This discussion in my Website Options for Law Firms series will take a look at Findlaw as a provider. I’ve previously reviewed the services offered by other large companies that hold themselves out as specializing in law firm marketing. These discussions included a review of Scorpion Web Design as well as a review of Justia. Let’s take a look at Findlaw.
My experience in evaluating Findlaw as a website option for law firms
Attorneys are very familiar with Findlaw. The company is currently owned by Thomson Reuters after having been originally founded in 1995. The company offers a variety of legal marketing products which include website services, online legal directories for attorneys that are divided by practice area and geography, as well as other products. The company is now also offering assistance to attorneys with non-web based forms of advertising. My review is going to focus exclusively on the website services as that is the focus of this series.
I will start off by saying that my experience reviewing Findlaw was a night and day difference from when I reviewed Scorpion Web Design, LexisNexis, or Justia. The lack of cooperation from each of those entities made me feel as if I must have been inquiring about top level government defense secrets. In reviewing Findlaw, I was able to speak with multiple representatives who were very helpful in answering my questions. After getting quite a bit of feedback, and running a series of tests, I feel comfortable discussing the service.
Evaluating Findlaw as a website platform for lawyers and law firms
As with all other posts in this series, I’m evaluating Findlaw in the areas of cost, SEO potential, ease of use, and how well the company seems to be keeping up with the changing web environment.
Analyzing the cost of Findlaw websites
Findlaw offers levels of pricing for attorney websites which are based on the number of pages the site contains. The more pages on the site then the higher the site’s price will be. This structure was described as ranging from $250 to being in the thousands per month. The company does offer discounts if you buy additional products, such as directory listings, but doing so will still increase your overall monthly cost.
Findlaw sites, based on my research, are certainly on the “pricey” side of the options we’ve looked at. Also, I’ve conversed with multiple attorneys while preparing this review which take issue with the fact that the company requires a contract that is typically 2-3 years. So using Findlaw does mean locking one’s self into a long-term commitment at the higher end of a price range. A good thing is that Findlaw has a uniform pricing structure for their websites across the country. This is in contrast to Scorpion Web Design who appears to charge a different price, for the same level of work, depending on an attorney’s geography.
On the cost front, expect Findlaw to be as expensive, and probably more expensive, than other options you may be considering.
Analyzing the SEO potential of Findlaw Websites
I analyzed multiple sites featured on Findlaw’s website gallery page. I also conducted a series of Google searches in the home markets of these sites (which were smaller markets) along with similar searches of larger markets. I was concerned about red flags raised from an SEO perspective.
Each of the sites I tested scored poorly in terms of their page speed loading score, which I tested through tools provided by Google (who is the Judge and Jury after all). These low scores mean that Google sees these sites as potentially loading slowly, which detracts from the user experience. This is a big one in terms of SEO.
Other issues were found with the websites I analyzed. Some had incorrectly formatted page titles and Meta descriptions while others did not have problems in this area. Also, one site used Flash even though Flash is quickly falling out of favor with search engines.
Findlaw employs content writers for each of their sites. The content (which is crucial to how your site performs in search) is written with the input of the attorney receiving the site. The content I reviewed on the various websites did contain a level of personalization but was not as personalized to each lawyer as I would have liked. It was more personalized however, than the content I reviewed on websites by Scorpion Web Design.
I performed a number of Google searches for sites that were located on Findlaw’s gallery page. These sites did well in search for the particular niches. That being said, these sites were markets with smaller populations. For a more comprehensive test I also performed the same searches in two larger markets. Some of these searches yielded one Findlaw site in first page results while some of these searches yielded none.
In terms of the services I’ve reviewed in this series I would say Findlaw wins on the SEO front. That being said, if you are in a market/niche that is competitive you are in all likelihood going to have a hard time competing if you are using their cheaper products. Given that the technological issues I described above were not consistent across sites, I would also suggest you take steps to ensure that the described technical problems do not exist on your Findlaw site.
Evaluating a Findlaw website’s ease of use
Given that Findlaw is an all encompassing service, and not a do-it-yourself platform, I evaluated ease of use by looking at how painless it is to have a site constructed within a reasonable amount of time as well as the level of ongoing support received.
The company provides far more support than the other options I’ve looked at. The process of having a site constructed appears to be relatively painless. Also, there are roughly 150 Findlaw representatives working in different parts of the US and a point is made by these representatives to try to visit with the attorney on a semi-regular basis. This should provide an attorney an additional avenue to address concerns.
Given that support from options such as Scorpion and Justia appears to be lacking, Findlaw would have to get the nod, over those options, in terms of ease of use/support.
Analyzing whether Findlaw’s websites are well-suited to the changing web environment
The web is changing in rapid fashion. Firms whom we assist with our attorney website and design packages are currently seeing roughly forty percent of their traffic coming from mobile devices. Given that the rapid rate of change, an attorney wanting long-term success must pick a developer who is adapting to this changing environment.
