Law Firm GMB Optimisation Guide
Do you have a Google My Business or GMB listing for your law firm? If you do, good for you! You’ve taken the first step to dominating local search. The only thing you need to do now is to create a law firm GMB optimisation strategy and implement it.
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Why Optimise Your GMB Listing?
You’re probably wondering why it isn’t enough to simply claim your GMB listing. Why do you have to optimise it, too? As a lawyer, you know how crucial it is to prepare thoroughly for a case. You have to do your research well and ensure that you have covered all the bases to boost your chances of winning.
The same principle applies to having a GMB listing. If you merely claimed your GMB page and you didn’t take the time to improve it, you’re doing your competitors a great favour. On the other hand, a well-optimised GMB page will help ensure that you will:
- Appear on Google Maps
- Show up in the local 3-pack
- Be able to display your law firm’s rating
- Enjoy increased traffic to your main website
- Make the most of free Google advertising
How to Optimise your GMB Page
To make the most of your GMB page, here are a few optimisation tips that you should consider:
1. Always use your law firm’s official name
Some lawyers add keywords to their law firm’s name, thinking that this strategy would help them secure a better search ranking. However, unless the keywords are part of your law firm’s legal or business name (e.g. Smith Criminal Lawyers), it would be wise to avoid using them. Otherwise, Google might suspend your GMB listing.
2. Be specific with your business category
As much as possible, try to be specific when choosing a business category. Most law practices would choose “legal” as their business category. But if there are options that apply to yours, you may select more than one category for your law office.
3. Include your physical address
Make sure to add your law firm’s physical location. If you don’t, your law office won’t show up on Google Maps. Showing up on Google Maps is quite helpful, particularly if you’re keen on increasing the amount of foot traffic your practice is receiving.
Appearing on Google Maps encourages your prospects to visit your location. A Google study showed that 88% of people visited a store’s location within a week of conducting a local search. At the same time, it tells them the fastest way to do so.
4. Ensure that your contact details are correct
Double-check your law firm’s contact information. Because your prospects are less likely to search for your correct contact details, ensure that you get them right the first time.
5. Complete the service descriptions
When potential client looks up your GMB page on their mobile phone, they have the option to view the legal services you’re offering. As such, be sure to describe your services or practice areas in detail. Highlight the cases you often handle to showcase how you can help prospects navigate their existing legal troubles.
6. Fill out the product descriptions, too
You’re probably wondering why you need to fill out the product descriptions when, as a lawyer, you don’t have any products to sell. While this law firm GMB optimisation tip might be unconventional, it’s an effective way to make the most of free real estate on search result pages.
When someone searches for your law firm on Google, they will see your GMB profile on the right-hand side of the search results. Below your GMB profile, they will see the featured “products”, and they can click on “View all” to check out the complete list.
Since Google provides more space for the product descriptions, it gives you the perfect opportunity to let prospects know more about your services. So go on and explain the areas of law you specialise in to showcase what you can do for your prospects.
7. Incorporate keywords in your business description
Your business description is the best place to add relevant keywords if they are not a part of your law firm’s official name. It has a 750-character limit, offering you the chance to test several variations to see which of them will give you more local SEO juice.
When adding keywords, choose those that are highly relevant to the area you specialise in. For example, let’s say you specialise in employment law. Instead of simply adding “employment lawyer” to your business description, you can try “discrimination lawyer”, “redundancy lawyer”, or “no win no fee lawyer”. This would significantly help with your listing’s local SEO.
8. Add photos to your listing
Try to personalise your GMB page as much as possible by using real photos of your staff and workplace instead of stock photographs. Studies showed that GMB listings with photos have higher click-through rates and receive more driving instructions than those without.
A word of caution, though. Never make the mistake of using selfies on your GMB page. They make your law firm look unskilled and unprofessional. Consider hiring a professional photographer to ensure that you’ll have high-quality photos.
9. Obtain client reviews
This is perhaps one of the law firm GMB optimisation tips you mustn’t forget. Reputation is crucial, even more so in the legal service industry. For this reason, you should encourage former clients to say a few things about your services on your GMB page. Prospects would be more inclined to contact you if they know that you helped someone in a similar situation. Furthermore, client reviews can help boost your SEO rankings.
Start Optimising Your GMB Listing
Failing to optimise your GMB page is akin to doing your law firm a great disservice. Not only are you giving the competition a significant advantage, but you’re also missing the opportunity to generate more leads and web traffic. Therefore, be sure to follow the optimisation tips discussed above to boost your GMB page’s performance.
At Kinetic Traffic, we can help you create a highly optimised GMB listing. Contact us today and let us provide your law firm with the local SEO solutions you need.
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