Industry Speaker

Brad Wetherall BIO

Frequently Asked Questions

• How can local SEO boost my law firm's client inquiries?

  Before we dive into how to boost your law firm’s client inquiries, it's crucial to understand the two primary types of searches people conduct on Google: informational and local. While an informational query seeks knowledge, a local intent query is a direct signal that someone is looking to take action—for example, searching "divorce attorney near me."

  For these high-value, local-intent searches, your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most important factor in your online visibility. This is the heart of local SEO.

  Think of your GBP as your firm's digital front door. A complete and well-managed profile is what gets you featured in Google's "local pack", that prime real estate with the map at the top of the search results (on top of the organic search results). Being there puts you directly in front of potential clients at the exact moment they need to hire someone.

  Moreover, your GBP is no longer just for traditional search. Large Language Models and AI-powered search results are increasingly using your Google Business Profile as the foundational source for local knowledge. It is the data that feeds the AI, making an optimized profile more critical than ever.

  An effective profile instantly builds trust. High-quality photos of your team and office, a steady stream of positive client reviews, and accurate, detailed information about your practice areas all send powerful credibility signals to both potential clients and Google's algorithms. By making it incredibly easy for users to find your phone number or website, you remove barriers and directly encourage that first, crucial contact, turning a search into a potential new case.

• How do GBP experts tailor strategies specifically for law firms?

  In the legal industry, the competition is ferocious. Simply checking the boxes on your Google Business Profile is not nearly enough to stand out, and a few generic tips won't be enough to nudge out the established firms dominating the search results.

  This is where our approach for a law firm becomes exhaustive. We recognize that in such a competitive space, every single element of the profile is a potential ranking tie-breaker. Our strategy must go beyond basic optimization and focus on genuine differentiation.

  Our job is to dive deep into your firm's unique strengths and translate them into a compelling digital narrative. We find ways to differentiate your service offerings within the constraints of the platform, leveraging every tool and feature at our disposal to its absolute maximum potential.

  For example, we will meticulously select not just the primary "Personal Injury Attorney" category, but also hyper-specific secondary categories and service listings like "Traumatic Brain Injury Cases" or "Commercial Vehicle Accidents." We use the Q&A section to proactively answer complex questions, positioning your firm as a thought leader. High-resolution, professional photos and videos won't just showcase the office; they'll tell a story of professionalism and success.

  Ultimately, our strategy for a law firm isn't about a one-time setup. It's a continuous, strategic effort to maximize visibility for the specific topics and case types you want to own, ensuring that when a potential client has a specific, urgent need, your firm is the most visible, credible, and authoritative choice.

• What are the key benefits of a complete GBP for lawyers?

  In the legal field, the digital landscape is incredibly competitive. When you're vying for one of the coveted top three spots in Google's local map pack, the smallest details can make a monumental difference, and the completeness of your Google Business Profile can be the ultimate tie-breaker.

  The most crucial benefit of a complete profile is that it builds foundational trust with Google's algorithm. Many firms make the critical mistake of leaving attributes on their profile blank, viewing them as optional. However, to Google, a blank field is an unknown, a gap in its understanding of your business. It's always better to provide a definitive answer, even if that answer is "No." Answering a yes/no question with "No" gives Google a solid piece of data, whereas a blank field leaves it guessing.

  While Google may not display a negative attribute to a user if it's not helpful, having that data point increases the algorithm's overall confidence in your entire profile. In a tight race between you and a competitor with similar reviews and services, this increased trust can be the deciding factor that pushes you into the top position. Google is more likely to recommend the business it understands most thoroughly.

  This commitment to completeness also extends to potential clients, signaling a level of professionalism and attention to detail that builds immediate credibility. Furthermore, as search evolves, your GBP is the primary source of truth for AI Overviews and other generative tools. A complete profile provides the richest possible dataset, ensuring that when AI answers a user's question, it has the most accurate and detailed information to position your firm as the best local choice.

• What specific GBP features do legal marketers leverage to attract clients?

  Having run the Google Business Profile operations team at Google for over a decade, the most common question I get is, "What's the one trick to getting ranked number one?"

  While there are a hundred different things that influence your position, if you were to do only one thing, it would be this: focus on acquiring quality reviews from your clients. Nothing else has such a disproportionate impact on your positioning in Google Search. Reviews are the single most powerful signal of real-world trust and satisfaction you can send.

