly designs.

In the beginning (right around Al Gore’s creation of the Web) Web designers and developers looked at the Internet much the same way a newspaper editor looked at a newspaper. Most newspapers were (are) displayed to potential customers folded in half; meaning that only the top half of the front page is visible. Editors knew that this space, which they called “above the fold,” could convince a reader to buy the paper as it would be the first information viewed by their readers.

As time passed and research became made available to them, Web designers began to see that users may not necessarily come to the home page (think SEM and the value of targeted content) upon first visit to a Web site, instead coming to a more specific search-related page on a site. Also, users expected that whatever page they were to land on or visit, they would have to scroll. After scrolling became a consistent implementation on all Web sites, Web browsers alleviated the concern that users won’t scroll.

Famed Web expert Jakob Nielsen touched on this topic 3+ years ago when he said, “On the Web, users expect vertical scrolling. As with all standard design elements, it’s better to meet user expectations than to deviate.”

Nielsen also wrote that users will stick with a site as long as they feel that they are getting closer to their goal of finding the information they want. This search is referred to as the “search for sent.” Draw the user in with compelling imagery and pertinent text and they will continue to move through your site; this is where we come in.

When designers at FindLaw are asked by others (clients, the field, et al) to place as many elements above the fold as possible, the answer indubitably should be: “Where is the fold?” With viewing screens coming in all different sizes and resolutions – from iPhones, PDAs and Blackberrys to widescreen LCD monitors - where then is the fold? Unlike the aforementioned newspaper, the fold of a Web page has no fixed location. Most data shows that the largest majority of page “folds” can hover anywhere from 600 to 610 pixels – and this accounts for only 10% of the folds! If you add in the next few largest fold distributions (570 and 630 pixels), together they account for only 26% of fold locations. Basically, the fold is everywhere! How would you account for where the fold is since we don’t know what each user’s default font size, window size, or screen resolution is? If we design for one, we lose the rest. Braced with this knowledge and the current shift to Web 2.0’s cleaner and less cluttered sites, designers are more in tune with users as well as the presentation of information.

That said, FindLaw’s Web Designers do place great emphasis on what goes atop a Web page, but not at the sacrifice of the entire site - much less the user. The top of a FindLaw-created home page should, in most cases, answer these questions:

1. Who is the firm?
    • Name, location, practice area(s) focus
2. How can I contact them?
    • When and how (phone, email, what hours, etc).
3. Why choose this firm over the competitor?
    • Market differentiator

Answering these questions in a graphically powerful (and hopefully unique) way helps the user make a decision in a timely and non-frustrating way. With abundant data showing that the majority of Web users scroll and that most sites have a scroll-bar, we can better design sites, placing data and imagery throughout the site/page to improve the overall user-experience. Some liken this to the analogy of an attractive person who has no personality: If a site crams as much info as possible at the top of the page and leaves the rest of the site “empty,” the designer has failed. If a designer has a site that is well thought out and designed top-to-bottom, the site has a better chance to be successful — good-looking AND smart!

While the Web is littered with valuable data supporting that there is indeed no fold, here are a few very supportive metrics based off a 2006 (and a subsequent follow up in 2007) ClickTale* study of over 120,000 page-views:

• 91% of all pages viewed had a scroll-bar
• 76% of all pages viewed that had a scroll-bar were scrolled to some extent
• 22% of all pages viewed that had a scroll-bar were scrolled all the way to the bottom

Are users less likely to scroll to the bottom of a page? No. Visitors are equally likely to scan the entire page, no matter the length. As my 2-year old son proved (and seemingly anyone who uses the Web), people scroll until they find what they are looking for. Scrolling is also associated with Web 2.0 design because big, clear text and spacious, clean content implies longer Web pages.

