Legal sector. Digital benchmark 2015

Transcription

1 Legal sector Digital benchmark 215 The digital performance of thirty of the leading UK-based law firms, evaluated and ranked. Analysis, scores and commentary reveals online effectiveness among individual firms, and across the sector.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2 Content spotlight 29 Executive summary 3 Lawyer-finder tools 29 Methodology 5 Graduate recruitment 31 Rankings 6 Conversion 32 Technology 1 Calls-to-action & more 32 A note about content management systems 1 Loyalty 34 Mobile & multi-screen optimisation 11 Long-term engagement activity 35 Awareness 13 Social media: The content that's Search engine results compared 13 shared the most 38 SEO technical performance 15 Engagement 17 Visual impact 17 Segmentation 19 Content marketing 21 Site search functions 24 Usability 26 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK

3 INTRODUCTION "Firms say they face clients ever more keen to make savings, as corporate customers attempt to recover in the aftermath of recession and difficult financial conditions. But the firms are also aware of new trends that are transforming other industries beyond the law." Innovative Lawyers 214 Financial Times DRAW LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK In a highly competitive global market, with the economic recovery at risk of sputtering out, the mature UK legal market is facing some severe challenges. In this climate, a law firm's website is a key asset. Rather than a static brochure, a firm's website should be a dynamic tool for shaping client preference and generating new business. A third study Building on expertise gained by contributing to L2's digital reports, and by conducting the well-received 212 and 214 Legal Sector Benchmarks, Draw has undertaken a third study to evaluate the websites of 3 of the largest UK-based law firms. Covering 55 different touchpoints, the findings are summarised in this document. "A law firm website is now the essential element of its marketing. Hinge research showed that 77% of professional firms generate new business leads online. 7% of law firms in another survey said their website generated new matters." For more detailed information about your firm's ranking, please contact: Steve Blackman Director, Draw steve.blackman@drawgroup.com Larry Bodine LexisNexis, 215 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 2

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BEYOND THE BROCHURE THE ROLE OF THE LAW FIRM WEBSITE IN SHAPING PREFERENCE We're all awash with information. Between the demands of work, the incessant chatter of social media and the addictive, ubiquitous smartphone, making the right decisions - knowing where to turn to for advice - can be a difficult, exhausting process. In this noisy environment, a law firm's website has an important role; it should be reaching, engaging, informing and reassuring potential, and existing, clients. However, after examining the websites of 3 leading law firms for this, the third edition of the Draw Legal Sector Digital Benchmark, it's clear that there's lots of progress still to be made. For leading law firms, excellence should be the norm. Yet only one website in our study reached the "excellent" grade - congratulations to the team behind the Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co website. With "good" grades, the Nabarro website came second, and Norton Rose Fulbright third. The Internet has changed everything. Digital is the technological enabler of this century. And, in any sector you care to name, it s been the lifeblood of organisations that have embraced it, and a death sentence for those that haven t." Mike Bracken GDS Overall, fourteen websites were judged to be "good", 12 "average" and three "weak". Of the 3 websites we examined: Mobile: Eighteen are optimising for multiple screens, with eleven reaching the "excellent" grade in this category SEO: Irwin Mitchell are way out in the lead, with an estimated 91 results on page one of Google UK, up from 513 in 214. SEO: Only five websites reached the "excellent" grade for basic technical search engine optimisation. Website design: Conventions are changing. Designs that are "big, bold and simple" are increasingly popular. Customer segmention: Only Irwin Mitchell and King & Wood Mallesons reached the "excellent" grade. Content: In our sample, only two websites are using video on their sector pages. Content: Firm websites are becoming more visually attractive, with 21 making good use of photography. Usability: Only four websites reached the "excellent" grade. There's still too much clutter. Usability: Wragge & Co's website is the only one to be using the "shrinking" animated navigation bar effectively. Website search: Five websites are now offering an auto-complete search function. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 3

5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY "Mobile has forever changed the way we live, and it s forever changed what we expect of brands. It s fractured the consumer journey into hundreds of real-time, intent-driven micro-moments. Each one is a critical opportunity for brands to shape our decisions and preferences." Think With Google Your customers are outpacing you because they ve formed a giant network and you re going to have to work like a network yourself to keep pace with them. Adam Pisoni Yammer Lawyer-finder tools: One of the strongest elements of these websites, with eight judged to be "excellent" and twelve "good". Calls-to-action: Only twelve websites are employing clear calls to action on their pages. Social proof: Only two 'sites are displaying extensive social proof of their firm's achievements. Habit-forming activity: No websites reached the "excellent" grade, and only one reached the "good" grade for their long-term engagement activity. Personalisation: Only one website - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer - is using personalisation to slightly customise the user experience. Social media: It appears that the legal sector still enjoys talking to itself - broadly, the most shared content from law firm websites is "internal" news. Social media: When attempting to engage a general audience on social platforms, topical legal news articles and in-depth reports receive the most shares. When we place the research results into a simple "path to purchase" model, it's clear that, across the sector, law firm websites are strongest at building awareness and engagement (we awarded many "good" grades in the SEO and content marketing categories, for example). It's the websites' conversion and loyalty-building activities that are largely undeveloped. Until these issues are addressed, many law firm websites will continue to be suboptimal, they'll remain brochures, rather than dynamic marketing tools that are actively shaping client preference. Thanks for reading Just as a website is essential to a modern law firm's communications strategy, situation analysis is invaluable to the construction of that strategy. Enhanced knowledge of the digital competence of the competition reveals insights, that can be turned to a firm's advantage. We hope that you'll find this report useful, Ciarán Ryan Digital strategist FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 4

