Have you ever noticed those short snippets that sometimes appear alongside Google’s local results for law firms?
Those are local justifications, and they’re not just random bits of text. They’re Google’s way of highlighting why your firm is the perfect match for a potential client’s search.
Think of them as little billboards that showcase your expertise and relevance. When Google finds a match between a user’s search terms and your justification, it bolds the relevant words, making your firm stand out from the competition.
Why does this matter for your law firm?
- Increased visibility: Local justifications give you more real estate in search results, making it easier for potential clients to find you.
- Enhanced relevance: Bolded keywords signal to users that your firm specializes in what they’re looking for, increasing the likelihood of them clicking on your listing.
- Competitive advantage: By optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) for local justifications, you can outrank your competitors and capture more leads.
Some of these justifications you can control. Below we will not cover all 9 types of justifications, just the ones that are common for law firms.
Justification Types For Law Firms
Below is a list of the justification types we commonly see for law firms.
Review Justifications
Review justifications are Google’s way of highlighting keywords in your client reviews that match a potential client’s search terms. While you can’t directly control them, encouraging clients to leave detailed reviews mentioning specific services or practice areas can increase the likelihood of those keywords being featured as justifications, ultimately boosting your visibility and attracting more relevant leads.
It’s one reason we always harp on our clients for keyword rich reviews.
Website Mentions
Want to increase your chances of showing up in Google’s local search results? 🤔 Crafting website content around relevant keywords can trigger website mentions in your Google Business Profile justifications. This not only reinforces your expertise but also helps Google understand and showcase your firm’s relevance to potential clients.
Provides (blue circle with checkmark)
Google pulls this from the services you provide in your Google Business Profile (GBP). You are in control of these. Don’t sleep on them and make sure to add as many as possible. But also be sure to remove any that Google adds automatically that are not relevant as these will produce irrelevant calls and leads.
Note the example below for Daniel Kim:
More May Come
Google does update these from time to time so I wouldn’t be surprised if you were to see more in the future. I purposely did not include categories irrelevant to attorneys that also pull these such as menu highlights and seen by shoppers categories.
Looking for how you can grow your firm and sign more cases from clients already in your market looking for your services? Check out our ultimate guide to local SEO for attorneys.
