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According to Google, nearly two-thirds of smartphone users are likely to buy from businesses that personalize information online at the location of a user
In the high-tech society of today, it's not enough to have a sign tastefully decorated outside of your office or distributing business cards to all the local functions you attend. Legal services, it is imperative that the online presence of your business or practice is well optimized.
Does this mean exactly?
The ranking of a company in Google My Business (GMB) can be summed up in three separate areas in focus:
1. Relevance
] 2. Distance
3. Prominence
The improvement of your list in all of these areas can help you rank among the top three places in Google's local search (also known as Google's Three Pack or Rich Maps). But before you can optimize a GMB registration, you must create or claim one. We will not discuss this here, but Moz has an informative article on how to do it.
Our agency has worked with hundreds of law firms over the years, and one common thread to all is the presence Local Search is a vital step to win new business. The same goes for the millions of local businesses (including domestic brands present locally) that must be relevant to local audiences.
Relevance: first on the local SEO listing [19659003] Relevance is a basic tenet of Google's algorithm and lawyers, business owners and marketers must make their GMB profile as relevant as possible to what researchers use to find them
. 19659003] • Choose a specific category. For example, do not just choose "lawyer" if you are a personal injury attorney and if this option is available
• Add a practice area and company descriptions. Google allows descriptions of up to 1,000 words on company profiles. Use all the space if you can, and add keyword phrases appropriate to your areas of practice.
• Complete and detail business information. Provide specific information about the name, address and phone number (which local SEO companies call NAP) for your profile. This information must also be consistent on the Internet.
The objectives here are to make sure that the profile is filled as completely as possible and to use every opportunity to fill it with relevant information about your business and the type of business [19659003] Distance: Strategies for georeferenced searches
Google tends to favor the closest businesses to where a researcher is located, and that's one of the Most Influential Factors for Ranking GMB Results
Of course, companies can not do much about it, but they can increase the likelihood of relevance by creating geolocated pages on their site and linking them to their GMB profiles as well as other profiles. on the Web.
I must emphasize that this only works within reasonable limits and that business owners or traders should use this tactic no matter where they are. Here are some tactics to create an effective location page:
• Select a high-volume keyword phrase that has location intent. Typically, for a lawyer, it will be "practice area" plus "name of the city". For example, "personal injury lawyer Philadelphia."
• Create a page on your website targeting this expression.
• Include the phrase in your page title, titles, page copy, meta description, and image file names.
• Include your name, address and telephone number on the page.
• Include phrase in your page permalink such as: example.com/city-name/target-keyword-phrase/
Prominence: Where Companies and Practices Can Go set aside
This is where a company can really get ahead of the competition in local search. The importance of GMB profiles can be improved in many ways. Some of these things are included in the profiles themselves while others are included in a broader SEO strategy.
Here's what you do:
• Images: Add under many pictures you can to your GMB profile. Make sure you have more images than competing companies in your area.
• Notice: Get as many comments as possible on your GMB profile as well as on other websites such as Facebook and Yelp. It is important to disclose that you should follow your state's guidelines regarding reviews and that Yelp discourages profiles from soliciting open criticism.
• Permanent Signage: Google tries to mimic the weight of companies in the offline world. The more you can make your business in the offline world, the more it will translate online.
• Quotes And Links: A more improved web presence will result in better local rankings. Work on building quotes (mentions your company name on other sites) as well as incoming links to your website. Yext is a great tool for building quotes.
If you're opening a new location for your business, Sterling Sky's Joy Hawkins offers some great tips on how to rank a profile. Here are some additional tips:
• The location must be occupied during opening hours (no empty offices rented for an address only)
• The location staff must be yours (no virtual desktops)
• Avoid sharing an office with another lawyer as this can cause filtering problems
• Avoid coworking spaces and virtual desktops too (your desk should stand out others)
Final Thoughts on Local Search
Here is the short list of local SEO tactics. There are many more pieces to the puzzle as well as a solid overall strategy that needs to be put in place to rank well in location-based research. The stronger your overall SEO campaign, the more likely you are to see your GMB profile at the top of the list.
