The Whitespark Local Pulse

The Whitespark Local Pulse for 12/21/2021

December 21, 2021

Here are today's local search posts. Woo!

The Whitespark Local Pulse

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The ‘Vicinity Update’: Winners and losers from the November 2021 local updatehttps://searchengineland.com/the-vicinity-update-winners-and-losers-from-the-november-2021-local-update-377624By Joy Hawkins on Dec 20, 2021 07:28 am This update seemed to be focused on changes around proximity and distance.The post The ‘Vicinity Update’: Winners and losers from the November 2021 local update appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Bing launches travel-oriented results pages and a trip-planning hubhttps://searchengineland.com/bing-launches-travel-oriented-results-pages-and-a-trip-planning-hub-377589By George Nguyen on Dec 17, 2021 11:52 am The new features may make it even harder for OTAs to compete in the search results.The post Bing launches travel-oriented results pages and a trip-planning hub appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Google Maps adds dock to bottomhttps://searchengineland.com/google-maps-adds-dock-to-bottom-377557By Barry Schwartz on Dec 17, 2021 07:10 am Searchers can now dock places they find in Google Maps to the bottom of the map interface.The post Google Maps adds dock to bottom appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »The Vicinity Update: What You Need to Know About Google’s Largest Local Algorithm Update in 5 Yearshttps://www.sterlingsky.ca/vicinity-algorithm-update/By Joy Hawkins on Dec 16, 2021 01:59 pm On December 8th, one of our forum users asked about some serious differences they were...Read it! »Google also had a local search update from November 30 through December 8https://searchengineland.com/google-also-had-a-local-search-update-from-november-30-through-december-8-377481By Barry Schwartz on Dec 16, 2021 11:33 am This overlapped other ranking updates and a Google map and local pack update design change.The post Google also had a local search update from November 30 through December 8 appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Local Rank Tracker Now Monitors Multiple Rankingshttps://whitespark.ca/blog/local-rank-tracker-now-tracks-multiple-rankings/By Darren Shaw on Dec 16, 2021 09:22 am The post Local Rank Tracker Now Monitors Multiple Rankings appeared first on Whitespark.Read it! »Update: How Location Page Providers Stack Up for Core Web Vitalshttps://www.localseoguide.com/update-how-location-page-providers-stack-up-for-core-web-vitals/By Rachel Anderson on Dec 16, 2021 06:53 am Author: Rachel Anderson – Director of Web Intelligence | Find her here: Twitter In June 2021, I analyzed the web performance of location pages managed by the top location provider brands. Since that article was published several important events have happened: Google finished rolling out the Page Experience Update SOCI acquired Brandify Uberall acquired Momentfeed […]The post Update: How Location Page Providers Stack Up for Core Web Vitals appeared first on Local SEO Guide.Read it! »YouTube to automatically link to places mentioned in videoshttps://searchengineland.com/youtube-to-automatically-link-to-places-mentioned-in-videos-377358By George Nguyen on Dec 14, 2021 10:25 am Places Mentioned will be available on the Android and iOS YouTube apps for food and drinks videos where YouTube can detect places.The post YouTube to automatically link to places mentioned in videos appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Clearing Up Reporting on Nusr-Et Missing Google Reviewshttps://onlineownership.com/clearing-up-reporting-on-nusr-et-missing-google-reviews/By Tim Capper on Dec 14, 2021 07:36 am Nothing infuriates me more then bad journalism, especially when they report that a a business in this case Nusr-Et (Salt Bae) somehow removed bad Google reviews on their business profile.   The Articles Assume that the “updated by the business” label is something to do with reviews. News Flash, its Not! This label is when […]Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local for Week Ending December 13, 2021https://localu.org/last-week-in-local-december-13-2021/By Erin Jones on Dec 13, 2021 02:53 pm Lots of great info this week, including rumblings of a local SERP update, Google’s new map interface, key factors in making reviews count, Starbucks has a new labor union, the most popular Yelp search filters, and so much more!   