Yes, These Monsters are Real, and They Do Steal Google Business Profiles from Legitimate Businesses
In the world of digital marketing for lawyers, nothing is more terrifying than having an unprotected Google Business Profile (GBP). As Halloween creeps closer, it’s time to safeguard your Google Business Profile listing, a vital aspect of your law firm’s online presence.
Instead of monsters, ghosts and gremlins, many law firms face the specter of unscrupulous competitors/scammers, disgruntled clients, and even Google itself. Imagine a dark night where unsuspecting potential clients stumble upon your business profile, only to find outdated information, chilling negative reviews, or worse, the ghostly absence of your business altogether. Such digital nightmares can lead to vanishing leads and a reputation that fades into the abyss.
Spooked by the idea of establishing and managing a Google Business Profile that will help bring potential clients to your law firm and repel the online gremlins?
In this comprehensive guide, the law firm digital marketing experts at Law Firm Marketing Pros explain how to protect your business profile so that it remains an online beacon, guiding potential clients to your law firm’s website and converting website visitors into ideal clients.
What is a Google Business Profile and Why Should It Be Part of Every Law Firm Marketing Plan?
A Google Business Profile is a free and easy-to-use tool provided by Google that allows businesses and law firms to manage their online presence across all of the search engine’s platforms, including Google Search and Google Maps. An online listing for your law firm, your Google Business Profile allows potential clients to easily find information such as your contact details, website address, and business hours.
A well-optimized and up-to-date Google Business Profile is crucial for any law firm, as it directly impacts how your business appears in local search results. With more and more people turning to the internet to find legal services in your practice areas, maintaining a strong online presence has never been more important. When users search for your legal services online, you want them to find your website.
The Real Monsters: Who Can Harm Your Google Business Profile?
Unscrupulous Competitors/Scammers
In an increasingly competitive market, some law firms may resort to unethical tactics to gain an edge over their competitors. These tactics could include sabotaging business profiles through fake reviews or reporting false information in hopes of damaging a rival firm’s online reputation.
To protect your Google Business Profile from these malicious attacks, regularly monitor and respond to Google reviews and report any fraudulent activity to Google.
Disgruntled Clients
Unfortunately, even the best law firms can have unhappy clients. While bad reviews are a natural part of running a business, they can cause serious damage if left unchecked. That’s why you address any negative feedback as soon as possible and provide a professional response that demonstrates your commitment to client satisfaction.
Although Google provides the platform for business profiles, they also have strict guidelines and algorithms that can impact a law firm’s online visibility. Failure to comply with these guidelines or sudden changes in their algorithms can result in a decrease in search rankings or even the removal of your business profile.
To avoid any negative consequences from Google, stay up-to-date on their policies and best practices for managing a business profile.
Trick or Treat? How Does Content Marketing Affect Your Google Business Profile
Content marketing plays a pivotal role in enhancing a law firm’s Google Business Profile. By consistently updating your profile with valuable content like blogs, client testimonials, press releases and case studies, you can significantly expand the online visibility of your law firm and its reputation online.
Regular content updates keep your profile dynamic and relevant, which can improve your search visibility. Google rewards active profiles by ranking them higher in local search results, making it easier for potential clients to find you. This is particularly important for a law firm that relies heavily on local clientele.
Incorporating relevant keywords and practicing local SEO are essential strategies that can further optimize your profile’s effectiveness. By targeting location-specific terms and legal services, you can attract the right audience searching for legal assistance in your practice areas and geographic location.
Moreover, adding authentic client testimonials and detailed case studies builds trust and credibility for law firms. When potential clients read real success stories and positive feedback, they are more likely to consider your law firm as a reliable option. Valuable content also encourages engagement because an interactive profile invites questions and consultations, turning casual visitors into retained clients.
Furthermore, maintaining an active online presence through content not only enhances your Google Business Profile but also establishes you and your law firm as a thought leader in your field. By sharing insightful articles and legal updates aligned with Google’s E-E-A-T formula, you demonstrate knowledge, competence, and a commitment to keeping prospective clients and existing clients informed, cementing trust and authority.
Protecting Your Google Business Profile: Tips and Tricks for Law Firms
Now that we’ve identified the potential monsters that can harm your Google Business Profile, let’s discuss some effective strategies for keeping it safe and secure:
- Claim and Verify your Google Business Profile Listing: The first step to protecting your business profile is to claim and verify it. This will give you access to all the features and settings necessary for managing your profile.
