A Step-by-Step Framework for Optimising Your Solicitor Firm's Google Business Profile

When someone searches "solicitors near me" or "employment solicitor in Manchester", the three results that appear in the Map Pack sit above the organic listings — and above most paid ads. That visibility is controlled almost entirely by your Google Business Profile, not your website.

Your website contributes authority signals. Your GBP controls whether you appear in that pack at all. For firms targeting clients within a specific geography, getting this profile right often produces faster visible results than any other single SEO activity.

Industry benchmarks suggest that Map Pack listings receive a substantial share of clicks for local intent searches, and legal searches are heavily local in nature — most people searching for a solicitor want someone accessible, often within commuting distance or at least in the same county.

The good news is that most solicitor GBPs are under-optimised. Generic categories, thin service descriptions, no posts, and ignored Q&A sections are the norm rather than the exception. That leaves a clear window for firms willing to spend two to three hours setting things up properly.

This guide covers every section of the profile in the order of its impact, so you can prioritise if you have limited time, or complete everything systematically if you want the full foundation in place.

Note: This content covers GBP optimisation from an SEO perspective. For guidance on what solicitors can and cannot say in their online profiles regarding services and credentials, refer to the SRA Compliance guidance in this cluster.

Your primary category is the single most influential setting in your GBP. Google uses it to decide which searches you're eligible to appear for. Many solicitor firms default to "Law Firm" — that is a valid choice but rarely the best one.

If your firm focuses on a specific area, use the most precise category available. Examples include:

• Family Law Attorney — for firms where family law is the dominant practice area
• Divorce Lawyer — for firms where matrimonial work makes up the majority of caseload
• Personal Injury Attorney — for PI-led practices
• Immigration Attorney — for immigration-focused firms
• Corporate Law Attorney — for commercial-focused practices

You can add up to nine additional secondary categories. Use these to capture your other practice areas. The order matters — primary category carries the most weight, so choose it deliberately.

Beyond category, complete every core section of the profile:

• Business name: Use your trading name exactly as it appears on your website and Companies House / SRA register — do not keyword-stuff your business name, as this violates Google's guidelines and risks suspension
• Address: Physical office address only — do not use a virtual office address if you do not have staff working there regularly
• Phone number: Use your main tracked number, but ensure it matches the number on your website's contact page
• Website URL: Link to your homepage unless you have a specific local landing page for the practice area you want to rank for
• Hours: Keep these accurate and update them for bank holidays — incorrect hours harm trust and generate negative reviews

Attributes are checkboxes that appear under your profile for things like accessibility features, appointment availability, and service delivery method. Complete every attribute that applies. They contribute to profile completeness signals and help Google match your listing to specific user queries.

The Services section inside your GBP editor is one of the most underused features in the legal vertical. It allows you to list individual services under categories — and each service entry carries its own keyword signal for local search.

Rather than one entry called "Legal Services", a well-optimised profile for a general practice firm might include entries such as:

• Residential Conveyancing
• Wills and Probate
• Employment Advice for Employees
• Divorce and Separation
• Child Arrangement Orders
• Lease Extensions
• Powers of Attorney

Each service entry allows a short description of up to 300 characters. Use this space to describe the service in plain English — the kind of language a client would use, not the internal terminology your firm uses. "We help homeowners buy and sell residential property, including dealing with your lender, Land Registry, and the other side's solicitors" is more useful than "Residential conveyancing services available".

You do not need to list every conceivable practice area — focus on the services you actively want to attract more enquiries for. If you have capacity in one area and not another, weight your service entries accordingly.

Your business description (the main profile description) should summarise your firm in 750 characters or fewer. Write it for a prospective client reading it for the first time, not for Google's crawler. Mention your location, your primary areas of practice, and what differentiates your approach — years in business, particular specialisms, or the type of client you typically serve. Avoid superlatives like "leading" or "best" — these raise credibility concerns and may conflict with SRA advertising guidance on claims you cannot substantiate.

Reviews are a direct ranking factor in local search and a significant trust signal for prospective clients reading your profile. Solicitor firms with a higher volume of recent, positive reviews consistently appear more prominently in Map Pack results than comparable firms with few or dated reviews.