6 METHODOLOGY Report structure The report criteria reflects the path-to-purchase journey of a potential client. Simply; awareness, engagement, conversion and loyalty. For this third edition, the criteria questions have been updated yet again, to reflect changing trends, technology and behaviours. Although research by Google tells that us that digital media is changing clients' habits, that "we're all in a state of constant consideration", the path to purchase model is a useful conceit. It places the emphasis on customer impact, and highlights the business benefits that digital communications activity can bring. Technology Evaluation of mobile & multi-screen optimisation. Examination of responsive design and separate smartphone websites. Conversion What steps are the websites taking to convert visitors into customers? Evaluation of calls-to-action and use of psychological factors. Awareness Are firms preparing their web pages for search engines? Evaluation, from a sample of 1 pages per website, of SEO technical excellence. Loyalty Is there evidence that firms are using the web to build long-term engagement with their clients? Evaluation of the use of habit-forming activity, from the use of sector insights to personalisation and the promotion of newsletters. Engagement How are firms attempting to engage their website visitors? Evaluation of visual impact, segmentation, content marketing, site search function and usability. Scoring system Independent examination, using 55 questions and touch-points, of 3 of the leading, UK based, law firm websites. Each touch-point is given a score between -5 (5 being excellent), totals are then converted into percentages. 8%+ Excellent 79% - 6% Good 59% - 4% Average < 4% Weak FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 5

7 RANKING RANK 1 COMPANY SCORE 8% Excellent 2 78% 3 77% % Good Good Good DESCRIPTION Wragge's website is relatively new, it launched in May 214. It works well on multiple screen sizes, clearly attempts to segment its visitors and scored top marks for its content marketing and ease of use. As with most law firm websites, its "conversion" and loyalty-building activity would benefit from additional attention. Nabarro's visually distinctive website performs well on mobile phones and scored top marks for its useful lawyer-finder tool and the presentation of its content marketing. It lost a few marks for its overly-subtle new business "conversion" activity - there are few "calls-to-action", for example. An attractive website that scored top marks for its clear usability its use of a prominent "crumbtrail" works well. It also excels at content marketing and technical search engine optimisation. It lost marks for its uninspiring separate mobile 'site and an internal search function that didn't return relevant results. The King & Wood Mallesons website is visually impressive and scored top marks for its audience segmentation efforts and use of inclusive language. However, we found little evidence of attempts at building visitor "loyalty" - on sector pages there are no mentions of a newsletter, for example. Overall ranking: 8%+ Excellent, 79% - 6% Good, 59% - 4% Average, <4% Weak FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P6

8 RANKING RANK COMPANY SCORE DESCRIPTION 5 Clyde & Co 73% Good The Clyde & Co website scored points for its mobile optimisation, design, usability and useful lawer-finder tool. It lost points for its poor technical search engine optimsation and its efforts at building "loyalty". 6 Irwin Mitchell 72% Good The Irwin Mitchell website received top marks for its responsive design, its clear segmentation of visitors and its useful lawyer-finder tool. We could see little evidence of "loyalty" building. 7 Bird & Bird 71% Good Bird & Bird's website scored highly for its responsive mobile optimisation, its attractive visual appearance and good usability. Average performance across the other categories. 7 Holman Fenwick Willan 71% Good A website with a stylish responsive design and, unusually for the legal sector, it reached the "good" grade for loyalty-building activity - including the use of a visually interesting news ticker and the promotion of an app. 9 DLA Piper 69% Good An "excellent" grade for the website's visual design, lawyer-finder tool and multi-screen optimisation. However, clear "calls-to-action" are absent in the sector pages. 1 DWF 67% Good Top marks for the website's multi-screen optimisation, bold responsive visual design and easy-to-understand people finder tool. Unconventional page structures make parts of the website difficult to navigate. 11 Osborne Clarke 64% Good Osborne Clarke's website benefits from a stylish responsive design. It's also one the few to display a Twitter feed on the side of its pages. Points lost for little evidence of "conversion" activity. 12 Pinsent Masons 63% Good The Pinsent Masons website reached the "excellent" grade for its friendly lawyer finder tool and for search engine optimisation. Lost marks for pages without descriptive headlines, prompting visitor uncertainty. 13 Macfarlanes 62% Good A website with a "good" lawyer-finder tool, client segmentation and content marketing. Little evidence of loyalty-building variable rewards such as relevant sector news. Overall ranking: 8%+ Excellent, 79% - 6% Good, 59% - 4% Average, <4% Weak FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 7

