Lawyernomics - 2016 Step By Step Guide to Search for Law Firms
Avvo Lawyernomics: Website Best Practices
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Transcript of Avvo Lawyernomics: Website Best Practices
Website Best Practices
1
15 Years Ago
Germany To Ellis Island
Genealogy & Web Design
The Manifest & Anna
Hit a dead end for nearly 10+ yearsNO leads
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7 Stops, No Dice.
Hit a dead end for nearly 10+ yearsNO leads
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The Henkel
4x Grandmother Confirmed
Heres the point.
5 SECONDS
Many of your future clients, who have yet to solve what attorney they should hire, often find it too hard to figure out who you areits your duty to make sure your website connects the dots and makes the experience as easy as possible.
Typically, you have about 7 seconds (not 10 years) to win over a prospective client and your visitors arent patient.
Id like to share several best practices, research, and tools that will help you in stand out and make it easier to hire you and your firm..
Just like many of your future clients, who have yet to solve what attorney they should hire, its your duty to make sure your website connects the dots and makes the experience as easy as possible. Typically, you have ~5 seconds not 10 years and website users arent nearly as patient. Over the next few minutes, Id like to share several best practices, research, and tools that will help you in stand out and make it easier to hire you.
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I wanted this?
Start Story10
But got this.
Id like to share a story my dad recently recanted to me. I never could decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember fire man being on a paper. Ironic foreshadowing that manifested in a abstract way. I spent a summer of my life working here - it was hard work. I spent 9-10 hours a day cleaning these elevators, I found myself up to my chest at times shoveling dust from corn and grain into a manhole. 11
Little did I know I was also working one of the most dangerous jobs in America at 16 years old. The dust could become so dense that the slightest spark would cause an explosion. I was climbing ladders, sliding down poles, doing really hard work, so my childhood dream manifested in an indirect way I guess12
My point is, your home page has to have a purpose and know what it wants to be when it grows up. Design it poorly and your ROI will flounder.13
I want to be different.
Ive heard this rephrased about 200 different ways.
A talking audio website, a website that looks like a book, etc.
Before you can be different you have know what you wantor dont want
Being different for the wrong reasons 14
Dont be a Purple Cow.
NO.
Users get confused. Your site will not convert. Follow best practices from a layout perspectiveKeep things predictable, simple
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The NiftyBenchmark Study:
Best Practices
Here are some best practices to help you stay in line with top ranking websites
For better or worse youll find that top ranking sites arent doing EVERYTHING right by the book16
OnsiteTechnical Benchmarks
BenchMark Study of Top Ranking Sites
50 Cities4 Practice Areas
Correlation isnt Causation
But, if you can out tacticalize you can grab some victories.
In top ranking local results we did a study to across 4 practice areas and 100 of the biggest markets in the US. Im sharing this partly because there are a lot of weaknesses that Top ranking sites have and there is room for attorneys doing the right work to mix things up. Overall, these are all signals for local and you need to take these things into account as you design and market your website:
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Average of 945 words on ranking page
STUDY: Average Words on Ranking Page (Mostly Homepage): 945
Share best practices
No less than 500 wordsscan ableDont wiki - heavy diction, buzzwords19
90% used location in title tag
90% of firms had location in Title Tag
Ranking signalCharacter limits to 50-60 charactersOr Truncate 20
Truncate
Will lower CTR
Or Google will replace your chosen title for one of their choosing algorithmically21
54% used firm name in title tag
54% of firms had firm name in Title Tag
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46% NAP 5% reviews
46% had their NAP marked up in Schema
Only 5.5% had reviews on their site and marked up in schema
Schema Tells Search engines what certain data means23
Studies have shown that sites using schema markup rank 4 postiion HIGHER than ones that dont
https://blog.kissmetrics.com/get-started-using-schema/24
25% had a link to reviews
Huge for user experience
Social Proof
People want to do what other people do
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https://goo.gl/LudWWpMoz Onsite Grader
Only 5% of websites ranking scored A grade for onsite scoreNearly 50% scored C grade
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Only 5% of websites ranking scored A grade for onsite score
Nearly 45% scored C grade
Less than 5% had an A grade
Title Tag seals the deal for what the page should rank forBut the content of the page is MOST important
https://www.seroundtable.com/google-title-tag-critical-21499.html28
Visual Onsite: Best Practices
Remember Correlation isnt Causation
USER EXPERIENCE
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When it comes to User Experience and follow the best practices
Logo Top LeftPhone number top right Combine phone number with a call to action4. Strong Image with a strong headline5. Leave Body30
89% more likely to remember youhttps://www.nngroup.com/articles/logo-placement-brand-recall/
Than logos place on the right31
18% had no CTA
Prominent Trust Signals
36% had no trust signals
Badges, press mentions, local mentions, super lawyer, 30/30, 40/40, etc
User queues that you are authoritative and capable33
The NiftyBenchmark Study:
Low Adoption Trends
Lets go over some really simple best practices that if you arent following, you should consider implementing
Paralax and Background VideoKeep Color Consistent
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Were Perfectly Normal
9.5% had parallax effect
1% had background video
If Im a competitor and Im looking for a way to standout and Im not number 1 or 2 or 3 etc, Im using this design effect to build credibility.37
No No #1
Atypical Navigation
Purple Cow No No #1: COMPLICATE YOUR NAVIGATIONDont use outside the box ideas that confuse USERS/ CLIENTS, KISS38
Predictable Navigation
Position Navigation at the top of the page but below the CTA / logo, not below the fold Bounce rates go downPages per visit go upConversion go up
Child pages
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Simplify Choices & Increase Engagement
NON STANDARD
Also dont separate your navigation into multiple areas on a site, its untraditional and difficult to predict for users.
