How to Create and Optimize your Firm’s Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile (or GBP) is an essential tool for any law firm wanting to reach local clients. (We talked about why in this earlier article). Simply put, GBP is a free, easy-to-use online listing that helps firms boost their online presence and appear in relevant Google search results.

However, simply creating a Google Business Profile isn’t enough. Small firms shouldn’t just set one up and let it sit! To realize the many benefits GBP offers, your law firm should be taking steps to develop and grow its listing.

Don’t worry! This doesn’t take a lot of time (or money). Another reason GBP is so wonderful is that it’s a low-effort, high-reward marketing tool. In this article, we’ll discuss how to set up, and then optimize your Google Business Profile – so that it begins to work for your firm.

There are 4 basic steps to follow to get the most out of GBP: Claim, Customize, Optimize, and Analyze. We’ll walk you through each below, so that you can create the optimal GBP for your small firm.

STEP 1. CLAIM: How to Create a Google Business Profile for Your Law Firm

Sign in to Google Business Profile

If your firm doesn’t already have a GBP you can create one by going to Google Business Profile and following the instructions to sign up.  Google will guide you through the process and prompt you for all the information you need to enter in your profile.

Enter Your Law Firm’s Key Details

Once you’re signed into GBP, click on the “Add New Business” button and enter your firm’s name, location/address*, and phone number. Make sure this information is accurate and consistent with what’s listed on your website and other online directories. This consistency helps Google understand that your business is legitimate (and, therefore, improves your local search ranking).

Regarding location, you should consider adding your firm’s entire service area and not just the city or borough where your office is found.  This is because, ideally, you want to gather all potential online traffic for your locality. Say, for example, that your office is in a suburb of London or Calgary, but your firm serves people from the big city as well as suburban clients. If your GBP location is simply set with your suburban office address, you may not be gathering all possible traffic (and potential clients) for your real “local area”.

*Note that if your law firm has more than one location, Google will require separate listings.

Choose Your Industry Group

Next, you need to identify yourself as a lawyer.

There are numerous categories for attorneys, so be sure to be more specific than just “lawyer”. For example use “criminal lawyer” to better target your ideal audience. Similarly, if your law firm has more than one practice area, you should list it on your GBP. (Google Business Profile offers various legal categories from which to choose). While your small law firm may specialize in family law, if one partner has experience with wills and estates, for example, this can (and should) be specified in your listing.

When choosing your practice areas, note that the categories are ready-made. You can’t write your own. Be sure to select carefully the first time around because, if you change categories later, you may be required to complete the next step more than once.

Verify Your Business

Google verifies all GBP business addresses and it does this by sending out verification codes. Most often these are sent via post (taking up to two weeks to arrive) so you’ll likely need to be patient.

Once the card and code arrive at your firm’s address, log back in to your GBP and enter the code to complete the verification process.

STEP 2. CUSTOMIZE: Include Additional Details to Help Your Small Firm Get Discovered

Add all Possible Additional Business Information

Now that your firm is verified, you can add additional information to your GBP, such as your hours of operation, website URL, and photos.

It’s really important to include as much information as possible. Having a complete profile helps Google understand who you are and what you do. Its algorithm can therefore work better for you, helping more potential clients find your firm.

You should include a brief description of your law firm – one that showcases exactly what you do, and your mission and values. Also, it should ideally contain certain relevant keywords. The keywords you choose should be those that potential clients will google when looking for a lawyer.

STEP 3. OPTIMIZE

To really get the most out of the prime online real-estate that is GBP, firms need to fully develop their profiles – and tend to them over time.

Here are just some of the ways your firm can do this.

Add Photos and Videos

Adding photos and video to your GBP listing is a great way to showcase your firm, and give potential clients a sense of who you are.

Along with displaying your law firm’s branding (include link to page), you should think of adding images showing members of your team, your location, and recent firm events. You may even want to get creative and provide a virtual tour of the office.

You can use short videos in much the same way. You could include a short video to introduce members of your firm to prospective clients, for example. Most law firms don’t use video in their Google Business Profiles, so including one is a unique way to stand out.

Promote Firm Events and Take Advantage of Free Advertising

GBP offers free listings for a business’s special events. Choose a listing, and your firm’s event will appear under the firm’s GBP, and feature until the event is over. This is a great, cost-effective way to show the community, and potential clients, what’s happening at your law office.

Write and Post Articles

Many small businesses aren’t aware that GBP allows them to post articles, just as they can on social media. Providing legal updates and information via your GBP is an excellent way to provide value to prospective clients and to showcase your expertise.

Consistently providing new content here not only helps to answer client questions. It provides an additional way to show Google’s algorithm that your firm is active, and an authority in its practice area(s). This, in turn, may positively impact your firm’s overall search engine ranking.

To use Google Posts, log in to your GBP account and select “Posts” from the menu. Then, create a new post and choose the type of content you want to share. You can add text, photos, videos, and links.

Update GBP as Soon as Firm Details Change

When there are changes or interruptions in your regular business hours, make sure to update your law firm’s listing on Google Business Profile. Google often auto-adds a standard disclaimer like “holiday hours may be different,” but clients and prospective clients will appreciate the certainty that comes from seeing a specific and updated listing.

Encourage Firm Clients to Leave Reviews

Reviews and recommendations are perhaps the most persuasive thing a potential client will see on your GBP. Positive online reviews provide social proof that your law firm is trustworthy (and offer valuable feedback that can help you improve your services). Good reviews also do wonders to improve search rankings, since Google favours listings with more positive reviews.

Make it easy for clients to leave feedback. And remember: You first need to ask them! You can do this easily by providing clients with the link GBP creates for your business.  This link is found in your GBP and, when a reviewer clicks on it, Google’s review form pops up on their device.

Also keep in mind that you’ll probably need to remind people to share their review. Happy clients can often fail to leave reviews simply because they have forgotten to do so. Businesses are more likely to receive reviews when they provide clients with reminders, and more than one opportunity to leave feedback.

Be consistent in your efforts to obtain Google reviews.  Indications are that consistent client rankings and reviews are factored into Google’s ranking strategy, so it’s best for a firm to gather a steady stream of reviews (as opposed to ad-hoc reviews here and there).

Finally, be sure to monitor your firm’s reviews regularly and respond to them promptly. You may thank clients for positive reviews and, of course, you should definitely address any negative feedback in a professional and helpful manner.

STEP 4. ANALYZE: Monitor Your Firm’s GBP Insights

Google provides a wealth of data on how people are finding and interacting with your Google Business Profile. You can access this data by clicking on the “Insights” tab in your GBP account.

Firms can use this data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement. For example, if you notice that most of your prospects are finding you through mobile search, you may want to optimize your listing for mobile devices. Or, if you notice that clients are frequently asking about your hours of operation, you may want to ensure that this information is more prominent in your listing.