2010 AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices Research Results LMA Dallas City Group 02.17.11 Deborah McMurray Content Pilot LLC
Why Foundational Best Practices? Launched Amlaw 100 research in 2005 Firms were spending millions... and visitors weren t any happier 2005, 2006, 2007 and now again in 2010 Certain of the Ten Foundational Best Practices have evolved in the last 5 years The Web industry has changed Visitor expectations of websites are much higher Buyers of legal services have told us what they want from a law firm website The 2010 list reflects these changes and into 2011
2010 Ten Foundational Best Practices The 2010 list: 1. Communicating your message 2. Graphics and design 3. Navigation 4. Lawyer biographies 5. Narrative content
2010 Ten Foundational Best Practices The 2010 list, continued: 6. Web site interactivity and outreach 7. Site search 8. Site optimization for online awareness 9. Firm citizenship 10. Site hygiene
Foundational Best Practice #1 Communicating your message Logo, firm name and strategy copy stand out Practice and industry focus is apparent Geographic reach is apparent (one office/40 offices) Contact info is clear and easy to find Site features (if consistent with strategy/brand): Links to foreign language translations Personalization if it supports strategy
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #1 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 80.1 Good 2007 57.1
Foundational Best Practice #2 Graphics and Design Web site uses consistent graphics/colors/imagery that adhere to clearly established design style Typography is legible, uniform, Web compatible and complements the overall Web site design Layout is effective in its use of page real estate Site is compatible with mobile devices Site is compatible with most popular browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari, AOL)
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #2 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 87.2 Excellent 2007 86.4
Foundational Best Practice #3 Navigation Home/global navigation is obvious and allows visitors to find what they want in 1-2 clicks Global and local navigation styles are consistent visitors don t have to relearn navigation in different parts of the site Cross-linking promotes easy horizontal travel from one section of the site to another (bios to practices to articles to news, etc.) Logo on each interior page has a consistent location and anchors the site by linking back to the home page
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #3 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 86.5 Excellent 2007 85.6
Lawyer biographies Foundational Best Practice #4 First 2-3 sentences of the bio are current, compelling and relevant to lawyer s practice (visitor and SEO benefit) Bio is SEO friendly (think how humans search for people) Current photos ones that show personality and support messaging Full contact info is easy to find and links to v-card Includes links to social media profiles and pages Bios list and link to practices/industries, articles/news/events Bios include deals/cases info that is the most relevant to the practice Bio design provides for listing most recent deals/cases, pubs and presentations, with a link to >>view all
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #4 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 65.5 Fair 2007 70.8
Foundational Best Practice #4
Foundational Best Practice #4 Bio is SEO friendly Google search results
Foundational Best Practice #4 Create a bio portal or mini-site using tabs
Foundational Best Practice #5 Narrative Content PRACTICE AND INDUSTRY DESCRIPTIONS Visitor/client-focused content has consistent language use and is specific Content is organized intuitively, by services and expertise clients buy, not how the firm is organized Practices and industries are broken out separately. Add geographic regions as a third option Descriptions include specifics of deals/cases including client names or descriptions of clients Cross-linking to other sections of the site is maximized
Foundational Best Practice #5 Narrative Content, continued NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS Media contact is clear and easy to find throughout the site News/press pages are maximized for PR benefit and use by journalists Headline news populates the home page (SEO benefit) Sections include subscribe features for firm publications
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #5 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 70.4 Fair
Foundational Best Practice #6 Web site interactivity and outreach Client extranet is offered and accessible 40.1 RSS feeds throughout the site 38.7 Alumni center - 53 Newsletter and other info sign-up - 55.8 Links to firm/lawyer blogs on bio, practice and other relevant pages 34.7 Offers educational Webinars and podcasts 50.7 Effectively uses LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter on careers or other pages 14.3 Effectively uses video to further key messaging 28.5
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #6 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 39.5 Poor 2007 47.4 (not apples to apples)
Website Interactivity and Outreach iphone apps 5-6 AmLaw 100 firms not foundational yet
Foundational Best Practice #7 Site search Site offers full-site keyword search and advanced search option throughout the site Advanced search enables visitors to narrow or refine the search in multiple ways Search results are clear and well organized Most relevant results appear first Annotated search results show the context of the search term Site offers multiple searches, including detailed lawyer search and news/publications/articles/events searches Separate experience/deals/cases search Law school alumni search in careers
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #7 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 51.9 Fair 2007 78.6 (added experience search)
Foundational Best Practice #8 Site optimization for online search Metatags, keywords, page title and meta descriptions are correctly used/placed Page titles are optimized Images have alt tags that provide alternative text when images can t be displayed What is the site s online awareness comparative analysis of: Google PageRank Number of pages indexed by Google Link popularity
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #8 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 61.2 Fair 2007 67.7
More about Foundational Best Practice #8 Site optimization for online search Firms failed in the following areas: No meta-descriptions or keywords on any pages but the home page, or the meta-content was very weak (not descriptive enough) No alt-tags on lawyer bios Every site had source code in it for alt-tags on images, but few utilized the resource to optimize it No html content on the home page (such as not including cross-links or an expanded footer) If the domain changed (because of a merger), low SEO scores PageRank very low and few indexed pages
Foundational Best Practice #9 Firm citizenship Site has a statement of core values Site illustrates firm s commitment to sustainability Site illustrates firm s commitment to diversity Charitable and civic commitment is described and evident Pro bono commitment is described in detail, highlighting stories and specific matters
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #9 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 64.1 Fair
Foundational Best Practice #10 Site hygiene Includes up-to-date copyright No error pages are found No broken links or images appear during a spot check Pages print and email easily Most pages include dynamic print to PDF option Copy and content have been checked for spelling and grammar
Amlaw 100 - Foundational Best Practice #10 Avg. score of AmLaw 100 77.7 Good 2007 73.6
Avg. score of AmLaw 100 68.4 Fair 2010 Amlaw 100 TOTAL
Avg. score of AmLaw 100 71.2 Good 2007 Amlaw 100 TOTAL
2010 Amlaw 100 Top 25 Excellent 86-100 Good 71-85 Fair 51-70 Poor 26-50 Unacceptable 0-25
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