9 RANKING RANK COMPANY SCORE DESCRIPTION 14 Hogan Lovells 61% Good Hogan Lovells' website won "good" grades for its visual design, segmentation efforts and comprehensive people-finder tool. Points lost for underwhelming content marketing. 15 Eversheds 6% Good Awarded an "excellent grade for its responsive design. However, the website's search function did not return relevant results in our tests and we found little evidence of client segmentation. 16 Herbert Smith Freehills 58% Average An attractive website design, that, unfortunately, does not resize for mobile phone screens. Marks lost for an underwhelming graduate recruitment website and a weak internal search function. 17 Linklaters 57% Average The Linklaters' website received "good" grades for its desktop design and easy-to-understand lawyer finder tool. The lack of responsive design or a stylish separate mobile 'site cost it points. 18 Allen & Overy 56% Average Allen & Overy's website won points for its usability, lawyer-finder tool and technical search engine optimisation. Absent "conversion" activity, website does not resize for multiple screen sizes. 19 Kennedys 55.5% Average Good grades for content marketing, its "desktop" design and usability. Underwhelming graduate recruitment, conversion and loyalty-building activity. Austere mobile presence. 2 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 54.5% Average The Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer website reached the "good" grade for its lawyer finder tool and responsive design. Weak technical search engine optimisation, conversion and loyalty activity. 21 Berwin Leighton Paisner 54% Average The BLP website won points for its content marketing and "desktop" usability. However, the website does not re-size for mobile, and there is little emphasis placed on audience segmentation. 22 CMS 53% Average An excellent, if spare, separate mobile website. A "good" grade for technical SEO. Unusually, points lost for an unfriendly lawyer-finder tool. Little evidence of loyalty-building activity. Overall ranking: 8%+ Excellent, 79% - 6% Good, 59% - 4% Average, <4% Weak FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 8

10 RANKING RANK COMPANY SCORE DESCRIPTION 23 Taylor Wessing 49% Average Points awarded for the website's straightforward people-finder tool and for its content-offering. The internal search function was "weak" in our tests and there's an absence of activity that would encourage return visits. 24 Clifford Chance 48% Average The 'site structure is simple, with a clear conceptual model - and it even animates the transition between pages. However, the website is not optimised for mobile and there's little evidence of content marketing. 25 Slaughter and May 47% Average A high score for technical search engine optimistion, and the "average" grade reached for conversion activity. The website's search function is weak and it is not optimised for mobile and multiple screen sizes. 26 Withers 45.5% Average A "good" grade for the website's usability and its people-finder tool. The homepage is still hampered by the large empty space at its centre and the website is not optimised for mobiles. Uninspiring careers section. 27 Simmons & Simmons 44.5% Average The people-finder tool is useful and the website does offer some visitor segmentation. Website design looks a little "dated", and it is not optimised for mobile. Internal search function is "weak". 28 DAC Beachcroft 38% Weak The website reached its only "good" grade for technical SEO. Website is not optimised for mobile and there's little evidence of segmentation. The trainee career pages are basic. 29 Addleshaw Goddard 36% Weak A "good" grade for the presentation of its content on the website sector pages. However, the website is not optimised for mobile, the graduate recruitment pages are underwhelming and technical SEO is "weak". 3 Ashurst 34.5% Weak Ashurst's website scored points for "desktop" usability, but it is not optimised for mobiles. There's little evidence of content marketing, technical SEO or loyalty-building activity. Overall ranking: 8%+ Excellent, 6% - 7% Good, 4% - 59% Average, <4% Weak FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 9

11 TECHNOLOGY: A NOTE ABOUT CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Of the 15 law firms in our study that use easily identifiable content management and web management tools, it's noteworthy that a wide number of products are in use in the sector. Bespoke content management systems are still prevalent. CMS Drupal ExpressionEngine iapps Interwoven TeamSite Kentico Microsoft Office SharePoint Microsoft SharePoint Server 21 Sitecore CMS TYPO3 Umbraco Law firm Ashurst Clyde & Co CMS Eversheds Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co Linklaters Allen & Overy Bird & Bird Herbert Smith Freehills Irwin Mitchell King & Wood Mallesons Simmons & Simmons Taylor Wessing Macfarlanes Nabarro FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 1

12 TECHNOLOGY: MOBILE & MULTI-SCREEN OPTIMISATION According to respected mobile analyst Benedict Evans: "...instead of thinking about the constraints of mobile - of the things you can't do because the screen is smaller and there's no keyboard - we should rather think of the PC as having the basic, cut-down, limited version of the internet, because it only has the web. It's the mobile that has the whole internet". The UK legal sector's digital communications are not yet fully 'mobile-first', but progress is being made. In the first edition of this benchmark report (212), of 3 leading law firms, five were optimising their websites for mobile. By 214, that number had risen to ten. In 215, 18 of 3 leading law firms are optimising their digital content for mobile screens. Of these 18, ten have reached our "excellent" grade. Clyde & Co, Osborne Clarke, Nabarro, and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co's responsive websites are especially attractive. However, many of the separate mobile websites in use are beginning to look a little austere and uninspiring. "57% of users won't recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site, and 4% have turned to a competitor's site after a bad mobile experience" Google - The Mobile Playbook "Adapting to the screen is only the first frontier of a new, responsive web. Today, users expect online experiences that not only respond to what device they're using, but also their location, time of day, what they ve already read, and events happening in real time." Dan Gardner and Mike Treff, Fast Company The 18 firms that are optimising their digital content for mobiles, are: Bird & Bird Clyde & Co CMS DLA Piper DWF Eversheds Holman Fenwick Willan Irwin Mitchell Nabarro Osborne Clarke Wragge & Co Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer King & Wood Mallesons Macfarlanes Hogan Lovells Kennedys Norton Rose Fulbright Linklaters Multi-screen optimisation excellence. Use of responsive design? Separate mobile site? FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 11

