November 1999

Online Lawyer Directories:
Do They Work?

by Donald B. Kramer

Along with virtually every other business, legal practice and law firm marketing are evolving in response to the 'Net. One result of this evolution is the presence of several online lawyer directories. For those of you wondering whether such directories bring in clients, the answer is a resounding "Yes!" To combat the rising tide of online noise and attorney skepticism, the legal directories spend hundreds of thousands per year to ensure continuing success. The directories have generated a number of clients for listed firms. A perfect example is the Atlanta, Georgia, law firm that received a $150,000 valid claim from a directory user. The claim was against a major airline, and a major settlement developed within the week.

Attorneys who set up an e-mail account and a Web site and then merely submit the information to search engines cannot expect anything to happen. The search engines receive thousands of similar requests.

If you search for a word like "attorney" the list returned will be enormous. Many of those listings are garbage, thereby frustrating the searcher and the attorney who wants to be found. The average lawyer can't afford to buy banners that pop us when someone searches for "attorney," nor is it trivial to do the programming necessary to get your site to the top of the search list.

Even if you could afford to have your site pop up every time someone searched for "attorney," you probably wouldn't want traffic unrelated to your practice. Lawyer directories resolve this problem by filtering search requests to the proper practice area and proper jurisdiction, so the lawyers listed in the directories receive the responses they desire at a reasonable price.

Each time a person views a directory banner ad on a search engine page, the directory owner placing the ad pays approximately five cents -- even if the viewer does not click on the banner to go to the directory. The fees paid by attorneys for directory listings in turn pay for those banner advertisements. To see an example of a directory banner, go to Infoseek (www.infoseek.com) and search the word "lawyer."

If you are still thinking about buying banners yourself, be advised that many search engines charge a $1,000 monthly minimum, and if you have a worldwide banner you will get worldwide traffic, probably more than you're interested in.

A word of caution: Some services will offer to submit the listing for your site to hundreds of "search engines" and will do so for a small fee. However, each of those "search engines" will acknowledge receipt and will start corresponding with you, creating a flood of unwanted e-mail. You are much better off submitting only to the top 20 search engines -- since these are the sites likely to do you the most good. I recommend submitting your site to the following: Yahoo, Infoseek, AltaVista, Lycos, AOL, Excite, Netscape, Hot Bot, Webcrawler, Switchboard, Look Smart, and Snap.

Donald B. Kramer (don@lawusa.com) is the creator of seven Internet directories, and is president of the St. Louis collection law firm of Kramer & Frank PC. His article is reprinted by permission from The Internet Lawyer.

"Internet directories [give] the small law firm a great chance"

Make sure that your lawyer directory listing is correct. Many mistakes are made with the entry of e-mail addresses. Most law firms have a listing at www.Martindale.com (the Martindale-Hubbell directory), but have not confirmed the information provided there. Make sure your listing in any directory contains a link to your e-mail address and Web site, since Internet viewers want to act right away, visit your site, and then "speak" by e-mail. You must read your e-mail several times a day, since Internet viewers expect prompt responses.

For those firms that don't have an existing Web site, the directories provide you with the opportunity to create one. Here are a few tips:

• Make the site simple.
• Use color and pictures to make it look more professional, but you do not have to use animation, since the viewer is already there and you don't have to catch their attention.
• Place an e-mail link in the site, so the viewer can easily make contact.
• Use meta tags (ask your programmer) to hide words on your site that will be found by search engine robots which in turn will index your site in search engines based on the meta tags you have chosen.

Once you build a Web site through a directory, you can use the same site all over the Internet. The cost of building a simple site is small, and need not be more than a few hundred dollars for the small law firm.

Caution: Do not use a lot of graphics that might slow the loading of the site. Internet viewers are impatient, and will leave the site if it is not loading fast. Also, viewers do not like to fill out forms.

A directory like Martindale's provides some 900,000 listings. A directory like "Attorneyfind" provides 4,500. If you are in a major metropolitan area, and if you have an e-mail link, a Web site link, and a proven directory that spends on marketing, you can currently expect at least three good contacts per year for each $100 spent on directory listings.

Many businesses and professions are very slow to adapt to the Internet. Some 80 percent of businesspeople have computers at home, but less than 20 percent can get on the 'Net at work. That percentage rises every day. Within five years it is expected that more than 80 percent of the professions and businesses will be using the 'Net. That is why you want to be online now, especially to attract businesses with legal problems.

In the consumer arena, the directories attract enormous numbers in the legal areas of divorce, collections, immigration (a natural for the Web), personal injury, wills, malpractice, real estate, and criminal law. However, the attorney who has an office in a small community cannot expect much from the 'Net.

The nature of Internet directories gives the small law firm a great chance. A good Web site can equalize the small firm's market standing. That site can demonstrate the firm's true qualities like no other medium. The small firm can easily afford the low annual directory fees. Such costs are just a fraction of "Yellow Pages" ads, whereas Web sites provide just as much information.

You should be in as many Internet directories as you can afford -- but do your homework before making the selection. Make sure the directory seeks business through banners and listings throughout the 'Net. Some directories have a counter on the home page. Take a look at that over time to determine their traffic level. Make sure the directory allows you to link in your e-mail address and Web site. Consider all the expenses, since some directories charge for extra services like the linking of e-mail, or the hosting of a site.

Make sure the listings are easy to find, and that the viewer does not have to look at four screens before they get to the directory portion. If you list in a directory, keep a record of the clients received through the listing, so when renewal time comes you will know if you are getting your money's worth.

As the world becomes addicted to the Internet, professionals who learn Internet marketing will certainly benefit immensely. Build every directory listing into your budget.