Findlaw’s sites utilized a responsive design, which is the correct approach to mobile. This is different than the sites of Scorpion Web Design, which utilized an incorrect “.m” approach to mobile. Findlaw’s sites are better suited for the changing web environment than other options in this series.
My conclusions as to whether attorneys should use Findlaw for their online marketing
Findlaw is the better option for lawyers than the other non-DIY options I’ve reviewed. The biggest drawback to this company is cost, as it is the most expensive if you wish to be competitive.
As with all options in this series, I did not include a comparison of the services offered by our company, SEO for Lawyers. The problems with doing so, from an objectivity standpoint, are obvious. It is also important to note that I am analyzing Findlaw in relation to the other options, analyzed in this series, which cater explicitly to attorneys. Just because a company explicitly holds itself out as marketing exclusively to law firms does not mean that said service is the best option for a law firm.
The next post in this series will look at “other options” available to lawyers who wish to establish a web presence.
After the Google Panda/Penguine update, I would be cautious about any SEO company that sells links. The question is how does this company get away with duplicated contents, spun articles and article automation? How long will these techniques work until Google catches up?
Thanks for the feedback. I wouldn’t count on links from the Findlaw directory to give an SEO boost. These links don’t hurt a site in search, but Google stopped seeing them as an SEO positive some time ago. On the articles, etc., I’m assuming you’re talking about the ones that appear on Findlaw.com? If so I recently did a video addressing the topic; attorneys concerned about competing against the Findlaw directory (or similar directories for that matter) don’t have much to be concerned about in my opinion. I think the “dominance” of such directories in search is more fiction than fact. Here’s a link to the video I did on the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbbuL8XQRno&feature=share&list=UUt2rsbtdxJ0HhsEg0V0N_tA
Great post, Luke. It was nice to read that FindLaw is the better option for lawyers than the other non-DIY options you have reviewed.
Thanks for the input Keith. Always appreciated.
I worked for FindLaw in the past.
Much of the content is spun content, especially blogs. Not every blog post has attorney input.
Thanks for sharing Lucas. When you say “spun” are you referring to summaries of news articles, etc.?
DO NOT USE FINDLAW!
I recently purchased a marketing package through Findlaw and could not be more disappointed with the product, the support personnel, or the sales personnel.
From the very beginning their sales personnel made a great many claims about statistics, and the reliability of the product and the services they can provide. Two months after signing with them, it turns out that just about every statistical and factual claim she made about the performance of my listing was completely false. Aside from a fraudulent sales pitch, not only is the program itself faulty, but the number of potential client hits is much lower than I had been told before signing on.
Findlaw’s product does not work. Part of the marketing package I purchased was a “premium listing.” Findlaw uses their own phone number for your profile, which is then supposed to be forwarded to your office line so Findlaw can track client leads. However, only about 50% of the calls to the number they list actually connects to my firm line, so I am missing out on the very leads they are charging me substantially for. My account manager has chosen to ignore this issue whenever I bring it up. But, they have a tracking system so you can see how much the program is not working for you and how much potential business you are losing.
Despite the errors in the program, Findlaw’s support and IT staff are not responsive to inquiries. Expect weeks of time and to have to make multiple attempts at contact before receiving any response at all.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Ian. Hopefully the rep from Findlaw will join the discussion.
I have a general policy to never sign multi-month contracts for marketing services. The main problem is not knowing whether it will work, and once you sign, the company has no motivation to improve itself.
Unfortunately, I signed a year long contract with Findlaw for its premium services. I have had one call because of them. And the person wasn’t actually expecting to have to pay for an attorney to use an attorney.
I would recommend AGAINST Findlaw. I have found other services which agreed to a
“trial period” in which time I could cancel if it didn’t work for them.
Also, for criminal defense, most of the clients and people I spoke to do NOT look on any one specific site. They use google, bing, etc.
Thanks for sharing your experience Asher. I would say that a subscription model can be a good thing as long as one is getting something with the service. An example would be that the site receives regular updates to ensure it is continually providing what Google sees as a good user experience. The recent requirement that sites use SSL being one example of this. So I would say that, IMHO, not all subscription models are bad.
I am advertising with find law for many years and I’m very happy with service
Thanks Greg,
What level of service do you currently have with Findlaw?
we are in their directory and also build a website for us
I used this service and they did not provide one item they promised me. DO NOT use this service as they never provide you with what they promised
I am not a bug fan of Findlaw or any other of the large companies in this space. They take you money, but their slow to respond, the content is basically template driven ( which google can detect ) and they are expensive.
Just my 2 cents..
Jeff Goldstein
Thanks for sharing Jeff. Do you use Findlaw for your web presence or have you gone in a different direction?
I have gone in a very different direction. I am not a believe in a one size fits all type of vendor.