13 TECHNOLOGY: MOBILE & MULTI-SCREEN OPTIMISATION Clyde & Co Osborne Clarke Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co Three of the best mobile websites FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 12

14 AWARENESS: SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS COMPARED "Search engines have become an indispensable part of the consumer s decision-making and buying process, which means that organic search is important for every business. Being visible in Google and other search engines matters because that s where most searchers go to look for things and where most traffic to your website will come from. Organic search connects you with buyers." Trond Lyngbø, Search Engine Land, 215 "Because the top 4 positions on average receive 83% of organic clicks, focusing on improving the factors within your control to increase your SERP will likely improve your CTR as well. Matthew Capala, 214 For millions of us, typing, or even speaking, queries into a search engine is a frequent, near-automatic activity. The law firm websites that appear at the top of Google's listings will find themselves in front of potential clients. Choice of business lawyer will always be influenced by personal recommendation and professional reputation, but search engines do have a place in raising awareness of a firm's activities and expertise. By our calculations, the firms with the most "organic" results on page one of Google UK are; Irwin Mitchell, Allen & Overy, Eversheds and Berwin Leighton Paisner. Irwin Mitchell is way out in the lead with an estimated 91 results on page one of Google UK, up from 513 in 214. If we were to attempt to purchase "single clicks" of these first page results as Google adverts, Irwin Mitchell is, again,in the lead (with its personal law focus) and results valued at $ Next in line is Allen & Overy with results valued at $458, then it's Eversheds - $354, and BLP in fourth place with results valued at $353. Firms that are not optimising their websites for search engines are not managing their reputations effectively. The chart on the next page reveals the firms that are frequently appearing on the front page of Google.co.uk, and the value of their page one results. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 13

15 AWARENESS: SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS COMPARED Estimated cost to buy the total single clicks of their page one terms, as Google adverts Number of results on page one (positions 1-1) of Google UK, May 215 How many results at position one, page one of Google UK, May 215? Irwin Mitchell Allen & Overy Eversheds Berwin Leighton Paisner Pinsent Masons Norton Rose Fulbright Linklaters Nabarro Taylor Wessing Ashurst Osborne Clarke DAC Beachcroft DLA Piper Simmons & Simmons Bird & Bird Wragge & Co Addleshaw Goddard DWF CMS Slaughter and May Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Holman Fenwick Willan Clifford Chance Withers Macfarlanes Kennedys King & Wood Mallesons Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Clyde & Co $37,183 $458 $354 $353 $349 $286 $255 $239 $29 $177 $164 $148 $144 $121 $118 $15 $14 $13 $79 $71 $58 $57 $57 $54 $41 $35 $34 $33 $23 $22 1 / 15 3 / 21 2 / 28 1 / 39 3 / 29 1 / 33 1 / 31 1 / 17 2 / 52 4 / 58 4 / 73 3 / 65 5 / 6 4 / 6 4 / / 9 17 / 87 3 / / 14 7 / / / / / / / / / / / FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 14

16 AWARENESS: SEO TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE "Irwin Mitchell's main website has been de-listed from Google searches, apparently as a penalty for breaking guidelines on linking from external sites." Legal Week, 214 "Semantic search is Google's growing ability to make associations between things in ways that come closer to how we humans make such connections. When you ask me, "How do I get to Market Street?" I might hand you a bus schedule. I know that the bus schedule might contain the best solution to your problem, even though your question did not contain the words "bus" or "schedule"." Mark Traphagen, SEO consultant, 214 Google is growing smarter. After investing in artificial intelligence computing, its search engine's ability to find and promote high quality, relevant, content has improved. The Panda and Penguin updates to its search algorithm have proved costly to businesses (such as Irwin Mitchell) that did not play by Google's rules. Getting the technical basics right will greatly increase your firm s visibility on the Google search engine. Websites should demonstrate "technical SEO excellence" and display the trust signals that Google recognises. Of the 3 websites in our study, only King & Wood Mallesons, Norton Rose Fulbright, Pinsent Masons, Slaughter and May and Taylor Wessing reached the "excellent" grade in technical SEO. We examined more than 3 pages, and, for example, of the 3 law firm websites, only eight 'sites are using metadescriptions correctly and 17 are employing descriptive H1 tags. More positively, 28 websites are using title tags correctly and 21 are displaying social share buttons - up from 19 in 214. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 15

