GMB page for law not ranking but individual attorneys' names are
-
I'm kind of a newbie to everything marketing. I run the marketing for a small law firm. When I google certain keywords, the law firm's GMB page doesn't show up in the local pack or rankings. What shows up instead are the individual GMB pages under the lawyers' names even though we don't do anything to maintain those pages. Their individual pages don't have content or nearly as many reviews. I maintain the firm's GMB page by posting content and that's also where the bulk of our reviews go. Why would pages that aren't maintained show up in the local pack while the page that I keep a close eye on doesn't show up?
-
Hi Elisa,
If your law practice were my client, I would have them take these steps:
-
Get a unique phone number for each practitioner. It can be any number the lawyer is reachable at during listed business hours. It can be their cell phone, a phone at their desk, etc.
-
Diversify categories as much as possible so that the lawyers aren't competing with the practice.
-
Link each practitioner's listing to a landing page on the website for just that practitioner. Put the name, unique phone number and address as the top of each practitioner's page and then write good, useful content for the page, optimizing it for longer tail terms rather than the head terms the practice is targeting.
-
Be sure you've updated all other citations that exist for the practitioners on other sites, so that they include the new phone number, more diverse categories and appropriate landing page link.
-
Build long-tail kw focused links to these practitioner pages.
These listings can be an asset to the business in widening the number of search terms the overall practice is able to target. So, before you consider abandoning them, I would advise the client to think seriously about how the listings could benefit the practice. I'd implement all of the above tips I've given and then give it a year to see how the practice feels about the benefits coming from having these more diversified practitioner listings. Of course, be sure you are tracking this in Google Search Console for the year! And do be sure you're having the client assess whether it's actually negative if the lawyers are getting leads, regardless of how rankings are playing out. If it's income for the practice, is this a good thing or a bad thing?
If, at that point, the practice feels it really dislikes having practitioner listings, it could strip out all of their details to de-optimize them. Remove all but one category, remove photos, hours of operation, etc.
But, before doing something drastic like that, I'd really evaluate the good that could be done with the listings, in properly handled instead of being a muddle like they currently are. Good luck!
-
-
Hi Miriam! I hadn't thought about any of this but you've given me a really great place to start.
There's only one phone number for the practice and it's showing up on the lawyers' individual profiles. Should I just remove the phone numbers from their listings and just leave it on the firm's profile? I'm currently working on creating different landing pages because all the profiles point directly to the homepage of the main website.
I currently don't see any penalties from Google although I'm going to go back and look at naming guidelines. Besides linking to different landing pages and phone numbers, what else can I do to de-optimize the individual listings?
Thanks again!
-
Thanks for bringing your question to the forum.
While this is a common scenario you are describing, the best I can do is offer general advice without seeing the actual client's results.
-
Are you duplicating GMB categories between the law firm and the practice? Try to avoid this, if possible.
-
Are you sharing phone numbers between the law firm and the practice? Don't do this.
-
Are there unique landing pages linked to from GMB for each practitioner? If so, are you optimizing these pages for the same terms as the overall practice is targeting? If so, diversify the practitioner pages so that they target longer tail terms while the main website pages for the practice target more head terms.
-
Are you doing anything with the brand's presence in GMB that could be causing Google to trust the practitioners more than the practice. For example, are you adhering to naming guidelines for both practice and practitioner? Have you resolved duplicate listings? Has the practice received any penalties, suspensions, or engaged in any forbidden practices like setting up listings for ineligible locations or acquiring fake reviews?
Evaluate all of the above and make any necessary adjustments. If, after a waiting period, you don't see the desired outcomes, the practice will need to determine whether:
-
It's a big deal, or not really a big deal, to have the lawyers outranking the practice for some terms.
-
If a big deal, the practice may need to decide to de-optimize the listings for the lawyers to remove as much of their ranking power as possible.
Hope this helps!
-
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Managing Multiple Outdoor (unverifiable) Locations in GMB.
Hello Guys, I have a question about GMB best practice for a physical location, it actually applies to two sites I have. 1. A predominantly online fitness site but with two 'clinic' locations, which are rooms i hire and cannot claim the location. 2. An in-person fitness service, with no physical location, other than my actual home, and 10-20 location pages that have in the past (pre-GMB) ranked quite well. My question really is, what is best practice here, how to you deal with multiple locations when you cannot actually verify you own them, because they are just areas you work in, run classes or meet clients etc? Thank You!
Local Listings | | scott_laidler0 -
What's the best way to identify duplicate listings?
I'm doing manual duplicate research for an account and wanted to know if anyone had a resource to share on how to find duplicate listings for GMB and other citations. https://searchengineland.com/definitive-guide-duplicate-research-local-seo-238719 Ive been working off of this article from Joy Hawkins, but she mentions using Map Maker to search a phone number, but Google has since shut Map Maker down. Maps doesn't seem to work the same way, as I've searched a phone number which I know has duplicate listings and they don't come up. Any tips on a better tool or process?
Local Listings | | formandfunctionagency0 -
(Australian Business) Ranks 7th Brisbane, but ranks 3rd in Sydney and Melbourne. Why is Brisbane ranking worse, how to fix?
Years ago the rank would be the same across Australia. If we ranked 3rd in one city, it would be the same in every other city. Right now, we are ranking 3rd in Sydney and Melbourne, however we ranking a low 7th in Brisbane for keyword "Trampolines". Why is this? How can we fix it in Brisbane. Interestingly, we are a Brisbane based business. The keyword is "Trampolines" and the website is http://www.vulyplay.com
Local Listings | | Vuly0 -
Need some strategy advice for Real Estate Attorneys in competitve locations
I am working with a real estate attorney in NJ. there are 17 real estate attorneys within 5 miles of my clients location. I need some strategic advice to rank my client higher quickly 2-3 month range. I have had him as a client since the begging of his practice (just opened in February 2016) I created the website and embarked on a content marketing strategy, this has produced slight raises in traffic. What could I do better to get him in local packs and generally raise to first page for long tail keywords? ( my other clients have not been so difficult but they also are not in such a competitive atmosphere)
Local Listings | | donsilvernail0 -
Google Local Listing Ranking/Traffic Metrics in the Google Search Console?
A client of mine asked me if it was possible to see local listing data (ranking/traffic stats) in the Google Search Console for a URL. I figured the Google Search Console only shows organic metrics not 3-pack/local listing performance. However I could be mistaken. Does the Google Search Console report this?
Local Listings | | RosemaryB0 -
Changing Business Names
Hi All, I am working with a client that is changing its business name and website domain. Obviously, they want Google Maps to display their correct information. I know that in order for this to happen, they will need to do some citation clean-up and update their Google+ Local page, but does anyone have any opinions on the order in which these things should be done? Thanks!
Local Listings | | PapercutInteractive0 -
How does one increase a site's Domain Authority?
We see that our Domain Authority is hovering around the same mark for over a year now. I have 2 questions - How important is DA? Does it affect your Google Page Rank? What would ideally be the things that we need to keep in mind if we are to increase our Domain Authority? Thanks
Local Listings | | prsntsnh0 -
Google+ Local and a Google+ Company Page
I have an established G+ company page but also want a G+ Local listing in order to appear on Google maps. The company does have a physical address, phone number etc. to qualify for a G+ Local listing. No current local listing exists to claim. Should I: a) Switch the currrent G+ company page to be a G+ Local page; or b) Create a new G+ Local page and keep the G+ company page; or c) Ignore G+ Local and create the listing through Google Places Thanks
Local Listings | | bjalc20110