With the decline of local phone books and regional Yellow Pages, Google search is a critical tool that residents in your area can use to find law firms nearby. In fact, an estimated 46% of Google searches have local intent – the need or desire to find products, services, or locations near to the user. In addition, these searches are highly likely to lead to a real-world interaction between the business and a user, as over 88% of users who search locally either call, contact online, or actually visit the business in question within 24 hours.
As a law firm that represents clients residing within a particular geographical area, you can see the benefits of driving potential clients to your website – and ultimately, your office. So, how can you make sure your firm not only appears when people search for services like yours but appears prominently? You’ll need to engage in strategic search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, beginning with Google My Business.
What Is Google My Business?
If you’ve ever performed a search for products or services near you, you’ve undoubtedly experienced Google My Business (GMB) listings. This free service allows businesses and professionals like you to provide critical details about your business, including your business name, address, contact information, website, and hours of operation. Eventually, user-generated content like photos, reviews, star ratings, and more will appear as users interact with the listing.
When a user near you searches for a relevant keyword – i.e., “lawyers near me,” Google provides these local listings along with its organic search results and paid ads. GMB listings appear as flags within Google Maps, in what Google calls the “local three-pack,” a box that sits prominently at the top of mobile results or above regular results blocks on a desktop SERP, or within the “local finder,” the extended box that appears when the user clicks “more places.” Users can then choose to interact with the listing to fulfill their needs – ultimately either navigating to your website, calling your firm directly, navigating to your brick-and-mortar office, or something else.
How Can GMB Help Your Firm’s SEO?
According to statistics released by Google, results within the local three-pack receive up to 47% of all clicks. In addition, if a user searches directly for your firm’s name, they’ll see your full GMB listing, with direct links to contact, navigate, or visit your office. Perhaps best of all, GMB listings give users the opportunity to provide photos and ratings for your firm, helping to increase your firm’s trust and authority.
The potential for such exposure has an undeniable effect on the likelihood that users will make a conversion, like visiting your website or contacting your firm. The opposite is true, as well – employing other SEO practices like utilizing relevant keywords, producing quality page content, and developing a strong backlink profile, can make your firm more likely to appear in the three-pack for local searches. Overall, GMB listings are a critical part of an effective SEO strategy that will help make your firm more visible and more appealing for users searching in your area.
How to Get Started With GMB
Begin with these simple steps to claim and optimize your GMB profile:
As you can see, setting up your firm’s GMB profile is a relatively simple process. However, true optimization has a bit of a steeper learning curve, requiring you to build a familiarity with multiple Google features and GMB accessories – then, once client reviews, questions, and more begin rolling in, it becomes even more critical to actively monitor your GMB listing. If you need help optimizing or monitoring your GMB listing – or any other aspect of your local SEO – you can rely on the team at RizeUp Media.
Contact us today to learn more about our SEO services, including GMB insights. With expert guidance, unparalleled SEO tools, and industry-best techniques, RizeUp can help you achieve the SEO success and GMB optimization your firm needs for healthy growth. Call 866-806-8536 or complete our online contact form today.
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