Prepared for the Delaware Valley Law Firm Marketing Group 2013 AmLaw 100 Websites: Ten Foundational Best Practices Research July 22, 2014
FBPs Break Down into 3 Major Categories 1. Strategy Communicating your message strategy, brand and first impression / who are you and why should I care? Site optimization and online awareness site and content optimized/seo strategy 2. Content Lawyer biographies relevant, current, SEO and human friendly Content (other than bios) visitor/client focused, current and compelling. Multimedia Site hygiene and usability browser compatibility, visitor page tools, spelling, nothing broken 2
3 FBPs Break Down into 3 Major Categories 3. Features and Functionality Graphics and design bold branding design, strong imagery, consistency, legibility, HTML5 instead of Flash Navigation intuitive, descriptive and one-click Interactivity and social outreach dynamic, interactive and Web 2.0, leveraging all Internet content Site search relevant, multiple search tools and easy finding Mobility specially designed mobile site; intuitive, device-specific user interface, interactive map and location features
4 Foundational Best Practice #1 Communicating your Message 1. Clear and differentiating positioning strategy 39.1 2. Practice and industry focus are apparent 81.2 3. Geographic reach is apparent (1 office or 40) 98.3 4. Contact information is clear and easy to find - 93 5. Site features or links to foreign language translations 47.8
5 Foundational Best Practice #1 AmLaw 100 Average: 72.6 Barely Good
Wsgr.com 1 of 7 to Score 100 6
Winstead.com 7
8 Foundational Best Practice #2 Graphics and Design 1. Bold, branded layout style, grid and use of white space - 83 2. The site uses CSS@FONT-FACE web fonts to further branding design - 73 3. Strong imagery reinforces the brand and is fresh and unique. It effectively advances the story about what the firm does - 76 4. Site makes good use of HTML5 instead of FLASH - 73 5. Site is optimized for = or > than 1024 pixel screen resolution - 80
9 Foundational Best Practice #2 AmLaw 100 Average: 77 Good
Goodwinprocter.com Winner for FBP 2 10
11 Foundational Best Practice #3 Navigation 1. Global and local nav styles are consistent visitor doesn t have to relearn new styles throughout the site 93.8 2. Global nav uses mega-menus/cascading nav that gives visitors 1- click access 34.6 3. Easy to navigate across multiple devices smart phones, tablets, desktops 67.6 4. Cross-linking promotes horizontal travel from one section of the site to the next 87.7
12 Foundational Best Practice #3 AmLaw 100 Average: 70.9 Fair
Kramerlevin.com - #1 in Navigation 13
Foundational Best Practice #4 Lawyer Bios 1. First 150 characters of the bio are current, compelling and relevant for SEO benefit 77 2. Overview paragraph first 2-3 sentences are descriptive of the work the lawyer does and the types of clients the lawyer represents 84 3. Bio does not use Mr. or Ms. Lastname throughout it uses the lawyer s first or nickname 35 4. Current photos that convey personality 87 5. Full contact info is easy to find and links to v-card 99 6. Bio includes links to social media profiles and pages 32 7. Bios list and crosslink to practices/ industries, articles/ news/ events - 84 8. Bios include detailed experience and matter lists 74 9. The page technology supports elegant content organization that enables visitors to quickly scan and access what they want? (e.g., Ajax, jquery, javascript) 93 10.Associates have full biographies 88 14
15 Foundational Best Practice #4 AmLaw 100 Average: 75.3 Good
Jones Day Bios Scored 100 16
