What Is The Difference Between Choosing A Domain Name For A Law Firm And Solo Practice
There are a few key differences to remember when choosing a domain name for a law firm instead of a solo practice. First, a law firm is likely to be a more well-known entity than a solo practice, so choosing a domain name that is easy to remember and clearly states the firms name is significant. Additionally, a law firms domain name should be professional and straightforward, as it will be representing the firm as a whole.
On the other hand, solo practitioners may have more leeway in choosing a domain name that is reflective of their personality or brand. Nevertheless, it is still crucial to pick a name that is simple to recall and precisely spells out the practitioners name.
What To Expect After Registering Your New Domain
Once you register your domain name with either a free plan, hosting service or website builder, it typically takes 24 to 72 hours to become active. This is the length of time the DNS takes to replicate the name worldwide. After 48 hours your domain will be included in the Whois database, which is a public record of all domain registrations. The database allows anyone to search the IP owner information of every registered website on the internet. It also gives new website owners the ability to find out if their idea of a domain name is available for registration and, if not, when the current registration for that name expires.
Generally, you cannot transfer a domain name during the first 60 days after registration. This is the length of time the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers requires domain providers to lock most domains after registration. Freenom is the worlds only free domain provider.
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Why You Should Only Pick One Domain Name
The following question is one we hear quite frequently: But why cant I use 5, 10 or even 100 domains for my website?
Our answer is simple. Google only wants to index your site once. It does not care if you have 100 domains pointing into your site for optimization reasons.
Our advice: pick one, perhaps two at the most. Use one for your main site that Google will index. Use another domain if it has sexy marketing appeal that your main domain does not have. For instance, the second domain could be shorter, or appeal to a certain demographic. If you want to purchase multiple domains to prevent other firms from encroaching, then go ahead and purchase multiple domains, but do not expect it to help your web site or optimization efforts. Ultimately, for SEO reasons, it really is best to have only one domain.
As discussed below in our section on multiple domains,, you will want to do a 301 redirect for all previous domains to the primary domain. You definitely want to 301 redirect any secondary domain that you use for marketing purposes into the primary domain. If you do not, you could end up with Google indexing multiple web sites and that would lead to duplicate content penalties.
If you want to use multiple domains, then create multiple UNIQUE websites. Otherwise, choose your best domain and move forward with your marketing.
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Create Unique Websites For The Alternate Domains
An alternate way of using those domains is to create multiple UNIQUE websites. The key is that the web sites content must be unique and non-duplicate, this way each website will rank separately on Google.
They really cannot just be one-page placeholder sites, as that violates Googles rules. The goal should be creating the best resource in your particular area. Now, we have seen that where there is little competition in an area, a one-page site is fine. But usually, it takes at least a five-page site to compete.
Additional domains can be blogs, micro, niche, or practice area sites. If the content is unique and non-duplicative, then they will be indexed independently.
Note that you can actually reuse your initial web design and your overall web brand. So that minimizes costs by a lot you only have to pay for the building of the new site, not the design. All you need to do is create unique content to talk about your subject area. Better yet, plan a campaign to become THE resource for your practice area.
The good news is that if you create multiple web sites, you can rank high for each. The bad news is that this method increases costs as you have to produce more content and multiple sites.
Registering A Domain Name
Created by FindLaw’s team of legal writers and editors| Last updated June 20, 2016
A website is the modern day storefront and requires just as much forethought and planning as its brick-and-mortar counterpart. After all, you wouldn’t just drive around, point at a building and say “that one” before moving in. Creating a successful website requires you to really delve into the mind of your potential customers to best understand how to attract them. This challenge is inherent in the process of choosing and registering a domain name, which will be either the same as or complementary to the name of your business.
See the Internet and E-Commerce section of FindLaw’s Small Business Center to learn more.
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Picking The Best Domain Name For Your Law Practice
I want to take this opportunity to discuss how lawyers can be sure they are selecting and using the best possible domain name for their law practices.
