There is a vast array of online legal directories that vary greatly in terms of their effectiveness. One of the most difficult issues in choosing a web based legal directory is whether it is more important to have limited competition or to have a website that receives more traffic but has many pages of attorney listings. This is a tough question as traffic and competition level are equally important. At one extreme, a legal directory website might offer exclusivity but have few attorneys because no one, including prospective clients, can find it. At the other extreme, a legal marketing website may receive 1000 prospective clients per day in your practice area and geographic location, which sounds impressive, until you discover that you are competing with 500 attorneys.
The answer is that it is important to look at both traffic and competition. However, it is rare for an online legal directory that has page after page of attorneys to provide enough traffic to sustain one hundred or more attorneys. A website that limits the number of attorneys to just a few is in a much better position to keep those few attorneys happy. It is easier to increase traffic a little in order to provide potential leads for a small number of attorneys than to keep a massive list of attorneys happy. Aside from the logistical challenges of generating enough traffic to provide leads to a long list of attorneys, there is a risk that a few attorneys will dominate the directory so that the average firm is lost amidst the sea of other listings.
If a law firm is trying to decide between online attorney directories where one offers less competition while the other has a lot more competition but also more traffic, the solution can be to ask for further quantitative data. Online attorney directories that have a good degree of success will have detailed tracking information that covers actual clients that contact individual firms on the lawyer directory, and renewal information for firms in your practice area market. This data can be the best way to make a decision between the level of competition and the volume of traffic. If one of the legal marketing programs does not provide this information, it is safe to assume that the information would not be encouraging. If it is a close call, you are better off opting to be a big fish in a little pond (i.e. less competition). It is much easier for a legal marketing program to create increases in traffic, if necessary, but virtually impossible to reduce the level of competition.
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