Keep navigation simpleSpecificKeep the order of importance in check
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Dont Nest Your Nav
Generic labels and drop down menus
Typically, Bad for usability and SEO
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Home / BioPractice Areas Contact
PRIORITIZE your NAVIGATION
Most important first and last, stuff in the middle not as important
Home/Bio
Practice area /blog
Testimonials / Contact us43
No No #2
Using a Slider
Purple Cow No No #2: COMPLICATE YOUR NAVIGATIONDont use outside the box ideas that confuse USERS/ CLIENTS, KISSSeveral things to consider before going this route:
1. Low Click Through44
"Does Siemens have any special deals on washing machines?https://www.nngroup.com/articles/auto-forwarding/
PICTURES -
Users couldnt find the offer
Otherwise disregarded the slider, making it ineffective45
1%
Notre Dame Study
1% of users clicked feature (slider)
Of the 30k that did click 84% are clicked the first slide
The other 4 sliders made the rest
Takeaway: users ignore these and majority will click the first one
BANNER BLINDNESS
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A Slider =
PredictableBetter for SEOBetter for Mobile LayoutsIncreases Conversion
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61% didnt use a image of themselves
Gets into philosophy of the site which well talk more about later
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Reinforce Header & Footer
Keep an embedded map, and contact info in Footer (NAP, Important links, FORM)
If youre interested in knowing how many visitors make it to the bottom of a page here are a few resources
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scrolldepth.parsnip.io
Plugin that integrates with GA and creates goals to understand scrolling behavior of visitors51
No No #3
Poor Mobile Design & Performance
NONO #3
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goo.gl/ozWFB8Google Page Speed Insights
Purple Cow No-No #3: HAVE A POORLY DESIGNED MOBILE SITE (OR NONE)
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10% werent responsive vs. 82% 2 years ago
10% of TOP ranking websites in local werent responsive.
We did this study 2 years ago, only 28% were responsive.Make sure your site is mobile friendly (responsive)At least 3 anchor pointsMobile phone, Tablet, Laptop, and Desktop
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Benchmark Data: Study on Top Ranking Sites Mobile Speed
Huge HUGE Opportunity as Google makes a huge push to increase importance of mobile friendly56
HIGH USER Experience scores for top ranking sites, there were a few outliers but overall this was around 96%
Few issues affecting how a user engages with the site OR how indexing/search engine issues57
USERSWEBSITE
Your website and users need to get along.
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Oh crap.
The only thing worse than being a purple cow is being a dead cow.
Certain things
IGNORED
CRUSH your site
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Dead Cow No-No #1:
Lack of Accountability
Dead Cow No-No #1: Not using a call tracking service
NINJA TACTICS60
You dont know what you dont know ENTER CALL TRACKING 61
You have to understand that consumers want to be able to call a business, this says 41% of the time, most of our clients are well over 9:1 ratio phone call / form fills62
Most of our clients are well over 9:1 ratio phone call / form fills63
Where performance is measured, performance improves. Where performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.- Tommy Monson
WHAT CHANNELS ARE WORKING
Tell me if youve ever wondered What has my marketing company done for me lately? Or even Have they done anything at all?What marketing channels are working? Billboard? PPC? Print? SEO? How much does it cost me to get a new client?
CALL TRACKING isnt the only answer, but its a good place to start if you dont have it.
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Thirty Of These
----- Meeting Notes (4/5/16 16:50) -----Block their names / numbers65
GETS ME THIS?
ESTABLISH BASELINESM/MQ/QY/Y
USE IN CONNECTION W/ REAL OFFICE #PUT THIS IN THE CTA ABOVE NAV and REAL # IN FOOTER w/ SCHEMA MARKUPYoull know:Baseline: M/M - Q/Q - Y/YWhat channels are working? Quality control (record calls) Keyword tracking (what else can I use)
Your business thrives on phone calls, so track them and understand what your clients are experiencing:
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CALL RAIL FOR SOMETHING MORE SPECIFIC, SAY IF YOU HAVE A PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION ALREADY IN PLACE
IF YOU HAVE NOTHING IN PLACE FROM A PRACTICE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, ID POINT YOU TOWARDS AVVO IGNITE70
Dead Cow No-No #2:
POOR INTAKE TRAINING
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LAW OFFICES.