Selecting a domain name for your law firm is one of the most important decisions that lawyers make in the early stages of online marketing. Your domain name will not only be where your clients and potential clients find you, but will also play a significant role in the branding of your law firm.
Should Lawyers Buy Law Domains
If you are considering a website or a blog to showcase your legal services and expertise, there are many different Top Level Domains to choose from:
This article will examine whether lawyers should buy .law domain and briefly review a few methods to succeed online.
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Changes Made By These Updated Requirements
Because management of the .gov top-level domain has been transferred from GSA to CISA, references to GSA and their processes have been removed. A number of updates have also been made for clarity and comprehension. Key substantive changes are the following:
When government organizations use a .gov domain name to serve the public on the internet, they make it easy to know that their services are official. Thats because every request for a .gov domain name is carefully examined by the DotGov program to ensure it is from a genuine U.S.-based government or public sector organization.
We have rules that minimize the risk that .gov domain names could mislead users about the source or purpose of a given government organization or activity, and we require registrants to carefully maintain a .gov domain name after registration.
This document outlines the general requirements that apply to all .gov registrants, as well as the specific requirements that apply to certain types of government organizations. These requirements may be updated in the future. Registrants will be provided advance notice of updates.
Take Your Time Choosing A Website Domain Name For Your Law Firm
I want to emphasize at the outset that it is better to take your time and make sure that you select the best possible domain rather than registering something quickly. With the possible exception of recently released top-level domains such as .law, the domain name land rush has been over for a long time. If a domain name is available for you to register today, theres a significant probability it will still be waiting for you and available to register tomorrow, or even next week, unless you stumble upon a random gem.
Think about what your domain name says about your law firm. Is it consistent with the message you want to convey? Is it easy for people to remember? Is it easy for people to type in to their web browser? Could it easily be mistaken for similar domain names owned by other firms that could receive business that was intended for you?
According to MOZ, the three top tips to consider when choosing a domain name are:
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Using Multiple Domain Names
Google wonât give you bonus points for having more than one domain name, but there may be reasons specific to your law firm that would necessitate the use of multiple domain names. For instance, if you are a criminal defense lawyer, but you wanted to market the DUI defense area of your practice separately, you might launch a separate website with a different domain name. You could then choose how closely you want the new site to be associated with the other parts of your practice. You can do this by interlinking them or by referencing the sites on each othersâ pages.
Avoid Using Hobbies Exclusive Groups And Puns In Your Domain Name
You may love dogs. Dogs may be your life, and your identity, but unless you practice exclusively in the area of canine law, there should be no mention of dogs in your domain name. Whats important to you, and even what defines you as a person, does not matter to most of your potential clients. Your potential clients care first and foremost about themselves. For that reason, they care primarily about what you can do for them.
Although there are certain exceptions, is usually not a good idea to put in exclusive group delineation in your domain name. For example, if your firms unique selling proposition is that of a religious affiliation, probably not a good idea to include that in your domain name. A notable exception may be if you practice in a community with a large enough population of that religion, and a large enough referral base, to support the business that you need. Its also generally not a good idea to draw gender lines in your domain name. For example, a firm consisting of only female lawyers may not wish to embed that fact into a domain name. On the other hand, suppose you have a niche divorce law practice where you focus only on representing mothers, or grandparents, or men. As long as youre satisfied that there will be business enough from a single gender, or relational group, it might be a good idea.
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The View From Mountain View
Since in 2012, neither bostonfamily.lawyer nor bostonfamilylaw.com are guaranteed to be the top sites for that search term simply by virtue of their URLs.
Google decided not to be fooled so easily.
Its well aware which websites are lawyer websites: Google My Business categories, structured markup, Rank Brain and its crawlers continuously checking content take care of that. They dont need to be told through the URL.
So, just because you purchase a particular domain it does not guarantee you will receive an advantage in search. You still need to consider items like your content, the quality of the information on your website and backlinks.
In case you have your doubts, here are a few additional resources.
