If you practice two or more widely divergent areas of law, such as a law practice consisting of criminal law and estate planning, you may want to think about the benefits of marketing the two or more distinct practice areas in separate, stand alone Web sites. This article discusses the pros and cons of doing this.
Advantages
One of the greatest advantages of separate Web sites is it gives law firms an opportunity to present themselves as focusing on a particular area of law. Potential clients have more confidence in, and are more likely to hire specialists over generalists. And if one of your practice areas is highly competitive, for example personal injury law, positioning yourself in a separate Web site as a law firm that focuses on product liability will help with client conversions.
This approach will help focus your message and be less confusing to visitors who are searching for a very particular type of lawyer. Aesthetically, it also affords law firms an opportunity to choose a design appropriate for the practice area.
Finally, if a Web site is focused on only a certain practice area, search engines like Google are more likely to perceive that Web site as more relevant for important search phrases than a less focused site.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage is that two or more Web sites are harder and more expensive to maintain than one. The initial cost will be more, and thought must be given to whether the expense will be worth the long-term benefits.
When both of your Web sites have been indexed by the search engines, people looking for you by name may end up on the wrong site. This problem can be minimized with careful planning, in particular, making sure that your Web sites’ pages are clearly and distinctively titled.
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