A recent post by Dustin Christensen on the popular Lawyerist blog points out that including the badge that lists your Avvo rating can actually promote competing lawyers. “If you have claimed your Avvo profile, you have probably seen links to claim your badge, which you can add to your website in order to show visitors your Avvo rating,” Christensen writes. “To do this, Avvo gives you a code you can copy and paste into your website to display your badge.”

As he notes, “Avvo says the badge will send visitors ‘to your Avvo profile where they can review information about you and likely contact you for help to solve their legal needs’….What Avvo doesn’t tell you is that the badge also includes a link to an Avvo directory page specific to your city and practice area. That’s right: the badge includes a link to a list of your competitors,” Christensen writes.