What recommendations do the designers at FindLaw have for their clients (and the field)? Because users are more inclined to scan Web sites for data instead of reading a site line-by-line:

• Divide your layout into sections with graphics to draw the user in.
• Let your designers create a visually compelling header area to draw users in and make them want to scroll. (Click data research from CrazyEgg shows that even though a tag line may not be a link, users are clicking on it as they expect it to bring them someplace. Use this as an opportunity to sell your firm’s overall message and get users to delve deeper into the site.)
• Think of your firm in comparison to your competition. Why choose you? It’s not simply a matter of “we return phone calls promptly” (all firms do and should), but think larger — “We get results prior to court. We are former police officers. I am a former judge.”
• As users visually scroll, minimize written text (maintain the content minimum as to not affect the search engines’ ability to find your site) and maximize images. Entice users visually to stay on your site.
• Make the search box prominent as users find these mandatory in their search for answers or help.

In the end, trust your designer and the designer’s experience and expertise in creating sites that not only attract users, but engage them. Let your designer open up your site to give the user more visual breathing room and don’t fret that a user won’t know what to do; they are more savvy than we give them credit for.
...

Besides, you've been scrolling through this entire entry ;-)

*Data provided by ClickTale who collected a subset of roughly 120,000 page-views, as well as the research done by Jakob Nielsen.

Collin Hummel

Yes, you read that correctly, for FREE! Well, this is only partially true.  I assume that you have put a great deal of effort and resources to build a great website as the core of your marketing campaign. 

Now, thanks to the folks at Google, Yahoo! And MSN you can have a free local listing in their directories. All of them are really easy to set up and they provide some great benefits to your online visibility.

Mobile Visibility

Consider, for example, MSN’s business listing, which is used to power up searches on all Windows-Mobile-based-smartphones as well its MSN.com and Live.com sites.  Windows Mobile gives you the opportunity to reach about 25% of the domestic smartphone consumers at no cost to you.

Recent studies have shown that the number of people searching on their smartphone devices (Blackberry, Treo, iPhone, Pocket PC, etc.) has increased significantly in the last year.  Paul Burani examines the connection between the rise in mobile and local searching and concludes that this is only the beginning.  As the prices of smartphones continue to drop, while they get better and better, and as the mobile phone companies include more services in their packages, internet browsing becomes more and more prevalent. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, mobile data penetration is far higher amongst the African-American and (English-speaking) Hispanic populations than it is amongst the white population, which opens up numerous possibilities for reaching out to new customers.

Local Flexibility

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Google Maps, and their Local Business Center,  revolutionized the area of the local searching.  For years people had relied on the Yellow Pages or similar directories to deliver search results.  However, the combination of at-your-fingertips-results with customer ratings and map and directions has literally brought people to many small and medium business’ doorsteps.

Once you get past the creepy feeling that people can actually see a still photo of your office and the street in front of it, the Google Local Business Center is very flexible and easy to customize.  These days one can even add a video from YouTube.com.

Links, Links, Links

One of the biggest benefits to local internet listings is the links they provide back to your website.  While content is still king in the land of search engine optimization, having various inbound links from local directories can only help your site’s visibility and may increase traffic altogether. Unlike the more traditional paper directories, the internet local listings allow you the flexibility to target specific pages and change the link from time to time as needed.

It turns out that in the virtual world, just like in the real one, some of the best things really are free!

Slavey Tolev

Online Search Engine Optimization (SEO) needn’t be confusing. Think of a new recipe you’re trying out – you want to strike a balance between just the right quality and quantity of ingredients, because adding too much of any one ingredient may ruin that chicken casserole you’re cooking.
 
Your Web site needs constant tweaking and grooming to get listed on the search engines. Just like cooking, you can’t cheat by doing too much of one thing and not enough of another. Adding irrelevant keywords to your Web site would make it appear like spam. In our cooking example, this would be like dumping an excessive amount of sugar in your casserole.  It would be sweet, but would it be good?
 
Search engines relentlessly refine the accuracy of their search algorithm. Search engines don’t just grade your Web site on use of keywords, but also on content, links or use of video. Search engines are very picky about what is indexed and where it ranks in the index. How picky can a search engine be? Try this example: Search for dog bite attorney and Dog bite attorney, but note the uppercase D in the second set of search terms. At the time of posting this article, the position of several links changed or dropped off the first page by merely changing the case of “D” in dog bite.
 
