they are never charged
more than their daily
spending limit. The cost
per click can be as low as
five cents but more typically ranges from several dollars to perhaps
$10 or $15 per click. The cost depends on the competition for the
specific term (typically the more competition and the more valuable
the potential case might be, the higher the click cost). Thus costs
for certain types of personal injury matters can be much higher than
the range noted above.
SPECIAL FEATURE Lawyers Cloud
The Second “R”—Resonating With Prospective Clients
It’s All About Me: The Client-Centered Website
Many law firm websites provide detailed lists of the educational
accomplishments, awards, speaking engagements and legal articles
written by firm attorneys. However, prospective clients care little
about these lists or the legal accolades of the firm and its attorneys,
because this information has nothing to do with their legal problems or how they will be served by the firm.
Instead, prospective clients have one concern: “How are you
going to help me with my legal matter?” In what I refer to as the
“client-centered website,” every aspect of a firm’s site should be
focused first and foremost on answering this question from the
viewpoint of a prospective client.
Through that lens, the more that your firm’s website is focused
on the benefits that you provide to clients, the better that it will res-
onate with prospective clients.
In the client-centered website, information and messages about
how the firm serves clients may be thought of as “primary” information. Primary information is what prospective clients want to see.
General Counsel want to see evidence that your firm can budget for
significant legal matters in the same manner that their business budgets for similar expenditures. Personal injury clients want to know that
you’ll be there to help them organize medical and insurance claims
and fight insurance companies on their behalf. Bankruptcy debtors
want to know how you will intervene with personal and company
creditors, and how you can help them reorganize their business.
In a client-centered website, firm practice areas, attorney profile
pages, “about us” pages, legal articles and blog postings are all used
as an opportunity for firm attorneys to speak directly to prospective
clients in the first-person voice about how they serve clients. These
narratives often are supplemented with magazine-type images and ad
copy to enhance a firm’s service messages. Attorney credentials and
achievements are still included, but they are de-emphasized, and
often are re-focused to suggest value to clients.
Here are some ways that firm information can be re-focused on
clients and how your firm serves their needs.
• Write attorney profiles in the third- and first-person. Use
a short introduction in the third-person voice to describe the
attorney’s practice, and a longer narrative in the attorney’s voice
about how he or she serves clients.
• Minimize the use of bullet points alone to describe practice
areas (such as “corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies”). Instead, speak to prospective clients in a
way that suggests both value and proactive legal counseling.
A business attorney might say, “I help clients determine which
form of business entity is the best for their company, and suggest buy–sell and other proactive arrangements that may serve
clients over the long-term.” A bullet-point list suggests that it
is up to the client to determine which business form is the best
for her needs, whereas the narrative suggests not only that the
attorney will help the client make such a determination, but
also that the attorney is thinking about the client’s long-term
interests.
• Provide information to clients about the matters that are
most important to them, not you. Write down the key mes-
sages that you want to convey to clients based on their needs,
and be specific. “I know that you have important questions
TEST #1:
Is Your Firm’s Website a Form of Internet Marketing or Only an Internet Presence?
At Google.com, enter a search term that relates to the legal services needed by your clients, such as “Phoenix business lawyer,” and see
where your firm’s website is listed in the search results. If your site isn’t listed on the first three pages, the website is not a form of Internet
marketing, but rather serves only as an Internet presence. Those who already know about your firm will be able to find your firm’s website,
but the site will be ineffective in generating new clients who don’t already know about your firm, because it will not be found or seen.
TEST #2: Is Your Firm’s Website Well-Branded?
