INTERLEGES AGM KIEV
28.05.10
THE “ESSENTIALS” OF LAW FIRM WEBSITES
THE BARE ESSENTIALS
• THE MOST BASIC WEBSITE IS LITTLE MORE THAN AN ONLINE BROCHURE. IT HAS:
- YOUR FIRM’S NAME IN THE DOMAIN NAME.- IT IS STATIC AND SETS OUT – LIKE A MENU – WHAT THE FIRM DOES I.E.
A LIST OF SERVICES AND THE RELEVANT CONTACTS AND, IF THE FIRM HAS THOUGHT ABOUT ITS MARKETS, A LIST OF SECTORS THAT IT SERVES (AS OFTEN THE ONLY WAY TO DIFFERENTIATE A LAW FIRM IS BY ITS TRACK RECORD AND EXPERIENCE WITHIN A PARTICULAR MARKET SECTOR SUCH AS RETAIL, MUSIC, AVIATION OR BIOTECHNOLOGY).
THE AIMS
• A SIMPLE BROCHURE OR A SALES TOOL?• BEFORE DECIDING TO INVEST TIME AND EFFORT IN IMPROVING OUR
WEBSITE, WE HAVE TRIED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE AND WHAT RESULTS TO EXPECT.
• IN PARTICULAR:• WILL OUR WEBSITE DREAMS PROVIDE A SENSIBLE RETURN ON
INVESTMENT; AND• INTEGRATE WITH AND UNDERPIN OUR OTHER MARKETING AND
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.
THE CLIENT PERSPECTIVE
• WHAT DO YOUR CLIENTS WANT?• UK MARKET RESEARCH INDICATES THAT WHAT CLIENTS WANT
AND USE MOST ARE:-
- CONTACT DETAILS.
- LAWYER PROFILES.
- THEY ALSO WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE FIRM IS DOING.
- FINALLY, SOME CLIENTS WISH TO SEE OTHER CLIENTS MENTIONED (WITH THE APPROPRIATE PERMISSIONS
OF COURSE) – AND WILL FIND CASE STUDIES AND TESTIMONIES/REFERENCES HELPFUL.
THE TOOL BOX
• THE CHALLENGE IS TO KEEP YOUR WEBSITE UP TO DATE AND TO AVOID IT BEING A STATIC SNAPSHOT OF YOUR FIRM A FEW YEARS BACK. TO AVOID THIS:
- YOU NEED TO GET LAWYERS ON BOARD TO CONTRIBUTE MATERIAL ON A REGULAR BASIS.
- GET A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS) SO THAT EVERY TIME YOU WANT TO MAKE A CHANGE YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY MONEY TO AN EXTERNAL WEB DESIGNER/DEVELOPER TO IMPLEMENT THE
CHANGE.
- MEASURE AND MONITOR YOUR WEB TRAFFIC. GOOGLE ANALYTICS IS FREE.
THE IMPRESSION AND IMAGES
• ANY WEBSITE NEEDS TO CONVEY THE FIRM’S BRANDING – AND AT LEAST HAVE THE SAME “LOOK AND FEEL” AS THE VISUAL IDENTITY USED ON OTHER MARKETING MATERIALS AND IN THE FIRM’S PREMISES.
• IDEALLY, IT WOULD ALSO COMMUNICATE SOME OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE FIRM – AND A GOOD WAY TO DO THIS IS THROUGH IMAGES.
• DON’T FORGET THAT THE TONE OF THE WORDS USED ON THE WEBSITE WILL ALSO HAVE A POWERFUL IMPACT ON THE IMPRESSION CREATED.
• CONSIDERATION HAS TO BE GIVEN AS TO HOW YOUR WEBSITE WILL LOOK THROUGH DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE VARIOUS BROWSERS.
NAVIGATION
• WE HAVE TRIED TO THINK ABOUT HOW PEOPLE WILL MOVE AROUND YOUR WEBSITE.
• THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO) OR HOW PEOPLE FIND YOUR SITE.
• HAVING INTERNAL LINKS (CROSS REFERENCES) TO OTHER PARTS OF YOUR SITE WILL ASSIST NAVIGATION AND ALSO HELP WITH SEO.
• THERE USED TO BE A RULE OF THUMB THAT USERS SHOULD’NT NEED MORE THAN THREE CLICKS TO GET TO ANYTHING THEY MIGHT BE SEARCHING FOR.
CONTENT
• THE GENERAL VIEW IN THE UK NOW IS THAT “CONTENT IS KING” AND THAT A SERIOUS WEBSITE WILL OFFER LOTS OF GOOD QUALITY CONTENT OFFERING USEFUL INFORMATION, RELIABLE ADVICE AND PRAGMATIC SOLUTIONS THAT ADD VALUE.
• IDEALLY, THE CONTENT WILL CHANGE FREQUENTLY:
- PERHAPS THROUGH A NEWS PAGE
- A PUBLICATIONS AREA WHERE YOU POST UP ALL YOUR BULLETINS
- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- TOPICAL CLIENT BULLETINS OR EVEN THROUGH A BLOG (SEE BELOW).
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)
• THE PROCESS OF IMPROVING THE VOLUME OR QUALITY OF TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE.
• EVIDENCE CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE EARLIER (OR HIGHER) A WEBSITE APPEARS IN THE SEARCH RESULTS LIST, THE MORE VISITORS IT WILL RECEIVE.
• METHODS TO INCREASE PROMINENCE:
- CROSS LINKING
- ADDING RELEVANT KEY WORDS
- USE OF BLOGS AND TWITTER TO DRIVE TRAFFIC
- GOOGLE ADWORDS.
INTERACTION
• WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT IDEALLY, OUR WEBSITE SHOULD BE A PLACE WHERE WE CAN INITIATE DIALOGUE WITH POTENTIAL AND EXISTING CLIENTS AND REFERRERS AND THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER HOW TO PROMOTE INTERACTION AND DISCUSSION ON OUR SITE.
• FOR EXAMPLE:
- THE ABILITY TO JOIN MAILING LISTS OR TO POST QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
- IF YOU HAVE A BLOG THEN YOU SHOULD ENCOURAGE AND MONITOR THE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS THAT IT
GENERATES.
- SOME LARGER FIRMS USE THEIR WEBSITE TO PROMOTE THE CREATION AND GROWTH OF AN “ON-LINE COMMUNITY”.
ADDED VALUE
• AT THE START I MENTIONED THAT THE MAJORITY OF SITES INCLUDING OUR OWN ARE LITTLE MORE THAN ON-LINE BROCHURES. INCREASINGLY, HOWEVER, LAW FIRMS IN THE UK ARE USING THEIR WEBSITE TO PROVIDE A RANGE OF SERVICES:
- FROM SIMPLE FEE CALCULATORS
- TO DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS ON COMMON LEGAL ISSUES
- TO SECURE DOCUMENT VAULTS AND TRANSACTION DEAL ROOMS AND
- TO PROVIDE SUBSCRIPTION BASED KNOWLEDGE SERVICES.
DIFFERENTIATION
• ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IS HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE YOUR FIRM – AND ITS WEBSITE – FROM COMPARABLE AND COMPETING FIRMS. THE ADVICE TO US IS THAT THE DESIGN, CONTENT, FACILITIES AND OTHER ASPECTS MENTIONED ABOVE COULD ALL BE USED TO ACHIEVE THIS.
JOHN NORTH
