Best. Domain Name. Ever.
July 16, 2010 12:48 PM Subscribe
I'm in the market for a domain name for my law firm, and I'm looking for terms that will occur to the relevant demographic.
I'm a family lawyer (divorce, custody, adoption, some dependency and neglect). My specific niche is working with lower income families -- let's say from below the poverty line to 40K a year. I have a sliding scale for my fees based on income, and lower retainers than 90% of the competition. My clients may be super-internet-savvy, or may use a computer every once in a while at the library. They tend to skew younger, but that's more a function of income than anything.
If you were looking for me, what would you google?
I definitely have some search terms in mind, but I'm looking for other perspectives.
I'm a family lawyer (divorce, custody, adoption, some dependency and neglect). My specific niche is working with lower income families -- let's say from below the poverty line to 40K a year. I have a sliding scale for my fees based on income, and lower retainers than 90% of the competition. My clients may be super-internet-savvy, or may use a computer every once in a while at the library. They tend to skew younger, but that's more a function of income than anything.
If you were looking for me, what would you google?
I definitely have some search terms in mind, but I'm looking for other perspectives.
accessiblelaw.com
accessiblelegalservices.com
practicallaw.com
lawyersforall.com
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:57 PM on July 16, 2010
accessiblelegalservices.com
practicallaw.com
lawyersforall.com
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:57 PM on July 16, 2010
Best answer: A few tools from google you can use to narrow this down, Google Insights for Search, Google Adwords tool, and the Google Search based keyword Tool.
Insights for Search - trends in search terms as well as related searches.
Google Search based keyword tool and adwords tool - can use to see total volumes of searches and related searches. Additionally, I might try using a tool like compete or quantcast to see what terms people search for to get to competitors web sites.
posted by jourman2 at 1:00 PM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Insights for Search - trends in search terms as well as related searches.
Google Search based keyword tool and adwords tool - can use to see total volumes of searches and related searches. Additionally, I might try using a tool like compete or quantcast to see what terms people search for to get to competitors web sites.
posted by jourman2 at 1:00 PM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Funnily enough, I WAS coming in here to suggest cheapfamilylawyer.com. I agree it has negative connotations but I still think it will be one of the first searches lower income users might check.
posted by mreleganza at 1:01 PM on July 16, 2010
posted by mreleganza at 1:01 PM on July 16, 2010
Personally, I would view a domain name that was not the name of your business as somewhat less than professional.
posted by leahwrenn at 1:10 PM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by leahwrenn at 1:10 PM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Be careful - my mom was warned in her professionalism CLE that the bar might look down on non-name domain names (admittedly, in a conservative state - she was also told not to get anything more than a simple, no graphics yellow pages listing.)
And my household makes less than $40k and I would run screaming from cheapfamilylawyer.com.
posted by SMPA at 1:22 PM on July 16, 2010
And my household makes less than $40k and I would run screaming from cheapfamilylawyer.com.
posted by SMPA at 1:22 PM on July 16, 2010
I'm with djgh & leahwrenn. The name should be the name and the metadata should be the metadata
posted by cmdnc0 at 1:23 PM on July 16, 2010
posted by cmdnc0 at 1:23 PM on July 16, 2010
I think anything that looks like you're just trying to cram keywords into a URL will look cheap, in the same way that all those 'buycheapcanadianmedsonline'-type URLs do.
As others have said, your domain name should mirror the name of your business, and sound like a reputable law firm. Your particular niche is something to be explained in the content of your website and in other advertising materials.
The fact that people want cheap legal services doesn't mean they want them to look or feel cheap.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 1:40 PM on July 16, 2010 [3 favorites]
As others have said, your domain name should mirror the name of your business, and sound like a reputable law firm. Your particular niche is something to be explained in the content of your website and in other advertising materials.
The fact that people want cheap legal services doesn't mean they want them to look or feel cheap.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 1:40 PM on July 16, 2010 [3 favorites]
Best answer: You don't have to key your domain to search terms. At one time, the theory was that people will just type in domains at random, so guessable domains were important. People no longer do this, so your goal is to get search engines to map queries to your website, probably by buying adwords. I think the most important things to consider are:
* Brevity
* Clarity
* Identity
You want something that identifies your firm, is short enough that poor spellers will still have hope of reaching you, and will convey enough information to that people can identify you firm. What that means is BryantBryantBryantandBryant.com is out, but perhaps BryantLaw.com is in. Your domain may show up on your business card, on your email address, and on your advertising.
