The Listing Most Lawyers Miss

Your Google Business Profile is just sitting there, gathering dust. Or worse, it’s out of date, incomplete or contains slightly off facts. Meanwhile, prospective clients are searching for Kansas City attorneys, they see your ad, and they move on to someone else since your profile doesn’t give them what they need. This is annoying and simple to correct. Certainly, a good Google Business Profile can influence the number of local clients you attract. But most legal firms consider it as an afterthought. Here’s the deal. When someone searches for divorce attorney near me or a criminal lawyer in Kansas City, Google doesn’t only provide organic search results. It offers a map of businesses in the area. That’s where your Google Business Profile is. Hit the nail on the head and you are in front of folks who are actively seeking legal help. Get it wrong and you’re off the radar.

What Google Business Profile Really Does

Let me begin with the basics. Your Google Business Profile is the listing that you manage on Google. It shows up when people search your firm name, or search your practice area around Kansas City. Your profile includes your address, phone number, hours, services, images and client reviews. All of this information is presented right when someone clicks on your profile. They can call you directly from Google. They can see what other clients think about you. They can see where you are on a map. Your Google Business Profile is the first impression many people have of your organization. Consider what you do when you need a service. You google it. You read the ad. If it appears professional and trustworthy, you can call. If it looks deserted, or sketchy, you pass. Your potential clients do the same. That’s why Google Business Profile optimization is important. A well-maintained profile suggests that you’re a real business, active. An incomplete profile says, “I don’t care,” and that makes others wonder if they should.

The Reality of Local Search for Lawyers

Google wants to deliver relevant local results to users. If someone in Kansas City needs legal help, Google will favor results from that city. They don’t care about legal business across the nation. But a corporation three miles distant does. Your Google Business Profile is Google’s way of knowing you’re in Kansas City. That’s how you show up in local searches. It’s how you compete with other Kansas City attorneys for the same potential clientele. Actually, this is good news. You’re not competing at the national level. You’re competing where you live. That’s a much smaller pool, so if you actually put the work in you may stand out more easily.

The Elements that Really Matter

Let’s go into what pushes the needle on your profile.

You need to keep your business information current. Your name, address and phone number should match online. If Google sees 3 different copies of your address on the internet, it gets confused. This will damage your ranks. So get that down first.

Your business category means more than you might realize. It’s not just Law Firm. You’re a criminal law firm, or a family law practice, or anything special. Being specific about what you do helps Google show your profile to the relevant people

Hours and contact data need to be updated. If your profile indicates you’re closed on Wednesdays, but you’re open, people will call when you’re purportedly closed. If your number is old they’ll get a wrong number and go to the next lawyer. These subtleties may appear trivial until they cost you a client.

Pictures do get clicks. People want to know where they’re headed. You get a professional shot of your office, your crew, or your sign that makes you feel real. They are more inclined to call or stop by. Pictures from your website or social media are fine.

Let me give you a description that is clear and useful. Write a few sentences about what you do and who you serve. “Kansas City family law company specializing in Divorce & Custody Cases” will beat out generic descriptions. Be precise. Inform individuals what they need to know.

Services worth listing out. List if you handle divorce, custody, mediation and post-divorce adjustments. This helps Google match your profile with what people are searching for.

The Game of Review

And here’s the kicker: reviews are big. Google loves reviews, and so do potential customers. A lawyer with four-star reviews from genuine clients sounds trustworthy. A no review or unfavorable review appears hazardous. Ask for customer reviews. After you’ve assisted them, email them a link to your Google profile and ask if they would mind sharing their experience. Facilitate. The easier you make it, the more people that will show up. Respond to reviews, the good and the bad. 4. Thank people who left excellent ratings When you do get negative evaluations, be professional. Address the matter if you can. This is a good sign, as it indicates you care about reviews and you’re actively managing your reputation. Reviews take time to build up but it’s worth it. People trust peer reviews more than they trust what a corporation says about itself.

Why This is Important for Local SEO

Optimizing a Google Business Profile is not something apart from typical SEO. It has two purposes. A solid profile helps you rank higher in local searches, which means more people will notice you. More visibility equals more calls. Google cares about consistency, not simply the profile itself. Google trusts you more if your business information is consistent across your website, your Google Business Profile, your directory listings, and your social media. This is called NAP consistency – Name, Address, Phone consistency. It sounds boring to make sure everything is consistent everyplace on the internet yet it’s actually good for your rankings. It informs Google you are a real, organized business.

The Real Thing

The Kansas City law company had a decent website, but their Google Business Profile was mostly empty. Their picture was a standard stock shot. Their hours were incorrect. Their description was hazy. They weren’t getting too many local leads. Spent a few hours repairing everything, adding actual images, creating a clear description, gathering reviews from happy clients, changing their hours, their local search visibility sky rocketed. People were clicking on their profile more. There were more calls. They were able to see the change in their leads coming in within a couple months. That’s what happens when you take your profile seriously.

Getting it right

This is all on top of running a law company, which takes up time. You’ve got to watch your Google Business Profile. Reviews require replies. Fresh photos. If something changes, the information has to be updated. That’s where Legal Practice Solutions, LLC comes in. They do Google Business Profile optimization for Kansas City legal firms. They ensure your information is complete, accurate and compelling. They assist you collect reviews. They watch your profile and answer questions. They incorporate your profile into your broader SEO strategy, so everything works seamlessly. They also set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console so you can see how people are finding you and what they are doing on your site. This helps you really see if your local optimization is working.

What you do next

First, check out your Google Business Profile today. Is it finished? Are your hours right? Do you have any recent pictures? Any reviews out? Does your description make any sense? If you say no to any of them, you’ve got some work to do. Fix these things and you’ll start seeing more local clients finding you. It won’t happen overnight but it will happen. And let’s be honest, most of your competition probably isn’t even trying to do this well. So when you do you will pass on. 

Contact Legal Practice Solutions, LLC to  learn more or Call 816-945-2781