Have you searched for your law firm in Google local listings? Is your firm’s information accurate? If not, you should correct, here’s why and how.
It should come as very little surprise that literally millions of people search for businesses on Google. If your prospective clients search for lawyers like you online, it stands to reason that you should be listed there. The good news is that claiming, updating and optimizing your law firm’s Google local profile is completely free. The bad news is that you may have problems getting your listing right.
Google collects a ton of data about your law firm from around the web. This may include client & professional reviews, the type of work you do, location information, photos and more. Google gathers this information from a variety of local directories and various websites. It then combines this information with the information you have provided in your Google Places listing. Google uses this information to display your firm in search results.
Unfortunately, because listings on Google gather information from multiple sources, some of the sources of information may be out-dated or incorrect. Inaccurate or otherwise inconsistent information can hurt your firm’s visibility within search results. Which is why you need to find and update inaccurate information for your law firm.
Google provides a step-by-step troubleshooter for updating incorrect business information. They also provide support for business owners to correct their local business listing.
If you’re claiming or updating your Google business listing, it’s imperative that you follow Google’s Places quality guidelines. Just like with traditional organic search, violating the Places quality guidelines may hurt your visibility within local search results or even get your firm removed from the results altogether.
It’s also worth noting that, in addition to claiming a listing for your law firm, each individual attorney is also permitted to have a listing. Again, make sure you follow the guidelines when claiming, updating or optimizing local listings.
If you’re interested in learning more about local search engine optimization for your law firm, head over to GetListed.org’s Learning Center.
With even some basic optimizations, you might be very surprised to see how much better your firm appears in local search results.