Law Firm Web Strategy Blog
If you have spent anytime building your professional reputation online, you have probably come across information about local search marketing. And if you have read anything worth its salt on local search marketing, you probably should have read something about business citations. But how and where should you get these citations? Here are some places to add to your spreadsheet for consideration for getting local citations for your law firm.
1. Local search engines
It is common for local search engines to crawl other local search engines looking for business citations for validation. Local search engines and local data providers will often enter into agreements to share such information for each other’s mutual benefit. When it comes to local business data, accuracy and validity are the key.
2. Local blogs
Blogs that focus on local and even hyper-local subject matter can be an excellent place to build citations. First, they’re blogs so as long as they’re not “spam-blogs” they’re given presumptive trust. Even better, if the blog is a topically-related business blog focusing on your geographic location (i.e. written by another lawyer) it is likely to have significant trust signals with search engines.
3. Local Business Directories
While the effectiveness of submitting to general business directories has greatly diminished through time, submitting to local business directories still can have a significant positive impact on your law firm’s visibility for local search queries.
4. Legal Directories
In addition to local directories, legal directories, and topically related directories are another great place to get citations. Of course local legal directories are even one better.
Beware of Local Search Snake Oil
Just like has been the case in the world of SEO for quite some time, there is no shortage of local search marketing snake oil. Before you hire someone to do local search marketing for your law firm, take some time to understand how local search works and ask your prospective local search marketer what they plan to do on your behalf.
I have heard horror stories of attorneys paying in excess of $500 per month to have Google Places and other local search profiles claimed.
I have also directly witnessed local search marketers inventing client testimonials to place on local review sites. Not only could this get you on hot water with Google, it may violate your state’s rules of professional conduct and get you into trouble with your state bar.
More On Local Search Marketing For Your Law Firm
Want to know more about how local search works? Check out GetListed.org. If you have questions specifically pertaining to local search marketing for law firms, schedule a free evaluation of your law firm’s local search presence with AttorneySync.