NO MATTER HOW AWESOME YOUR SITE IS, IF YOUR INTAKE SUCKS EVERYTHING LOSES72
http://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2016/02/benchmark-law-firm-intake-part-2/
Conrad Saam, our friend over at Mockingbird Marketing did a large study involving 70k phone calls and heres the major takeaways:
42% of the time, law firms take three or more days to reply to a voicemail or web-generated form fill from a prospective client.
----- Meeting Notes (4/5/16 16:50) -----
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http://www.lawtechnologytoday.org/2016/02/benchmark-law-firm-intake-part-2/
goo.gl/65H5O0ABA Benchmark Study on Law Firm Intake Process
Dead Cow No-No #3:
Looking / Sounding Like Everyone Else
Going back to my story of North Dakota and finding my Grandmonther?
Remember the first principle as it applies to building a solid website: know who you are and lead with that, no matter what.
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Justice is Served.
Some of you have probably used pictures like this on your site:
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Ill fight for you.
One Call Thats All
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35% more likely to contact when seeing real people
These types of stock photography, IN PLACE OF YOU, make you look boring, stereotypical and position you to be a total commodity. They can kill conversion:
MARKETING EXPERIMENTS A blog Ive followed for years:tested a real photo of their client against their top performing stock photo
Nearly 35% of visitors would be more likely to sign up when they saw the real deal. (http://conversionxl.com/stock-photography-vs-real-photos-cant-use/)
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PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE WEBSITE
COMMODITY
THE NIFTY PHILOSOPHY
ATTORNEYS ARE THE PRODUCTWHEN YOU USE FAKE PHOTOS YOU CHEAPEN THE PRODUCTTHERE ARE TONS OF ATTORNEYS WHO DO WHAT YOU DOLEADING WITH YOU, IS HOW YOU CAN STANDOUT84
Farhan was concerned that because of his ethnicity people may not like or want to work with him- so he always steered away from using his name or associating his face with the site.
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CONTINUITY
BETWEEN ALL MARKETING MATERIALS, LETTERHEAD, BILLBOARD, WEBSITE, RADIO, ETC
BUT WHEN YOU WALK IN HIS OFFICE, THE EXPERIENCE IS THE SAMESCENT SPECIALISTSTAINLESS SKULLS ON SCALESLEATHER FLOORS IN HIS OFFICEMODERN STYLE THROUGHOUT
IT FITS VEGAS86
Empathy.
Details.
Get a photog, lead with your face, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT, get a professional, stop it with the Canon handheld and bad lighting. Invest in yourself and stand out.
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But how do you know, know?
Dont let this guy get his way.
Loudest voice in the room gets their way?91
Speak, Data. Good Boy.
photofeeler.com
Usabilityhub.com
First impression 5 secondsQuestionsClick testNavigation testPreference test94
Post Launch
Visual Website Optimizer
Heat Map
A/B Testing
Dead Cow No-No #4:
Lack of Focus
Too often we can forget what purpose the home page and website serve
This also leads us to Dead Cow no-no #498
3-headed monster Another issue that will negatively affect your conversion rate is taking the 3-headed monster homepage out for a walk:
Peers (Fellow attorneys and/or judges)Your reputation, success, networking abilityPotential Clients (Those who dont know you)Your website!!!Current Clients (Those who do know you)Your customer service
Your homepage has to have a priority to it.99
Its important to remember that none of this information relates to how the website looks.
Practical info to quickly assess if a business meets their needs this is especially true in
criminal defense and personal injury.
Where time may be of the essence.
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LESS IMPORTANT not equal NOT IMPORTANT
This just simply means that in general this isnt the first things a local pot. Client is looking for
So how do you balance the needs of your home page? How do you create local content? 101
WHAT LOCAL CLIENTS WANT TO SEE TO HIRE YOU
YOU MAKE IT HARD IF YOU DONT HAVE BASICS102
Dead Cow NO-NO #5:
LACK OF LOCALIZATION
All of you can certainly write a very technical page on the website but this will most likely kill your conversion. From a general perspective follow these best practices:
Dont wiki'ize your top navigation contentkeep it simple but informative1000 words is bestLess than 500 better300 words = Not good enough Recommend checking the reading level and prioritize the content level according to the types of clients you want to attract
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Content Best Practices:Dont wiki'ize your top navigation contentkeep it simple but informative1000 words is bestLess than 500 better300 words = Not good enough Recommend checking the reading level and prioritize the content level according to the types of clients you want to attract
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TEST TEST TEST
In fact, thats what most business and academic writers still do: they get verbose and pack their work with buzzwords and heavy diction in order to appear trustworthy.