The use of competitive search terms, like those found in legal Web sites, creates an even more difficult market to be visible in. There are many legal Web sites supplying the demand for legal content. Standing out from the crowd involves careful thought and expertise in your subject matter, and you need to employ the best keywords and all the other ingredients for that perfect casserole….I mean legal Web site.

Sam Chagani

 

Editing (or Writing) Your Law Firm Web Site

You've received a draft of your Web site content and ... it's not exactly what you had in mind. The writer used the word "appeals"; you would have used the word "appellate." The writer didn't note published legal opinions on the home page. The writer didn't list the specific criteria for bringing a case to court.

Now you've taken out your red pen and you're poised for action.

Before you take a pass through that content, pause for a moment and think about the people who will actually be reading (or more likely, scanning) those words.

• Do you see busy mom and pop business owners?
• How about grandma and grandpa? They've managed to get through life with only a high school education, but can they get through your Web site?
• Are your clients immigrants who are struggling with English?
• Are they the couple next door-worried, anxious, fearful, or in pain?

For most law firms, most clients are not other attorneys. They are everyday people who are looking for a lawyer who speaks everyday English. Even if they have a college degree, they don't have a degree in law. They aren't familiar with legal terms, like tort, and they don't understand the court system.

If you really want your law firm Web site to communicate with these people, you must use the words they use. That's what your writer is trying to do, in addition to using the words you need to be found in the search engines.

You've got less than 1 minute to make your point

You will spend at least a few and possibly many hours carefully reviewing every word of your law firm Web site. But your clients won't. The most time an average client will spend on a page is 1 minute, and usually it's half that time: 30 to 45 seconds!

Yes, it's important to have good, accurate information on your pages, but it's absolutely vital to communicate quickly and clearly.

You'd better make it good

Readability is critical to communicating your message. In order to craft highly readable content, your writer has:

• Avoided technical words when non-technical words were available
• Made sentences shorter and limited the number of clauses
• Kept paragraphs succinct and focused on one topic
• Used widely accepted Web conventions to highlight important points (bullets, boxes, and bold, but no underlines, for example)
• Kept an eye on the readability statistics (reading grade level and reading ease scores) of his or her content and tried to improve readability while still communicating your message

That doesn't mean the content is perfect. Building a law firm Web site is an interactive process. Your participation is critical. You are the content expert and you know your clients better than anyone else.

Rewrite a paragraph, tweak words here and there... these changes can lead to big improvements in reaching your clients. On the other hand, adding legalese in the editing process can quickly undo the work of helping your Web site perform effectively.

Writing readable legal Web content is an art. If you have questions about how your content has been written, make a note about it and talk with your editor. He or she has helped hundreds of attorneys build Web sites that work. Your editor can coach you on the most effective way to make changes to your content so that you really do accomplish your Web marketing goals.

Leslie MacKenzie

 

Marketing encompasses much more than just Web sites, but your law firm Web site should be the foundation for all other aspects of your marketing effort.

• Your Web site is working for you 24 hours a day.

• It can be updated regularly, allowing your firm to be responsive to breaking legal news and changing conditions.

• Unlike print advertising, you're not confined to a fraction of a page. You have almost unlimited potential to get your message and brand across in words and images.

• Unlike television or radio advertising, your message will be seen by exactly those folks who want to know more about you and what you do.

Are you taking advantage of the potential the Web offers you?

As a marketing copywriter for FindLaw, I've talked with hundreds of lawyers from all across the U.S. Many of them have the same questions-and feel the same uncertainty-about positioning themselves on the Web. In coming weeks, I'll be writing about ways you can approach the initial or ongoing development of your legal Web site, as well as ways to handle marketing challenges.

Your FindLaw sales rep is always the best source of information on local conditions and local competition, but ultimately, when it comes to the nitty gritty of positioning yourself on the Web, you are the final authority (even if you don't feel like one at the moment).

