Attorney Marketing News

Archive for the ‘Cool Attorney Websites’ Category

I did not write the article I am about to give you a link to — and by posting a link to this article does not mean I necessarily agree with everything the writer has to say.

But there are a lot a good reasons to check out some of the “what not to do’s” cited by Soren Bowie in his article, “5 Creepiest Defense Attorney Websites.”

I study websites – especially attorney websites.  And in all my years of studying attorney websites I have never seen one that offered games.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Games.

Massachusetts real estate law and bankruptcy attorney David Lima, features in his top navigation an option for “Fun and Games.”

I like fun and I like games.  So, as I am sure many visitors do, I clicked on “Fun and Games.”  Here’s what was delivered:

You can learn about the Law Offices of David W. Lima, Bankruptcy Law, Real state Closings, Massachusetts Real Estate Law and Landlord Tenant Law by playing Lima Law Jeopardy.

I like Jeopardy.  I like educational stuff.  I like law.  (But mostly, I just like to win.) So of course I had to play.

How Effective is David Lima’s Jeopardy twist?

Well, I must say that I bet people who visit his site talk about it from time to time.  I am giving him free PR – just for merely having it on his website.  But here is my professional marketer’s take on David Lima’s “Fun and Games.”  Clever.  Fresh.  Brilliant — with good marketing potential (for certain types of law – I do not see this working as well on criminal defense websites or for personal injury lawyers.) And, it actually fits right in with the tone of the rest of the site (which offers lawyer jokes, too.)

But here is where his web designer made some serious marketing mistakes in its presentation:

• When you click on Jeopardy (and who wouldn’t?) you are taken away from Mr. Lima’s website.  This means he looses all Google brownie points for traffic hits.
• The longer I played Lima Jeopardy the more I forgot about why I even came to his website in the first place.
• There is no option in Lima Jeopardy to go back to Mr. Lima’s websites, nor to learn more about his services.

In other words, although clever and engaging, it invites visitors away from what they are really there to do — hire an attorney.

So, Mr. Lima, here is my recommendation on how to make a cool thing work better for you:  change the link to Lima Jeopardy to open in a new window, or, (I cannot believe I am saying this … because frames are generally a really bad idea but in this case sort of makes the most sense) have the link open in a frame in your own website so people can still see your navigation and contact information.

For $100 the answer is:  Conversion into clients.

The Question:  The thing that matters most in attorney website development is…