Have you ever done a Google search, and see the map with the 1-5 star ratings for a couple of relevant firms? Wouldn’t it be great if your firm was in that list? It can be – and one of the critical pieces is to get happy clients to review your firm on Google. We usually recommend that firms integrate this into their process and workflow. Whether it’s an e-mail, call, or postcard, your firm should have a process to get online reviews and boost your marketing.
Back when everyone used a telephone book to find firms, there was no way to tell if a business was trustworthy – you could definitely tell who spent the most money on their ad, but there was no good way to see feedback clients had on the business. Now, everyone has a voice, which makes it critical to be focused on client experience, as well as making sure to get feedback and reviews from those happy clients you’re producing.
With that in mind, here are the top 5 ways we recommend optimizing your Google My Business page…
#1 – Create Business Listings
Google is focused on user experience, and in local search terms, that means verifying your firm is the real deal. On a very high level, how this is done is by checking how often your NAP (name, address and phone number) is listed online. The more you have, the more it points to the credibility of your firm.
#2 – Ensure Consistent Listings
In addition to having these listings, it’s very important that they are consistent and up to date. To do this by hand, do a search for your business – make a note of every result and click to see what the information looks like. If it doesn’t match your business information, contact them to update your listing. We can also do this for you with our local business listing service.
#3 – Reviews – And Lots Of Them
This is one of, if not the most important thing for your local search results. Your firm needs to get all their happy clients to review their page. If your firm has 10, 20, or even more reviews on Google, think about how that looks to a service that is trying to validate that your business exists, and that it is one of the best in the area. It’s as simple as asking clients if they have a Google or Gmail account, and asking them to write a quick review on your business.
#4 – Have A Google Map On Your Site
It’s a best practice to have your Google My Business location embedded in a map on your site, similar to how we’ve done on our contact page. Embedding a map is easy – just go to Google Maps, search for your business name (and verify the information is correct), and then click the three lines to the side of the search box and select “Share or Embed Map”. Once that embed code is created, insert it on your page.
#5 – Have Your NAP Listed On The Website
That NAP information we talked about earlier – it’s important to have it on your site, as well as verifying that it’s accurate in all the different listings online. To make sure potential clients can find you quickly and don’t get aggravated searching for your contact info, we also recommend you have your phone number in big, bold numbers at the top right of your page.
Contact The Law Firm Marketing Experts
Do you need help with any (or all) of this so you can focus on running your firm and making those happy clients? Our team would love to talk with you! Give us a call at 919-825-1050 or fill out the contact form on the side of this page to start the conversation.