lmatech2013: results of the of 2012-2013 amlaw 100 websites foundational best practices survey
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2013 Legal Marketing Technology Conference
2013 Websites: Ten Foundational Best
Practices 10 29 13
Deborah McMurray
CEO and Strategy Architect – Content Pilot LLC
1
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
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
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
Foundational Best Practice #1
AmLaw 100 Average: 72.6 – Barely Good
Wsgr.com – 1 of 7 to Score 100
7 firms scored 100 on Communicating your Message
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
Foundational Best Practice #2
AmLaw 100 Average: 77 – Good
Goodwinprocter.com – Winner for FBP 2
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
Foundational Best Practice #3
AmLaw 100 Average: 70.9 – Fair
Kramerlevin.com - #1 in Navigation
Foundational Best Practice #4
Lawyer Bios1. First 150 characters of the bio are current, compelling and relevant for
SEO benefit – 772. Overview paragraph – first 2-3 sentences are descriptive of the work
the lawyer does and the types of clients the lawyer represents – 843. Bio does not use Mr. or Ms. Lastname throughout – it uses the lawyer’s
first or nickname – 354. Current photos that convey personality – 875. Full contact info is easy to find and links to v-card – 996. Bio includes links to social media profiles and pages – 327. Bios list and crosslink to practices/ industries, articles/ news/ events -
848. Bios include detailed experience and matter lists – 749. 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
Foundational Best Practice #4
AmLaw 100 Average: 75.3 - Good
Jonesday.com Bio Scored 100
Foundational Best Practice #5
Content (Other than Bios)1. Visitor-focused has consistent language use and is specific - 772. Content is organized intuitively, by services and expertise clients buy, not
how the firm is organized - 633. Practices and industries are broken out separately. Geographic regions is a
bonus option - 584. Descriptions include experience specifics, including client names or
descriptions of clients - 685. Video and multimedia content is available, and is relevant and current - 376. News/press pages are current and written for maximum PR benefit - 787. Publications / articles / events are well organized and are easily sorted by
topic and author / speaker - 758. Site has a statement of core values - 559. Site illustrates firm’s commitment to diversity - 9510. Charitable and civic commitment is described and evident - 8111. Pro bono commitment is described in detail, highlighting stories and specific
matters - 91
Foundational Best Practice #5
AmLaw 100 Average: 70.6 – Fair
Sutherland.com “Magazine Style” InfoGraphics
Foundational Best Practice #6
Interactivity and Social Outreach1. 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
Foundational Best Practice #6
AmLaw 100 Average: 52 – Barely Fair
Barnesthornburg.com – Scored 100
Foundational Best Practice #7
Site Search1. 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
Foundational Best Practice #7
AmLaw 100 Average: 49.2 – Poor
Cozen.com – Top Scorer in Search
Foundational Best Practice #8
Site Optimization and Online Awareness1. 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
Foundational Best Practice #8
AmLaw 100 Average: 54.5 – Fair
Mofo.com – Ranked “Good” in SEO
Foundational Best Practice #9
Mobility
1. Does the firm have a true mobile site? – 34.5
Foundational Best Practice #9
AmLaw 100 Average: 34.5 – Poor
Quinnemanuel.com – Mobile Scored 100
Foundational Best Practice #10
Site “Hygiene” and Usability1. 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
Foundational Best Practice #10
AmLaw 100 Average: 73.7 – Good
Wilsonelser.com – 1 of 5 to Score 100
2013 AmLaw 100 Totals
Based on 99 AmLaw 100 firms
2013 Top 25 Firms
2010 AmLaw 100 Totals
Thank you!
Deborah McMurray
Content Pilot LLC
mcmurray@contentpilot.net
214.351.9690
Law Firm 4.0 Blog
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