At Riley Summers, we make law firms highly visible in Google's map results for the searches most likely to turn into a case, across every market the firm serves. Location pages are written and optimized by an SEO specialist with more than 15 years of experience creating content specifically for law firms, so each page speaks to clients in that city and gives Google a clear reason to show the firm there. That work is backed by accurate citations across the directories and data sources Google relies on, local links from sponsorships and community involvement, a well-managed Google Business Profile, and a steady flow of recent reviews. Results are evaluated by the calls and cases the map listings produce, not by rankings alone. Local SEO is billed as a flat monthly fee.
Your Business Profile
The firm's Google Business Profile and directory listings stay in its name.
Your content
Location pages and everything we create belong to the firm.
One flat fee
No setup fee. The monthly fee covers all the groundwork.
One-year start
A one-year initial term, then a 60-day out.
On this page
- #1 in the Map Results, in Markets Across the U.S. and Canada
- Map Rankings Come From Four Things Working Together
- What's Included in Law Firm Local SEO
- Location Expansion Analysis
- What We Usually Find in Law Firm Local SEO
- How Long It Takes, and How We Measure It
- How Law Firm Local SEO Starts
- Related Resources and Services
#1 in the Map Results, in Markets Across the U.S. and Canada
Mark Riley's local SEO work for personal injury firms has produced #1 map rankings for the searches that drive cases in Palm Beach County (FL), Pinellas County (FL), Sacramento County (CA) and Cook County (IL), as well as markets in Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ontario. The searches below are a small sample of those tracked, with city names removed:
| Search term | Map position |
|---|---|
| accident attorney [city] | 1 |
| personal injury lawyer [city] | 1 |
| [city] accident attorney | 1 |
| [city] auto accident lawyer | 1 |
| [city] car accident attorney | 1 |
| accident attorney near me | 1 |
| best injury lawyer near me | 1 |
| car accident lawyers [city] | 1 |
| [city] injury lawyers | 1 |
The firms aren't named here, but Mark is happy to walk prospective clients through these results in more detail, including the specific markets.
Map Rankings Come From Four Things Working Together
Firms often look for the one fix that will move them up the map results: a citation cleanup, a new location page or a push for reviews. In our experience, there isn't one. The firms that hold the top positions have all four working together.
- Citations: the firm's name, address and phone number listed accurately and consistently across the directories and data sources Google relies on, with duplicates suppressed.
- Location pages: a well-developed page for each office, written for clients in that city.
- Local links: links from local organizations, sponsorships and community events that tie the firm to the places it serves.
- Reviews: a steady flow of recent reviews that describe the firm's work, each answered within a day.
Neglect one, and the other three have to work much harder to make up for it.
On reviews, more is better. Ideally, a firm earns two to four new reviews a week. Firms with lower case volume can find that hard, which makes local SEO more difficult, but not impossible. In most markets, only one or two firms are pursuing the top of the map results with the right strategy. Others are trying, but often focusing on one lever while neglecting the rest, so a firm with a complete, consistent plan can move up faster than it might expect.
What's Included in Law Firm Local SEO
Citations
New listings built, inaccurate ones corrected, and duplicates suppressed, so the firm's name, address and phone number match everywhere Google looks.
Data aggregators
The firm's details submitted to the data sources that feed hundreds of other directories, apps and navigation systems.
Legal directories
Complete, consistent profiles on the legal directories that matter, including Avvo, Justia, FindLaw, Martindale-Hubbell, Super Lawyers and Lawyers.com, plus their Canadian equivalents for firms in Canada.
Location page build-outs
A well-developed page for each office, written and optimized for clients in that city. Where we have access, we publish the pages on the firm's site ourselves.
Internal link review
Location pages connected to the practice areas they cover, so search engines see how the site fits together.
Local links
Links from sponsorships, community organizations and local events that tie the firm to the places it serves.
Google Business Profile
The profile for each office set up accurately, kept current, and built out with categories, services, photos and posts. This is usually included and shown as its own line on the invoice.
