Attorney Tips: How to Measure Your Online Presence

A thorough web search is often the first step a client takes when considering whether or not to hire an attorney, so it’s important to know and optimize what they’re seeing.
This is why a healthy online presence is so paramount to the success of an attorney or law firm’s practice in an age where the bulk of business is performed online. The COVID pandemic only served to accelerate the rate at which brick-and-mortar industries have been branching out to offer entirely remote services and methods of communication. It’s important for attorneys to take a dedicated moment to consider their online presence, and decide whether or not it needs some adjusting.

Evaluating your own online presence might sound daunting, but there are actually a few simple steps you can take to get an idea of how you and your practice are measuring up online. Many attorneys might find that their online or web presence is weaker than they anticipated, but there are a few simple ways to start improving it.

Steps to measure your online presence as an attorney or law firm include the following:

• Google yourself: The first step to evaluating your online presence is as simple as typing your name into the search bar. If nothing comes up at all, this could be a sign that you have a weak online presence and need to work on increasing your web visibility. In some cases, the information which might come up could include outdated or embarrassing social media posts from years before; remember, if you can Google yourself, so can a client. If anything comes up in your Google search that you might not want to be included in a client’s first impression, take action to remove that content and replace it with more relevant information regarding your professional career.
• Google your law firm: Similar to evaluating your personal web presence, it’s important to evaluate that of your firm. When you search for a specific type of law firm in your area, does your firm show up? If not, how far do you have to click through the pages to find it? It’s also important to consider your firm’s social media and news presence. Does your firm’s Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account show up? Do any articles show up written about attorneys in your firm, or cases your firm has handled? If not, this could be a sign that your firm needs to make a focused effort to increase its online presence.
• Check out your social media: It’s important to consider both your personal social media visibility as well as your law firm’s. Some parts of an attorney’s social media may be visible even to people outside of their friends list or followers. It’s important to consider what you post on social media and remember that your profile might be the first thing a client sees. Out-of-date, embarrassing, or inappropriate content is best removed or hidden so that only approved friends can see it. It’s also important to consider your law firm’s social media presence; does it have one? If not, it needs one. If your firm does have a social media presence, is it well-kept? It’s important for a law firm’s social media accounts to include regularly scheduled content that is both professional and relevant to the industry. If the last post on your firm’s social media page is a month old or more, this could be a sign that it is not contributing to the firm’s online presence.
• Compare your website: What kind of first impression does your website make? Many clients will look first to a law firm’s website to decide whether or not they want to reach out to an attorney there or elsewhere. It’s important to compare your firm’s website with others in the field, just as a potential client is likely to do. When you first open up your firm’s website, what’s your first impression? Does it look modern, tidy, and professional, or does it leave something to be desired? What about your personal bio? Does it give clients an idea of what practice areas you work in, what your specialties are, and your level of proficiency in the field?
• Consider mobile optimization: Mobile optimization is an easy thing to forget about, but it’s important to remember that people do a good deal of their web searching from a mobile device. An easy way to check how well your online presence is optimized for mobile devices is to simply conduct the same tests above from a smartphone and/or tablet. If the format is difficult to read or interact with on a mobile device, your web presence lacks mobile optimization and could probably use a makeover.

To learn more about the importance of an online presence for attorneys and law firms, or for help building a stronger one, reach out to a legal marketing expert.