- Optimize Your Information: Make sure all the details on your business profile are accurate and up-to-date, including address, phone number, website, and business hours. Current information helps prospective clients find you easily and improves your chances of appearing in local search results.
- Monitor Reviews: Regularly check and respond to reviews on your business profile to . show that you value client feedback and care about addressing any concerns your client base may have.
- Report Fraudulent Activity: If you come across fake reviews or false information on your business profile, report it to Google immediately.
- Follow Google’s Guidelines: To avoid any negative consequences from Google, follow their guidelines for managing a business profile, including avoiding keyword stuffing and maintaining accurate information.
How Does Law Firm Marketing Pros, An Award-Winning Digital Marketing Agency for Law Firms Protect Our Clients’ Google Business Profiles?
Among digital marketing strategies, protecting your Google Business Profile is among the most crucial for building and maintaining a robust online presence as a law firm. At Law Firm Marketing Pros, we’re aware of the potential dangers. That’s why we implement effective strategies for every digital marketing client, to ensure that their profile remains an asset rather than a liability when attracting your target audience.
Beyond all the ranking work we do, part of our Google Business Profile / Local SEO / Law Firm SEO service includes protecting and recovering/correcting your GBP against scammers, unscrupulous competitors, unhappy clients, and even Google itself from these hazards:
- Moving your business’s map pin to negatively affect your ranking and show an inaccurate location
- Changing your business name, phone number, website
- Changing your business categories
- Spamming the heck out of your reviews and Q&A
- Reinstating and/or re-verifying mistaken GBP listing suspensions
- Blocking bogus GBP manager access requests (which happen shockingly often in general) where they attempt to hijack your listing
When you choose Law Firm Marketing Pros, we’ll create a marketing plan tailored to your business goals that generates more leads, more reviews, and more business. From a hyper-optimized, mobile-friendly website and SEO strategies, to Google Ads and content creation, we make sure your marketing dollars help you rank high in search engine results and attract more clients in your particular geographical area.
And when it comes to your Google Business Profile, our digital marketing efforts don’t stop at just creating a listing. We constantly monitor your business profile and safeguard it against the scary digital monsters that lurk on search engines all year long, not just on Halloween.
Have you been typing “law firm digital marketing” into your search bar? Contact Partner and Co-Founder Josh Konigsberg, author of Law Firm Digital Marketing Made Easy: The Only Book You’ll Ever Need to Become a Best-Known Attorney, to schedule a free 15-minute client accelerator call at (561) 948-5001 or complete our online form.
Though brief, this call dives deep into your strategy. Josh will then prepare a complimentary digital marketing brief packed with 25-35 pages of value that drives qualified clients directly to your practice.
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This blog is not intended to be legal advice for a lawyer or law practice. No special relationship or privilege exists between you and the Blog and/or its owners, Law Firm Marketing Pros or its Affiliates (“LFMP”). LFMP IS NOT A LAW FIRM and THE AUTHOR IS NOT AN ATTORNEY. You will be representing yourself and your law practice in any legal matter you undertake or any Client you represent as a result of your use of the information provided in the Blog, including any Services offered through the Blog and content available on the Site the Blog is published on, and in all other matters relating to you and your businesses. This Blog may provide audio-video content, referenced articles, newsletters, and other content for informational purposes only. In the process of providing this information, the Blog is engaged in the publication of information regarding business and management issues that may be commonly encountered by law firms. This blog is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. This Blog does not review any of your answers to questions for sufficiency, provide legal advice, or analyze applicable law and apply it to your specific requirements. Accordingly, if you need legal advice for a specific issue, you are advised to seek the advice of your local, state, and/or national Bar Association.
Do you still have questions about digital marketing? Contact Partner and Co-Founder Josh Konigsberg, author of Law Firm Digital Marketing Made Easy: The Only Book You’ll Ever Need to Become a Best-Known Attorney, to schedule a 15-minute discovery call at (561) 948-5001 or complete our online form. Though brief, this call dives deep into your strategy. Josh will then prepare a complimentary digital marketing brief packed with 25-35 pages of value that drives qualified clients directly to your practice.
Law Firm Marketing Pros
250 S. Central Blvd, Suite 100-A
Jupiter, FL 33458
(561) 948-5001
https://lawfirmmarketingpros.com/
