Google Business Profile for law firms: getting the basics right
People often look up a lawyer on Google before they ever pick up the phone. Here is how to set up a firm or practitioner profile that is clear, accurate and within the rules.
Someone with a legal question usually starts with a search: "family lawyer near me", "wills lawyer" or the name of a firm a friend mentioned. What they see on Google shapes whether they call you, and law firms face rules on both sides. Google has guidelines for professional profiles, and your law society has rules for how lawyers market their services.
Firm profile, lawyer profile, or both?
Google treats lawyers as individual practitioners, which affects how profiles should be set up.
- A firm with several lawyers can have a profile for the firm at each location. Individual lawyers who are public facing may also have their own profiles, named with only the lawyer's name.
- A sole practitioner under a firm brand should have one profile, named in the format Google sets out: Firm name: Lawyer name.
- One lawyer, one profile. Google doesn't allow a practitioner to create several profiles to cover different practice areas.
Name and categories
- Use your real firm name, exactly as on your letterhead and signage. Google doesn't allow extra words such as "Toronto Divorce Lawyers" added to a name.
- Choose a primary category that matches your practice, then secondary categories only for areas you genuinely practise.
- Don't add categories just as keywords. Google's guidelines say categories should describe the business.
Practice areas as services
The most common gap we see is a profile that names the firm but never says what it does. Use the services section to list your practice areas in plain words: family law, real estate, wills and estates, employment, small business. That's how people tell whether you handle their kind of problem.
Watch the word "specialist". In Ontario, for example, the Law Society's rules restrict who can advertise as a specialist to lawyers it has certified, and similar rules exist in other provinces. Words like "expert" can raise the same concern. Describe what you do, not how specialized you are, unless you hold the certification.
Details that help people decide
- Office hours, plus holiday hours set ahead of time
- Languages spoken, if more than one
- How consultations work: in person, by phone or by video, and whether the first one is free, only if that's true
- Accessibility details such as a wheelchair accessible entrance
- Real photos of the office and entrance, and team photos with each person's permission
Keep every claim verifiable
Law societies generally require marketing to be accurate, verifiable and not misleading. Your Google profile counts. Before anything goes on it, ask: could we prove this if asked? Avoid claims about results, comparisons with other firms and words like "best" or "top" that you can't support.
Replying to reviews
Solicitor client confidentiality applies to review replies. Don't confirm the reviewer was a client, and never discuss their matter. A short, neutral reply inviting them to contact the office is enough. Our guide to asking for Google reviews covers this in more detail.
Make it easy to get in touch
Finally, check the path from profile to enquiry. The phone number should reach someone during your listed hours, the website link should open a page with a clear way to call or enquire, and you should be able to see how many enquiries the profile sends. Our guide to tracking calls and enquiries from Google shows how.
Rules differ by province, so check your own law society's current marketing rules before you make changes.
Sources
- Google Business Profile guidelines
- Canadian Lawyer, marketing for law firms: some rules to consider
- Canadian Bar Association, common mistakes in legal advertising
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Rules and Google features change, so check the current source before acting.