Legal Marketing Tip: Get Your Law Firm on the First Page of Google with Google Maps
Do you want to explode your legal marketing efforts and show up on the first page of Google without the help of an SEO firm or an expensive Ad Words campaign? Fortunately, that’s possible with the help of a separate search engine known as Google Maps. Google Maps is a free, quick and easy way to ensure your law practice can be found by local clients by simply setting up an optimized account.
What is Google Maps, aka Local Search?
Local search is a special algorithm (or search method) that helps the searcher (or your potential client) find more relevant results closer to home. The following screen shot of the search “divorce attorney, Moorestown, NJ” will illustrate what I mean by this:
As you can see by the image, there are 10 law firms listed next to a map at the top of the page. You’ll also notice these listings are well above firms that spend thousands of dollars a year on SEO and PPC campaigns for better search rankings. This happened because the client “googled” a search term + a specific location or zip code and the local search engine kicked in to trump the regular search results.
As mentioned before, Google does this to provide more relevant results for those that look for goods and services in their immediate area. If people weren’t searching this way, Google wouldn’t have created local search. Therefore, by simply recognizing this trend and setting up an account, your firm can snag the best clients on a shoe-string marketing budget.
How to Get Your Law Practice Set Up on Google Maps
Setting up your law practice on Google Maps only requires 15 minutes of undivided attention and access to a few good videos or pictures to upload with your listing. To get started, you’ll have to create an account with Google’s Local Business Center (www.google.com/local/add). Fill out your personal information and follow the instructions given. When you’ve successfully completed this step, you can then choose “add a new listing” on the following page.
From there, you will be taken to a screen asking for general business information and a brief description of the company. Now, before you rush through and put a blanket statement such as “Florida family law practice” in the description, remember this is a search engine similar to regular Google search. Therefore, you must use as much optimized content as possible if you want to show up above the other listings. Going on the example above, a better way to set up your description would be, “ABC Company is a Florida (FL) family law firm specializing in divorce, wills, estates, prenups and child support cases”.
Get Personal and Showcase Your Firm
The next screen will bring you to a more personal page where you can add the firm’s hours or acceptable payment methods, in addition to pictures, YouTube videos and a personal message from the firm. It’s important that you take the time to utilize each of these optional areas, as Google is essentially giving you the chance to add some personality to a generic listing. Similarly, it’s a known fact that seeing pictures of the building, the staff, or maybe a video of a key attorney saying a word or two about the firm can help a client overcome the fear of calling an attorney in the first place.
This page also gives you the opportunity to add 5-7 categories in which your business qualifies. Start by typing in the words “lawyer” or “attorney” into the blank field and see what specific categories populate. Then choose among the drop down list the categories that best describe your law practice. Always be sure to utilize every category possible, as this too can determine when and how your firm is shown in the local search results.
Validate Your Listing
The final step in setting up Google Maps is to validate the listing. The following screen will give two options on how to do this: 1) an automated system can call the main phone line ask for a password or 2) Google will mail a postcard within 2-3 weeks with a password to confirm the listing. The second option will be necessary for those firms that bounce their calls to a switchboard or a pre-recorded message, as a live response must be given with the phone option. But whichever option you choose, follow the instructions and confirm the listing to complete the set up process.
Congratulations! You Have Now Mastered Local Search
Now that you’ve mastered Google Maps, go ahead and try your hand with Yahoo and MSN local. The larger your web presence is in this area, the more clients you will draw in for the firm. And as a final warning, if the listing is not optimized correctly or your firm is entering a crowded industry, it may take some time before your listing shows up near the top of the map. Remember, at the end of the day Google Maps is just another search engine, in which time and keyword popularity will always dictate who holds the top spot on the first page.
Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.