As far as SEO goes, your goal is to get people to link to your site, to mention keywords you care about while doing so, and to have content relevant to the material that people are interested in, even if it's only your contact info, where you practice, and the kinds of cases you take on.
posted by pwnguin at 1:41 PM on July 16, 2010
* Brevity
* Clarity
* Identity
You want something that identifies your firm, is short enough that poor spellers will still have hope of reaching you, and will convey enough information to that people can identify you firm. What that means is BryantBryantBryantandBryant.com is out, but perhaps BryantLaw.com is in. Your domain may show up on your business card, on your email address, and on your advertising.
As far as SEO goes, your goal is to get people to link to your site, to mention keywords you care about while doing so, and to have content relevant to the material that people are interested in, even if it's only your contact info, where you practice, and the kinds of cases you take on.
posted by pwnguin at 1:41 PM on July 16, 2010
If you were looking for me, what would you google?
I'd probably search for divorce lawyer denver and manually filter for rates.
As others said, though, keep the domain name classy. For the page title, I'd use something like Your Firm - Low Income Family Law in Denver, CO - Affordable Divorce, Custody, Adoption Law.
Aforementioned SEO is search engine optimization. There are lots of shady SEO specialists (not all of them), but a decent web designer will give you a 90% "optimized" site.
posted by domnit at 1:50 PM on July 16, 2010
I'd probably search for divorce lawyer denver and manually filter for rates.
As others said, though, keep the domain name classy. For the page title, I'd use something like Your Firm - Low Income Family Law in Denver, CO - Affordable Divorce, Custody, Adoption Law.
Aforementioned SEO is search engine optimization. There are lots of shady SEO specialists (not all of them), but a decent web designer will give you a 90% "optimized" site.
posted by domnit at 1:50 PM on July 16, 2010
Best answer: Do some further reading on SEO, as I am not an expert, but another strike on domains like cheaplawyer, etc. is that they don't do as well in SEO as you might assume. There was a theory that people would gravitate toward "intuitive" domains like this or that Google would bump them, but apart from yourcompanyname.com, which people sometimes try if they know to look for you and are just winging it, this hasn't proven to be the case. Or so I recall from some of the pundits I've read, and some of the comments above seem to confirm that.
So nthing the idea that you should probably just get a domain that makes sense for your business (like your name) and put your effort into SEO. I'd also think that lawyering is so regional that you really need to focus on localized SEO anyway.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:26 PM on July 16, 2010
So nthing the idea that you should probably just get a domain that makes sense for your business (like your name) and put your effort into SEO. I'd also think that lawyering is so regional that you really need to focus on localized SEO anyway.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:26 PM on July 16, 2010
Best answer: I don't know that this is going on yet, but as SMPA warns, it's only a matter of time before domain names are treated like advertisements or firm names for ethics purposes, so be weary of bestfamilylawyerindenver.com, but I also agree with others: get your firm name as your URL, and get a lot of good, relevant content on your site to get the targeted info.
You don't want people saying "Oh, go to cheapfamilylawyer.com!" you want people saying "Freshwater P.C. handled my divorce, you should look them up."
For example, if you want to do well on searches for divorce and custody lawyers, you might consider having a page like freshwaterpc.com/divorce-law/ that describes the basics of the kinds of cases you handle and maybe provides a bit of legal information. If you position the page as one on information about divorces in denver rather than a giant advertisement for your services you'll be on the right track. The point is not to be spammy, but to provide legitimate information on the page that might be useful in and of itself so that search engines will see it as relevant for those terms.
Those pages would, obviously, be adequately disclaimed and encourage potential clients to contact you for a consultation.
posted by toomuchpete at 2:33 PM on July 16, 2010
You don't want people saying "Oh, go to cheapfamilylawyer.com!" you want people saying "Freshwater P.C. handled my divorce, you should look them up."
For example, if you want to do well on searches for divorce and custody lawyers, you might consider having a page like freshwaterpc.com/divorce-law/ that describes the basics of the kinds of cases you handle and maybe provides a bit of legal information. If you position the page as one on information about divorces in denver rather than a giant advertisement for your services you'll be on the right track. The point is not to be spammy, but to provide legitimate information on the page that might be useful in and of itself so that search engines will see it as relevant for those terms.
