Avvo was created in 2006 to fill a perceived online void in ratings and referral systems for attorneys. Avvo strove to make itself different from (and in its manager’s eyes, better than) other systems such as FindLaw and LexisNexis Martindale. Avvo says that its directory contains information on more than 95 percent of licensed attorneys in the United States. To come up with a rating for each attorney it lists, Avvo takes public information from across the Internet including your website and plugs that data into its ranking algorithm.
Also, there is an important distinction to be made between the ways Avvo rates attorneys. There are two distinctive ratings on the site: an Avvo rating and a client rating. The client Review Generation rating does not affect the Avvo rating; the reverse is also true. According to Avvo, this was done to give users two metrics by which to judge a lawyer the Avvo-generated rating and the client rating. Avvo managers believe that this gives users a better picture of the attorney, and compensates for the lack of more subjective metrics in their rating system.
Avvo comes up with a reputation management for each attorney. Keep in mind that each of these factors is weighted differently, and like most rating algorithms, Avvo calls its algorithm proprietary. It keeps the formula secret to prevent attorneys from gaming the system you know, like when shady SEO firms ran link-building schemes and people stuffed keywords into their content. Because of this, the rest of us are left to guess at exactly how they assign each attorney a rating.
The biggest complaint about Avvo is that you are likely listed on the site, whether you approve of the company or want a listing. And more than listed, you are rated. The problem with this is that Avvo gets its information from independent Internet research, and some of the info has been found to be inaccurate no shock there! More than one attorney has checked out their listings on Avvo only to find that essential information is incorrect. Wrong city, wrong firm name, wrong partner, you name it: Avvo can get it wrong. Unless you claim your profile, that is. Which brings me to my next point.
How to Claim Your Profile on Avvo
Once you claim your profile you can't unclaim it. This is only an issue if your rating before you claimed it was "No Concern" or "Attention." In these situations, if you claim your profile and your Avvo rating is low, there is no way to go back to unclaimed status. But as long as you follow the steps below, that shouldn't be an issue.
Add all required information.
And beyond required information, I recommend taking it a step further and completely filling out all information, required or voluntary. Remember, we don't know exactly how Avvo rates attorneys, so it's better to give too much information than not enough.
Fix mistakes in the public record.
If you claim your profile and find that Avvo has inaccurate information from your state, you will need to address this with the appropriate organization within your state, asking them to have your record changed. You can alert Avvo to the change, or simply wait until they do one of their periodic updates.
If you find that you have few or no client ratings on Avvo, be sure to address this with your review gathering strategy. There are many ways to open the door to more positive reviews; you just have to ask! The same goes with peer ratings. These factor into your Avvo score, so don't be afraid to reach out to your contemporaries and ask for their endorsement.
