Are Legal Directories a Good Investment?

New clients always ask me whether it makes sense to invest in legal directories. My answer to that is – “it depends.” (Sorry, I went to law school).

All kidding aside, the directories you should invest in are the ones that work for you. In order to determine that, you usually have to invest in various directories and track your return on investment (ROI). I’m going to look at one legal directory to show how you can track your ROI and determine where it makes sense to spend your money on them.

I’ve chosen Avvo based on its prominence in the search results for most legal terms.

N.B.: To accurately track your ROI, you should:

Use a tracking number on your paid directory listings, and

Consider installing CallRail on your website. CallRail allows you to track calls, including the referral source (for example, if someone finds you on Avvo, visits your website, then decides to call, you’ll know they were referred by Avvo if you use CallRail).

AVVO

Whether you like it or not, you probably already have an Avvo profile. Avvo ranks well for just about any attorney search throughout the U.S.

Once you claim your Avvo account, you can answer questions which can lead to potential clients contacting you. By upgrading your account to an Avvo pro account, you can take advantage of their advanced analytics.

Beyond an upgraded Avvo “Pro” account (which costs $50 per month), you can buy “blocks” that appear above the search results.

This screenshot is an example of the blocks you can purchase for the term “criminal lawyer” in Los Angeles, CA.

A single block consists of 100 impressions and costs anywhere between $30 – $50 (depending on the demand, practice type, region, etc.), and it requires a 3-month commitment. So let’s say you purchase 30 blocks at $50, meaning you’ll be spending $1,500 per month for 3 months = $4,500. We’ll visit this number again after explaining how to track Avvo leads.

The great thing about Avvo is that they provide clear analytics that allow you to see how many contacts result from your profile.

I. Look At Your Avvo Analytics

After you login, you will see a tab that says “Analytics”

II. Go To “Resulting Contacts”

Next, you’ll scroll down past the graph until you see the following:

III. Get a Detailed List of Contacts

Click on that number and and you’ll a detail list of the contacts you’ve gotten through Avvo.

As you can see, the contact list includes website visits and phone calls (with the person’s phone number).

IV. Setup a Call Spreadsheet for your Office

Before continuing, it’s important to setup an Excel sheet or shared Google Doc that allows your staff to write down the details of each incoming new call. That spreadsheet should include:

Name
Phone number
Date
Reason for call
Whether they scheduled an appointment
Did they retain your office?
How much they signed up for?

By doing this, you’ll be able to compare the call log from Avvo to your call log and determine the quality of those leads.

If you use CallRail, you can then see the calls that came to you from Avvo via your website to determine how many of those website visitors you’re converting into paying customers.

Is Avvo Worth the Money?

Let’s go back to our hypothetical. Assume you spend $1,500 per month. Now you can track your Avvo leads to determine if you made back your $1,500 in any given month. Obviously, the goal is to make significantly more than your investment.

After 3 months, subtract your total Avvo spend from the total revenue you generated through the Avvo generated leads. Now you’ll be able to make an educated decision on whether you should continue investing in Avvo.

What If People Don’t Call After Visiting My Website From Avvo?

If you see a lot of website visits from Avvo but get few phone calls, your website might be the problem. Familiarize yourself with conversion-driven design to ensure that your web visitors don’t leave without calling or emailing you.

Want More Info?

We specialize in lawyer marketing solutions that work. Attorneys always tell us, “I tried marketing, but my phone never rang.” We pride ourselves on marketing that gets your phone ringing. Call Inside Market Strategy today to find out how we can help you grow your business.

Are Legal Directories a Good Investment?