And the list goes on! The options you have are countless! Of course, this is great, but you may have questions like, \u201cHow do I apply it?\u201d \u201cWhat works?\u201d And most importantly, \u201cWhat doesn\u2019t work?\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of local SEO misinformation, so let\u2019s focus on what doesn\u2019t work for your law firm\u2019s GBP (Google Business Profile<\/a>) account first to work our way up from there. Before we dive into some local SEO myths, we have a powerful tip to help your firm dominate the local market:<\/p>\n Let\u2019s face the reality here: Google dominates search engines. As Google dominates today\u2019s search engines, it\u2019s important that law firms take full advantage of Google\u2019s FREE Google Business Profile (GBP) tool.<\/p>\n On it, your firm can collect reviews from past clients, you can have full information on all of your locations, and yes, you heard this correctly, it\u2019s a free tool! When (and if) your law firm uses GBP correctly, you can expect:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re still not convinced of GBPs\u2019 importance, hear it from AWeber<\/a>. GBP can help your law firm by:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re starting to realize the importance of GBP for your law firm\u2019s reach and revenue, then read along, and let\u2019s debunk popular SEO myths.<\/p>\n Having a GBP account is definitely helpful. If your business has multiple locations, you can use this platform to add all of them, which also helps your clients make personal references to the individual locations and decide which one suits them the best. BUT\u2026the truth is that it will not have an impact on your law firm\u2019s overall local ranking.<\/p>\n Have you heard of keyword stuffing? Basically, it\u2019s trying to manipulate your site\u2019s position in the SERP by using relevant keywords repeatedly, hence the term \u201cstuffing.\u201d Though this tactic is used quite frequently, the reality is that keyword stuffing is not helpful within the description box of GBP.<\/p>\n Google doesn\u2019t look at this box for rankings. (Plus, keyword stuffing is considered a black hat<\/a> strategy, and may cause your site to be de-indexed by Google if it is identified on it.)<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the best thing to do here? Sales writing! AKA \u2013 Sell your law firm! Add interesting, captivating, and relevant information about your law firm. If you need a question to get inspired, perhaps think: \u201cWhat solution(s) does your law firm offer that others don\u2019t?<\/p>\n And how will you fix a prospect\u2019s problem?\u201d Make sure to get prospects interested enough to take the action you\u2019re aiming for and call your firm. Contact us now, we are experts in SEO for lawyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Piggybacking on the previous myth, getting reviews on GBP is great! But what\u2019s not so great is \u201ckeyword stuffing\u201d your responses to those reviews with keywords. It doesn\u2019t improve rankings; however, we do recommend you give the reviews an authentic human response back. It may not help your rankings, per se, but it will give your clients a personalized view of your law firm.<\/p>\n The short answer is: No. A call tracking does not have a negative impact on your Google rankings\u2026if you do it the correct way. Before diving into what\u2019s right, let\u2019s look into a common mistake: using different phone numbers on different listings.<\/p>\n Having an inconsistent number around the web means clients will have different contact results around searching Google, Apple Maps, Bing, and other forms of directories.<\/p>\n Losing a client due to jumbled phone numbers would be a painful loss that\u2019s completely avoidable! To assure this doesn\u2019t happen, here\u2019s how you can verify you\u2019re using the correct numbers:<\/p>\n You\u2019re in luck, because as the saying goes, you\u2019re \u201chearing it straight from the horse\u2019s mouth!\u201d Law firms cannot request Google to improve their organic rankings. Organic rankings are called organic because they aren\u2019t influenced by paid ads.<\/p>\n Organic rankings occur due to the client\u2019s natural search for your law firm, and consequently lead to a natural response to review\/rank your law firm\u2019s service<\/a>. Google even states<\/a> that \u201cThere\u2019s no way to request or pay for better local rankings on Google.<\/p>\n We do our best to keep the search algorithm details confidential, to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone.\u201d You can pay for an ad and rank #1 in the paid world, but it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019ll lead to organic rankings.<\/p>\n False! In fact, sometimes businesses that are ranked #1 have FEWER LEADS than other businesses ranked under them. So, what should your law firm focus on? Improving your GBP listing<\/p>\n See the differences for yourself here:<\/p>\n Source: Whitespark<\/a><\/p>\n Will it take a month? Six months? A year? You can start ranking the minute your listing goes live. Whitespark<\/a> clarifies that businesses start ranking within their immediate area. Businesses don\u2019t immediately start ranking in a whole city, though.<\/p>\n Your law firm will start to grow out of the immediate area\u2019s ranking once there\u2019s a higher accumulation within the GBP listing for that specific area..<\/p>\n Before debunking this myth, let\u2019s look into what geo-tagging is. According to Romain Berg<\/a>, it is \u201cthe process of adding precise global positioning data, such as specific latitude and longitude, to a website or image found online\u201d.<\/p>\n And why do businesses do geo-tagging? Geo-tagging helps search engines make the link between the added location\/information and the photo. Romain Berg even adds that \u201cweb search engines are factoring the person\u2019s current location into the search results they deliver\u201d.<\/p>\n Adding metadata to your images can help Google understand when and where the image was created. But the reality is that when it comes to local SEO rankings, it has little to no effect.<\/p>\n According to a geotagging study conducted by Tim Kahlert<\/a>, \u201cOnly areas with very little or no competition offer good opportunities to rank using only geotagged images.\u201d In short words, save yourself the time (and headache). There\u2019s no evidence behind this working. Stuffing keywords into an image has little to no effect on the Google ranking.<\/p>\nDon\u2019t underestimate the power of GBP.<\/h2>\n
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GBP is not only important for your law firm\u2019s SEO, but it is vital for your law firm\u2019s online survival!<\/h2>\n
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\nA GBP Service Area will Impact Rankings<\/h2>\n
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\n\u201cKeyword Stuffing\u201d the GBP Description Improves Rankings<\/h2>\n
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\nStuffing Keywords in GBP Reviews Impacts Rankings<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.consultwebs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/animated-smartphone-eyes-gif.png\")
\nCall Tracking Has a Negative Impact On Your Rankings<\/h2>\n
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\nOrganic Rankings Improve By Paying Google Ads<\/h2>\n
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\nAll That Matters is Ranking #1<\/h2>\n
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\n\u201cIt Will Take a While Until You Rank Within Your Local Search\u201d<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.consultwebs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/myth8-digital-network-banner.png\")
\nYou Need to Geo-Tag Images<\/h2>\n
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\nA Google Map on Your Website Will Impact Rankings<\/h2>\n