Turns out, thats counter-productive.
-Shane Snow, renowned author / designer
No one wants to read your wiki content or the bylaws - they want to understand how you can help them.
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But to help them you need to be where they are!
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From a strategy perspective too many websites are thinking about ranking for Texas Personal Injury Lawyer or California Criminal Defense LawyerThis content strategy is broken if you indeed want to rank in markets that are important to your practice. Let me introduce you to the most misunderstood animal in the animal kingdom:
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Im referring to GOogle Pigeon of course:In June 2014, Googles Pigeon rolled out to make 3 things very clear:Radius is smaller
SERPs are based on location of device
Traditional signals (LINKS/CONTENT)
TOO MANY FIRMS ARE OPTIMIZING FLORIDA ATTORNEY OR CALIFORNIA
PAINTS INTO CORNER
Pigeon is a learning algo and bases results on where the machine is located...so if you live in Sugarland (suburb) and search for Houston DUI attorney youll probably get a Houston page.however if you search for dui attorney...youll most likely get a Sugarland attorney page.too many attorneys do not understand this. This is why you cant put all the eggs in the State, Metro or Suburb basket.Radius for local maps results have shrunk.not to mention the number reduction of local results (from 7 to 3) more recently.Traditional signals like (Links and Content) are now part of this local algoAll of these things point towards attorneys/lawyers needing to understand local content and localizing their content:
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LOCAL CONTENT BEST PRACTICES
PREPARE YOUR NAV:
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PRIMARY LOCATION
Main Nav tab practice area needs to be Primary location focused, weve seen a bump in rankings when following this from 3rd to 2nd page and 2nd to 1st page:
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SUB MARKET CONTENT
What if you have multiple offices or markets of focus?
Recommend nesting in contact us area
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LINKS TO NJ LOCAL LANDING PAGES
Ability to navigate to practice areas for each location on local landing page
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LOCALIZED PRACTICE AREASPAGES
Practice areasx Local Markets = OODLES of Pages
If you want to rank in a town, suburb, or metro organically you have to produce content (AND LINKS)10 practice areas and 20 markets: 200 pieces of content, minimum
*this doesnt include other supporting practice area content and/or hyper local blogs
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PRIORITIZE: Focus on what matters most: where you have a physical location; dominate your own backyard first
Then branch out into other areas.
Consider ROI by doing quick keyword research; some pages will be easier to rank for and have less traffic potential; others opposite
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Boiling The Ocean
ROI GOES DOWN AND EFFECTS NEVER SEEN
HEREs HOW IT TRANSLATES INTO REAL LIFE118
Googles City Center For The Search Criminal Defense Attorney Houston
HOUSTON IN RED
HOUSTON CRIM DEF ATTORNEY IS SOOOOO SMALL119
RARENO ChanceNO ChanceROCK MEET HARD PLACEPossible
WORSE CASE SCENARIO AND HOW TO BEAT THE PIGEON120
Get Tactical.
Get tactical and pick your battles (THINK ROI)122
Ranks for BELLAIRE
NO CHANCE FOR LOCAL EVEN THOUGH CLOSE TO THE CITY CENTER 123
#5ORGANIC HOUSTON
Local Landing PageWIN
Dead Cow No-No #5:
IGNORE USER EXPERIENCE
Dead Cow No-NO #5: IGNORE USER EXPERIENCE
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As a sophomore I learned an important experience that Ive carried with me when I consult others on website conversion best practices. I attended a football camp at Boise State University. The first day was awesome. Someone reminded me to bring baby powder and I didnt and I paid dearly for the remaining 5 days. The heat was over 120% on the SMURF turf and that + football pants + running - caused some friction. I dont have a picture but this will suffice.
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Reduce Friction
Getting more out of your site is all about eliminating friction. Here are some takeaways from our study on some visual and quantitative aspects of conversion that will impact your sites conversion rate:16% of sites didnt have a click to call functionality Make this easier by creating clickable buttonsRun your site through Googles mobile friendly test18% HAD NO CTA? How is this possible?128
18% didnt have a call to action
DONT Forget about the client who may not be able to call!130
First off, consider achieving optimal conversion rate of your form by evaluating the number of form fields:11% USED CAPTCHA14% HAD TOO MANY FORMS FIELDS
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11% used CAPTCHA for spam
HONEY POT133
Design an awesome site that reflects you
Be you, avoid being the purple cow of awkwardness.
Create Local Content, implement ROI best practices, and track success.
Crush it in 2016
Thank you.134
Chad Henkel
Follow Me on Twitter @ChadHenkelVisit Niftylaw.com