Law firms do have many options when deciding what website company to use. There are lots of companies out there that can create and manage a law firm’s website.

Some law firms, however, opt to use the same company as other law firms in their city, state, and practice area. The truth is that certain companies focus on helping law firms with their website and internet presence. These companies (which most law firms and lawyers are familiar with) often solicit law firms quite heavily for their business, which can result in a quasi-monopoly in a state or city.

The net result can be that many law firms in the same geographic and practice areas use the same company. Ironically, many of these law firms compete heavily for the same business while using the same company to host, manage, and optimize their web presence.

What Are the Pros of Using the Same Company as Other Law Firms?

Whether a law firm should go to a company that assists many law firms in their city and state is a personal choice. On the one hand, if the marketing outfit commonly puts up many law firms’ pages, they may have a sound system for helping law firms with their web presence.

One may argue that they must do a good job creating an attractive and appealing website. Otherwise, why would so many other companies use them? Indeed, other law firms would not use the same company if they were not good, one may think.

The marketing company may also know the language and visual imagery necessary to create a successful law firm website. Many marketing companies might indeed have experience with putting up a website, but not for law firms.

They might also help in providing off-site links that can help raise a website in the search results. The marketing company may also be suitable for running pay-per-click ads on Google or Facebook.

What Are the Cons of Using the Same Company as Other Law Firms?

However, the cons can be vast in number. Suppose multiple law firms in the same practice area and locality use the same company. In that case, it can be a conflict of interest for the company in many ways.

In other words, a bidding war can be created where law firms use the same company. Law firms might have to pay for more content, videos, and search engine optimization to rank above their competitors in the organic search or if pay-per-click techniques are used if the same company is being used. In essence, the law firm may have to buy a greater loyalty from the marketing outfit than their competitor that also uses them.

A law firm’s marketing approach can also be meant to be confidential in many respects. If multiple firms use the same company, there is also a risk that the marketing company inadvertently tells other law firms what other firms are doing that utilize their services. The danger of confidential information leaking can be pretty significant.

What Is the Right Approach?

Ultimately, the decision on whether to use the same marketing company as others is up to the law firm. But if a law firm does enough research, they can likely find a marketing company to help them that does not work with other law firms in their city and state.

The truth is that many companies can help a law firm with their website. However, in a particular locality, there can be a domino effect where law firms are just imitating what other law firms are doing by hiring the same company because that is easy.

So, before hiring the same company that other law firms use in their locality, it is often wise to seek out somebody different. One of the best ways to do this is to do a search of law firms in other cities and states to see who other firms are using in these places. It can also be helpful to research marketing companies for law firms with positive reviews and articles written about them.

While the choices may seem limited for a law firm, there can often be more choices than a law firm initially thinks if they look beyond who other law firms in their locality are using.