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Weave a Web site that attracts clients: create an effective Internet presence with high-quality content that draws in clients without draining your budget.

Article Excerpt
You have to spend money to make money. The more you spend, the more you make.

This old adage is usually correct. But when it comes to using the Internet to attract new clients, it's the content on your Web site--and not always how much you spend--that can make the biggest difference.

In today's electronic world, people turn first to the Internet for information, so there is really no excuse for a law firm not to have a Web site. Law firms must include the Web as a key component of their marketing strategy if they want to remain competitive and grow.

More and more people go online not only for e-mail, but also to shop, to stay informed--and, yes, to find a lawyer. Statistics gleaned from studies of American adults' Internet use show that

* 68 percent (about 137 million people) use the Internet.

* 65 percent of legal services buyers have gone online to locate a law firm.

* 38 percent search online for legal services at least weekly.

* 89 percent use search engines to find law firm Web sites.

* 86 percent go directly to a law firm's site.

* 71 percent enter law firm Web sites through portals such as FindLaw and Martindale-Hubbell. (1)

That's a lot of people using their computers instead of letting their fingers do the walking. Yet, a large percentage of sole practitioners and small firm attorneys continue to ignore the Internet.

The American Bar Association recently reported that its survey of Web and technology trends in law firms showed that roughly three-quarters of all firms surveyed had Web sites. Surprisingly, the report notes that "solos and small firms are the least likely to have Web sites, at 40 percent and 65 percent respectively," with all other firm sizes over 90 percent. (2)

There are many reasons law firms don't have Web sites. Often, the lawyers just haven't bothered or they are "too busy" to look into what's involved in setting one up. Another common excuse is that having a Web site is expensive and that marketing the site will cost even more.

But Internet marketing costs as little--or as much--as you want to spend. With other advertising methods, if you spend nothing you get nothing in return, but an effectively designed Web site can attract clients without additional marketing costs.

On the Internet, how much you spend to market your Web site does not necessarily correlate with how many new clients you attract. How well your site is designed and how well it conveys your intended message matter just as much--probably more.

If you don't believe me, go to www.webpagesthatsuck.com and peruse some of the examples of horrible Web sites. Would you hire a lawyer whose site looked like any of the ones featured there?

Go to Google or Yahoo!, enter a phrase such as "car accident lawyer" or "construction accident attorney" in the search window, and...

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