The challenge for solicitors is that review solicitation must be handled carefully. The SRA Standards and Regulations require solicitors to act with integrity and not mislead. Offering any form of incentive — discounts, gifts, or preferential treatment — in exchange for a review is prohibited. This educational content reflects our understanding of SRA guidance as of 2024; verify current rules with the SRA directly or seek advice from your compliance officer.

What you can do:

• Ask satisfied clients to leave a review at the close of a matter — in person, by email, or via a follow-up message
• Send a direct link to your GBP review form to make the process frictionless
• Include a review request as part of your standard client closing process or satisfaction survey
• Respond to every review — positive and negative — professionally and without disclosing confidential client information in your response

Responding to negative reviews requires particular care. Never confirm or deny the existence of a client relationship in your public response. A measured, professional reply that acknowledges the concern and invites the person to contact your firm directly is appropriate. Defensive or dismissive responses consistently make a poor impression on prospective clients reading your profile.

Do not ask clients to remove negative reviews. Do report reviews that contain false factual claims, personal attacks, or content that clearly violates Google's review policies — Google will assess and may remove these.

In our experience working with law firms, the most effective way to build review volume is simply to ask — most satisfied clients are willing to leave a review when invited clearly and given a direct link. The barrier is usually the firm not asking, not the client being unwilling.

Google Business Profile posts appear in your listing and give Google a regular signal that your profile is actively managed. For solicitors, posts serve a secondary purpose: they demonstrate that the firm is engaged and communicating — a soft trust signal for prospective clients comparing options.

Post types available include:

• Updates: General news, office announcements, or commentary on legal changes relevant to your clients
• Offers: Typically less relevant for solicitors — avoid anything that creates a misleading impression of discounted legal work
• Events: Seminars, webinars, community events your firm is involved in

A realistic posting cadence for a solicitor firm is one post per week. Posts expire from prominence after seven days but remain on your profile. Content ideas that work well include: plain-English explanations of recent legal changes affecting residential clients, reminders about Stamp Duty thresholds or changes to employment law, and guidance on common questions clients ask at the start of a matter.

Keep posts short — two to three sentences with a clear call to action such as "Contact us to discuss your situation" or "Read more on our website." Include a relevant image where possible; profiles with images consistently generate more interactions than text-only posts.

The Q&A section is the most overlooked feature on most solicitor GBPs. Anyone — including competitors and members of the public — can post questions to your profile. If you do not seed and manage this section, the narrative is outside your control.

Add five to ten questions your prospective clients commonly ask, and answer them yourself. Examples:

• "How long does a residential conveyancing transaction typically take?"
• "Do you offer an initial free consultation?"
• "Can I contact you outside office hours?"

Monitor the Q&A section monthly and respond promptly to any questions posted by others. Unanswered questions create a poor impression and may contain inaccurate information about your firm.

Setting up a GBP correctly is a one-time investment. Keeping it producing results is a light ongoing commitment. In our experience working with law firms, the profiles that perform consistently over time are the ones that are maintained — not necessarily the ones that were most elaborately set up initially.

A practical weekly routine:

1. Check for new reviews — respond to any that have come in within 48 hours of posting
2. Check the Q&A section — respond to any new questions from the public
3. Publish a post — one short update, event, or piece of client-facing commentary
4. Check for suggested edits — Google allows members of the public to suggest changes to your profile; review and accept or reject these promptly

A monthly routine:

• Review your profile photos — add new ones if you have relevant images (office, team, community involvement) and remove any that are outdated
• Check your service hours for any upcoming changes
• Review your service entries and description for accuracy, especially if your practice areas have shifted
• Check GBP Insights for any trends in how people are finding and interacting with your profile

One specific risk to monitor: Google occasionally auto-applies edits to your profile based on information it finds elsewhere on the web. These can include incorrect phone numbers, altered addresses, or category changes. If your profile information changes without your input, check the edit history and restore the correct information immediately.

Firms that treat their GBP as a set-and-forget asset typically see their Map Pack visibility erode over time as more actively managed competitors overtake them. Twenty minutes per week is sufficient to avoid this.

If your firm has multiple offices, each location requires its own separate GBP profile — each one optimised for its specific address and the practice areas served from that location. Multi-location profile management is covered in the Local SEO guide for solicitors.