Google Places, Google Maps, Google + For Business…..whatever Google is calling it nowadays, it is important for you as a DUI attorney to have your business address listed on Google Places. If you are not familiar, Google displays search results with locations when you are doing a local search. The goal is to provide the searcher with the most relevant website within the results, and when possible, the closest business that offers this service, all tied together with a map of the area you are searching. Here is an example of a search for DUI attorney in Tempe, Arizona.
As you can see from this search, the phrase that was entered into the Google Search bar was “DUI Attorneys”. The city was not entered for this particular search, so Google will use the geographical location to try and find the best match for the results. Having the address of your DUI practice in this area is the first step in showing in the Maps section, but it is not the only thing that needs to be done. Having this listing optimized is the key to consistent high placement in the search results. The more competitive the area, the more optimization that needs to take place for your listing.
You will also see from this example that Google does not limit the amount of times a particular DUI lawyer can show on the front page of the Google search results. In this case, Matthew Lopez Law has the “A” position for “DUI attorneys” in the Tempe area. You will notice above this listing, that Matthew Lopez also is listed in the second and third organic spot of the search results. If Mr. Lopez wanted even further domination, he could utilize the Pay Per Click portion at the top of the page (listed as Ads) and dominate all three categories on the page. However, on its own the Google Places section will allow you to get a significant amount of traffic. There are many people who will type in generic phrases into the search engines like DUI attorney, without using the city as a modifier, such as Tempe DUI Attorney, and these people trust that Google will be able to tell where they are. The goal for your drunk driving practice should be to dominate both the local and the organic results of the search engine results page.
Why Is Google Places So Difficult To Manage?
Google makes roughly 6 Billion dollars per month off of pay-per-click advertising. Google makes ZERO off of Google Maps listings. As a drunk driving lawyer, would you rather work with clients who are paying you $6,000 per month, or clients who are pro-bono? That is a pretty simple answer, and the reason why Google makes it so difficult to get your listings at the top of the Places results so easily. The harder it is for you as a drunk driving attorney to get listed, the more likely you will have to rely on Pay-per-click advertising like other DUI lawyers. It is a total business decision and Google is the master of figuring out ways to make more businesses rely on PPC to grow their business.
Even More Frustration for DUI Lawyers
One of the biggest reasons that you may be frustrated setting this all up yourself, is that Google makes it even harder for specific attorneys to list their business. You can be a criminal lawyer, a trial lawyer, but you can’t be a DUI lawyer in the category section of Google Places. This means when you are trying to identify your practice to Google, it doesn’t even give you ability to choose exactly what type of service you provide. You are competing with Bankruptcy, divorce, criminal, attorney referral services, district attorney, and so many more.
Do these options define what you do as a DUI Lawyer?
Which one of these options best describes you as a lawyer dedicating your practice to drunk driving defense?
Those who dedicate their entire online marketing careers to Google Places still have difficulty figuring out exactly what needs to be done, so how are you expected to figure it out on your own? The process is complicated, and if you make one mistake, it can be the difference between 200 visitors per month, and Zero visitors per month.
How Much Money Are You Losing?
If you think status quo is going to get it done for your practice, you really need to reevaluate your strategy. The Internet is the way people obtain all of their information, and a DUI attorney is heavily searched. Think about your own practice for a minute. How much do you make per DUI case? $4,000? $3,000? OK, for example purposes, lets say you make $2,000 per DUI case that you take on. How many people are actually searching for this type of lawyer online each and every month?
Would 10,000 searches surprise you? Take a look at this data pulled from the Keyword Planner for Phoenix, Arizona. More than 10,000 potential searches. How much of that business are you getting? Even if you got an extra two cases per month at $2,000 per case. Wouldn’t that make sense to have your Google Places listing optimized as good as possible? How much lost revenue are you thinking about as you read this? The clients are out there looking for you, but if they can’t find you………
One side note that is worth mentioning – look at the cost on the image below of each cost per click. The phrase Phoenix DUI attorney will cost you approximately $201.06 every single time someone clicks on your pay-per-click ad. This isn’t the cost each time the searcher converts to a client, simply the cost. PPC advertising for DUI attorneys can be very, very lucrative, but you have to do it the right way, or it will cost you a fortune. You can learn more about our PPC management services for drunk driving lawyers by clicking here.
At this stage, you probably realize that you want to get your hands on that lost revenue, and fortunately, Hit Me SEO can help you do just that. For every DUI attorney that we work with, we ensure that the Google Places and Maps listing are done perfectly, in order to drive more relevant traffic to your website each and every day. We go through every single detail of your Places listing to make sure you have all of the proper descriptions, photos, videos, backlinks, and each photo is Geo-tagged with the proper location. We also make sure that other web pages that list your information, have the proper Name, Address, and phone number that is listed on your Maps listing. This one step alone, can be the difference between ranking on the first page of Google, or ranking on page 7.
If you are serious about taking your practice to the next level, and are ready to take advantage of all of those potential clients, please take a moment and fill out our DUI attorney discovery page. At Hit Me SEO, we provide the highest level of online marketing, as well as customer service, and create a partnership with our attorneys that last for years. However, we cannot, and will not work with just anyone. We will thoroughly review your discovery, and schedule a call to discuss our findings. If you believe you are ready to move to the next level, please fill out and submit the online discovery form here.