Google My Business is a must-have in today’s virtual world. Even for attorneys who traditionally rely on referrals for business need to be visible and discoverable by clients and prospects online.
If you don’t have a Google My Business profile, create one at www.google.com/business. Simply answer the prompt questions to get started. Once your profile is activated, you will see how clients engage with your listing by tracking profile views, number of phone calls, and request for directions to your office.
As a free marketing tool, Google My Business allows you to manage your online presence easily. Not only can you provide current clients and prospective clients with essential business information such as your business hours, website, and location, as well as to share your practice areas and engage with clients.
Customer engagement is essential to building client trust. When searching for an attorney online, clients are looking for validation and responsiveness. Having a Google My Business profile gives your law practice credibility. The additional customer engagement features offered by Google My Business can help you establish authenticity and demonstrate your professionalism and responsiveness. Continue reading for tips on different engagement features and how to use them.
Google Reviews
Before making a final decision, many prospective clients will read reviews to gain insight into your law firm and legal services. They want to know from the perspective of other clients what to expect. Always encourage your clients to leave you a review by providing them a link to your Google My Business profile in a ‘thank you for your business’ email. For extra engagement points, make sure to respond to every review within 24-hours to show prospective clients you are listening, engaged, and available.
Google Q&A
Another way to engage with prospective clients is through the Q&A feature. This feature allows you to provide answers to questions that are commonly asked. By preemptively answering questions, potential clients will get a great first impression of the service you provide. Additionally, the more detailed and robust your Q&A section, the better chances your business has of showing up in highly qualified search results.
Google Posts
Google My Business also allows you to create and share posts. Each post will remain active for a maximum of 7-days to ensure your content is always relevant and up-to-date. Posts can range from 100 to 300 words, accompanied by a photo or video. To drive engagement, attorneys can provide a call-to-action button for users to learn more about your service or schedule an appointment. Google Posts is one of the best ways to engage with and reach your target audience.
Schedule time in your calendar to routinely review your Google My Business profile. In addition to keeping your Google Post content fresh, you’ll benefit from having all of your profile content current and up-to-date. Not only will this win you points for engagement, but updated listings can earn you better visibility in search engine rankings.