  However, for a field as ferociously competitive as law, that's often not enough to secure the top spot. Winning here means executing flawlessly on everything else, too.

  After building a rock-solid review strategy, the next features we leverage are Categories and Services. This is the bedrock of your visibility. We don’t just select "Law Firm"; we select the most specific primary category, like "Personal Injury Attorney," and then meticulously list every single case type ("Contested Divorce," "Child Custody," etc.) under the "Services" section. This is how you capture clients searching with very specific, high-intent keywords.

  Next, we use Photos and Videos to humanize your practice and build immediate trust. A potential client in a vulnerable situation wants to see the face of the person who will be fighting for them. We use high-resolution, professional photos of the actual attorneys, staff, and office (not stock images). A short video explaining a legal concept can establish credibility before a client even picks up the phone.

  Finally, we strategically use the Questions & Answers feature. It's a prime opportunity to control the narrative. We proactively populate this section with the most common questions potential clients have and provide clear, authoritative answers. This not only helps clients but also reinforces your firm's expertise and signals your relevance to Google.

• How do GBP specialists handle reputation management for lawyers?

  Reputation management isn't just about customer service; it's about safeguarding your professional integrity online. A single negative review, whether legitimate or fake, can cast a long shadow. Our approach to managing a law firm's reputation on GBP is therefore both defensive and proactive, built on a deep understanding of the stakes involved.

  First and foremost, we operate on the principle that the best defense is a strong offense. We implement a systematic and ethical process to encourage a steady stream of positive reviews from satisfied clients. This builds a powerful buffer of social proof, ensuring that any single negative comment is viewed as an outlier rather than the norm. A strong foundation of positive sentiment is crucial.

  However, negative reviews are inevitable. How we handle them is what truly defines a firm's online reputation. Our strategy is disciplined and strategic:

  1. We respond to every single review. This is non-negotiable. Responding shows that the firm is engaged, transparent, and values client feedback.
  2. We never engage in a public dispute. This is especially critical for lawyers. Admitting fault or arguing specifics online can have serious professional and legal repercussions. The goal is not to win the argument; it's to demonstrate professionalism to every future client who reads that review.
  3. We take the conversation offline, immediately. A typical response to a negative review would be calm, professional, and direct: "We take all client feedback seriously. To protect client confidentiality, we cannot discuss specific cases online. Please contact our office manager directly at [phone/email] so we can address your concerns." This approach validates the reviewer's feelings while protecting the firm.

  Finally, we aggressively manage the removal of fake or malicious reviews. The legal field is rife with competitors and disgruntled parties attempting to weaponize the review platform. We know Google's policies inside and out, and we are persistent in flagging reviews that violate terms of service—whether they are spam, hate speech, or clear conflicts of interest. This isn't just about clicking a button; it's about building a case and navigating the system to ensure your online reputation is a true and fair reflection of your practice.

• How are updates and client reviews strategically used to boost law firm visibility?

  In a competitive legal market, a static profile is an invisible one because Google uses engagement as a direct proxy for data freshness and quality.

  Here’s the strategic approach:

  Think of it this way: client reviews are the most powerful signal of what others say about you, while profile updates are the signal of what you say about yourself. When used together, they create a powerful narrative of a trustworthy and active law firm.

  Client reviews are crucial, but the strategy is more nuanced than just collecting stars. We encourage detailed, descriptive reviews because the content is gold. When a client writes, "This firm was the best at handling my complex commercial litigation case," they are embedding authentic, long-tail keywords directly onto your profile. This user-generated content constantly tells Google what you're good at, using the natural language real clients use to search.

  Profile updates, like Google Posts, are how you signal that your firm is active and engaged. If you create a profile and don't touch it for five years, Google’s algorithm will assume the information is stale and potentially inaccurate. However, if you updated your profile two days ago, it sends a powerful signal of freshness. Google now has high confidence that all the other information in the profile is current and reliable.

  We don't just post randomly; each update is a strategic signal. We might share a post about a recent case win, link to a new blog post explaining a change in state law, or highlight an attorney's award. Each post tells Google that you are an active, authoritative voice on that topic.

  This synergy is the key. The constant flow of authentic client reviews proves your value, while the regular, strategic updates prove your relevance and the freshness of your data. This is how you build the deep trust with Google's algorithm needed to not just compete, but to win the top spots in local search.