I hope the issues I'll be discussing in upcoming articles will help you develop your Web marketing savvy and spur you to think about what your goals should be.

Watch for these topics

• Avoid the Legalese, Please: Editing (or writing) your law firm Web site
• "I don't like to brag, but...." Don't let modesty prevent you from telling people what they want and need to know
• You Don't Say: Letting others say it for your with testimonials and representative cases
• "We Answer our Phones:" How to set your firm apart with real service statements
• Memorable or Mockable: How much personality is too much personality for a Web site?
• The Firm Overview Page: The heart of your law firm Web site
• I, We, And They: Which voice will be more effective for your law firm Web site?
• The Path to Greatness: Taking your visitors from curious to calling
• Enough or Too much: The art of being informational
• Enough or Too Much - Redux: Creating a Mix of Value-Added Pages
• Small Can Be Beautiful: A small Web site can get big results
• And On This Side of the Ring: Is it possible to reach conflicting audiences with one Web site?

A bit about your writer

I started my career on the Web in 1995 with a research Web site focused on practical media ethics. I cringe to think of all the opportunities I missed in those early days, but even then I knew that a Web site was only one part of an integrated marketing plan. In addition to hundreds of pages of content, I expanded my organization's Web presence through participation in online conversations to raise our visibility as an authoritative source of information.

Later, as a fundraising professional, I produced Web content, coordinated Web and print media, and conducted Web audits with a focus on usability and fundraising best practices.

I joined FindLaw as a marketing copywriter in 2005. I love the opportunity to talk to lawyers about their work. Not only is it fascinating, it's valuable. There are times in every person's life when they truly need a lawyer. By crafting a Web site that reflects the unique personality of each law firm I work with-a Web site that gets found by the search engines and read by prospective clients-I hope I'm helping people find the lawyer who is just right for them.

It could be you.

Leslie MacKenzie

I, We, They

Which Voice Is Most Effective for Your Web Site

Your Web site is your first conversation with your prospective clients. How are you going to talk to them?

The first person voices-I and we-come across as friendly and informal. These words subtly convey the message "I am on your side" and "We are in this together." When you are helping people with highly sensitive issues, like divorce, estate planning, and criminal defense, the first person voice immediately begins to build a trusting, personal relationship.

On the other hand, sometimes you really can have too much of a good thing when that informal "I" begins to sound self-centered and boastful and "we" takes on the air of a member of the royal family.

The third person voice-they-is formal, distant, impersonal and therefore some people feel it is more "professional." Please don't equate professional with impersonal. There are many ways to convey a professional demeanor without resorting to impersonal.

On the other hand, in some locations and for some types of law practices, formal is very much the tone you want to convey. Municipal law, administrative law, appellate law, insurance defense, business litigation-these types of practices often benefit from a very formal tone and a third person voice.

Difficult choices

Which voice should you choose if your law firm handles a dozen different practice areas, serving both businesses and individuals? Should you have different voices for different pages, depending upon the needs of your audience?

Absolutely not; stick with one voice across your site and choose a voice that matches the tone of your firm. After all, your Web site is a reflection of your law firm. When you choose a formal or a personal tone, you are preparing your prospective clients for what they will encounter when they visit your office and get to know you. Be yourself.

The dreaded "I" word

Quite often I hear from solo practitioners who are afraid to use the "I" word. They inevitably give me three reasons:

1) It doesn't sound professional (not true, any voice can sound professional)

2) It sounds self-centered (that's possible, but it needn't be the case)

3) They don't want Web site visitors to think they are a solo practitioner

This last one is a real problem.

Facts are facts. If you are a solo practitioner, it's an ethical violation to suggest otherwise. Don't try to hide behind a vague "they." Your attorney profile page is only going to show one attorney so you're not going to fool anyone.