Review guidance
A practical approach for earning reviews within Google's policies. Review generation and response can also be run for the firm as a separate service.
Location Expansion Analysis
Planning a new office? Choose the address before you sign the lease. Where a firm opens its next office has a major effect on how visible it can be in the map results, and on how many new clients it can sign from search. Some markets have strong demand for the firm's practice areas and room to compete; others are crowded with firms that have spent years building their position. Even within a city, the right address can put a firm in contention while one a few miles away can leave it struggling to place at all, regardless of how many reviews it has.
Before a firm commits to a lease and staff, we evaluate the options using live testing of the map results, the location of competing firms and local search demand. Depending on the decision, the result is a shortlist of recommended markets, usually three, or a recommended zone within a city, down to candidate buildings and the types of address to avoid.
Mark has advised law firms on expansion into new markets, so this work reflects how firms make these decisions at that stage. The analysis is available on request, whether or not a firm is already a Local SEO client.
What We Usually Find in Law Firm Local SEO
Inconsistent listings
The firm's name, address or phone number differs across directories, often left over from an old address or phone system.
What we do instead
We correct the details across directories and data aggregators, so they match everywhere Google looks.
Duplicate listings
Old profiles for former offices, or for lawyers who have left, still compete with the firm's real listings.
What we do instead
We find duplicates and have them merged or suppressed, so the right listing collects the visibility.
The wrong primary category
The profile's main category doesn't match the cases the firm most wants.
What we do instead
We set the primary and secondary categories to match the practice areas the firm is pursuing.
Thin location pages, or none
An office has no page of its own, or one with a few generic lines and an address.
What we do instead
A well-developed page for each office, written and optimized for clients in that city.
Offices in shared or coworking spaces
A profile tied to a coworking or shared office address risks suspension, which can remove the firm from the map results overnight.
What we do instead
We flag the risk early and advise on options, including a staffed office address that meets Google's guidelines.
Too few recent reviews, or unanswered ones
Reviews have slowed to a trickle, or arrive and go unanswered.
What we do instead
A practical approach for earning reviews, and response suggestions when new reviews come in, so each is answered within a day.
An outdated profile
Old hours, a handful of photos and no recent posts.
What we do instead
We keep the profile current, with accurate hours, current photos supplied by the firm, and regular posts.
No local links
Nothing online ties the firm to the communities it serves.
What we do instead
Links from sponsorships, community organizations and local events in each market.
Is your firm showing up where clients are searching?
Request a free local SEO audit. You'll receive a short written analysis of your firm's map visibility, Google Business Profile, listings, location pages and reviews, pointing out what may be missing.
Request a free local SEO auditHow Long It Takes, and How We Measure It
Map results vary more than any other part of search. In recent work, a firm reached #1 in the map results for several terms in Santa Fe within three weeks. In a market like Chicago, where competitors have deep content, diverse links and hundreds to thousands of reviews, it can take 18 months or more. Most markets fall somewhere between, and we'll give the firm a realistic view of its own market at the start.
We measure results by what the map listings produce: calls, website visits and direction requests from the firm's Google Business Profile, alongside the firm's map positions for its most important searches across each market. When the firm shares its intake data, we match those inquiries to signed cases.
How Law Firm Local SEO Starts
- Free local SEO audit. A short written analysis of the firm's map visibility, profile, listings, location pages and reviews.
- Scope and fee. We agree on the offices and markets to focus on, and set a flat monthly fee based on them.
- Groundwork. Listing cleanup, duplicate suppression, Google Business Profile fixes and location page build-outs. There's no setup fee; the monthly fee covers this work.
- Ongoing work. New citations, local links, profile updates, review guidance and monthly reporting.
The first engagement runs for one year, then continues with a 60-day out. The firm's profile, listings and everything we create stay with the firm.
Related Resources and Services
Find out where your firm stands in the map results.
We'll audit your firm's map visibility, profile, listings, location pages and reviews and send a short written analysis of what may be missing. If you're planning a new office, we'll look at how location will affect your visibility.
Request a free local SEO audit