Google Profile Business - How to Get Outstanding Client Reviews For Your Law Firm
If your Google Business Profile (GBP - formerly Google My Business) is currently not part of your marketing strategy, you should absolutely make this a priority. Potential clients are five times more likely to visit your Google Business Profile than your website. The first thing potential clients will most likely look at on your GBP is your Google reviews. In 2022, a big focus for Google is rewarding your GBP for well-optimized, local targeted reviews. So, how can your law firm get outstanding client reviews to attract new potential clients?
On your Google Business Profile, potential clients can find out who you are without even going to your website. From there, they might decide to call you, send you a message, get directions to your business, request a consultation, and then visit your website.
Since Google My Business switched to Google Business Profile, Google has been making changes to how clients can find your business with the vicinity update. With the vicinity update, the focus is on local search and how you rank locally on the Map Pack.
The goal for your law firm should be to rank in the top 3 in the Map Pack for your local keyword(s).
There are a few factors that come into play with ranking your Google Business Profile. We don’t know Google's exact algorithm when it comes to these rankings. However, we do know that there is a focus on;
Your business description
Targeted categories
Your location
The consistent-high quality content you are posting on your Google Business Profile
Your geo-tagged images
Your clients that post geo-tagged images to your Google Business Profile
And reviews
As mentioned above, getting reviews for your business is a huge focus for Google this year. Good reviews that include certain specific things that Google is looking for will help your law firm rank higher on Google Business Profile - and ahead of your competition. Good reviews on your GBP communicate trustworthiness and authority to Google.
How to get outstanding reviews to rank in the Map Pack
In order to get good reviews from your clients, you need to have a good internal strategy for requesting reviews. Here is how to create a strategy for your law firm so that you can get reviews from clients that will rank your Google Business Profile higher and increase your local authority for your law firm’s services.
Responsible for reviews
There should be one person who is responsible for reviews in your law firm. This person should make sure that each and every client has been contacted to leave a review. This same person should also be responsible for responding to all reviews within 24 to 72 hours.
Sending an email or text
You should let your clients know you will be sending them an email to request a Google review.
Email or text every customer with your Google Business Profile review link
Your law firm should have a process for contacting every customer to leave a review. It should either be either an email or text to the client. After the client’s issue is resolved, the client should be emailed within a day with your law firm’s Google Business Profile review link and simple and clear instructions on how to leave a review for your law firm.
Here is how to find your law firm’s Google Business Profile review link:
First, you must be an admin on your Google Business Profile account.
Log into your Gmail account
Click on the 9 dots at the top right of your Gmail account
Click on the Business Profile icon
Under Home, look for the get more reviews box
Click on the share review form
Click to copy link - make sure to save this link.
This is your unique Google Business Profile link that you want to give to every client.
Take photos with your clients
Google loves when you add new, high-quality photos to your Google Business Profile. A great way to get new photos to add to your profile is to take photos or videos with your clients. As part of the vicinity update, Google will be ranking you for consistently adding new photos, eventually using your photos as icons photos on Google Maps. Google will also be rewarding you when customers post their own photos to your business.
Include these important things in your client review email:
Thank them for being a valued customer and explain that you would greatly appreciate it if they left a review
Give them an example review of what to include in their review. It is very important to make sure you include your local target keywords in your example. This is how Google will rank your reviews and give you the local authority in your field.
Make sure to include your unique Google Business Profile link
Include the photo you took with your client so that they can upload it to your Google Business Profile
How to respond to Google reviews
It is important to respond to Google reviews within 24 to 48 hours. In your response, you should make sure to include your local target keywords if the client that left the review didn’t. You should also make sure you write a personalized review. Google will reward you for taking the time to personalize each response to your clients.
How to respond to a negative review
Unfortunately, sometimes you don’t get a good review. It happens to everyone. The important thing is to respond to the negative review right away with a positive, thoughtful and personalized response. According to Google’s algorithm, it's also actually OK - even expected - if you don’t get all 5-star reviews. Google likes to see a variety in feedback, and if you happen to get a one or two-star review a 3.5, 4, or 4.5-star review will actually balance out your overall review score.
Summary
Consistency and an understanding of how to better manage your Google Business Profile is the key to ranking for your local keywords in the Map Pack top #3. Your profile ranking high is not something that happens overnight. However, with a good focus on your Google Business Profile and making it a priority in your marketing strategy, you will see results.
Do what you do best - and outsource the rest!
SEO My Law Firm’s legal content writing solutions can help your law firm get more online visibility and rank higher on search engines. Contact us to discuss how we can help grow your law firm’s business - and your profits!
