When considering your marketing options, you’ve no doubt contemplated engaging a company like LawInfo.com who maintains an exclusive (ie. paid) attorney directory. Companies like LawInfo have spent a tremendous amount of resources on marketing and placing our clients in areas that get found by consumers, which means we can attract leads you wouldn’t otherwise receive. However, determining whether a directory is right for you, and which directory will have the greatest ROI can be a challenging question.
Is A Paid Lawyer Directory Appropriate for Your Firm?
Perhaps the biggest challenge with a paid directory is the type of leads your firm will begin to receive. Whereas in the past you may have received referrals from individuals who knew about you and what you do, directory leads tend to have a more cautious element. These people don’t know you, nor do they know your reputation. Therefore, it will be up to you to transform this person from a lead into a client. If you’re uncomfortable with this idea, then you may want to avoid a directory listing.
Which Paid Lawyer Directory is Right for Your Firm?
Obviously, not all directories are created equal. Some cause your phone to ring repeatedly, but the quality of the leads will be junk. Some directories may work for some practice areas in a city, and underperform for others. When selecting a directory, consider these questions:
- Once listed, how will your listing be found?
- What is included with your listing?
- What is the length of the contract?
- How will the listing impact your website and various other web properties?
Once Listed, how will Your Listing be Found?
In the case of LawInfo.com, your listing will be found in four different ways:
- By users who visit LawInfo.com and perform an attorney search
- By users who find one of our over 3,000 mini directory sites focusing on local markets
- By users self-diagnosing their own legal issues and finding LawInfo’s free legal resources pages
- Through one of our major media partners like Univision
The third point above is extremely important for many law firms who demand quality contacts. We find an increasing number of users are self-diagnosing their own legal challenges, similar to how a person might use WebMD to diagnose a medical condition. When a user types into Google Search something like “Who has citizenship by birth?” he or she will find LawInfo’s free legal resource page ranking high on the results page. That user will read the answer and decide then whether contacting the listed attorney(s) makes sense. This is the type of lead that most lawyers love. Additionally, these are the types that can only be generated by sites like LawInfo.com that maintain enormous free legal resource libraries complete with FAQ’s, articles, blogs, and more.
What’s Included with Your Listing?
In order to have an effective listing, it’s important you’re able to track the incoming leads. Companies like LawInfo.com set up our clients with unique tracking phone numbers and contact forms. We provide our clients with cloud-based dashboards that offer the ability to see information regarding how many times your listing was clicked, what phone calls you received and from whom, and how long those calls lasted. Additionally, each listing can be enhanced with a customizable profile that allows you the ability to upload photos, communicate your firm’s marketing message, and more.
What is the Length of the Contract?
Many directory sites will set you up with a year long contract. This is done because it usually takes a few weeks in order to tweak your profile to ensure maximum effectiveness. During this early period your tagline may be changed, photos swapped, and profile language altered in order to better convert mere browsers into contacts. Other directories may offer a pay-per-contact contract, but these are becoming less common as time passes.
How will the Listing Impact Your Website and Various other Web Properties?
Many directory sites allow you to link your listing directly to your website, which can have a dramatic impact on your site SEO. It’s well established that inbound links from reputable websites can enhance your website’s credibility and push it higher in search results. However, not all directory links will have a positive impact. Look out for directories that are well established, and have a high Page Rank value. For example, LawInfo.com has been in operation since 1994, and has an elevated Page Rank value. Our clients typically see a bump in rankings once linking is completed.
Final Thoughts
Remember, when contemplating a paid directory it’s not enough to simply perform a Google search for a local attorney and see what directory ranks. You must consider the various ways directories are found, and the quality of incoming leads from these sources. If you’d like to learn more, you can click here on the LawInfo Directory, or contact a LawInfo sales representative at (866) 636-6127.