Last Week in Local is a look back at the...Read it! »Google Posts Now Available in Hotels Business Profileshttps://onlineownership.com/google-posts-now-available-in-hotels-business-profiles/By Tim Capper on Dec 13, 2021 02:09 pm Google Posts are now available in to use in Hotels Google Business Profiles, albeit with some limitations. After months of posts appearing and disappearing, right up until our PE Fri 10th meeting, this was classed as unintended. However Saturday morning Joy Hawkins noticed that Google had updated support docs with post for hotels.   Whoa, […]Read it! »Google Posts open to hotels for update notices but not promotionshttps://searchengineland.com/google-posts-open-to-hotels-for-update-notices-but-not-promotions-377232By Barry Schwartz on Dec 13, 2021 06:14 am Hotels can now officially use Google Posts in their local listings but in a limited way.The post Google Posts open to hotels for update notices but not promotions appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Why Are My Google Reviews Not Publishing?https://www.sterlingsky.ca/google-reviews-not-publishing/By Joy Hawkins on Dec 12, 2021 10:00 pm If you are a business that is frustrated by Google not publishing your reviews, you...Read it! »Exclusive: The most popular Yelp search filtershttps://searchengineland.com/exclusive-the-most-popular-yelp-search-filters-377209By George Nguyen on Dec 10, 2021 09:48 am While the most common filter, “Open Now,” isn’t surprising, the data can inform local business owners of what consumers prioritze as they browse different business categories.The post Exclusive: The most popular Yelp search filters appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »How to Get Help on the Google Business Profile Help Community (Forum)https://www.sterlingsky.ca/google-business-profile-forum/By Joy Hawkins on Dec 09, 2021 02:34 pm The Google Business Profile Forum is peer-supported and managed primarily by a group of Product Experts...Read it! »LSG Virtual Event – Store Locator SEO Teardown: Core Web Vitals Edition w/ Rachel Andersonhttps://www.localseoguide.com/lsg-virtual-event-store-locator-seo-teardown-core-web-vitals-edition-w-rachel-anderson/By Will Morriss on Dec 08, 2021 01:35 pm What’s happening? If you’re a multi-location brand, odds are you are licensing a store locator system for your website from a third-party vendor. We at LSG figured if you are going to use someone’s software on your site, you should be aware of how its performance could affect your SEO. With that in mind, LSG […]The post LSG Virtual Event – Store Locator SEO Teardown: Core Web Vitals Edition w/ Rachel Anderson appeared first on Local SEO Guide.Read it! »Beginner’s Guide to Conversion Rate Optimisationhttps://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/beginners-guide-to-conversion-rate-optimisation/By Andrew Hall on Dec 08, 2021 08:08 am Introduction Welcome to Bowler Hat’s guide to conversion rate optimisation (CRO). Here, you will learn how to improve conversion rates on your website to generate more leads, sales, and business. In this guide I will explain: What CRO actually is Why CRO is the most important marketing tactic of all How to implement various data-gathering […]The post Beginner’s Guide to Conversion Rate Optimisation appeared first on Bowler Hat.Read it! »Lexicon Legal Content Reviewhttps://jurisdigital.com/review-lexicon-legal-content/By Matt Green on Dec 08, 2021 06:20 am Today I was doing some research on legal content writing providers and I came across a company called Lexicon Legal Content. The first thing I noticed is that in their homepage title tag the company makes this claim: As both attorneys and legal marketing professionals know, claiming that you are the “best” in your marketing materials is, at best, misleading, and at worst could result in disciplinary action by state bar associations. But, I thought, perhaps there is some independent, trusted source that has actually reviewed legal content providers and concluded that Lexicon Legal is in fact the “#1 best rated” legal content provider. So I poked around. The first thing I did was put lexiconlegalcontent.com into Ahrefs to see what websites link to them, my thought process being that this would be a quick way to find any sources that mention Lexicon Legal Content as the “best” legal content writing service. The first thing I found was this post from AttorneyatLawMagazine.com: I noticed that that posting was part of a collection of posts categorized under AttorneyatLawMagazine.com’s “Legal Vendor Authorities”: Ok, so AttorneyatLawMagazine.com rates legal vendors that they consider to be the “best” and writes posts about them on their website. Perhaps this is what Lexicon Legal is referring to when they call themselves the “best” legal content writers? Maybe. This begs the question, how does AttorneyatLawMagazine.com come up with their list of “best” legal vendors? Well, on their best legal vendors page they state the following: If you are a legal vendor and you don’t see your industry above, please reach out and we can look into adding the industry. Then we can vet your company to see if you are a good representation for your specific industry. If you do see your industry above and it is not filled, please reach out and we can vet your company!  