-Jeff
Findlaw’s sales representatives made general representations about the number of hits and inquiries that typically resulted from a Premium Listing. They indicated that other subscribers were pleased with the Premium Listing and had seen a return on their investment. After three months I have had no legitimate leads from my subscription but have only received spam emails. I received one phone call from an individual who was seeking free legal representation. The service is not worth the money. The sales representatives were misleading. Save your money. Avoid Findlaw.
Curious how this compares to AVVO’s web design services? Is there an article on this topic already?
Thanks KT. I’ll be doing another website review series in January. Are there any options you would like to see discussed along with AVVO?
How about a similar article reviewing Foster Web Marketing, who also caters to lawyer websites?
Thanks for the input ST. We’re going to do a 2015 version of this review series in January of ’15. I just added Foster to the list of companies to be reviewed.
I wish this article and the comments were available a few months ago and before I agreed to work with FindLaw. I have had nothing but disappointment and frustration with their service. My first complaint was with the time for the production of the site. I have a year contract and the first six weeks was spent in developing the site. After the site was up for three months and replaced my DIY site, I compared the analytics from my old site to the new FindLaw site and discovered the number of page views and site interaction was down significantly. Their solution was to revise some of the content and layout of the site. I am now in the process of a third revision to the site, which had taken another six weeks. Despite paying massive amounts of money for the site each month, no one can explain to me why the “experts” at FindLaw have had to revise the site three times in less than a year. I will never work with them again and consider the decision to sign up with them the biggest mistake of my career. (And I shall now step down from the soapbox.)
Thanks LK. Mind if I ask what type of DIY option you were using and what types of changes they’ve had to make re: the content and site layout?
Before FindLaw, I basically built my own website starting with a free template. I know enough coding to be able to manipulate the template and build it myself. So it was me, Dreamweaver, and helpful tips from blogs like this.
After my complaints, FindLaw made some minor changes to move a “call to action” further up on the page so that more people would contact me. I noticed no difference in the number of people that actually contacted me as a result of this change. The third version of the site is supposed to shorten the content to 250-400 words; update meta descriptions; and add headlines and point points to improve “scannability.” Despite the third version being in development for a month, I have yet to see what these changes will actually look like.
Thanks LK. How long is your content currently and, if I may ask, what’s the rationale for shortening it? Is it the scannability issue you mentioned? Please let us know how things go once the new design launches.
Several months later, I thought I’d update my prior post about FindLaw and my poor experience.
Luke, to answer your question, the reason for shortening the website was to increase scannability of the page – essentially, making it more user friendly and not so dense to read. The updates had little to no impact on the site.
FindLaw did drive potential customers to my office – usually by way of phone calls. My phone rang more when I was listed high on their directory. I have no reason to believe their management of my website had anything to do with people contacting me because the website interaction was always lower with FindLaw.
I celebrated the day my contract with FindLaw expired. I know it has worked for some attorneys. It was a complete waste of time and money for me. As previously noted, the cost of FindLaw is the biggest drawback. For me and my practice, it was a wash. The cases that FindLaw generated maybe paid for FindLaw over the course of the year.
Hi Luke, just came across this review. As we’re coming up on a year’s time from posting, I thought I’d inquire as to whether you have noticed any changes at FindLaw?
I reviewed them a ways back and have been contemplating an update.
Perhaps we could share notes?
One of the things that concerned me most were the issues about ownership. Wondering if you know whether they’ve updated this policy?
Anyway, kudos for getting the word out. Curious what thoughts others have on whether FindLaw has changed practices/approach/etc.
I looked at several Find Law websites and was not impressed. Most were plain, generic and poorly written.
We did buy a (12) month subscription to a Find Law Premium Profile, with (2) spotlights (1) PI & (1) Car Crash, which the sales peron said “its a work horse”.
The attorney had to fight tooth and nail with the Find Law writers, so the summery for the profile were decently written, and not the garbage Find Law’s writters sent.
As far as the phone number to track the calls go, we were skeptical of it and decided to do away with that number that Find Law provided.
The attorney’s spot lights hardly received any PlI leads, but that is a very competive market.
The majority of leads were for SSDI/SSI cases & Divorce, etc..
I am still trying to figure that one out.
I suspect that we had two maybe three cases from our Find Law Premium Profile & Spotlights. No MVAs, (1) PI & (1) product failure case.
I did better creating a google business listing, a yellowpage listing and a Facebook business page.
We will probably keep the primium profile and get rid of the spotlights, or change to a different field.
We have had good luck with the customer service, but the sales people are pretty shady.
I wish you well if you choose to do business with Find Law.
PS
They will negotiate, their first offer is not finale, we have gotten them to move quite a bit.
I had used Findlaw and am now looking around. The website took time but that was in part my doing. It does look professional, the mobile app works well. Generally it didn’t seem to bring me cases but people used it as a validator. Problem was when I got add on services, bill mushroomed and I’d be very leery of doing anything more than basics. Summary–not bad, but not great. Service staff were polite, competent, though seemed to have high turnover.