In yesterday’s post, I mentioned a new study just out on How Clients Use Online Legal Reviews, which showed the popularity of Yelp with consumers looking for a lawyer.

I also explained the reasons why Yelp is not a site I would recommend that attorneys use to actively market their practices these days.

Now a little deeper dive into that survey:

Austin-based Software Advice, a consultancy that helps businesses (including law firms) find the right software solutions, recently surveyed a random sample of U.S. adults on which legal review websites they use to look for an attorney and how they use them.  The survey garnered a total of 3,465 responses to the following questions:

1.  Most trusted website for attorney reviews?

• 61% said Yelp!

• 20% said Martindale-Hubbell

• 10% said Avvo

• 9 % said Super Lawyers

2.  Top reasons consumers use online reviews:

• 83% said to “find a new lawyer”

• 9% said to “evaluate existing attorney”

• 8% said to “validate tentative choice”

3.  Top information consumers look for in online reviews? (Listed in order of importance)

1. Quality of service

2. Overall ratings

3. Demographics

4. Scheduling/staff

5. Photos

4.  Most important information about quality of service? (Listed in order of importance)

1. How well options are explained

2. Win/loss record

3. Attorney professionalism

4. Attorney listening skills

5. How quickly cases are settled

5.  Most important demographic information? (Listed in order of importance)

1. Years of experience

2. Certifications

3. Education

4. Age

5. Gender

6.  Most important administrative information? (Listed in order of importance)

1. Responsiveness

2. Resolving payment issues

3. Staff friendliness

4. Scheduling ease

5. Type of office

7.  Willingness to commute for better reviews?

• Yes:  70%

• No:  30%

8.  Percentage of respondents using online legal reviews?

• Use online legal reviews:  57%

• Don’t use online reviews:  43%

In addition, the survey found that middle-income, urban/suburban consumers were more likely to use online legal reviews, with the highest use occurring in the 25-34 year-old age bracket.

While I would not take this survey as gospel, I do look at it for trends in the kind of information consumers are looking for when searching online for an attorney.