17 AWARENESS: SEO TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE SEO technical excellence, scored out of 5 King & Wood Mallesons Norton Rose Fulbright Pinsent Masons Slaughter and May Taylor Wessing Allen & Overy Bird & Bird CMS DAC Beachcroft DWF Herbert Smith Freehills Holman Fenwick Willan Irwin Mitchell Nabarro Withers Wragge & Co Berwin Leighton Paisner DLA Piper Eversheds Hogan Lovells Kennedys Macfarlanes Osborne Clarke Simmons & Simmons Clifford Chance Clyde & Co Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters Addleshaw Goddard Ashurst weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 16

18 ENGAGEMENT: VISUAL IMPACT "Beauty slips through the door of our rational thought and gets us to see the world differently". Sarah Lewis, Du Bois Fellow, Harvard University, 214 Website design category conventions in the legal sector are changing. Designs that are "big, bold and simple" are increasingly popular. The change is partly due to the technical challenge of making desktop designs touch-friendly and responsive to multiple screen sizes. Our judgements on visual impact are guided by Google research that reveals: Users make snap judgements about whether they'll trust a website, "first impressions can be formed very quickly, based on whatever information is available within the first 39 milliseconds." Familiarity of design is reassuring, "it can be assumed that there may be... a preference for prototypical websites". Simplicity is important too, "websites of high visual complexity lead to a more negative first impression than websites of medium or low complexity". The line mentioning "preference for prototypical websites" is especially important. As more leading law firms adopt responsive "big, bold and simple" website designs, this style becomes prototypical, and therefore trustworthy. If the research is to believed, this means that the firm websites that do not obey the new "responsive design" category conventions will eventually appear less trustworthy to potential clients. We've awarded ten websites an "excellent" grade for visual impact. They are: Bird & Bird, Clyde & Co, DLA Piper, DWF, Herbert Smith Freehills, Kennedys, King & Wood Mallesons, Nabarro, Norton Rose Fulbright and Osborne Clarke. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 17

19 ENGAGEMENT: VISUAL IMPACT Clyde & Co King & Wood Mallesons Nabarro Three visually impressive law firm websites FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 18

20 ENGAGEMENT: SEGMENTATION "When done well, website segmentation can increase website visitor engagement, differentiate your brand from its competitors, and improve inbound marketing effectiveness by prompting visitors to explore beyond the home page." Tien Anh Nguyen, OpenView Law firms can use website segmentation to simplify their visitors' journeys, improving the effectiveness of the firm's communications. Encouraging visitors to self-select by challenge, role or industry can make a website more engaging, as visitors appreciate online experiences that can anticipate and serve their needs. We looked for evidence of clear segmentation on firms' website homepages - especially around geography, client problem, or industry sector. Only Irwin Mitchell and King & Wood Mallesons reached the "excellent" grade. Irwin Mitchell were the only firm in our study to segment by "most visited" Business Service. King & Wood Mallesons won points for placing a dropdown menu bearing the inclusive phrase "My business sector is..." top and centre of their homepage. When segmenting by geography, King & Wood Mallesons use the words "Your location" - another inclusive - audience focused phrase. In contrast, most law firm website homepages are still dominated by self-referential content, their headings peppered with "our", "us", we". "Most companies segment their markets by customer demographics or product characteristics and differentiate their offerings by adding features and functions. But the consumer has a different view of the marketplace. He simply has a job to be done and is seeking to hire the best product or service to do it. Marketers must adopt that perspective." Clayton M. Christensen FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 19

21 ENGAGEMENT: SEGMENTATION Scores for segmentation, out of 5 Irwin Mitchell King & Wood Mallesons Allen & Overy Clyde & Co DLA Piper Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Linklaters Macfarlanes Norton Rose Fulbright Pinsent Masons Simmons & Simmons Taylor Wessing Wragge & Co Bird & Bird Holman Fenwick Willan Nabarro Addleshaw Goddard Ashurst Berwin Leighton Paisner Clifford Chance CMS DWF Eversheds Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Kennedys Osborne Clarke Slaughter and May Withers DAC Beachcroft weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 2

22 ENGAGEMENT: CONTENT MARKETING "...branded content works best when brands put the needs of their readers ahead of their own, usually by removing themselves from the story entirely. That, however, is a tough sell for most marketers, which are used to operating in campaign mode, which involves talking about themselves almost exclusively." Ricardo Bilton Digiday "Today s consumers have the ability to influence their peers directly. By inviting them onto your properties and showing them how much they re valued, you re enabling them to become advocates for your business." Jordan Kretchmer Livefyre, 215 When properly presented, documented expertise can become content marketing - engaging and eventually converting website visitors into clients. While evaluating the content marketing on the sector pages of the 3 firms in our study, we examined a number of elements, including: text article presentation, use of photography and video and reliance on.pdf documents. Five websites reached the "excellent" grade in this category; Clyde & Co, DWF, Norton Rose Fulbright, Nabarro and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co. Eighteen of the 3 websites in our study are clearly linking to rich evidence of expertise, 21 are making good use of photography and 23 have structured their articles for ease of comprehension. Twenty three are also acknowledging their social media pages, by linking to them from their websites - this is up from 21 in 214. However, in our sample, only two of the 3 websites, Eversheds and Norton Rose Fulbright, are using video on their sector pages. Over to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg speaking at a conference in March 215: "There s a clear technology trend enabling people to share richer and richer content. Five years ago, most content on Facebook was text. Now it s photos. Fast forward five years and it will be video. After that, it will be immersive content like virtual reality." FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 21

