Legal Writing

The Coefficient of Popularity

Some things can be measured, and some can’t. When it comes to law firm marketing activities and their costs, ROI can be measured in some cases, but not in others.

At least, that’s my opinion of it.

Years ago, when I was writing direct mail pieces, I measured response, and it made sense: there was a direct correlation between the quantity and the quality of what I mailed, and how many responded.

But now I’m pitching services, and there’s no practical way to measure the value I add in most of what I do. And that makes my job (of selling services, not of providing them) more difficult.

I can’t tell a firm that if I get $15,000 to revise the copy for the firm’s web site, then the firm can expect $150,000 in new business in a year. There is a correlation (at least, that’s what I believe) between that copy and the firm’s business, and it’s direct, but its coefficient is indeterminate. That, plus it’s just part of a much larger effort.

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Still, we may as well take certain measurements of progress, and the very end of the year is as good a time as any.

Here’s what you do: review the activity logs for your firm’s web site. Does the site get more traffic now than last year? Less?

Review the site’s News or Events section. Does the next upcoming event occur three months ago? Is the latest news nearly a year old?

Then look at the site’s error logs. Has the site been generating hundreds of errors a day, or just a few?

And ask Whois for the site’s stats:

1. Enter the URL for the site in the Whois Lookup field, and hit return.
2. When the Whois Record appears, click the Site Profile tab.
3. Scroll down to see the site’s Alexa rank.
4. Note the number of visitors the site gets per month.
5. Compare that to some other sites, like the sites of other law firms.
6. Click the Complete Rank number (#488,216 in the image below), and look at the site’s rank over time.

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Now, if you’re selling legal services and you want prospective clients to notice, then the more popular your site is, the better off you are.

And the better the site (including the copy, the graphics, the usability, and so many other aspects of it), the more popular it will become.

I can’t put a number on it, but I’m sure there’s a correlation.

Full post as published by Set in Style on December 29, 2009 (boomark / email).