Prospective clients are using the Web to locate and hire law firms, according to the findings in of the new Industry Touchpoint Report, “Best Practices in Legal Marketing: Effective Use of Web Sites.”

Martindale-Hubbell reports that its online directory of attorneys is searched 2.75 million times a month.  Martindale-Hubbell, along with search engines such as Google, are driving millions of potential prospects to law firm Web sites.  The new survey of law firms found that 73% have generated new clients whose first awareness of their firm was their Web site.

Today a law firm's Web site represents a significant opportunity to quickly and effectively differentiate a firm through a medium that is increasingly prominent in the law firm selection process.

Touchpoint Metrics thoroughly studied the Web sites of 30 leading law firms and interviewed the marketing executive of each firm. Our findings are qualitative, and represent information as opposed to statistically valid data that can be extrapolated to accurately represent a population larger than the 30 participating firms.  Our conclusions are opinions based on this information.  We leave the applicability of our opinions to your situation to your judgment.

The Highlights

• Marketing executives report that articles and white papers written by the firms’ lawyers help generate Web site traffic that results in new clients.
• There is a significant competitive advantage for those firms that deploy Web sites as a component of their prospect generation, marketing and client service efforts.
• As a result of firms attempting to be the quintessential full-service firm, most are not differentiating their firm or communicating a clear

One-on-one interviews with key marketing executives at 25 of the 30 firms report that their firms formally or informally track the origin of new businesses.  73.3% of the firms were aware of new clients whose first awareness of the firm had been their Web site, and 17 firms were able to quantify their Web site's contribution to business development as follows.

Over the previous 12 months, these 17 firms report generating 159 new clients whose first awareness of their firm was their Web site.  This illustrates that these firms are successfully leveraging their Web sites as a key component of their prospect development efforts and realizing a competitive advantage as a result.

Law firms must invest in their Web sites to get these results.

Best and Worst Practices

Our researchers rated each Web site on 183 individual metrics. In addition to examining the typical sections of a law firm Web site, we detailed best and worst practices.  The firm’s Web site is a key tool that can either help or hinder a prospect’s progress as they make decisions about their relationship with your firm.

Worst

• No home page identification as a law firm. In two instances, navigation to attorney biographies was the only indication on the home page that the Web site belonged to a law firm.
• Generic content. Broadly descriptive content is displayed on several law firm Web sites. To reap maximum benefits, law firm Web site content must be narrowly focused and specific. There is a key opportunity for firms to present matter-specific content, especially articles and white papers. Marketing executives cite online articles as the most common reason their Web site generated new clients’ first awareness.

Best

• Online client service efforts that can held during the post-selection stage include updates, newsletters, and event registration.
• Communicating industry expertise. Industries should be a navigation option on the home page. When a user points to the "Practice" navigation, a detailed industry list should appear. A user should see the breadth of the firm's industry expertise quickly, and be able to get more detailed information about a specific industry.
• Branding and positioning. A firm’s Web site offers an excellent opportunity to brand and position the firm. The addition of tag lines for some firms’ (only nine firms offer tag lines) coupled with copy and content that is focused on detailing the firm’s unique selling proposition/position represent areas of opportunity.
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Few law firms view their Web site as a developer of prospects.  We believe that the profession will eventually recognize the true business development potential that law firm Web sites offer.  The current environment creates a significant competitive advantage for those firms that deploy Web sites as a component of their prospect generation efforts.

Participating firms perform on the low side of average in our search engine optimization analysis.  The weak performance of participating firms in the SEO analysis presents an extraordinary opportunity for firms to optimize their sites so that they rank high in search engine results.

The legal profession is in the midst of a sales and marketing revolution. Some firms simply offer a Web Site that serves as an online brochure. Others understand that failing to use their Web site as a prospect development and sales tool means giving up a competitive advantage.

Now is an opportune time in the profession to stake out a leadership position in online sales, marketing, branding and client service efforts.