23 ENGAGEMENT: CONTENT MARKETING Scores for content marketing, out of 5 Clyde & Co DWF Norton Rose Fulbright Wragge & Co Nabarro Addleshaw Goddard Berwin Leighton Paisner DLA Piper Eversheds Holman Fenwick Willan Kennedys King & Wood Mallesons Macfarlanes Osborne Clarke Taylor Wessing Allen & Overy Bird & Bird DAC Beachcroft Herbert Smith Freehills Irwin Mitchell Linklaters Pinsent Masons Slaughter and May Clifford Chance CMS Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hogan Lovells Simmons & Simmons Withers Ashurst weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 22

24 ENGAGEMENT: CONTENT MARKETING Irwin Mitchell's King & Wood Mallesons Norton Rose Fulbright's Clearly structured pages Good use of photography Sector pages feature video FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 23

25 ENGAGEMENT: SITE SEARCH FUNCTION "Amazon s recommendation engine is the amalgamation of positive user experiences one that Google strives to impersonate by interpreting intent of contextual search query cues." P.J. Fusco writing about the increasing sophistication of website search engines Conditioned by their experiences using the Google and Amazon search engines, clients are accustomed to quick, accurate responses to their queries. It's increasingly expected that websites will assist visitors in their quest for information. According to Roo Reynolds at the award-winning Gov.uk, a good internal search engine will: Help more people find what they want using search Always return the most relevant results Avoid forcing users to understand the internal structure of the site Allow users to control their results Give results that feel familiar to users and don t deviate from established models of what search looks like We tested the accuracy of internal search engines by typing in various queries. Of the 3 websites in the study, 2 returned accurate results when we typed in "graduate recruitment", and 16 websites returned accurate results to the query "IP lawyer". The number of websites offering an auto-complete search function (technology that can suggest relevant results) is also increasing year-on-year. In 215, five websites are employing auto-complete technology, up from a single website in 212. The five are: DLA Piper, Nabarro, DWF, Holman Fenwick Willan and King & Wood Mallesons. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 24

26 ENGAGEMENT: SITE SEARCH FUNCTION Search function score, out of 5 Clifford Chance DLA Piper Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Nabarro Wragge & Co Allen & Overy Berwin Leighton Paisner Bird & Bird DWF Hogan Lovells Holman Fenwick Willan Irwin Mitchell Kennedys King & Wood Mallesons Linklaters Macfarlanes Norton Rose Fulbright Pinsent Masons Withers Addleshaw Goddard Ashurst Clyde & Co CMS DAC Beachcroft Eversheds Herbert Smith Freehills Osborne Clarke Simmons & Simmons Slaughter and May Taylor Wessing weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 25

27 ENGAGEMENT: USABILITY "If your UX asks the user to make choices, for example, even if those choices are both clear and useful, the act of deciding is a cognitive drain. And not just while they're deciding... even after we choose, an unconscious cognitive background thread is slowly consuming/leaking resources, "Was that the right choice?" Kathy Sierra Usability expert "A system reflects the organisational structure that built it". Melvin Conway Computer scientist Large law firms are complex, political, organisations, so it's perhaps inevitable that, over time, their websites begin to reflect that complexity. Unfortunately when a large website begins to resemble the internal organisational structure of the business that it is representing, it's detrimental to the user experience. Or, in other words, websites that are difficult to navigate frustrate your potential clients - and send them off to seek out rival firms. When evaluating the usability of law firm websites, we were looking for a clear conceptual model, persistent navigation, lack of ambiguity and clarity of purpose. This year we've been able to award "excellent" grades for usability to the websites of Clifford Chance, Clyde & Co, Norton Rose Fulbright and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co. Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co website won points for using the "shrinking" animated navigation bar that that persists on screen while scrolling. DLA Piper's website navigation also "shrinks" but it's mildly annoying to use - the click-able navigation labels disappear when the page is scrolled. Bruce Tognazzini, usability consultant: "The World Wide Web, for all its pretty screens and fancy buttons, is, in effect, an invisible navigation space. True, you can always see the specific page you are on, but you cannot see anything of the vast space between pages. "Once users reach our applications, we must take care to reduce navigation to a minimum and make that navigation that is left clear and natural. Present the illusion that users are always in the same place, with the work brought to them. This not only eliminates the need for maps and other navigational aids, it offers users a greater sense of mastery and autonomy." FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 26

28 ENGAGEMENT: USABILITY Usabilty score, out of 5 Clifford Chance Clyde & Co Norton Rose Fulbright Wragge & Co Allen & Overy Ashurst Berwin Leighton Paisner Bird & Bird Eversheds Herbert Smith Freehills Holman Fenwick Willan Irwin Mitchell Kennedyst King & Wood Mallesons Nabarro Osborne Clarke Withers Addleshaw Goddard CMS DAC Beachcroft DLA Piper Hogan Lovells Linklaters Macfarlanes Simmons & Simmons Slaughter and May Taylor Wessing DWF Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Pinsent Masons weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 27