Matt Cutts of Google said in 2012:
Google will attempt to rank new TLDs appropriately, but I dont expect a new TLD to get any kind of initial preference over .com, and I wouldnt bet on that happening in the long-term either. If you want to register an entirely new TLD for other reasons, thats your choice, but you shouldnt register a TLD in the mistaken belief that youll get some sort of boost in search engine rankings.
And John Mueller later added:
Overall, our systems treat new gTLDs like other gTLDs . Keywords in a TLD do not give any advantage or disadvantage in search.
The TLD is not something we take into account
Thats fairly emphatic. The TLD is basically ignored and provides no search advantage. This is borne out in search engine results pages:
Should Your Domain Name Have Keywords
We get asked a lot by clients if they need to include law keywords in their domain names.
According to Google, using a keyword in a domain name does not increase a sites relevancy for searches containing that keyword.
Googles Search Advocate John Mueller has publicly said:
In short, no. You dont get a special bonus from having a keyword in your top-level domain. Id venture a guess that the top results dont have those keywords as a domain ending. Often, its not even in the URL at all. Thats by design.
So, there you have it. Theres no need to stress about having a website address with a keyword.
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Law Firm Domain Name Ideas List
Luckily, there are domain name generators available to help:
Bear in mind that these domain name generators are artificial intelligence, so theyre not perfect. However, they should inspire a few solid options.
Domain name tip: When clients ask us how to choose a domain name, we always recommend they determine their websites objective first. It would be a total waste of time if your domain didnt correlate with the content of your website.
Even though you may think your new domain is great, you have to scrutinize if users will have the same view. Ask a few people close to you what they think to gauge if youre on the right track.
Domain Names For Law Firms: Best Practices Guide
A domain name is one of the most important aspects of your law firms online presence not only does it give you instant credibility, but it also shows your audience what youre all about.
Unfortunately, we at PaperStreet have seen plenty of established, reputable law firms with terrible domain names and/or strategies that reduce their professionalism and potential for new leads.
To help you understand why domain names are important and how to use your domain name to succeed, weve compiled this best practices guide.
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What Are Other Least Common Denominators That Might Inform A Law Firms Domain Name
I encourage you to spend as much time as you need to consider the least common denominator for your firms domain name. In this day and age, its as important as naming your law firm.
How To Set Up Professional Email For Your Law Firm
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How to Set up Professional Email for Your Law Firm
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Whats tackier than wearing white ankle-high athletic socks with a black business suit? Not having set up professional email for your law firm. Using an MSN, Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL email address, or even the more recent and trendy email providers like Outlook and Gmail, all look a bit tacky, dont they?
Think about it. Which looks more professional: or ? If those look the same to you, just know that to many, it is similar to the difference between using a professional mailing address and a P.O. Box: one screams rookie startup that may not survive. The only bigger faux pas Ive seen lately was someone using Comic Sans in her email signature.
How do you get an @yourlawfirm.com email address? There are a few ways, which vary in complexity and cost.
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How To Choose A Domain Name
If you have been through the above process and decided to create your own domain name rather than purchase one, there are some important considerations to take into account. Learning how to choose a domain name is a key aspect of marketing an attorney website. This step is extremely important in setting the foundation of your visibility online.
Here are some of the key things to keep in mind when searching for a great law firm domain name:
How Much Does It Cost To Buy A Domain Name
According to Bluehost, a commonly used website hosting platform, buying a new domain name for your law firm can typically cost you anywhere between $9 and $14.99. However, this will fluctuate depending on the availability of the domain name.
For example, the Spodek Law Group currently owns the domain name: https://www.nycdivorcelawyers.com/. If you want to purchase it from them, they have full power to sell it for whatever price they want, which means it may end up costing you hundreds, sometimes even thousands of dollars.
As an alternative, you can choose to keep the SLD, NYC Divorce Lawyers, and switch the TLD to .net or .law instead . Depending on the website hosting provider you choose, your domain name may even be included for free.
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