Those pages would, obviously, be adequately disclaimed and encourage potential clients to contact you for a consultation.
posted by toomuchpete at 2:33 PM on July 16, 2010
I would think it would be a good idea to scoop up a couple domain names and have the ones that are not your firm name redirect to the one that is.
posted by wayland at 4:01 PM on July 16, 2010
posted by wayland at 4:01 PM on July 16, 2010
Well, if you're Freshwater and Associates, how about:
freshwaterfamilylaw.com
I'd keep it simple. You can always do secondary marketing sites with other domain names, but you want your primary domain (where you get email, and have printed on your cards) to be dignified and understated.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:12 PM on July 16, 2010
freshwaterfamilylaw.com
I'd keep it simple. You can always do secondary marketing sites with other domain names, but you want your primary domain (where you get email, and have printed on your cards) to be dignified and understated.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:12 PM on July 16, 2010
Echoing some of the comments above, it's the meta tags, cross-site links, advertising, etc, that will help people find your site more than the domain name. The name should focus on being pleasant sounding or at least easy to remember.
Surprisingly, www.simplejustice.com appears free.
As an aside, if you are a Simpsons fan you might be pleased to know that www.lawtalkingguy.com also looks available.
posted by esome at 9:28 PM on July 16, 2010
Surprisingly, www.simplejustice.com appears free.
As an aside, if you are a Simpsons fan you might be pleased to know that www.lawtalkingguy.com also looks available.
posted by esome at 9:28 PM on July 16, 2010
Best answer: There is some SEO advantage to be gained from hosting a keyword domain which is an "exact match" for a single target keyword. However, the benefit is largely limited to that single exact key phrase - even slight variations receive much less of a boost.
However any keyword domain available to register in the legal sector would probably have such low search volume as to not compensate for the negative branding connotations mentioned above.
Certainly I would be very wary of a legal firm with a keyword stuffed domain.
posted by hiho at 4:59 AM on July 17, 2010
However any keyword domain available to register in the legal sector would probably have such low search volume as to not compensate for the negative branding connotations mentioned above.
Certainly I would be very wary of a legal firm with a keyword stuffed domain.
posted by hiho at 4:59 AM on July 17, 2010
wayland: "I would think it would be a good idea to scoop up a couple domain names and have the ones that are not your firm name redirect to the one that is."
Yes.
Also, depending on the length of your firm's name, you may want to have one version that has the long name (i.e. smithjonesconnorstephens.com) and another that has something shorter (i.e. smithjones.com or sjcslaw.com) that would be easier to give out on the phone or fit into small ad spaces.
posted by radioamy at 10:07 AM on July 17, 2010
Yes.
Also, depending on the length of your firm's name, you may want to have one version that has the long name (i.e. smithjonesconnorstephens.com) and another that has something shorter (i.e. smithjones.com or sjcslaw.com) that would be easier to give out on the phone or fit into small ad spaces.
posted by radioamy at 10:07 AM on July 17, 2010
I run a Web Design & Dev. firm, my 2 cents:
If you are targeting a certain area. Ex: NY it can be NY"name of law firm" or rather NY"Name of service you specialize in" in as short as possible.
If it were one of the areas within NY, you can better target it.
Rather than just "JohnSmithLaw" or "Bankruptcy..."
Also, you can get multiple domain names and have them point to the same website!
1, 2, 3, 40 domain names all to 1 website.
Hope this helps.
Good luck!
posted by livin4u at 9:07 AM on July 19, 2010
If you are targeting a certain area. Ex: NY it can be NY"name of law firm" or rather NY"Name of service you specialize in" in as short as possible.
If it were one of the areas within NY, you can better target it.
Rather than just "JohnSmithLaw" or "Bankruptcy..."
Also, you can get multiple domain names and have them point to the same website!
1, 2, 3, 40 domain names all to 1 website.
Hope this helps.
Good luck!
posted by livin4u at 9:07 AM on July 19, 2010
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Nothing screams "shady" to me like www.cheapdivorcelawyer.com
posted by djgh at 12:53 PM on July 16, 2010 [5 favorites]