29 ENGAGEMENT: USABILITY Clifford Chance Norton Rose Fulbright Wragge's Clifford Chance's website animates the transition between pages A distinct "crumb-trail" bar on the Norton Rose Fulbright website Wragge's shrinking, persistent navigation bar FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 28

30 CONTENT SPOTLIGHT: LAWYER FINDER TOOL Lawyer finder tools are an essential part of law firm websites. Connecting the website visitor to the relevant expert should be a friction-less experience. All 3 websites in our study employ a lawyer finder tool. The eight "excellent" tools belong to the Clyde & Co, DLA Piper, DWF, Irwin Mitchell, Nabarro, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons and Wragge & Co websites. Eighteen tools offer useful filtering functions - up from 13 in 214. Lawyer finder tools, scores out of 5 Clyde & Co DLA Piper DWF Irwin Mitchell Nabarro Osborne Clarke Pinsent Masons Wragge & Co Allen & Overy Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Holman Fenwick Willan King & Wood Mallesons Linklaters Macfarlanes Norton Rose Fulbright Simmons & Simmons Taylor Wessing Withers Ashurst Berwin Leighton Paisner Bird & Bird Clifford Chance DAC Beachcroft Kennedys Addleshaw Goddard CMS Eversheds Slaughter and May weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 29

31 CONTENT SPOTLIGHT: LAWYER FINDER TOOL DWF Makes it easier to search for a Lawyer Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Connects to a visitor's Linkedin network Nabarro Nabarro's lawyer finder tool is easy to use and stylish FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 3

32 CONTENT SPOTLIGHT: GRADUATE RECUITMENT Competition is fierce for the best trainees, so many law firms fund separate graduate recruitment websites, designed specifically for students. Three of our favourite recruitment resources, that received points for style, are: Holman Fenwick Willan Linklaters FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: +44 () Pinsent Masons LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 31

33 CONVERSION: CALLS-TO-ACTION & MORE "We prefer to say yes to those we know and like." "People decide what s appropriate for them to do in a situation by examining and following what others are doing." Conversion rate optimisation is often cited as the number one priority for digital marketers. When we examined how the 3 websites in our study are attempting to turn visitors into customers, we looked beyond buttons and gadgets, to search for evidence of psychological factors such as the use of reciprocity, social proof and "liking". Only the Norton Rose Fulbright website reached the "good" grade for its conversion efforts - they're one of the few websites to clearly list their "Awards & recognition". Twelve websites are employing clear calls to action on their pages and only two are displaying extensive social proof of their firm's achievements. When we look across the sector's websites, it's striking how little we hear from clients. Peep Laja Conversion expert FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 32

34 CONVERSION: CALLS-TO-ACTION & MORE Scores for Conversion efforts, out of 5 Norton Rose Fulbright Berwin Leighton Paisner Bird & Bird Clyde & Co Eversheds Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Irwin Mitchell King & Wood Mallesons Linklaters Pinsent Masons Slaughter and May Wragge & Co Addleshaw Goddard Ashurst CMS DWF Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Macfarlanes Nabarro Simmons & Simmons Taylor Wessing Withers Clifford Chance DAC Beachcroft DLA Piper Holman Fenwick Willan Kennedys Osborne Clarke Allen & Overy weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 33

35 CONVERSION: CALLS-TO-ACTION & MORE Bird & Bird Clyde & Co Irwin Mitchell Bird & Bird's "Talk to an expert" box slides out from the side of the page Clyde & Co place a "Get in touch" form at the bottom of their pages Irwin Mitchell make it easy to make a "general enquiry" FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 34

36 LOYALTY: LONG TERM ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY "Amazon is a prime example of how to personalise the web experience... It s unlikely that any two people will see the same Amazon homepage as the content is tailored based on previous purchase behaviour." David Moth Econsultancy "Brand loyalty is how we escape decision fatigue... With the proliferation of online services and globalizing markets, our options have multiplied rapidly, and it s wearing us out... Once we believe that our values and choices align, we re happy to leave choices to the brand that s earned our trust, and shift some of the burden off our own shoulders." Chris Butler Fast Company Loyal clients are valuable clients - it is often cheaper to keep a customer than it is to attract a new one. When evaluating the efforts of law firm to build online "loyalty" among website visitors, we looked for a variety of habit-forming elements that encourage return visits and on-going engagement. Across the 3 sites in our study, none reached the "excellent" grade, with only Holman Fenwick Willan judged to be "good" for their long-term engagement activity. Compelling sector news is a good reason for clients to return to law firm websites, and 16 'sites are presenting sector news effectively - up from eight in 214. However, only four websites are making it easy to sign up for newsletters and only one website - Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer - is using personalisation to slightly customise the user experience by displaying visitors' LinkedIn connections. Intelligent personalisation of the user experience, currently most popular with e-commerce websites, will offer law firms a competitive advantage. As Gerry McGovern, a user experience expert, has written: "Customers expect that you know them. They don t want to keep entering their name and telephone number when they know you already have it. They expect that you know what they bought last year. They want appropriate recommendations. They re not necessarily looking for a relationship from you, but they do expect convenience, ease-of-use." FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 35

