Introduction
We are living in the age of a digital world, where the resources available in digital form and accessible through the web are the key source of information for academic and other research activities of any higher educational institution. The university websites are authentic and major information providing windows about universities’ academic activities such as admission, requirement links, examination links, result links, circulations, etc. The current study’s objective is to assess the web visibility of Indian law universities by looking at their online presence. The report also offers recommendations for raising awareness in order to have a greater impact and increase the level of online presence.
Review of Literature
Mehrotra (2024) conducted a study using tools like web impact factor (WIF), internal, external, and backlinks for every State Government University’s website of Madhya Pradesh State of India and further provided ranking the websites as per WIF. The results indicate that Pandit S.N. Shukla University, Shahdol was on the top. According to the study, websites with higher WIF should be built by Madhya Pradesh State Government Universities using a sufficient number of backlinks.1
Nowkarizi et al. (2022) conducted a study to investigate web visibility and the collaboration rate of the websites of the IU (Iranian universities) within the purview of the Science, Research, and Technology Ministry. The websites of Tehran, PN (Payame Nour), and Elmosanat were the most popular, according to the results. The Zabol Universities, Industrial JS (Jondi Shapoor), and MA (Mohaghegh Ardabili) received the highest WIF (web impact factors) for their websites. As per the results of the in-link analysis, the websites under investigation had collaborated in six groups, and five clusters were represented on a multidimensional scale.2
Meghwal et al. (2022) conducted a study to find the criteria to rank Indian universities’ websites as per NIRF-2021. The parameter analysis of online impact factors, ATR, and other website metrics are all examined in this web metric analysis. Additionally, it was noted that every institution’s website included a variety of tiny tools, such as SEO tools on their website. The website with the highest DA (Domain Authority) score of 62 was IISc University, and as per the study, it was in first position among all the universities, while the AVV (Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham) University website has the oldest domain. The survey further reported that, as per the NIRF rankings, there were three institutions at Karnataka State which were among the top 10 universities in India.3
Patel et al. (2021) carried out a study to find the top 15 ranking websites of Indian universities as per the NIRF. The study examined the websites of Indian universities covered by it and collected data using several technologies tools, including Alexa and Ahrefs SEO. The results of the study indicate that the website of AU (Anna University) has the greatest page ranking score, web traffic, backlinks, and referring domains. The study further indicates that as per ATR, the University of Delhi’s website scored the highest rank, while Savitribai Phule Pune University’s website scored the largest Indian ATR. The results further revealed that Bharathiar University’s website scored first rank in all three WIFs (Web Impact Factors), i.e., the outward, internal, and basic.4
Lahkar and Sonitpur (2021) investigated the websites of 10 central universities located in India's northern region and determined each website's 3 distinct Web Impact Factors. The results of the study depicted the status of those websites that detect varying numbers of backlinks to and from the web pages. The study also compares the number of distinct links to the amount on a web page.5
Shayegan and Kouhzadi (2020) conducted an applied study in which a sample of 75 university websites were included. The investigators used a descriptive cross-sectional methodology and webometric methods to carried out this work. The results demonstrated that a few SEO (Search Engine Optimization) variables, including backlink count, AR (Alexa rank) and PR (page rank), directly and significantly affect university websites' rankings. As a result, several intriguing guidelines have been derived.6
Ahmadi and CheshmehSohrabi (2019) conducted a study using a descriptive methodology to compare the online status of five Islamic Azad University units using webometrics, ATR, and an estimated Sinium value. Results indicate that when it comes to webometrics databases, Alexa website traffic ratings, and anticipated website value, Shiraz units outperform other Islamic Azad University units. It is believed that national and international universities are of a higher caliber when they include features and components like the active presence of professors and researchers, promotion of graduate programs, credibility, up-to-date, user-friendly, open access to documents, appeal, etc. It receives high rankings for its web page accessibility, size, rank, tracking, traffic rating, and enhanced quality.7
Meisam, Somayeh, and Masoumeh (2019) examined the 41 websites of Iranian medical sciences universities by using the webometrics method. The results show that there are some universities that have a good quality of websites.8
Jeyshankan (2019) conducted a webometric of 125 Deemed universities in India. The results of study indicate and suggests that websites of some universities under study be improved to provide effective information to their users.9
Stephen (2019) in his study evaluated central universities of the North East Region, of India, using the ATR tool. The findings indicated that North Eastern Hill University and Tripura University are best-ranked with 8484 and 8,511 ranks, respectively.10
