Google is often the first place people turn to when they have legal issues to resolve, with many of them actively seeking a nearby lawyer to hire.
Setting up and maintaining a well-optimized Google Business Profile allows law practices to appear at the top of Google's search results for relevant local queries.
Choosing a lawyer is an incredibly important decision, so potential clients are most likely to contact a law firm at the top of the rankings, making it even more crucial for legal practices to continuously monitor and optimize their GBP listings.
This guide to Google Business Profile for lawyers and law firms will take you through the steps required to effectively set up and maintain a GBP listing to help your legal practice outperform competitors and attract more nearby clients.
How To Create a Google Business Profile for Lawyers
Before setting up a new Google Business Profile for your legal practice, it's important to check if a listing already exists. Many businesses, including law firms, may already have an unclaimed profile on Google Maps based on publicly available data.
To check, search for your firm's name in Google Search or on Google Maps. If you find an existing listing, you can claim it by clicking "Own this business?" and following the verification process to take ownership of the GBP. If no listing exists, you'll need to create a new one by following the steps below.
1. Sign Up and Choose the Correct Business Category
Go to the Google Business Profile website and sign in with a Google account associated with your firm. Click "Manage Now" and enter your law firm's name. If your firm is not already listed, proceed to create a new profile.
When prompted, select a primary business category that best describes your firm's legal services. Google provides many different law-related categories, such as:
- Law Firm
- Lawyer
- Personal Injury Attorney
- Family Law Attorney
- Criminal Justice Attorney
- Estate Planning Attorney
- Civil Law Attorney
- Divorce Lawyer
The above are just a few examples, so make sure you look through all the options and choose the one that best describes your practice. Selecting the most relevant category ensures that your firm appears in the right local searches. You can add secondary categories later to describe more of your legal services if your practice has more than one area of specialty.
2. Add Your Business Information
Google requires complete and accurate business details to verify and display your listing. Be sure to include:
- Law Firm Name: Use your official business name as it appears on your website and legal documents. Avoid keyword stuffing, as it violates Google's guidelines.
- Address: If you have a physical office that's open to the public, enter your address exactly as it appears on your website. Law firms that operate remotely or serve clients at their location can select the service area business option instead.
- Phone Number: Use a local number rather than a toll-free or call-tracking number to improve trust and ranking potential.
- Website URL: Link directly to your law firm's homepage or a specific landing page for better conversion.
- Hours: Set accurate business hours to help potential clients find you when you're open.
All of these GBP fields directly impact your local search performance, so take your time and be sure to fill out each one completely and accurately.
3. Set Your Service Area (If Applicable)
If you provide legal services in different areas, but operate out of a private office or don't have offices in each one, you can define a service area instead of listing a physical address. This helps Google understand where your practice operates, allowing your GBP to appear in relevant local searches.
4. Verify Your Business Listing
Google requires verification before your listing becomes active. Verification methods include:
- Postcard by Mail: Google will send a postcard with a verification code to your office address.
- Phone or SMS: Some law firms may receive a verification code by phone or text.
- Email: Google sometimes sends verification steps to businesses via email.
- Google Search Console Verification: If your website is already verified in Google Search Console, you might be able to verify your GBP instantly.
- Video Call or Recording: Businesses are increasingly being verified by video, which involves clearly showing your offices to a Google representative.
Once verified, your law firm's Google Business Profile will be live, but optimization is crucial for maximizing visibility.
How To Optimize Google Business Profile for Law Firms
Once your law firm's Google Business Profile listing is set up, optimizing it is essential for improving visibility in local search results and attracting potential clients. A well-optimized GBP not only helps your law firm rank higher but also ensures that searchers get the right information to contact you. Here's how to improve your profile:
1. Keep Business Details Updated
Ensure all information on your GBP is consistent with your website and other online listings and update it whenever anything changes. Any discrepancies in your firm's name, address, or phone number (NAP) across different platforms can potentially harm your local rankings. Be sure to:
- Use your official law firm name and avoid adding extra keywords, as this violates Google's guidelines and can result in penalties.
- List an up-to-date phone number that connects directly to your office.
- Include your firm's website URL, linking either to your homepage or a dedicated landing page optimized for conversions.
- Keep your business hours accurate, including special holiday hours, to ensure potential clients and Google know when you're available.
2. Select Relevant Secondary Categories
While your primary category is crucial and should be the one that best describes what you do, adding secondary categories can further refine your listing and help you appear in more local search results.
For example, if your primary category is Criminal Justice Attorney, you might also choose Trial Attorney (for firms focused on litigation) as a secondary category.
Make sure you only choose secondary categories that are highly relevant to the legal services that your practice actually offers. Adding more categories just to try and rank in more local search results won't benefit you, and can even hurt your law firm's local SEO efforts.
3. Utilize Attributes to Highlight Key Services
Google allows businesses to add attributes that provide additional details about their services, amenities, and offerings.