Ok, so the assumption here is that, at some point, someone from Lexicon Legal Content reached out to AttorneyatLawMagazine.com and asked to be vetted for inclusion on their best legal content vendors page. So, I clicked the “reach out” link to see what that process might have looked like. When I did, I was taken to this page: As you can see, this page allows you to contact the legal marketing team at AttorneyatLawMagazine.com. What this indicates to me is that the best legal vendors listed by AttorneyatLawMagazine.com are not really based on any sort of unbiased assessment of legal vendors, but rather, are purely a pay-to-play marketing service. Based on this, I’d conclude that AttorneyatLawMagazine.com’s rating of Lexicon Legal Content as a “best” vendor is not adequate for Lexicon to be able to refer to themselves as such. Next, I turned my attention to online reviews of Lexicon Legal Content. Perhaps their claim of being the best legal content writers is based on an overwhelming number of positive, third-party online reviews, I thought. I first checked the most authoritative and common online review sources: Google, Facebook, and Yelp. As of the time of publishing this post, neither their Facebook page nor their Google Business Profile contained any reviews, positive or otherwise. I did not find a Yelp listing. I dug deeper in the search results, looking for any third-party sites where I might find reviews of Lexicon Legal Content. I found none. So if AttorneyatLawMagazine.com’s designation of Lexicon Legal Content is little more than a pay-to-play nod, and the company has precisely zero customer reviews from trusted online review sites, what is their “best” claim based on? Did they simply make it up to try and stand out in search results? And if so, is that the sort of company you want to trust with your legal content writing? If not, I hope you’ll consider reaching out to Juris Digital’s legal content writing team instead. We don’t claim to be the best, but we do take a great deal of pride in the awesome responsibility that lawyers and law firms place in the hands of our capable, ethical team. We also have far less than zero real client reviews.The post Lexicon Legal Content Review appeared first on Juris Digital.Read it! »9 in 10 customers more likely to overlook a negative review if the business responds adequately, Yelp sayshttps://searchengineland.com/9-in-10-customers-more-likely-to-overlook-a-negative-review-if-the-business-responds-adequately-yelp-says-377004By George Nguyen on Dec 07, 2021 05:00 am Half of survey respondents said they don’t trust reviews if they know the business asked customers to leave them.The post 9 in 10 customers more likely to overlook a negative review if the business responds adequately, Yelp says appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Bing now lets you search local storeshttps://searchengineland.com/bing-now-lets-you-search-local-stores-377009By Barry Schwartz on Dec 06, 2021 04:50 pm Microsoft said this new feature will help searchers check store stock availability and choose to buy online and pick up in-store.The post Bing now lets you search local stores appeared first on Search Engine Land.Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local for Week Ending December 6, 2021https://localu.org/last-week-in-local-december-6-2021/By Erin Jones on Dec 06, 2021 02:27 pm December is here and the last week in local was a good one! Today, Mike and Carrie discuss all of the latest and greatest moments in local SEO from the past week, including Whitespark’s 2021 Local Search Ranking Factors, how Amazon is taking the next step in world domination, changes...Read it! »Seismic event or overblown rebrand: Local search experts weigh in on ‘death’ of Google My Businesshttps://searchengineland.com/seismic-event-or-overblown-rebrand-local-search-experts-weigh-in-on-death-of-google-my-business-376941By Jamie Pitman on Dec 06, 2021 10:28 am Google’s recent rebranding and new profile management options may be a sign that it’s improving features for multi-location brands, while driving adoption with SMBs via profile controls in Search and Maps.The post Seismic event or overblown rebrand: Local search experts weigh in on ‘death’ of...Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.Read it! »Manage COVID-19 Testing Information on Your Google Business Profilehttps://localu.org/covid-19-testing-information-google-business-profile/By Krystal Taing on Dec 03, 2021 03:42 pm In December 2021, Google rolled out the ability for healthcare businesses to set and manage COVID-19 testing attributes directly. Prior to this update, there were 2 primary methods to add COVID-19 testing information to your Google Business Profile. Initially, Google began sourcing this data from a number of healthcare organizations...Read it! »Google Business Profiles Bugs and Fixes – December 2021https://localu.org/google-business-profiles-bugs-and-fixes-december-2021/By Jason Brown on Dec 02, 2021 09:28 am Google Business Profiles (GBP) are meant to help businesses make money and gain exposure. When GBP breaks, it can have costly effects on businesses. 5 major issues are plaguing GPB at the moment. You will either need to wait for Google the fix the issue while you slowly go out...Read it! »Is SEO Good for Small Businesses?https://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/is-seo-good-for-small-businesses/By Marcus Miller on Dec 01, 2021 08:47 am Is SEO good for small businesses? The short answer is yes. Your customers are on search engines and they are looking for businesses like yours. Ranking highly on Google will almost certainly drive highly qualified leads and sales. Is SEO right for your small business? To determine if SEO is a good fit for your […]The post Is SEO Good for Small Businesses? appeared first on Bowler Hat.Read it! »How to ask for a Google Review for your Businesshttps://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/write-email-asking-google-review/By Beth Griffiths on Dec 01, 2021 02:50 am Google reviews are crucially important to help you win more business from search engine users. Having positive reviews ensures your business is putting its best foot forwards and they improve your credibility, rank, reputation and brand image – it is a win-win situation. Ensuring your Google reviews reflect the reality of your situation A common […]The post How to ask for a Google Review for your Business appeared first on Bowler Hat.Read it! »You Sell Widgets, You Rank for Widgets, But You Also Want to Rank for Gizmos. Should Gizmos Get a Separate Site?https://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2021/11/30/you-sell-widgets-you-rank-for-widgets-but-you-also-want-to-rank-for-gizmos-should-gizmos-get-a-separate-site/By Phil on Nov 30, 2021 09:27 pm “Does Google expect my site to focus on just one thing?” is a common concern people have about their SEO campaigns, both local and non-local.  You might also have that concern if you’re thinking about wheeling out a service or product that’s very different from your other services or products. The one offering seems at […]Read it! »How to Track Calls on your Website from the Google Business Profilehttps://www.sterlingsky.ca/how-to-track-gmb-onsite-calls/By Yan Gilbert on Nov 29, 2021 10:00 pm When it comes to tracking for local SEO, we’re usually talking about keyword rank tracking....Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local for Week Ending November 29, 2021https://localu.org/last-week-in-local-november-29-2021/By Erin Jones on Nov 29, 2021 04:08 pm Happy Cyber Monday, everyone! Carrie and guest host Erin discuss notable news in local search from the past week. Last week in local search, we saw quite a few changes at Google, including reviews and bolded text as ranking factors, GBP for the auto industry,  the value of quality content...Read it! »Update Restaurant Hours for a Single Dayhttps://onlineownership.com/update-restaurant-hours-for-a-single-day/By Tim Capper on Nov 29, 2021 07:56 am The hospitality industry in the UK is currently struggling with staffing issues, which means you may not be able to open for a lunch service on a particular day. Updating your Google Business Profile on the day should be a priority. There is nothing worse for customers to arrive and the doors are closed. This […]Read it! »99 Problems: Local SEO for Auto Dealers Ain’t Onehttps://www.sterlingsky.ca/local-seo-auto-dealers/By Colan Nielsen on Nov 28, 2021 10:00 pm This is the third episode of our “99 Problems” series where each episode will explore...Read it! »Small Business SEO Tipshttps://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/small-business-seo-tips/By Marcus Miller on Nov 28, 2021 03:15 am Improving the visibility of your small business on the major search engines is a key advertising strategy in 2022 and beyond – the vast majority of people now simply go straight to Google or another search engine when they have a requirement. Organic search allows you to be found without the associated costs of paid […]The post Small Business SEO Tips appeared first on Bowler Hat.Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local for Week Ending November 22, 2021https://localu.org/last-week-in-local-november-22-2021/By Erin Jones on Nov 22, 2021 12:20 pm Carrie and Mike discuss all the best news in local search from the past week, and this past week was a good one! This week they’re discussing retail automation, disappearing GMB categories, a hotel calling the police on a granny over some hurt feelings, Apple maps, more local search news,...Read it! »99 Problems: Local SEO for Dentists Ain’t Onehttps://www.sterlingsky.ca/dentist-local-seo/By Colan Nielsen on Nov 21, 2021 10:00 pm In the second part of our 99 Problems, we dive into the world of dentists....Read it! »Medical Category Chaos for Google Business Profileshttps://onlineownership.com/medical-category-chaos-for-google-business-profiles/By Tim Capper on Nov 19, 2021 03:25 am Update: Looks to be fixed as of 3pm – 22 Nov   If you are in the medical space you may have noticed that one or all of your selected categories in your Google Business Profile has been removed. Joy Hawkins tweeted about this Nov 16th   Dozens of healthcare categories have been removed from […]Read it! »SEO Tips for Beginners – 5 Easy Wins for 2022https://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/seo-tips-beginners/By Marcus Miller on Nov 18, 2021 05:38 am A Google search for “SEO” returns almost 3 billion results (in November 2021). This is far more than anyone could hope to read in a lifetime. The majority of that information is low quality, out-of-date or just not relevant to the needs of a beginner trying to get some basic, easy SEO wins.  Fortunately, the […]The post SEO Tips for Beginners – 5 Easy Wins for 2022 appeared first on Bowler Hat.Read it! »SEO The LSG Way: Earn Your Knowledgehttps://www.localseoguide.com/seo-the-lsg-way-earn-your-knowledge/By Dan Leibson on Nov 17, 2021 08:26 am I love this scene from Jurassic Park  People always remember this scene for the could/should line but I think that really minimizes Malcolms holistically excellent speech. Specifically, this scene is an amazing analogy for Machine Learning/AI technology right now. I’m not going to dive too much into the ethics piece here as Jamie Indigo […]The post SEO The LSG Way: Earn Your Knowledge appeared first on Local SEO Guide.Read it! »Understanding Keyword Match Types in Google Adshttps://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/understanding-keyword-match-types-for-google-ads/By Marcus Miller on Nov 15, 2021 11:13 pm If you are running Google Ads for your business then you need to understand keyword match types. This feature, whilst easy to overlook, can radically improve the return from your advertising. Conversely, ignoring keyword match types can burn through your budget with little or nothing to show for your efforts. Keyword match types determine how […]The post Understanding Keyword Match Types in Google Ads appeared first on Bowler Hat.Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local for Week Ending November 15, 2021https://localu.org/last-week-in-local-november-15-2021/By Erin Jones on Nov 15, 2021 04:02 pm This week, Mike and Carrie discuss our upcoming LocalU Advanced event on Nov 30, what’s new at Google, the 2021 CTR Research Study, big web brands using political allies to battle antitrust probes, and more!   Last Week in Local is a look back at the interesting and important articles...Read it! »Google Business Reinstatement / Suspension Bughttps://onlineownership.com/google-business-reinstatement-suspension-bug/By Tim Capper on Nov 15, 2021 12:44 pm Google My Business or Google Business Profiles are currently struggling with a reinstatement bug after a suspension, leaving users unable to request reinstatement.   Reinstatement Bug This bug has been active for almost a month now and in my instances seems to kick in on weekends leaving businesses unable to file a reinstatement request. The […]Read it! »A/B Testing for Google Ads – A Beginner’s Guidehttps://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/a-b-testing-for-google-ads/By Jack Knight on Nov 11, 2021 03:50 am Contents Introduction What is A/B testing? What is the point of A/B testing? What can you A/B test? Tools for A/B testing How to plan for an A/B test How to perform an A/B test in Google Ads How to A/B test your landing pages Conclusion     You’ve written all of your ads, researched […]The post A/B Testing for Google Ads – A Beginner’s Guide appeared first on Bowler Hat.Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local for Week Ending November 8, 2021https://localu.org/last-week-in-local-november-8-2021/By Erin Jones on Nov 08, 2021 02:14 pm This week, Mike and Carrie dive into Google’s history of product name changes, video best practices, the debate between the value of pipes vs dashes in title tags, how to perform great SEO audits for multi-location businesses, what your reviews say about you, and more!   Last Week in Local...Read it! »2021 Holiday Guide to Your Google Business Profilehttps://whitespark.ca/blog/2021-holiday-gmb-guide/By Allie Margeson on Nov 08, 2021 09:00 am The post 2021 Holiday Guide to Your Google Business Profile appeared first on Whitespark.Read it! »Local SEO for ‘Adult’ Businesses is Beyond Crazyhttps://onlineownership.com/local-seo-for-adult-businesses-is-beyond-crazy/By Tim Capper on Nov 08, 2021 05:03 am I recently took a foray into the Adult Industry for a local business in London and this vertical for Local SEO is beyond crazy, its totally insane. Before you switch to reading in incognito, this business is a registered Ltd company with accounts and VAT up to date (I did my moral diligence) and it […]Read it! »Forecasting in SEO is Like Dunehttps://www.localseoguide.com/forecasting-in-seo-is-like-dune/By Dan Leibson on Nov 05, 2021 09:57 am Show me the waters of your homeworld Muad’dib This post is gonna contain spoilers beyond the recent Dune movie, be warned. So forecasting in SEO is such an interesting subject. I really hate the cop-out answer of “it depends” and judge the SEO space for falling back on this lazy crutch as a way to […]The post Forecasting in SEO is Like Dune appeared first on Local SEO Guide.Read it! »Google My Business (GMB) Changes to Google Business Profile (GBP)https://onlineownership.com/google-my-business-gmb-changes-to-google-business-profile-gbp/By Tim Capper on Nov 04, 2021 03:09 am Its that time again and Google My Business has decided to rebrand to Google Business Profile, how many times is this now ? What has changed, well nothing really, apart from a few tweeks. Google My Business (GMB) = Google Business Profile (GBP) Google Listing = Google Profile Google Business Page = Business Profile   […]Read it! »Online Marketing for Law Firms: 30 Essential Strategieshttps://jurisdigital.com/online-marketing-strategies-lawyers/By Casey Meraz on Nov 01, 2021 05:30 pm 30 Actionable Digital Marketing Strategies for Lawyers & Law Firms Online marketing can be an intimidating task for law firms, especially those that are new to the game. This article contains 30 online marketing strategies which have been proven to effectively generate new clients for our law firm clientele. The biggest firms who have the most resources may find themselves investing in most of these areas, but don’t worry, you can still generate new business by identifying what online marketing strategies work best for your firm, and then focusing your limited time in those areas. Below I’ve organized each strategy into different categories to make it easier to digest: Local SEO Strategies for Law Firms If you want to sign more cases in your local market, Local SEO is essential. Local SEO is Search Engine Optimization that focuses in a specific geographic market, and it’s an especially effective channel when paired with a narrowly focused legal practice. The more granular you can be, the more authority you can build on a particular subject matter. Let’s face it. It’s easier to be known as The Car Accident Expert vs. the everything personal injury expert. 1. Get Ranked in Google’s Local 3 Pack The 3 pack, or local pack is typically the first set of search results you will see after paid ads and LSA’s. These are displayed when Google believes the searcher is intent on searching for a local law firm. If you want your business to succeed in the world’s most popular search engine you need to do things in a way that pleases the Google gods. Here are a few quick tips to help you get ranked in the 3 pack. But keep in mind that local results are heavily influenced by the location of the searcher. If someone searching for an attorney is physically near your office when they’re doing the search on Google you’re more likely to show up. If you don’t already have a free listing make sure to create one. You can create a Google My Business Listing Here. Make sure to follow all of Google’s guidelines and use your unique office address, phone number, and website. Don’t spam or create fake business listings. Once it’s verified it will be live on Google. Fill out your profile 100% completely and accurately. Add photos of the interior, exterior, and