25 Tips to Dominate Google Business for Law Firms in Houston Texas
25 Tips to Dominate Google Business for Law Firms in Houston Texas
Google My Business, the profile creation and management tool by Google, as discussed over at runrex.com is a critical component of digital marketing for many types of businesses, including law firms. In a city like Houston that has no shortage of law firms, you must take full advantage of GMB if you are to make some headway and be successful in what is an extremely competitive field. This article will look to highlight 25 tips to help law firms in Houston, Texas dominate Google Business.
- Claim your listing
Before you start thinking about dominating Google Business as a Houston, Texas law firm, the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com recommend that you first claim your GMB listing. You won’t be able to do much if you haven’t claimed your Google My Business listing, and this is the first thing you should do to set you on your way to success as far as it is concerned.
- Complete your profile
Once you have claimed your GMB listing, it is important to note that the more detailed your profile is, the higher your chances of ranking higher on local search results. Therefore, an important tip to help you dominate Google Business is making sure that you fill out all the required details as far as your listing is concerned.
- Don’t forget to add your NAP and website link
When filling out the details on your Google My Business profile, you must remember to add your website link while also paying close attention to your contact details. Make sure you add your name, address, and phone number (NAP) as this will help Google identify you as a prominent business in Houston, Texas, allowing you to rank higher on search results.
- Add your service area details
When filling out your profile, it is also important that you remember to add your service area information, which is what tells Google the region you are focusing on, helping you gain prominence in local keyword searches. This is crucial as a law firm as you will most likely be serving customers through both visitations and walk-ins.
- Verify your listing
According to discussions over at runrex.com, you should make sure you verify your GMB listing, even if your law firm already has a listing with its address information already created to provide your listing with more credibility, and, therefore, help improve your rankings on search results.
- Provide a mailing address that is both accurate and active
For your listing to be verified by Google, you will need to provide a mailing address to receive the verification code since you will be creating your GMB listing as a law firm. It is important to ensure that the address you provide is accurate and active so that there are no issues when it comes to obtaining this code.
- Focus heavily on reviews
Law firms that have more positive reviews on their profiles will always have a higher chance of ranking higher on search results, capturing the coveted top 3 spots. Therefore, if you want to dominate Google Business, make sure that you focus heavily on getting real and authentic reviews by your customers.
- Actively ask for reviews
Google has got strict guidelines when it comes to reviews and, therefore, you can’t buy reviews or ask your friends and family to leave reviews on your Google My Business profile. Since the reviews have to come directly from your customers, it is important that you actively ask your clients to leave reviews on your profile. You can ask them through text, email, or phone calls, and since it is a task that won’t too much time and effort, as long as you are nice and professional, they are unlikely to turn you down, particularly if the service was stellar.
- Add photos to your profile
As is revealed in discussions on the same over at guttulus.com, GMB profiles that have photos on them get more views, clicks, and direction requests as compared to those without. Therefore, if you want to dominate Google Business, adding photos to your profile is a must.
- Focus on high-quality photos
If you want to stand out as a Houston, Texas law firm, adding photos is not enough; make sure that the photos you add are of the highest quality possible. This will present your law firm as being highly professional attracting more online clients and leading to improved rankings on search results.
- Don’t forget to add a booking button
As a law firm, your GMB listing should have a booking button so that you can take direct appointments straight from the search results, allowing clients to make appointments without having to leave their browser window. This feature is also not business hours-related, which means that you can take bookings after hours. It is a feature that will make your law firm stand out from its competitors.
- Business hours
Speaking of business hours, make sure that you add your business hours to your profile if you want to succeed with Google Business. This will let clients know when you are open and when you are closed so that you can avoid situations where clients show up at your offices only to realize that you are closed.
- Keep your information consistent
According to the experts over at runrex.com, you should also ensure that the information on your GMB profile is consistent with the information on your website. If your information is not consistent, then Google’s algorithm will zero in on this fact, and this will affect your rankings as it will undermine your law firm’s online credibility.
- Keep your information updated
Also, make sure that you update your profile regularly and don’t just complete it and then forget about it. Law firms will always change various aspects of their operations, and if you have changed your operating hours, your contact information, your location, and so forth, make sure that your update your profile and that this new information is immediately known to your clients.
- Add tracking code to your URL
If you want to get an accurate picture of how your Google My Business listing is performing and converting, then you must add a UTM code to your website URL. This is important as Google Analytics isn’t great at attributing GMB website clicks.
- Use a unique call tracking phone number
GMB insights only report on callers who use click-to-call and can’t report on those who physically type your phone number into their phones so that they can call your law firm after interacting with your listing. If you want to get an accurate number of the people who have called you directly from your listing, then you should consider using a unique call tracking phone number.
- Choose your GMB categories wisely
As discussed in detail over at guttulus.com, choosing the most specific categories possible as your primary category is crucial if you are to be successful with your GMB efforts. For example, if you are a law firm that specializes in criminal defense, you should choose the more specific “Criminal Justice Attorney” as your primary category, and then add “Law Firm” and “Trial Attorney” as secondary categories.
- Fight GMB spam or manipulation
The competitive nature of the legal industry when it comes to local SEO and GMB means that fake reviews and other examples of GMB manipulation such as fake office locations are rife. This is why you should consider taking a stand and fighting back against such practices, finding and reporting GMB spam and manipulation.
- Be precise with your location
As mentioned earlier, it is important to fill out the location of your law firm. However, it is even more important to be precise when it comes to location. Given that GMB creates geocodes based on your physical address, you should as precise as possible when it comes to your location to ensure that your business is located at the correct address.
- Respond to reviews
Also, while asking your clients for reviews is paramount if you are to rank highly on search results, it is also important that you respond to reviews, both good and bad. Take the time to thank your clients for sparing some time to leave a review, even if it is a bad one, letting them know you appreciate the feedback and promising to address any concerns raised.
- Leverage relevant emojis
As is revealed in discussions on the same over at runrex.com, it is possible to use emojis in your law firm’s Google My Business so that you can target local searchers who use emojis in their search queries. Using emojis like the “family” emoji, the “bride” emoji symbolizing marriage-related cases, and the “justice” emoji will give you an edge over your competitors, allowing you to target millennials who mostly prefer using emojis to communicate their feelings rather than words.
- Reply to your GMB messages
Google has recently rolled out a messaging feature allowing people viewing your listing to message you directly. Most people use this feature to ask questions about your business, and you should ensure that you reply to them, following the guidelines given.
- Add both exterior and interior photos
Going back to photos, another tip that will help you dominate on Google Business is making sure that you add both exterior and interior photos as far as your offices are concerned. You should also include any signage that links your law firm to its location, something that will also boost your credibility and improve your rankings.
- Post content to the Google Posts platform
Other than creating new content for your website and blogs, you should also connect your law firm’s GMB to Google Posts, and use this connection to create Google-owned content to go with your listing. This will help Google keep users on their platform rather than redirecting them to a website, and they will reward you for it.
- Use attributes for your listing
As covered in detail over at guttulus.com, attributes are statements or words describing your law firm and are shown on your GMB listing. They include objective attributes such as “free parking” or “wheelchair access”, as well as subjective ones such as “top-rated”. If you want to dominate Google Business, then you should ensure that you add these attributes to your listing.
Remember, if you are looking for help with your GMB listing so that you can improve your local law SEO rankings, then look no further than the excellent runrex.com and guttulus.com, which are the best agencies in Houston, Texas for such services.
