A Houston family law attorney I worked with was sitting at 22nd place in local search results. They might as well have been invisible. Like many lawyers, they had set up their Google Business Profile (GBP), filled in their address, added a phone number, uploaded a few photos and called it a day. Your GBP is not a listing, and law firms need to stop treating it that way. It’s the hub of your local digital presence. If it’s not connected to everything else you’re doing online, you’re leaving real cases on the table.
Within three weeks of consistent connected engagement on their GBP (fresh content, updated services, active review responses), that Houston family law attorney moved to fourth place. Nothing else changed, their profile just started doing its job.
Below are the steps you need to take to ensure your GBP is doing its job for your firm.
Posts Are Not Optional
Google Posts are one of the most underused features on the entire platform. They show up directly in your profile, right there in search results, and they tell Google you’re active. An active profile ranks better. It really is that simple.
Post about recent case wins (within ethical guidelines), community involvement, legal tips relevant to your practice area, firm news, anything that shows you’re present and engaged. Aim for at least one post per week. The content doesn’t need to be long, but it needs to be consistent.
Additionally, when you publish Posts on your profile, the call-to-action link should point to the relevant page on your site, not just your homepage. If you’re posting about a truck accident case, that button should take someone straight to your truck accident page. Every extra click you force someone to make is another chance for them to leave.
Photos and Video: More Than You Think
Most attorneys are surprised to hear that you want a minimum of 15 photos on your profile. Photos of your office, your team, community events you’ve attended, local landmarks near your location. These aren’t just decoration. Google uses them as engagement signals.
Video makes an even stronger impression. A short 60-second walk-through of your office, a brief introduction from you as the attorney, a quick answer to a common legal question. These humanize your firm before a potential client ever picks up the phone, and they keep people on your profile longer, which Google notices.
Categories and Services: Get Specific
Many firms only fill in one primary category and leave it there. You can add multiple categories, and you should. If you’re a family law firm that also handles estate planning, both categories need to be listed.
Your services section deserves the same attention. List every practice area you offer, with real descriptions where available, not just a name. “Divorce Attorney” as a service entry is fine. “Divorce Attorney, helping Texas families navigate property division, child custody, and spousal support” is far better. It matches the language real people use when they’re searching.
Reviews Are a Conversation, Not a Trophy Case
Getting reviews matters. Responding to them matters just as much. When you respond to a review, especially a negative one, you’re not just talking to that client. You’re talking to every potential client who reads your profile. A thoughtful, professional response to a critical review shows judgment and character, two things people want in an attorney.
Ask satisfied clients to leave a review directly after a positive interaction. Make it easy for them by including a direct link to your review page in follow-up emails or text messages. The more recent and consistent your reviews, the stronger the signal to Google.
Social Media Feeds Into the Profile
This is a feature that’s rolling out to more profiles and becoming increasingly important. Social media posts from platforms like Facebook and Instagram are now appearing directly on Google Business Profiles. That means the content you’re already creating has the potential to show up in local search results without any extra work on your part, as long as your accounts are properly connected.
This is exactly why everything needs to be linked. A disconnected social presence is a missed opportunity. A connected one compounds your visibility across every platform at once.
The Basics: A Refresher
Going back to the basics of your profile, these easy fixes make a big difference. Your name, address, and phone number need to match exactly across your website and your GBP. Not close, not almost, EXACTLY. Google cross-references these constantly. Inconsistency signals unreliability, and unreliability tanks rankings. Also, make sure your website links to your GBP directly.
Stop Treating It Like a Set-and-Forget Listing
The firms that win local search are the ones that treat their GBP like a living part of their marketing, not an afterthought. Your GBP sits at the center. Every other piece of your online presence, your website, your social media, your reviews, your content, should feed back into it. When those spokes are strong and consistent, Google sees an active, credible, trustworthy firm. When they’re missing or mismatched, your ranking suffers.
You need fresh photos. Regular posts. Updated services. Consistent review responses. A website that links back properly. Social accounts that are connected.
None of this is complicated. But it does require showing up consistently, which, when you think about it, is exactly what your clients expect from you, too.