of your staff. Bonus tip: Show signage with your business name to prevent possible suspensions. Optimize the website you connect to your Google My Business Page for your location and primary practice areas. Typically this involves adding your Location and Practice Area in the title tags and page content. It also involves adding relevant content, alt tags to images, office pictures and more. Having a professional law firm website design will help your firm convert more visitors. Markup your local business Name, Address, & Phone Number using our free SCHEMA Generator here. This should be on the landing and contact pages of your website. Build the top citations for your business (more on this below). Citations are your business name, address, and phone number listed on third party websites such as Yelp, Facebook, and more. 2.  Build singular, accurate, and relevant citations to your firm. Focus on directories that will bring actual referrals. What are citations in Local SEO? Local SEO citations are mentions of your businesses name, address, phone number, and website on online directories. For example, a listing on yelp.com or yellowpages.com that matches your Google My Business name, address, phone number, and website will count as a citation for your business. See an example of a Yelp Citation below: Many people use niche specific directories for searches, online yellow pages, and review type websites to locate the best law firm to help them. Being listed on these helps your Local SEO, keeps your data accurate, and increases your visibility to new audiences who may not have seen you otherwise. I suggest you stay away from automated citation building services like Yext. They will charge you a monthly fee for something that can really be done once. Plus, from a Local SEO perspective, the effectiveness of citations has been greatly diminished. Instead the primary focus here is to get your law firm listed on directories that will bring you actual clients or act as a decent link source to boost your rankings. For manual submissions check out my guide on finding and building citations like an agency. 3: Get Your Law Firm Listed On Bing Places for Business Just like Google, Bing displays local results in their search results. These come from Bing Places For Business. Many people will get started on Google and forget Bing altogether which is a huge mistake. You can create a free listing here to get listed in Bing’s local results. Make sure you fill it out 100% to get the biggest benefit for your law firm. Bing also gets data from Yelp. 4. Develop A Review Strategy: Reviews are Important for Attorneys [Not to mention reputation & trust!] Failing to have an online review strategy is one of the biggest mistakes a law firm can make. Your potential customers are likely to research your firm or the attorneys at your firm. Making sure you are putting your best foot forward here will help you sign better cases. If this is not apart of your process and reviews are not coming in regularly, then you have a problem and it need to be fixed. The reality is that many people turn to the web for reviews and they research what’s out there. In fact, according to a recent study, “93% of millennial’s say they rely on consumer reviews before making a purchase”. That means that potential clients are likely typing in attorneys or law firm names and adding the word “reviews” at the end. What comes up when you google your brand + reviews? Do a quick Google search and find out. To have a proper review strategy you need to... The post Online Marketing for Law Firms: 30 Essential Strategies appeared first on Juris Digital.Read it! »Video: Last Week in Local for Week Ending November 1, 2021https://localu.org/last-week-in-local-november-1-2021/By Erin Jones on Nov 01, 2021 02:49 pm Join Carrie and Mike as they discuss what’s new with Google My Business, Facebook becoming Meta, Google Shopping, visual search, and so much more!   Last Week in Local is a look back at the interesting and important articles from the previous week. It is 20-30 minutes long and covers...Read it! »What Parts of Your Local SEO Can Competitors NOT Steal?https://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2021/10/31/what-parts-of-your-local-seo-can-competitors-not-steal/By Phil on Oct 31, 2021 09:58 pm On your way to your seat at the Local Feast, they follow you around like a bad smell.  You toil to build a great page or resource on your site, and two days later they’ve copied it.  You put research and brain cells into your title tags, internal links, GMB categories, and citations, only to […]Read it! » 

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