Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is your firm’s modern-day phone book listing, except it’s far more powerful than the Yellow Pages ever were. Your GBP is a micro-website that shows up on Google’s first page when someone in your community searches for the legal help you offer. It’s one of the most powerful parts of local SEO for law firms.
So how do you set one up that earns a spot in the map pack?
These eight tips are no-brainers. None take much time, and each is backed by Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report, a survey of 47 local search experts scoring 187 ranking factors. If you nail these, you’ll put your firm in a strong position to show up when someone nearby needs a lawyer.
1. Create and Verify a GBP for Each Office
We see this mistake often: a firm sets up a profile for its “main” office and stops there. But every physical office deserves its own GBP, created and verified. One office, one profile. Three offices, three profiles.
A caveat: This applies to brick-and-mortar offices your firm actually occupies, not virtual offices or co-working spaces.
Don’t stop at just creating the GBP, however. An unverified profile, or one where verification lapsed after a move, won’t reliably surface in search. Whitespark’s survey found that “Verified GBP” ranks 29th out of 187 factors, and “Physical Address in City of Search” ranks fourth.
How to verify: In Business Profile Manager, add a new location for each office with its exact name and street address. Once it’s created, click “Get verified” on that profile. Google assigns the verification method automatically (video, phone, email, or postcard), so follow whichever it offers you.
Two more things worth locking down once each profile exists.
Keep your NAP consistent
Your name, address, and phone number should match across your GBP, website, and any directories you’re listed on. “HTML NAP Matching GBP NAP” ranks 15th in the Whitespark survey, and having your address on your profile (rather than hiding it as a service-area business) ranks seventh.
How: Compare your GBP’s name, address, and phone number field by field against your website footer, contact page, and any directories you’re listed on. Correct any mismatch you find.
Fix your map pin placement
Google sometimes places a profile’s pin at the center of an office complex, or even next door, especially for firms in shared suites. That’s a problem, since it throws off the proximity signal.
“Proper Placement of the Map Pin” ranks 10th out of 187 factors. It’s worth checking your GBP dashboard to confirm the pin sits at your office.
How: In Edit profile, under Location, drag the pin on the map to your entrance, then save. Google may take a few days to reflect the update.
2. Link Your GBP to Your Firm’s Website
Every profile should link to your website, but which page depends on how many offices you have. One office, one GBP? Link to your homepage. Multiple offices? Link each profile to its matching location page.
Say you’re a personal injury firm with offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. Your Miami GBP should link to your Miami personal injury lawyer page, not your homepage or a different city’s page.
How: In Edit profile, under Contact, drop that office’s matching location page URL into the Website field.
3. Set Your Hours to 24/7
If your firm answers phones around the clock, set your GBP hours to reflect it. Don’t default to 9 to 5 just because your office locks its doors at 5. A firm that ranks in the map pack at 9 a.m. can vanish from it entirely by 6 p.m. if the profile says it’s closed.
This isn’t a small factor either. Whitespark’s 2026 survey ranks “Business is Open at Time of Search” fifth out of 187 factors, and shows “Proper Hours Set on GBP” climbing 64 spots since the last edition.
But be honest about it. If your firm doesn’t answer calls 24/7, don’t set your hours that way. Misrepresenting availability frustrates prospects and can show up in your reviews.
We go deeper on this, including with real 3-pack examples, in a blog post about setting your law firm’s GBP hours to 24/7. Head over there if you’d like to dive deeper into this topic.
How: In Edit profile, under Hours, uncheck “Closed” for each day and set “Opens at” to 24 hours instead of a start and end time.
4. Write a Good Description
Think of your GBP description as an elevator pitch. What would you say to a prospective client if you had time for just three or four sentences?
A few things to cover:
- Your practice areas. Be thorough but economical.
- What sets you apart. Experience, results, client service, whatever it is, make it clear.
- A short call to action. Give the searcher something to do next.
One clarification: The GBP description is a conversion tool. Jamming a keyword into it likely won’t help. Whitespark’s survey ranks “Keywords in GBP Description” near the very bottom of the list, 171st out of 187. Stuffing it with keywords for SEO purposes won’t move your rankings, and keyword stuffing could even weigh you down.