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According to Google, nearly two-thirds of smartphone users will probably buy from companies that personalize information online at a user's location.
In the high-tech society of today, it's not enough to have a tastefully decorated panel. your office or distribute business cards to every local function you attend. With so many potential customers turning to local search for commercial or legal services, it is imperative that the online presence of your business or practice is optimized.
What exactly does this mean? The results of the companies (GMB) can be summarized in three distinct areas of interest:
1. Relevance
2. Distance
3. Prominence
Improving your list in all these areas can help you rank among the top three places in Google's local search (also known as the Three Pack or Google's Rich Maps) . But before you can optimize a GMB registration, you must create or claim one. We will not discuss this here, but Moz has an informative article on how to do it.
Our agency has worked with hundreds of law firms over the years, and one thing common to all is the presence Local search is a vital step to win new business. The same goes for the millions of local businesses (including domestic brands present locally) that must be relevant to local audiences.
Relevance: first on the local SEO listing [19659003] Relevance is a basic tenet of Google's algorithm and lawyers, business owners and marketers must make their GMB profile as relevant as possible to what researchers use to find them
. 19659003] • Choose a specific category. For example, do not just choose "lawyer" if you are a personal injury attorney and if this option is available
• Add a practice area and company descriptions. Google allows descriptions of up to 1,000 words on company profiles. Use all the space if you can, and add keyword phrases appropriate to your areas of practice.
• Complete and detail business information. Provide specific information about the name, address and phone number (which local SEO companies call NAP) for your profile. This information must also be consistent on the Internet.
The objectives here are to make sure that the profile is filled as completely as possible and to use every opportunity to fill it with relevant information about your business and the type of business [19659003] Distance: Strategies for georeferenced searches
Google tends to favor the closest businesses to where a researcher is located, and that's one of the Most Influential Factors for Ranking GMB Results
Of course, companies can not do much about it, but they can increase the likelihood of relevance by creating geolocated pages on their site and linking them to their GMB profiles as well as other profiles. on the Web.
I must emphasize that this only works within reasonable limits and that business owners or traders should use this tactic no matter where they are. Here are some tactics to create an effective location page:
• Select a high-volume keyword phrase that has location intent. Typically, for a lawyer, it will be "practice area" plus "name of the city". For example, "personal injury lawyer Philadelphia."
• Create a page on your website targeting this expression.
• Include the phrase in your page title, titles, page copy, meta description, and image file names.
• Include your name, address and telephone number on the page.
• Include phrase in your page permalink such as: example.com/city-name/target-keyword-phrase/
Prominence: Where Companies and Practices Can Go set aside
This is where a company can really get ahead of the competition in local search. The importance of GMB profiles can be improved in many ways. Some of these things are included in the profiles themselves while others are included in a broader SEO strategy.
Here's what you do:
• Images: Add under many pictures you can to your GMB profile. Make sure you have more images than competing companies in your area.
• Notice: Get as many comments as possible on your GMB profile as well as on other websites such as Facebook and Yelp. It is important to disclose that you should follow your state's guidelines regarding reviews and that Yelp discourages profiles from soliciting open criticism.
• Permanent Signage: Google tries to mimic the weight of companies in the offline world. The more you can make your business in the offline world, the more it will translate online.
• Quotes And Links: A more improved web presence will result in better local rankings. Work on building quotes (mentions your company name on other sites) as well as incoming links to your website. Yext is a great tool for building quotes.
If you're opening a new location for your business, Sterling Sky's Joy Hawkins offers some great tips on how to rank a profile. Here are some additional tips:
• The location must be occupied during opening hours (no empty offices rented for an address only)
• The location staff must be yours (no virtual desktops)
• Avoid sharing an office with another lawyer as this can cause filtering problems
• Avoid coworking spaces and virtual desktops too (your desk should stand out others)
Final Thoughts on Local Search
Here is the short list of local SEO tactics. There are many more pieces to the puzzle as well as a solid overall strategy that needs to be put in place to rank well in location-based research. The more comprehensive your SEO campaign is, the more likely you are to rank your GMB profile first.
