In a survey done by the law firm Moses & Roth, 1183 people were asked how they find a specialty lawyer.   Here is how they responded:



What is interesting about these results is that 35.5 percent of people used the Internet in some way to find an attorney.  In addition, the same report indicated that 55.7 percent of the people who were referred to a firm by a friend still research attorneys online after the recommendation (usually, of course, by finding the attorney’s website).  This means close to 60% of people are using the Internet in some way to find attorneys.

Here are some other important facts to consider:

• As time goes by and more people abandon the Yellow Pages and use social networks and the Internet, these numbers are likely to increase.


• It is also worth noting that younger, upwardly-mobile people are going to be likely to use the Internet when looking for attorneys (i.e., people with money to pay you).


• In addition, the people using the Internet are also more than likely to compare different attorneys  (comparison shopping).


• Your competitors are spending a lot of time and money on their websites and online marketing efforts.


• Your website is more important than your business card or most other marketing efforts.


• Your website works 24x7, 365 days a year to get business for you.

Therefore, your website, online profiles and online presence are all very important to your credibility as an attorney.  If you want clients, you need to have a good website that helps you get business online.  To learn more about how Law.net can help you with website solutions, contact us here or call us at 800-350-8074.

Law.net’s Top 5 Ways to get Business through your Website

1. Make Sure Your Firm is Listed in Every Directory Possible

You need to make sure that you are listed in every directory possible.  Click here to read more about Google local listings:  There are a ton of directories online for attorneys.  You also need to make sure you are in Google Places.  It is fairly easy to get to the top of local search results if you are listed properly.

I run a small law firm in Malibu, California and make sure that I am at the top of Google’s local listings for attorneys in my area. This keeps my phones busy with clients, and it is not difficult to do:



Google’s local listings often come up right at the top (like here) which gives your law firm a lot of visibility.  For whatever reason, the top local listings on Google often also come up at the top of Bing (even for nonlocal listings):



In order to come up highly in the search result rankings, it is important to do citations and invest the time and money it requires to rank highly on all of the directories on the Internet for attorneys.  This can get you a lot of traffic in your area.

LAW.NET TIP:    Law.net is a good directory to list yourself in (and the oldest legal directory on the Internet).  In addition, Law.net will list you on every other directory as well, build citations and market your firm aggressively to directories.  Click here to sign up for Law.net

2. Make Sure You Are Building Silos for Each of the Practice Areas You Do

Search engines generally seek out content that is focused around a particular subject matter.  Thus, if you have a page on your website that lists 15 practice areas you do work in, this is not likely to get you a ton of traffic.

You are much better off having an in-depth description of each practice area you specialize in that discusses your expertise, qualifications and provides advice to potential clients. For example, a list of practice areas might be organized this way:

Albany Personal Injury Attorney              Albany Family Law Attorney       Albany Tax Attorney

Birth trauma                                                           Divorce                                                    IRS Appeals

Car accident                                                            Adoption                                                 Offers in Compromise

Slip and Fall                                                            Custody Disputes                                    Audits

The idea is that each subject matter is arranged in a manner that contains a specialized page and other information related to what you do.

It is important to understand that Google typically wants to send users to the pages with the most (and most relevant) information.  Google is smart.

• If you have a main topic that says “Albany Personal Injury Attorney” and have (a) birth trauma, (b) car accident and (c) slip and fall articles beneath it, Google knows that you have four pieces of content related to personal injury.


• If your competitors have two articles on their home page related to personal injury (and fewer citations and directory submissions), you are more likely to come up higher in the search results.

Here is an example of a personal injury law firm that is very effective with its siloing:



When you click on auto accidents, they have even further “silos” for (1) car accident, (2) truck accident, (3) motorcycle accident and (4) drunk driver accident.

Here is an example of this firm’s information about truck accidents:



As you can see, they have a strong description here focusing on truck accidents and the work that their truck accident attorneys do. You need to have a strong siloing program for your law firm.  The better organized your silos are, the more traffic you are likely to get in your given practice area(s).

LAW.NET TIP:    Law.net’s SEO scientists are experts in creating silos for attorney websites.  Contact us here to learn more.

3. Make Sure that Your Website Convinces People You Are the Best Lawyer Possible

When people reach your website, they need to be “sold” that you are the absolute best attorney for them.  This means you need to tout your experience, wins/deals and make yourself sound like the absolute best attorney for your “target” client’s particular needs.

When someone is searching for an attorney online, they are going to look at your website to make sure you are the strongest attorney for their needs.  They will generally compare you to other attorneys in your area online.  See You Need to Sell, Sell, Sell:

In most regions of the United States, there are attorneys that are far more successful than their competitors.  In studying the most successful attorneys in a variety of areas, I have noticed that most of their websites make a huge deal about how aggressive, hungry and successful they are to make sure potential clients feel like they are choosing an attorney that will win their case.





Listing the attorney’s victories is also quite effective:



There are several other things you should be doing:

• Testimonials


• Case studies


• Press coverage


• Blog

I always recommend that attorneys have blogs. Your blog entries should be informative and highlight your expertise. Blogs show that you are interested in what you are doing, committed to it and an expert in your field.  People want to hire people that seem committed to something.  Please see:  Practice Makes Perfect

When I talk to many attorneys, they say things like:

• “I’m uncomfortable bragging on my site.”


• “That’s not how people do it in my practice area.”


• “My potential clients would not like it if I did that.”

You know what?  You’re wrong.  Every person who is voting with their wallet wants to be convinced and feel like they are making the best decision possible when they choose their attorney.  People want to hire people who are committed to something.  See Be Committed to What You Want You Do.  You need to sell people on your strengths and describe them on your website.

LAW.NET TIP:    Law.net’s SEO scientists are experts in managing and creating content, blogs and writing persuasive content for attorney websites.  Contact us here to learn more.

Make Sure Your Website Always Captures Information

When people come to your website, you need to make sure you capture their information.  You also need to offer them something in exchange for giving you their information (i.e. a free report or free consultation).

The best attorney websites always capture information:





They try to get information from every single person who visits their site because, if the person leaves without providing their personal information, this is essentially lost revenue and could have a massive impact on their firm’s bottom line.  In the second example above, this law firm is using “LIVE CHAT!” as another way to gather  information from people visiting the site.

LAW.NET TIP:    Law.net’s designers can assist you in creating lead forms on your website: Click here to sign up for Law.net

5. Make Sure You Target Local Keywords

There are an incredible number of attorneys out there, and a good portion of them are competing for business online.  Therefore, nothing is more important than your selection of keywords and the locations where you want to rank in the search engine results.

In areas like Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, there are generally hundreds of suburbs and smaller cities surrounding the main city.  You are going to have a much easier time ranking for local areas than you are for the larger city.  In addition, if you are in a suburb (or smaller city) outside a major city, clients are likely to be more comfortable using someone local anyway.

You are going to have a much easier time ranking for traffic in a smaller geographical area than a larger area.

LAW.NET TIP:    Law.net’s SEO scientists are experts in helping you target local keywords.  Law.net offers both “self-service” and “custom” solutions.

• Self-Service


• Custom Solutions

If you enjoyed this article, please also see: Top 10 Ways Attorneys Can Get Found by Clients Online and Increase Their Business

Click here to set up an appointment with a marketing and SEO specialist at Law.net.