How: In Edit profile, find the Business description field and write your three to four sentences directly into the box. It’s a straightforward text field with a character limit Google will flag if you go over.
5. Add Quality Images
Photos give your profile visual credibility. They show searchers you’re a real, established firm, and they influence who a searcher decides to call. Some may even prefer to see the office before arriving so they know what to expect; it’s one fewer unknown in a time that they’re probably dealing with lots of those.
At a minimum, photograph:
- Your office exterior and signage
- Attorneys and staff at work
- Awards, plaques, and branded materials
- Your waiting room and conference room
“Photo & Video Quality” ranks 45th for local pack visibility, but it ranks 11th out of the factors Whitespark scored specifically for conversion impact. Good photos might help you show up, but most of all, they help you get the phone call once you do.
How: From your profile, select “Add photo.” Refresh them every few months.
6. Set Your Categories and List Your Services
These both come down to how Google classifies what you do, but they’re separate settings.
Setting your categories
Your categories shape which broad searches you show up for. Your primary category is the single most influential factor in Whitespark’s entire survey, ranking first out of 187. Additional categories rank eighth.
Choose the category that matches your practice, not a generic label like “Attorney” if a more specific option exists. If your firm handles multiple practice areas, fill in the additional category slots too.
How: In Edit profile, next to Business category, select Edit, then choose the most specific primary category available. Use “Add another category” for any additional practice areas.
| Practice Area | GBP Category | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Injury | Personal Injury Attorney | |
| Family law/ divorce | Family Law Attorney | Divorce Attorney works as a secondary category |
| Criminal defense | Criminal Justice Attorney | Not “Criminal Defense Attorney,” despite that name showing up in some guides. |
| Employment Law | Employment Attorney | |
| Immigration | Immigration Attorney | |
| Estate planning / probate | Estate Planning Attorney | |
| Bankruptcy | Bankruptcy Attorney | Restricted category; own solicitation rules attached. |
Setting your services
Your services get more specific, listing the case types each office handles within those categories. Most firms handle the same practice areas everywhere, but some don’t. A Boca Raton office might handle personal injury and bankruptcy, while a Fort Myers office handles only personal injury. Make sure services are specific to the office.
This is one of the biggest movers on this year’s Whitespark survey. “Presence of GBP Predefined Services” jumped from barely registering in the 2023 survey to 22nd out of 187 this year.
How: Select “Edit services” on your profile. Choose from Google’s suggested services for your category, or add your own custom entries for practice areas that aren’t listed. Repeat this separately for each office’s profile.
7. Add Your Social Profiles
If your firm maintains active social accounts, add them to your GBP under the Profiles section. Platforms you can list include Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok.
This gives searchers another way to size up your firm before they call, allowing them to get to know you better and see that you’re engaged with your community. That’s a trust signal more than a ranking factor. “Social Profiles Are Linked to GBP” ranks 131st out of 187 in the Whitespark data, a rather modest signal..
One caution: Only list accounts you actively maintain. Outdated or neglected social feeds can reflect poorly.
How: In Edit profile, under Contact, scroll to the Social profiles field and paste in the URL for each active account.
8. Generate Reviews
Outside of getting your name, address, and phone number right, this is the most consequential item on this list.
Several review-related factors land in the top 15 of Whitespark’s ranking survey: high star ratings rank sixth, the quantity of native Google reviews with text ranks ninth, review recency ranks 11th, and a steady, sustained flow of reviews over time ranks 14th. Review signals were also one of the two categories that gained the most weight in this year’s survey.
Make asking for reviews routine. After a case resolves, ask the client to leave one, and make it easy with a direct link to your review page.
Respond to every review, good or bad. Thank a good reviewer and keep it warm but brief. For a bad review, acknowledge the concern, respond professionally, and avoid getting into specifics that could touch on attorney-client privilege.
How: Pull your profile’s direct review link from the “Ask for reviews” option in your dashboard, then text or email it to clients right after a case resolves.
A Step Toward Better Local Visibility
These eight tips are only a foundation. A full local SEO strategy involves more, from local citations and directory listings to strategies to earn visibility in local organic and AI search queries.
Get a free site audit and see where your firm stands.
