How To Get Your Law Firm Listed On Google Fast In 6 Easy Steps
Anyone who has done Google searches numerous times has undoubtedly noticed that the first few results returned will generally include a map and three or four suggestions about a local search candidate which might satisfy a user’s request. That is Google My Business in action, and it’s a service provided by the search engine giant which allows you to promote your website and your business, especially to local consumers. If you’ve been wondering how all those other law firms and lawyers are getting listed on Google, this is how!
Given the fact that people conducting business searches are 82% likely to accept one of the recommendations offered by Google, the importance of having your business listed with Google can hardly be overrated. That being the case, you would be well-advised to have your legal firm listed on Google, since most of your clientele will come from the local area. Here are the steps you need to take in order to make that happen.
Sign on to Google
First, you should confirm that no Google My Business listing already exists for your firm. You can do this by navigating to the homepage for Google My Business and sign in to your account. You’ll notice whether or not there’s already a listing for your firm, and if there is, you’ll just have to verify and correct all the information which might be listed there. Otherwise, all the data must be entered for the first time.
Provide contact information
After you’ve signed on to Google My Business, you will be prompted for all the needed information. It will be to your benefit to provide as much info as possible, because it may help some users to decide on choosing you, and it could also cause your business to be ranked higher on Google. The data you will be required to provide includes the firm name, address, phone number, and URL of your website.
Identify service locations
This is an important step because it defines your reach, i.e. how far beyond your actual city that you will provide service for. You may have several offices in the local region, and all these should be identified here. You should be accurate and truthful though, because inaccuracies will come with steep penalties once Google becomes aware of them, and it’s entirely possible that your business listing will be deleted altogether.
Choose the right category
Another critical part of establishing your Google My Business listing, this step calls for you to choose your primary and secondary business categories. You can choose something like ‘lawyer’ or ‘law firm’ of course, but it will be better to be more specific since you’ll want to appeal to users looking for a specific type of lawyer. For instance, if you choose ‘personal injury lawyer in Buffalo, NY’, that will be much more likely to match up with a user’s search request. A phrase like this is known as a long-tail keyword, and it comprises more than 70% of all Internet searches. Being specific about your categories will allow you to serve clientele better, while also narrowing down the competition to your firm and several others.
Verify your listing
There are several ways you can choose to verify your business listing, including a phone call, an SMS text, or a postcard that will be sent to your company’s business address. In the majority of cases, you will receive a postcard from Google in response which contains a verification code. Then you’ll need to sign in to google.com/business and click on the red button labeled Verify Now, so you can enter your verification code. Once you’ve entered this code and verified your business, you’ll be able to customize your GMB business page any way you would like to.
Complete the profile to get listed on Google
At this point, you’ll be able to fully optimize your GMB profile. This will help searchers learn all about your firm, and it will give you a competitive edge over other law firms in the area. This step will take more time than when you originally set up your GMB listing, because there’s much more information you can add, including photos of your staff members, ‘About’ data, and much more business info. To really separate yourself from the competition, it would be worthwhile to add in relevant videos, high-quality images, and especially some favorable client reviews.
