Many law firms see their website as a necessary expense whether it is just there to service existing clients or bring in new accounts. A law firm's website is necessary. But it should be an asset, not an expense.

Online marketing is unlike any other form of marketing. Television, print, Yellow Pages, radio, they all come down to one thing – getting someone to call your firm. You show the ad, hope that it reaches the right person, and that they remember you when the time is right. You can't really do anything more to improve those other forms of marketing beyond spending more money.

With your website and online marketing, you can actually interact with potential clients. You can invite them into your Google Plus circle, keep them up to date on Facebook, talk to them via a podcast on iTunes, stay in their inbox with email newsletters, and send out useful tips via Twitter to a world of potential clients that will work with your firm or may know someone who needs your expertise.

If you have had your website for a while, got it from a large company or cookie cutter developer, you are not getting the full benefit of a law firm website that works.

Can your website do the following?

1) Update Facebook
2) Broadcast on iTunes
3) Tweet from your blog
4) Create a newsletter
5) Update 20 social networks
6) Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date

If your website and its content management system cannot do all of that, it is time to upgrade. A website built on an expandable platform can automatically Tweet, update your LinkedIn page, keep your Facebook Page active, broadcast your blog feeds automatically to subscribers, and send out a newsletter with one single click.

Don't look at your law firm's website as a necessary expense, see it as a must-have asset.