17 Foundational Best Practice #5 Content (Other than Bios) 1. Visitor-focused has consistent language use and is specific - 77 2. Content is organized intuitively, by services and expertise clients buy, not how the firm is organized - 63 3. Practices and industries are broken out separately. Geographic regions is a bonus option - 58 4. Descriptions include experience specifics, including client names or descriptions of clients - 68 5. Video and multimedia content is available, and is relevant and current - 37 6. News/press pages are current and written for maximum PR benefit - 78 7. Publications / articles / events are well organized and are easily sorted by topic and author / speaker - 75 8. Site has a statement of core values - 55 9. Site illustrates firm s commitment to diversity - 95 10.Charitable and civic commitment is described and evident - 81 11. Pro bono commitment is described in detail, highlighting stories and specific matters - 91
18 Foundational Best Practice #5 AmLaw 100 Average: 70.6 Fair
Sutherland Practice Descriptions - InfoGraphics 19
20 Foundational Best Practice #6 Interactivity and Social Outreach 1. Client extranet is offered and accessible - 43 2. RSS feeds throughout the site - 61 3. Alumni center or link to alumni page on LinkedIn or Facebook - 63 4. Newsletter subscribe feature and other info sign-up - 64 5. Links to firm/lawyer blogs on home page, bio, practice and other relevant pages - 51 6. Offers educational Webinars and podcasts - 48 7. The site links to social media sites and has an active and current presence on these sites - 51 8. Share functionality is present throughout the site - 34
21 Foundational Best Practice #6 AmLaw 100 Average: 52 Barely Fair
Barnesthornburg.com Scored 100 22
23 Foundational Best Practice #7 Site Search 1. Site offers full-site keyword search - 100 2. Advanced search link appears on all pages and enables visitors to narrow or refine the search in multiple ways 16 3. Search results are clear and well organized: Most relevant categories appear first 59 4. Utilizes modern search technology features: type-ahead / predictive, did you mean, highlighting of search terms in annotated results, exact phrase 16 5. Site offers multiple searches, including detailed lawyer search, news /publications / articles / events searches, law school alumni search in careers 82 6. Site offers a separate experience search 24
24 Foundational Best Practice #7 AmLaw 100 Average: 49.2 Poor
Cozen.com Top Scorer in Site Search 25
26 Foundational Best Practice #8 Site Optimization and Online Awareness 1. Online Awareness: backlinks, link popularity and PageRank for landing and details pages 72 2. Strong, properly structured HTML content on the home page and interior (H1, H2, H3 etc. for headings and subheadings, doc type, no image-based navigation or other text, etc.) 67 3. Data feeds from external sources (blogs, social media, videos, etc.) 28 4. HTML sitemaps are present and include all pages organized hierarchically 77 5. Smart URLS with appropriate syntax used in all sections - 64 6. Metatags, page titles, keywords and meta-description are correctly used and placed, and utilized throughout site - 38 7. Images have alt tags that provide alternative text when images can t be displayed 36
27 Foundational Best Practice #8 AmLaw 100 Average: 54.5 Fair
MoFo.com ranked Good in SEO 28
29 Foundational Best Practice #9 Mobility 1. Does the firm have a true mobile site? 34.5
30 Foundational Best Practice #9 AmLaw 100 Average: 34.5 Poor
QuinnEmanuel.com Mobile Scored 100 31
32 Foundational Best Practice #10 Site Hygiene and Usability 1. Site perfectly functions on all modern browsers IE7 and newer, Chrome, Safari and Firefox 88 2. Ability to collect and bind PDFs together 11 3. No error pages are found on spot check 99 4. No broken links or images are evident with spot check 97 5. Pages print and email easily 81 6. Site offers dynamic print to PDF option on most pages 53 7. Copy and content have been checked for spelling and grammar 87
33 Foundational Best Practice #10 AmLaw 100 Average: 73.7 Good
WilsonElser.com 1 of 5 Firms to Score 100 34
35 2013 AmLaw 100 Websites Total Scores Totals based on 99 firms
2013 AmLaw 100 Websites Top 25 Firms 36
37 Content Pilot Contact Thank you! Deborah McMurray Content Pilot LLC mcmurray@contentpilot.net 214.351.9690 Law Firm 4.0 Blog Twitter: @contentpilot