Goal of online marketing is not to get people to law firm’s website

Guy Alvarez of Good2bSocial, a leading digital marketing agency for law firms, has a nice piece on the analytics used to measure web marketing.

One statement by Guy sticks in my craw though, that being “…the main goal of online marketing is to get people back to your law firm’s web site.”

The obvious goal is revenue, and I’m sure Guy agrees with this.

If the law firm puts money into online marketing, how much will it increase revenue. Anything spent should be measured the same way the law firm’s accountant or CFO measures success. An increase in revenue for the firm, a practice group or an individual lawyer.

The path to increased revenues for many lawyers and firms is not through an increase in traffic to their websites though.

The vast majority of lawyers I talk with get their work through relationships and a strong word of mouth reputation. A website, for them, is a nice way for people who found them otherwise to look at their background and that of their firm, but traffic to the website is not a revenue generator for them.

In the case of larger law firms, it’s probably seven or eight percent of the firm’s lawyers originating the vast magority of the firm’s revenue. Again for them, the website is important, but it’s not how they maintain and grow revenue. It’s relationships and word of mouth reputations.

Law firms should not change things up when it comes to online marketing. Word of mouth reputation and relationships remain the key.

So when doing online marketing, the goal should be building, nurturing and accelerating relationships and reputations. Assuming you’ve been successful in doing so, then look to increased revenues as the measure of success.