37 LOYALTY: LONG TERM ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY Loyalty activity, scored out of 5 Holman Fenwick Willan Allen & Overy Berwin Leighton Paisner Bird & Bird Nabarro Norton Rose Fulbright Pinsent Masons DLA Piper DWF Eversheds Hogan Lovells Osborne Clarke Slaughter and May Wragge & Co Clifford Chance Clyde & Co CMS DAC Beachcroft Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Herbert Smith Freehills Irwin Mitchell Kennedys King & Wood Mallesons Macfarlanes Simmons & Simmons Withers Addleshaw Goddard Ashurst Linklaters Taylor Wessing weak excellent FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 36

38 LOYALTY: LONG TERM ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY Bird & Bird Holman Fenwick Willan Wragge Lawrence Graham Bird & Bird display relevant Tweets and sector news on their sector pages Holman Fenwick Willan promote their Maritime Emergency Response App across their website Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co's pages display prominent subscribe buttons FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 37

39 LOYALTY: THE LAW FIRM CONTENT THAT'S MOST SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA "Your social following is the result of your audience, not the cause. Look at every individual or company that has a large social following... They do interesting things. That s why people follow them. So focus on your work first, then your social strategy." Andrianes Pinantoan Consultant "Our social feeds act as our de facto home page. People are now accustomed to social content feeds being their entry point to the web, rather than static homepages or search engines. We keep up to date with the world through a prism of what our friends and news outlets we trust are talking about." Jordan Kretchmer Wall blog "No matter how hard advertising tries, it can never really equal the conviction of a message communicated by a friend who understands your interests" David Hepworth Media commentator As use of social media is now widespread, firms that can engage an audience on Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook can drive loyalty, advocacy and keep their brands front-of-mind. However, social sharing doesn't happen by accident, a message, or content is required to provoke a reaction. Law firms routinely generate a lot of content, but not all of it travels easily across the social networks. After examining the most shared content from thirty leading law firms, over the last 12 months, we've seen patterns of activity emerge. Briefly: A Bird & Bird article on cloud computing and privacy is most shared piece of content over the last 12 months (1935 shares). Legal content is shared mostly by members of the legal profession - the sector likes to talk to itself. Legal content is shared mostly on LinkedIn, with Twitter a distant second. Not suprisingly, content chosen to be shared by law professionals differs to the types of content shared by a broader audience. Legal sector professionals share these stories, from law firm websites, the most: Industry awards New offices Partner promotions Job opportunities Firm mergers New internal processes The general audience (potential clients etc), share these stories, from law firm websites, the most: Topical news articles Pieces of "big content", in-depth reports, especially about M&A Coverage of events. Tip: Reconsider deleting pages about events once they are over - consider redirecting the traffic Sector thought leadership / opinion pieces See overleaf for charts listing the most shared content from the law firm websites in our study, over the last 12 months. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 38

40 LOYALTY: THE LAW FIRM CONTENT THAT'S MOST SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA Law firm Title of the most shared piece of content from each law firm Content topic category Total shares (over the last 12 months) Facebook shares Google plus shares Twitter shares Linkedin shares Bird & Bird Irwin Mitchell Osborne Clarke Linklaters Allen & Overy Clyde & Co DWF CMS Hogan Lovells DLA Piper Eversheds Herbert Smith Freehills Ashurst Norton Rose Fulbright Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Taylor Wessing Simmons & Simmons Nabarro Addleshaw Goddard DAC Beachcroft Kennedys King & Wood Mallesons Berwin Leighton Paisner Wragge & Co Pinsent Masons Withers Holman Fenwick Willan Macfarlanes Slaughter and May Cloud computing and privacy series Design For Life Irwin Mitchell Osborne Clarke awarded 'law firm of the year' 215 Linklaters elects 23 new partners Commitment to diversity and continued investment From -1 staff in two years DWF opens in Dubai CMS leads the pack Hogan Lovells Celebrates 5th Anniversary DLA Piper and Davis finalize combination in Canada Eversheds launches innovative tool Employment, Pensions and Incentives Ashurst appoints 2 to partnership Norton Rose Fulbright expands its footprint in Africa 214 set to be the strongest year for global M&A Update on Iran negotiations Taylor Wessing announces opening of two US offices TMT Team Wins Another Industry Award Nabarro London New HQ 18 new partner promotions DAC Beachcroft Named 'Legal Advisors Of The Year' Kennedys promotes four to partner Australian Federal Budget Graduate Law Recruitment Scheme Dubai competition Pinsent Masons Annual Regulatory Conference 214 Private Wealth Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards Amanda Davidson awarded the Order of Australia Disguised management fees - HMRC guidance published Slaughter and May : Applicant Portal : Home Thought leadership Competition Award Jobs Jobs New office opening New office opening Award Award / celebration Merger of law firm News - new internal process Event Jobs Merger of law firm News News New office opening Award New office opening Jobs Award Jobs News Jobs - graduates Jobs - graduates Event Award Award News Jobs Data collected by third party tools, May 214 to May 215 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US: BENCHMARK@DRAWGROUP.COM +44 () LEGAL SECTOR DIGITAL BENCHMARK P 39