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With Mobile Search to Outpace Desktop, Optimization Is Critical for Law Firm Websites

Aug 10, 2012 11:23 AM by

Manish Bhargava

Director, Product Management Ask a question

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Times have changed and so have the ways legal consumers search for information online.

While desktop browsing still far exceeds mobile browsing, mobile Web usage is expected to overtake desktop usage by 2015, according to researcher IDC. Consequently, traffic to your law firm website will come increasingly from mobile browsers, and less from Web browsers. Consider the following data:

By 2015, more U.S. Internet users will access the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs or other wireline devices. (“More Mobile Internet Users Than Wireline Users in the U.S. by 2015,” IDC, September 2011)
Tablet penetration will increase even more quickly in the United States, from a user base of nearly 55 million by the end of 2012 to almost 90 million in the next two years. By 2014, more than one in three U.S. Internet users will have a tablet device. (“Connected Devices Become Key to Content Consumption,” eMarketer, February 2012)
Nearly nine in ten (88%) U.S. adults own a cell phone of some kind as of April 2012, and more than half of these cell owners (55%) use their phone to go online. Some 17% of cell phone owners do most of their online browsing on their phone, rather than a computer or other device. Most do so for convenience, but for some their phone is their only option for online access. (“A Look at Internet Use on Mobile Phones,” Pew Research Center, June 2012)
Mobile local search volume will surpass desktop local search for the first time in 2015. By 2016, mobile local search is expected to exceed desktop local search by more than 27 billion annual queries. (“U.S. Local Search Market: Mobile vs. Desktop,” BIA/Kelsey, April 2012)

Take This Simple Test
Access the Internet from the browser on up to five different types of mobile devices (including different models of smartphones and tablets). If such devices are not readily available, simply visit a mobile device services provider at your local mall. Then assume the mindset of a legal consumer who found your website through a Google search. When you hit your site, ask yourself the hard questions:

Is the relevance of your legal expertise immediately apparent?
When visiting your firm’s website via a mobile device, does it project the level of professionalism that would inspire a visitor to contact your firm?
How easy is it for visitors to navigate the site, contact your firm, and request a consultation?
If you were a consumer seeking legal advice would you (or even could you) contact your firm through a mobile device?

If you take my simple test and don’t like what you see, you need a mobile strategy for your online marketing.
With the way consumers search for information evolving rapidly, your law firm needs to accommodate mobile browsers accessible within mobile devices to remain competitive.

Can you hear me now?

Talk to your local law firm marketing specialist about how you can optimize your website for mobile browsing and get a free Website Evaluation.