Google My Business is a must have marketing tool for law firms. Everyone knows that lead generation is largely about showing up on the first page of Google search results. These days, search results are no longer just a list of websites on a page. Rather, there are three types of search results on the first search result page—sponsored ads, organic search results, and map listings. By optimizing your Google My Business profile, you can beat out a lot of the big firms in terms of SEO, because you can target the map listings and vault your firm onto that coveted turf. Google My Business is free. It is a dashboard that allows you to keep your Google+ business profile up to date while also enabling you to track online reviews, website traffic, and your AdWords account. Basically, Google My Business (GMB) is like a modern yellow pages. Local businesses input their name, address, website, etc., and users can input reviews. When a person Googles a certain phrase, like “Portland Divorce Lawyer,” a cluster of local businesses will show up on a map—above the organic search results.
To get the most out of GMB, make sure that you create a listing for every physical office location that you have. It is also important to select the most appropriate category for your firm, for example, “Social Security Attorney.” Copy and paste the URL from the address bar of your firms website and incorporate that on your profile. Be aware that your location will not appear until you verify it. A “Verify Now” button should pop-up as you go through the prompts, which will take you to the verification page.
Be sure to fill out all possible fields, and include a picture of your office, staff, and logo. The more information you have on your page, the more valuable it will be as an SEO tool.
Take advantage of Google Analytics. This tool can tell you how many visitors you have to your website, how long they stay, what pages they view, and how many are returning to your site again. If you are not tracking and analyzing this information, you won’t be able to improve your marketing campaign.
You can also track reviews of your firm via GMB. Make sure to respond promptly and courteously to any negative reviews that you get. You can also link your GMB profile to your Google AdWords account.
Although Google+ is not a critical social media platform, it would not hurt to keep it updated with posts lifted from your more important social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Law firms cannot afford to not keep their GMB profile updated. It is a very effective and cost-efficient way to land on the coveted first page of a potential lead’s search results. Make sure that your linked webpage and blog posts are strong so that you are poised to convert whatever leads GMB may bring your way.