How to Take Over Local SEO in Your Service Area

The legal industry is incredibly competitive. You could probably find a dozen firms in your local area all looking to connect with your target client base. In fact, you can check this for yourself by typing in a Google search for law firms in your area. Is your firm within the top search results? If not, you may want to revisit the digital marketing strategy you have in place as it relates to your local audience. Local SEO is a vital marketing consideration for any law firm as the vast majority of law firms operating today focus on geographical service areas.

If your law firm serves your whole state, make sure your website’s content accurately reflects this. If your team only accepts clients from a specific metropolitan area, be sure to eliminate any uncertainty a search engine user may experience when looking for a firm like yours in their area. There are several tools and methods you can employ to start taking over local search engine traffic in your niche, attracting more potential clients to your site, and strengthening your online presence. Consider these following tips to start taking over search traffic in your geographical service area.

Start Using Google My Business

Digital marketing is a multifaceted undertaking. Many law firms overlook tools like Google My Business while trying to arrange the other components of their marketing strategies. Google My Business is a local listing tool that helps you more accurately define your target audience on Google, appear in the top search results for queries that pertain to your firm and the content you publish to your website, and ultimately take over a larger share of your local search engine traffic.

Creating a Google My Business profile for your law firm is a straightforward process. Once it’s made, you can start optimizing your listing in many different ways, from adding photos to posting content directly to your listing and even responding to user questions and reviews. Google My Business also provides you with a host of analytical data that you can track over time for even stronger local SEO strategies.

Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Once you have your Google My Business listing up and running, you need to make periodic adjustments to it if you want to ensure that it continues to provide the performance you expect. Google My Business is all about local SEO. When you perform a search for a law firm like your own in your service area, a strong Google My Business listing will help to ensure your law firm appears among the top three results. Google My Business arranges these three results into an intuitive map for users so they can quickly see how close each of the options are to their location.

The more detailed your Google My Business listing is, the more likely your firm will be to appear in these top search results. This is just one aspect of local SEO dominance. Once you have fine-tuned your Google My Business listing, you can start using it as an active marketing channel. Google My Business allows you to interact with search engine users and create a better user experience with your law firm all through the Google Search interface.

Refine the Location Data Within Your Website’s Content

A strong Google My Business listing drives search engine traffic to your website. Your website’s content needs to accurately reflect the information provided within your Google My Business listing. This is to not only ensure the Google Search algorithm ranks your site appropriately but to ensure positive user experiences once they reach your website. When a potential client finds your firm’s website, they should be able to immediately recognize that your firm can serve their needs and accepts clients from their geographical area.

Content is a must for any modern digital marketing strategy. The content you publish to your website should accurately reflect the locations you serve. To attract clients from a specific metropolitan area or city region, develop content that pertains to these locations.

Respond to Local Users’ Questions and Reviews

Google My Business is a powerful marketing tool because of the wide range of features it offers directly through the Google interface. When a search engine user finds your law firm’s listing on Google, they have the option of suggesting an edit to your listing, posting a comment, asking a question, or publishing a review. All these actions are opportunities for you to create positive user engagement with your firm, so be sure to check your user interactions consistently.

If a user asks a question, respond as quickly and completely as possible. If a user suggests an edit to your listing details, think about their suggestion and make changes as necessary. When users post positive reviews, thank them for their feedback. If a user posts a more critical review, ask what you could have done to make their experience better. While you cannot discuss specifics about a past client’s case outcome on a publicly viewable platform, it’s still worth reading through critical feedback and thinking about how you could have handled some interactions differently for better customer experiences.

These interactions not only generate better user experiences but also provide the additional benefit of showing other search engine users that your firm is responsive, receptive to feedback, and committed to providing the best customer experiences possible. Eventually, your Google My Business listing could become a conversational hub between your firm and your target client base.

Invest in a Reliable Managed Service Provider

Running a law firm is a demanding business. The time required for making the most of your Google My Business listing can seem like a lot when you’re handling multiple cases at once. However, dedicated attention to your Google My Business listing can eventually help you dominate local search traffic in your area. If you need help developing your digital marketing strategy, making the most of Google My Business, or handling the interactions you see on your listing, the right managed service provider can handle these responsibilities for you while you focus on running your practice.

Contact RizeUp Media today for more information about the local SEO services we provide. Whether you want to start taking advantage of Google My Business or expand to a new service area, we can provide the guidance and support you need to enhance your local SEO outcomes and strengthen your firm’s online brand authority.