How to Get Your Law Firm Ranking on Google Maps
By Next Level Pod on June 22nd, 2022 in Uncategorized
Do you feel confident doing SEO for your law firm yet?
We hope so! Over the last month or so, we have been covering the foundations of search engine optimization over on the podcast.
Last week, we finished this foundational series by discussing local SEO and specific tactics to increase your local search ranking.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is all about ranking in the local search engines. When somebody searches something like “divorce attorney near me,” we want your Google Business Profile to show up.
Why do we even care about our law firm doing well in a local search?
First of all, local intent is key. If your office is in Maine and a prospect a few miles from your office searches “employment lawyer,” you want your law firm to pop up, not a firm across the country. Additionally, for small to medium-sized law firms, local searches mean you don’t have to compete with large national law firms. You can focus on your region.
Data supports the importance of local SEO as well. When a law firm finally gets onto the first page of a Google Map listing, the traffic to their Google Business Profile and website grows very quickly. This is followed by an increase in lead volume.
How to Rank in Your Local SEO
To start ranking in your local searches, you need to work on your Google Business Profile. The most important aspect of this profile is your categories.
Nailing your primary category is most important. This is where you need to pick your niche. Choose a very focused area of which you could say, “If all my business came from this, I would enjoy my work and be profitable.” From there, you can add additional categories to explain what your law firm does.
If you’re not ranking right now, look at your competitors that are ranking and see what categories they are using. They might be using some that you didn’t know about. You can then add those categories to your profile.
Additionally, to improve your ranking, include keywords in your descriptions and services. This helps a reader know that you’re the right firm for them.
The next tactic is getting reviews. Keep in mind that reviews are not the main ranking factor. However, we have seen a high correlation between the amount of reviews law firms have and higher rankings. Therefore, it never hurts to get more reviews on your profile.
Finally, look into your citations. This means making sure your firm is cited on various directories around the internet. Look for the main ones like Facebook, Yelp, and even legal-specific directories. Think about the directories where people are actually looking.
If you want to learn more about how to set up your local listing to rank higher, check out Episode 047: SEO Series 5 – Local SEO.