What to do about all those listings, registries, and unsolicited offers

Many lawyers regularly receive unsolicited listing offers that on the surface look good and which universally include some combination of the words national, global, registry or some other ego-tapping term. Most all of these in our experience are not worth the time to read much less any associated fee.

None involve or are based on independent peer-review. Peer review is a key factor that is nearly always part of any distinction, award or directory for which there is data confirming it’s persuasive to buyers or recommenders of your services. Think Martindale, Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers and the various exclusive “nomination required” “colleges and academies” such as the American College of Trial Lawyers, etc.

In most cases, the sites and directories soliciting you or members of your firm are obscure Internet backwaters that our investigations over the years reveal draw little traffic. The reason: they commonly lack the kind of robust and regularly updated content and third-party promotion of that material essential to appearing in any search results. This shortcoming also means, thanks to the recent changes in all of the major search engine algorithms, that back links from these sites are of no value and that almost no one will ever reference or find these sites.

While some of these offers involve seemingly high-profile single events, an awards dinner in New York City or London, for example, they are at best parties. They are nothing like networks that develop substantive presentations and from which referral relationships can be developed over a period of years.

Some lawyers and firms find innocuous the small fees charged by these obscure solicitors, fees often hidden until late in the registration or confirmation process, Such expenditures, however, quickly build and are pernicious leading to marketing budget bloat. Absent being peer review based, absent any third party survey or client survey showing your clients, prospects and/or referral sources are visiting and relying on these sites they should be avoided.