My advice is to take a powerful position. Speak with a firm, singular voice. Solo practitioners can do things lawyers in larger firms can't do. Make the most of that with effective service statements. When you say, "I protect your interests. I'm here for you," that's the strongest statement a lawyer can make to a client. It's the real message your clients want to hear.

Wrapping up the pronouns

So what voice will be the most effective for your site and your clients? You choose. Just remember to:

• Get the facts straight-the right voice for the number of attorneys in your firm

• Get your community straight-formal or down home, either can work

• Get the client straight-how much trust do you need to build right from the start

Watch for more issues to consider when planning your law firm Web site

• The Path to Greatness: Taking your visitors from curious to calling
• Enough or Too much: The art of being informational
• Enough or Too Much - Redux: Creating a Mix of Value-Added Pages
• Small Can Be Beautiful: A small Web site can get big results
• And On This Side of the Ring: Is it possible to reach conflicting audiences with one Web site?

Leslie MacKenzie

Information is power, but what's more powerful is how you use that information. The current information age is akin to the 19th century industrial revolution - as technologyevolves at an exponential pace, we must learn to quickly harness its power so that we may wield information like a sword. And what good is a sword if one can't wield it?

Knowledge of the law is also power, but even more powerful is the successful practice of law - in both the economic and practical sense. To harness this power you must let clients know that your services are available, and that you are experts in your field of practice.

By combining the powers of information, technology and marketing, a law firm can quickly achieve great success. This is where online advertising comes into play. The world is rapidly changing and as we embrace technology it becomes incorporated and ingrained into our daily lives. Rarely does anyone search the phone book for goods and services anymore. The internet has replaced it as a much more powerful and user friendly tool.

Online advertising comes in many forms and depending on the goal you set for your advertising dollars, the results can vary. At FindLaw we specialize in marketing solutions for law firms and measure success by "Conversion," which is the ratio of your advertising efforts to leads converted into clients.

A fairly recent development in the world of online advertising is the utilization of Rich Media . Rich Media is defined as the use of multimedia (video, audio, text, animation, still images) that allows for active participation by the recipient. A popular example of rich media used in online advertising is Flash Animation . Flash Animation brings a static (still) advertisement to life. Imagine a full color ad in the Sunday paper leaping out of the page, moving and blinking. This is how Flash Animation enhances online advertisements.

Another popular form of Rich Media is video. With video ads a law firm can reach out directly to their target clients and build a sense of trust, warmth and respect immediately. A lawyer's personality, professional image and expertise can be transferred through a video advertisement. Static ads and print ads (phone book) cannot do this effectively. Prospective clients often have to overcome the barrier of trust when choosing an attorney and video is the most effective method of hastening this connection.

In summary, a law firm must utilize all of the tools available to become successful. Embracing technology and the information age will only enhance the efforts put forth by the firm to grow and obtain new clients.

Brian Ledis

 

There is no denying the growth of the online video industry. With tens of millions of videos available online, the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) Digital Video Committee has classified the videos into three main categories:

• Premier Programming - generally repurposed broadcast/cable TV programs
• Professionally-Generated Specialty Programming - professional but generally created for a specific subset of online video consumers
• User-Generated Video - created and uploaded by everyday people

Though the production quality, video length, and resolution may vary for each type, consumers use each category for different reasons.

When adding video to your law firm's Web site, it is important to remember why consumers visit your site. They are looking for information about you and/or the type of law that you practice. It is important that your video be representative of you and your firm.

In our own consumer research, we repeatedly heard that attorney videos have to look professional. The goal of your video should be to provide a good feel for what you do and how you do it, and it should avoid being flashy or cheesy. Consumers seeking legal counsel don't want to hear about why you're the best but how your approach could address their specific needs. Your video provides the "human" touch to your Web site and should help drive consumers to contact you for your knowledge and professionalism. That's why it is important to make sure you use high-quality, professionally generated video to draw the type of consumer you want. While videos in the legal vertical aren't specifically classified by the IAB, videos placed on your site should clearly fit into the proper category - Professionally-Generated Specialty Programming.

Linda Palecek