The Web vs. other forms of advertising...

I met with an attorney last week who is considering upping his advertising budget. He is considering either an AdWords campaign or a billboard. His area of practice is mainly ADR and Mediation but also practices litigation. He mentioned that the billboard that he likes is available at the corner of 59 right where it meets Spur 527 from downtown. He thinks he can get a bargain because its been open for a while. The "bargain" is $1500 a month...
My question was the following, "Sir, would it be more effective to have a billboard where people who are leaving downtown towards 59 who MAY need a Mediation Attorney can see it OR an ad on the two most searched websites on the planet when someone searches for 'mediation Houston' or 'ADR Lawyer?'" Seems like a no-brainer to me.
I'm talking about highly qualified traffic from Google and Yahoo. The only clicks you are going to get are from relevant searches. No billboard, newspaper ad, radio spot or any other form of advertising can provide that level of QUALIFICATION.
Here is the best part - the budget estimate on what his campaign would cost??? $700 a month. His ad would show up all over the country on Google for half the price of the BB on a SPUR 527 and Highway 59.
He's thinking about it...
There is a saying in poker - Think long, think wrong.

Why do you need a website?

I met with an attorney last week and tried to stress the importance of having a website. She interrupted me mid-thought and shared a story with me. She got a call from a referral not too long ago but was in her car and couldn't write down the client's number. The client said, "that's okay, I'll just check out your site." She had to tell him that she didn't have one and she lost his business. Its that simple. What does it say about your law firm and your practice if people who need an attorney can't find you?
She admitted to me that she has put off a site for years even though she bought a domain name and knew that she needed one. We agreed on a 5 page website so that she can refer prospective clients to it for information about her practice areas. Its a shame that she lost that client and maybe others who looked her up on Google and Yahoo but couldn't find any information about her practice.