Whether you are wondering if you should create a listing for your business or searching for the most effective ways to boost your local presence, Google My Business is a wise investment of time. Not convinced yet? Consider the following statistics:

• 97 percent of people learn more about a local company online than through any other source
• Over 90 percent of the search engine market share belongs to Google
• According to Google, 46 percent of all searches have local intent
• 64 percent of consumers have used Google My Business to find contact details for a local business

Listing your law firm on Google is a significant step towards a complete online presence, but it doesn’t stop there. For instance, you should update your Google My Business Profile every month or so. While this profile isn’t a social media profile, it still requires the same amount of cultivation.

The Benefit of Adding Pictures

There are a few more ways you can leverage your profile to your advantage.  One of these ways is to use images to help boost your profile. For example, using photos on your Google Business Profile is beneficial not just for aesthetics but also to provide your law firm with an SEO advantage.

According to Google, businesses that use pictures on their Business Profiles see 42 percent more direction requests on Google Maps and 35 percent more clicks through to their websites than those who don’t use them. In fact, after a 2020 experiment, DigitalMaas came to the same conclusions. There’s no denying that law firms and attorneys who regularly upload photos on their listings will get more clicks and appear more on search results than their competitors who don’t.

When adding pictures, ensure you:

• Add photos promptly. Without pictures, Google will default to showing street views which can make potential clients doubt if you are still in business.
• Add photos regularly, including different shots and angles, taken at various times of the day.
• Use quality photos without over-editing them. You want them to be clear but not filtered.
• Use categories when adding pictures. Having a minimum of three relevant photos for each category is recommended.
• Stay relevant to your location—avoid using screenshots, stock photos, GIFs, and other manually created images.

The Benefit of Blogs

Blogs are an essential piece of SEO marketing. If your firm doesn’t already publish one, now is the time. In addition to publishing your blog on your website, make sure you take its URL along with the picture and create a post from your Google My Business Account. Google will recognize your blog under your profile, and you will start to rank higher in SEO. When you add your blog to your Google Business Profile, you essentially double the benefit of having a blog without doubling the work. Linking a blog to your profile shows your authority in the legal realm and that you remain active online.

Don’t Forget Reviews!

Another key piece of optimizing your Google My Business profile is adding reviews. Google knows that reviews are the primary influence on consumer behavior, so they are a crucial ranking factor in the algorithm. However, you can’t add reviews if you don’t have any. Getting more reviews can be simple if you follow these tips:

• Start with your long-time, loyal clients.
• Make leaving a review as simple as possible by creating a review shortcut link or using a shortcut link generator.
• Add a “Reviews” page on your website with a call to action to leave one.
• Don’t forget to ask for reviews by email, text, social media, and in-person conversations.
• Let clients know that reviews help others in similar situations to find a solution and make informed decisions.
• Respond to reviews as this will incentivize clients to leave theirs and improves your local SEO.

The post How to Use Images and Blogs to Boost Your Google My Business Profile appeared first on The National Law Forum.