Why Your Google Business Profile Matters More Than You Think
For local legal search, your Google Business Profile matters more than your website. Here is why, and what to do about it.
If you had to pick one thing to work on in your legal business marketing this month, it should probably be your Google Business Profile. For local search, it matters more than your website. For most legal businesses, it is dramatically underused.
What Google Business Profile is
Google Business Profile is the free listing that Google gives your business. It is what shows up in Google Maps, in the map pack (the three-listing box at the top of local search results) and in the knowledge panel on the right of desktop search results.
For queries like 'solicitor near me', 'will writer in [town]' or 'employment lawyer for [issue]', the map pack usually gets the majority of the clicks before people even reach the regular blue links. If you are not in the map pack, you are competing for scraps.
Why it matters more than your website
Your website matters. But your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a prospect sees, and it decides whether they ever click through to your site at all.
Google Business Profile is also where reviews live for local search purposes. It carries hours, contact information, photos, posts, product listings and messaging. Prospects can call you or get directions to you directly from the profile without visiting your site.
How to set it up properly
Claim the listing if you have not already. Verify it (usually by postcard, sometimes by video). Fill in every single field. Half-completed profiles are treated as less trustworthy by Google's algorithm and by prospects.
Choose the right primary category. For most legal businesses this is 'Solicitor' or 'Law Firm' but there are more specific categories for immigration, family and other specialisms. Add relevant secondary categories too.
Add photos. Real photos. The office. The team. The reception area. The building from the street. Google prioritises profiles with recent, real photos, and prospects use those photos to decide whether the business looks credible.
Set your services and areas served. These are underused fields that give Google clear signals about what you do and where you do it.
How to keep it optimised
Post regularly. Google Business Profile has its own posts feature (short updates, offers or events) and Google favours active profiles.
Reply to every review. The good ones and the difficult ones. Publicly responding well to a critical review is one of the strongest trust signals available.
Answer questions. Google Business Profile has a Q&A section where anyone can ask a question, and anyone can answer. If you do not answer, someone else might, wrongly. Monitor it.
Keep hours current. Especially around bank holidays. A closed sign in real life is nothing. A 'CLOSED' badge on Google Maps costs you visits.
Five things you can do today
- Log in and check every field is filled in accurately.
- Add ten recent photos.
- Pick a better primary category if your current one is generic.
- Post one update (even just a service reminder).
- Ask three recent happy clients to leave a review, with the direct link.
Twenty minutes of work today. Ongoing return for years.
Book a conversation
If your Google Business Profile has been neglected or has never been set up properly, book a free 30-minute consultation and we will show you what a proper setup could unlock.