Ranking Your Law Firm in Google Maps
Below, you’ll find:
- Ranking Your Law Firm in Google Maps
- How accurate and up-to-date is your business profile?
- Business Name
- Do you have specific hours of operation?
- Do you manage and respond to Google reviews?
- Does your website have professional pictures?
- Have you considered your law firm’s relevance and prominence?
- Contact Law Firm Marketing Experts Today to Learn More
If you’re a solo lawyer or owner of a small law firm, you need to know how to improve your law firm’s local rankings on Google. Casting a net around your community is one of the most effective ways to get more clicks, calls, and clients. But ranking high in a crowded legal services area is easier said than done. It’s important to understand the art of improving a law firm’s local rankings on Google.
How accurate and up-to-date is your business profile?
You want to make sure that you have a clear and complete Google My Business profile. The first step in connecting with your local community online is making sure that they can find you online! If inaccurate or incomplete information is listed, it’s more difficult for Google to match you with local users looking for legal services.
Make sure that your address, phone number, and a comprehensive summary of your area of legal expertise are visible. Remember to verify your location and immediately update your information including:
- Name of the business (use the official business name or D/B/A)
- Address
- Category
- Hours of operation
- Phone
- Website URL
- Services
- Business highlights
- Business description
- Photos and videos
- GMB website
Business Name
It’s very important to keep the name of the business in GMB consistent with the official business name so that Google can identify the business correctly. However, it’s many times beneficial to change the business name or get a D/B/A to add keywords to the business name to improve rankings.
Do you have specific hours of operation?
Some solo lawyers and small law firms are available 24-hours a day, while others are only available between certain hours. Google wants users to be able to instantly know if they can make a call or visit a law firm when they conduct their search. Keeping hours of operation up to date and accurate, including special hours for holidays, is essential to improving the law firm’s local rankings on Google.
Google recommends utilizing these tools as much as possible to make sure your account is running smoothly, and you’re responding to inquiries.
We recommend using an answering service and changing your hours of operations to 24-hours to get more leads in the door. Many times when someone is shopping around for a lawyer after hours, they want to get an appointment, so having an answering service that can take the call for your law office open can prevent them to keep calling other law firms.
Do you manage and respond to Google reviews?
Google wants to see businesses interacting with clients! That’s one of the reasons why managing and responding to reviews is an essential step in improving your law firm’s local rankings on Google. You want to address client concerns, answer their questions, and show that you appreciate their feedback. Having a professional and engaging presence on Google Reviews should be a daily or weekly top priority.
Does your website have professional pictures?
Solo lawyers and small law firms need to build relationships with potential clients. Posting professional pictures and videos consistent with your branding is a great way to put a face or office space with a name. Posting headshots or photos of your location can help improve your law firm’s local rankings on Google by helping users know more about you including:
- 360 video (office VR walkthrough)
- Videos
- Interior photos of the office
- Exterior photos of the office and building
- Your location in relation to the user
- At work photos
- Team photos
- Branding photos including logo and cover photo
Have you considered your law firm’s relevance and prominence?
Relevance and prominence are two fundamental factors used in Google’s local ranking algorithm. Relevance and prominence may rank above distance in some instances.
For example, if your business profile matches a user’s search for a specific legal service, you may rank higher than another law firm that’s closer in proximity.
Ensuring that you have relevant information, such as informative web pages and blogs focusing on your area of expertise, is a great way to improve your law firm’s local rankings on Google.
You want to prove you’re a prominent legal figure in your local area. Google will rank your website higher if you have a powerful web presence.
- Is your law office listed in local directories?
- Do you have inbound links from other trusted websites?
- Are you connected with local organizations or non-profits?
- Are you listed in any press releases?
It’s essential to take a comprehensive look at your overall online profile to improve your law firm’s local rankings on Google including:
- Backlinks
- Articles
- Directories
- Google review count
- Review score
- Review quality
- And more
Contact Law Firm Marketing Experts Today to Learn More
Following these steps can lay the foundation for successful local rankings. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you transform your law office’s website and capture the attention of your community, contact Law Firm Marketing Experts today!