For instance, you might choose attributes like "wheelchair-accessible entrance" and "wheelchair-accessible seating" to emphasize accessibility. Or, you might select "women-owned business" or "LGBTQ+ friendly" to highlight inclusivity.
The attributes you select help optimize your law firm's GBP listing, allowing it to appear in more specific searches, as well as help searchers quickly identify what sets your firm apart, which can ultimately improve conversion rates.
4. Upload High-Quality Images and Videos
Many law firms overlook visuals, but adding professional images and videos can increase engagement and credibility and help your profile rank higher. Consider uploading:
- Exterior and interior photos of your office to help clients recognize your location.
- Team photos to personalize your firm and build trust.
- Short video introductions from attorneys explaining their practice areas and approach.
Google favors profiles with media updates and high engagement, so regularly adding new images can improve your profile's visibility.
5. Write a Compelling Business Description
Your GBP allows you to write a 750-character description of your law firm. Use this space to highlight your areas of expertise, experience, and what makes your firm unique.
Here's an example:
"At [Law Firm Name], we specialize in personal injury, family law, and criminal defense, providing expert legal counsel with a client-first approach. With over 20 years of experience, our dedicated team fights for the best outcomes for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation."
Make sure your description is informative, professional, and client-focused, avoiding overly promotional language or keyword stuffing.
6. Encourage and Respond to Client Reviews
Positive reviews are one of the most important local ranking factors for law firms and other types of local businesses. Encourage satisfied clients to leave reviews, making it as easy as possible by providing them with a direct link to your GBP review page. Here are some best practices for managing reviews:
- Ask clients at the right time, such as after a successful case resolution or consultation.
- Respond to every review, thanking clients for positive feedback and professionally addressing any concerns in negative reviews.
- Avoid incentivizing reviews, as this violates Google's policies.
A steady flow of genuine positive reviews improves your rankings and builds trust with potential clients.
How To Monitor GBP Performance for Legal Practices
Once your law firm's Google Business Profile is set up and optimized, it's important to continuously monitor its performance to ensure it remains competitive in local search, adjusting your local SEO strategy as needed. Here's how:
1. Track Local Search Rankings with Local Falcon
Ranking well in local search results means your law firm appears in Google's local pack when potential clients search for attorneys in your area. However, Google's rankings vary by location, meaning you could rank differently from one block to the next.
Local Falcon provides hyperlocal rank tracking for lawyers, allowing you to see exactly where your practice ranks in different parts of your city or service area. Instead of overly broad ranking reports, you get a detailed, geo-grid view of your GBP visibility along with in-depth competitor insights. These insights help you refine your local SEO strategy to improve rankings block by block and capture a larger share of the local markets you serve.
2. Use AI-Powered Insights for Smarter Optimization
AI-powered local SEO tools and features, like those integrated into Local Falcon, can help analyze trends and identify optimization opportunities automatically. For example, AI can:
- Detect ranking fluctuations and suggest keyword or category adjustments.
- Identify competitor strategies and provide insights into how to outperform them.
- Automate review analysis to uncover common client concerns or positive themes.
With AI, law firms can stay ahead of the competition and streamline their GBP management efforts.
3. Review GBP Performance Metrics
Google provides valuable Insights into your GBP performance and engagement right in the GBP dashboard, including stats like:
- Search queries clients use to find your firm.
- How many people viewed your profile in search and maps.
- Phone calls, website visits, and direction requests generated from your listing.
Regularly reviewing these metrics helps you identify what's working and where improvements are needed to make your law firm's Google Business Profile listing more effective when it comes to attracting new clients.
Pro Tip: You can see key GBP Performance Metrics right within Local Falcon's Falcon Guard Reports. This makes it easier to include insights into your GBP performance alongside your existing local SEO reporting, as well as correlate updates to your GBP listing with performance trends.
4. Update Your GBP Regularly
Google favors active and updated listings. Keep your law firm's GBP competitive by:
- Refreshing images and videos periodically.
- Updating business hours for holidays and special occasions.
- Posting new legal insights or news.
- Responding to all reviews and client inquiries promptly.
Continuous updates show Google (and potential clients) that your law firm is active and trustworthy. They also improve engagement signals, which can help your profile rank higher.
Conclusion
A well-optimized Google Business Profile is a powerful marketing tool for lawyers and law firms, helping attorneys attract local clients, build trust and reputation, and stay ahead of competitors.
Setting up, optimizing, and monitoring your GBP ensures that your legal practice ranks higher in Google searches and remains visible to potential clients when they need legal assistance the most.
Using advanced tools like Local Falcon's hyperlocal rank tracking and AI-powered insights further improves your ability to optimize and maintain your GBP efficiently.
Start implementing these strategies today to help your law firm establish a strong online presence, improve client acquisition, and grow your practice!
