Good article from Daniel Siegel from The Legal Intelligencer on Law.com about Internet Marketing for Lawyers and how its becoming important to not only have an Internet presence with a web site, but that its key to be found on the search engines for prospective clients that are searching every day.
According to research from the October 2005 Pew Internet & American Life Project report, the following is true of the legal world online:
- 68 percent of American adults (approximately 137 million people) use the Internet
- 65 percent of legal services buyers have gone online to locate a law firm
- 38 percent search online for legal services at least weekly
- 89 percent use search engines to find law firm Web sites
- 86 percent go directly to a law firm’s site
- 71 percent enter law firm Web sites through portals such as Findlaw and Martindale Hubbell
Surprisingly, many lawyers and law firms ignore this reality, and have no Internet presence.
I have noticed this more and more lately and have also noticed that the bigger law firms with big expensive sites are no where to be found in the search engines.
To be effective, your Web marketing should include a budget for the Web site and a separate budget for marketing campaigns. Monitor your marketing closely to determine whether you are attracting visitors and turning them into clients. Your competitors also use the Web, and your next new client is almost certainly using the Internet, searching for you.
This is very good advise for all law firms and its important to make sure your site is found at the search engines for obvious keywords like your firms name and your partners names, but if you want new clients from the search engines and to be found for keyphrases like Chicago Lawyers, you have to do more then the basics and invest some money for long term success.