Parmar and Mandalia (2016) conducted a webometrics study to the analysis of the 43 state government universities' websites in Gujarat. The study revealed that one-third of university websites have '.ac.in' (31.57%) domain extension. It further revealed that there are some universities under study that are required to work on their websites to get ranks like Alexa Traffic Rank and furthermore to increase the usage of rich files for the purposes of effective communication.11
Dhanalakshmi and Rao (2016) investigated 228 PU (Private universities). The study revealed that domain names, internet. in, gov. in, and. nic. in sites are the least preferred by the PU, particularly after 2001. These PU websites' size ranges from 1 KB to 8529 KB. The IL (Internal Link), EL (External Link), and size of the website for these universities were obtained using the web optimization tool for the measurement of IL, EL, and size of the website for these universities. The websites of these universities are active and fairly extraordinary due to their nominal internal and exterior links, despite having many images. 228 PU are operating in 22 states in India, with Haryana state ranking first with a web impact factor (WIF) of 0.12. It is followed by Orissa, Tripura state, and Assam, which are ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively. Nagaland has the smallest amount of WIF with 0.0112.12
Kargar (2011) conducted a study on the websites of four universities. The findings showed a strong correlation between SEO variables and usability criteria; institutions with websites with inadequate usability and visibility scores also had poor rankings. This indicates that usability improvement initiatives can significantly raise the university website's position. Further, it was revealed that a website's reputation can be enhanced by community and user count; hence a high traffic rank cannot be used as a factor for ranking a website.13
Scope of the Study
The scope of the present study is limited to twenty-four state law universities (SLU) in India (approved by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi) mentioned in Table 1.14
Table 1
State-wise distribution of law universities
Aims and Objectives of the Study
The current study is conducted to establish the following objectives:
Methodology
The present study used the ATR of each website for the study. GPR was calculated using the website https://checkpagerank.net/.15 The researchers used the Google Search Engine to calculate the rich files of the universities under study: e.g., site https: //nludelhi.ac.in/., file type: ppt: https://nludelhi.ac.in/file type: doc; https://nludelhi.ac.in/ file type: pdf.
Alexa Traffic Rank
ATR is also famously known as Alexa Rank.16 It is used to know the popularity of a website to comparison other websites and the Global Rank of a website by Alexa Internet. It is calculated particular website traffic recorded of users, on daily-base and page viewers on a website from the last three months.
Google Page Rank
Google search engine provides results of web pages rank. It is an algorithm. It is a method of 'measuring' the significance of website pages. To know the popularity of websites it uses the counting method and examines the quality of links of a page.
Table 2
ATRs (State Law Universities)
Table 3
GPRs (State Law Universities)
It is evident from Table 2 that NLUD ranked at the top for Global ATR, NLSIUK state secured the 2nd position followed by GNLUG.
Table 3 indicates the status of Indian State Law Universities under study as per the GPR, cPR score, and external backlinks. To calculate the rankings of the universities' understudy, firstly, the researchers took into consideration the GPR; if the GPRs of the universities were the same, then the cPR score and external backlinks were taken into consideration, and accordingly, ranks were calculated. The results of the study indicate that NLSIUK leads in this category, followed by NLUD and TWBNUJSWB.
Table 4
State Law Universities and number of rich files
Table 4 depicted the rankings of state law universities of India as per their rich files. To evaluate the rankings in this category, the researchers used only three types of rich files viz. Portable Document Format (.pdf), Document Files (.doc), and PowerPoint Presentation (.ppt). In this category, the NLSIUK is on the 1st position, followed by NUALSK and TWBNUJSWB.
Conclusion
The webometric study provides researchers with new content for research with the use of technology. There are more possibilities for future research in this area as this study is limited to only state law universities in India. The result of the study shows that NLSIUK leads to an impact factor. It is suggested that universities should improve their websites so that they can fulfill their users’ needs and provide more informative and valuable content.
List of Abbreviations
DSNNLUAP: Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University
NLWUJAA: National Law University and Judicial Academy
CNLUB: Chanakya National Law University
HNLUC: Hidayatullah National Law University
NLUD: National Law University
GNLUG: Gujarat National Law University
HPNLUHP: Himachal Pradesh National Law University
NUSRLJ: National University of Study and Research in Law
NLSIUK: National Law School of India University
NUALSK: National University of Advanced Legal Studies
NLIUM: National Law Institute University
DNLUM: Dharmashastra National Law University
MNLUM: Maharashtra National Law University
NLUO: National Law University
RGNULP: Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law
NLUR: National Law University
DBRANLUH: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University
TNNLUT: Tamil Nadu National Law University
TDALUT: Tamilnadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University
NULT: NALSAR University of Law
DRMLNLUUP: Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University
TWBNUJSWB: The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
EB: External Backlinks
Article DOI
