Thursday, August 27, 2009

Leveraging Search to Improve User Experience

We recently redesigned our legal sites with a new & improved look and feel, they include even more legal information and an easier process for consumers to connect with lawyers.

A key component of the redesign is the launch of our Search feature.

Consumers will be able to perform keyword searches from any of our network of 50+ legal websites and retrieve information about any legal topic. Information is broken out into categories and organized in a way that is useful to the consumer.

Try it out. Visit http://www.divorcelawfirms.com and in the Find Legal Information box, type in "divorce”. Here’s what you’ll see:
  1. Keyword Introduction: Typically provides a definition or explanation of the search term

  2. Lawyers: Highlights lawyers in your area that specialize in “divorce” so you can quickly connect without performing a second search.

  3. Fast Facts: Conveys statistics and facts related to the search term that you may find interesting

  4. Articles: Displays the top five articles that are most relevant to the search term, plus option to view more.

  5. Q&A: Answers to commonly asked questions relevant to what you were searching for. So in this case, Q&A’s about “child custody.”

  6. Around the Web: Additional information pulled in from other websites that will help the consumer with their legal question. Again, information is relevant to the search performed.
You will notice that the results for Articles, Q&A and Around the Web also include the author name (if written by a lawyer) with a link to their profile, the website the content is sourced from, and consumer feedback statistics (if there are any).

I also want to mention that the results are pulled in from all 50+ sites in our network, not just the specific website you are searching from.

A new version of the "Lawyers" category is in the works, scheduled for release mid September. We are changing the category name to "Lawyers Near You". The new features will include an enhanced keyword to practice area mapping and the ability for consumers to customize the practice area and location. The mapping provides the logic to associate keywords such as "annulment", "separation agreement", and "alimony" to "Divorce". With this capability, we are able to show consumers a list of "divorce" lawyers when they search for "annulment".

We are also planning to layer in more categories including state laws, case history, legal forms, and so forth in the coming months.

Our goal is to make it easier to for consumers to find information. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us or post a comment. Thanks!