Recently, we’ve been doing more digging into the coveted maps positions in Google organic results to find out more about how and why people are placed in these positions. We are certain that it has to do with criteria such as:
- Authority of the landing page of the maps listing
- Proximity to city centroid
- Amount of positive reviews for the listing
- Authority of the map listing itself
- Completeness of the listing, and some other criteria
But what about the listings that come up for multiple practice areas, without the exact same listing category? How would a personal injury lawyer come up for criminal defense as well, and vice versa?
An idea came to me when I was speaking with a Yelp representative who had mentioned that he had a criminal defense client coming up often on searches for divorce-related keywords. The reason? Though he was primarily a criminal defense attorney, he did handle some divorce cases; in doing so, he received a thorough review on his Yelp profile praising the lawyer’s professionalism in a divorce-related matter. Evidently, that review alone was enough to trigger results for divorce keywords.
Does this work the same way for Google? If you’re receiving reviews with other common legal-related keywords, can you come up for those keywords too on maps? What about secondary categories – do those work well? Do the keywords in the landing page cover enough ground to come up for other results? Lastly, were links built to the maps and landing page to push the likelihood of other keywords turning up as well? We’ll explore all of this.
City | Represents 1 Accurately? | Represents 2 Accurately? | Represents 3 Accurately? |
Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Houston Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Houston Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Houston Divorce Lawyer | X | ||
Houston Bankruptcy Attorney | |||
Houston Family Attorney | X | X | |
Philadelphia Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Philadelphia Divorce Lawyer | X | X | X |
Philadelphia Bankruptcy Attorney | |||
Philadelphia Family Attorney | X | X | |
Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Fort Lauderdale Divorce Lawyer | X | ||
Fort Lauderdale Bankruptcy Attorney | |||
Fort Lauderdale Family Attorney | |||
Phoenix Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Phoenix Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Phoenix Divorce Lawyer | X | X | X |
Phoenix Bankruptcy Attorney | |||
Phoenix Family Attorney | X | ||
Portland Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Portland Personal Injury Lawyer | X | ||
Portland Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Portland Divorce Lawyer | X | ||
Portland Bankruptcy Attorney | |||
Portland Family Attorney | X | ||
Seattle Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer | X | ||
Seattle Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Seattle Divorce Lawyer | X | ||
Seattle Bankruptcy Attorney | |||
Seattle Family Attorney | X | ||
Kansas City Criminal Defense Lawyer | X | ||
Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Kansas City Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Kansas City Divorce Lawyer | X | X | |
Kansas City Bankruptcy Attorney | |||
Kansas City Family Attorney | |||
Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Tampa Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Tampa Divorce Lawyer | |||
Tampa Bankruptcy Attorney | X | ||
Tampa Family Attorney | X | X | |
Nashville Criminal Defense Lawyer | |||
Nashville Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Nashville Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Nashville Divorce Lawyer | |||
Nashville Bankruptcy Attorney | X | ||
Nashville Family Attorney | X | ||
Savannah Criminal Defense Lawyer | X | ||
Savannah Personal Injury Lawyer | |||
Savannah Car Accident Lawyer | |||
Savannah Divorce Lawyer | X | ||
Savannah Bankruptcy Attorney | X | ||
Savannah Family Attorney | X |
The “X’s” indicate whenever the spot was taken by a firm without the exact category. There were several “X’s” for Family Law and Divorce since they aren’t exactly interchangeable, but Divorce technically falls under Family Law. The emphasis would be on the others, such as Criminal Defense and Bankruptcy, and Personal Injury.
For example, The Johnston Law Firm, LLC in Portland, OR is designated as “Law Firm” instead of Personal Injury. But they do have:
- Half of their reviews concerning personal injury
- Extremely heavy emphasis on personal injury on their homepage
Fleming Law, PC in Savannah, GA is designated as “Attorney” but has:
- More than a third of reviews concerning traffic violations related to technically criminal charges
- Complete dedication to criminal defense on the homepage
Christie D. Arkovich, P.A. is second for “Tampa Bankruptcy Attorney” but is designated as “Attorney” with:
- Nearly every review including “debt,” “loan,” and “bankruptcy”
- Complete coverage of bankruptcy on the website
How Much Do Reviews Really Impact Rankings?
Frank M. Edison, P.A is designated as “Attorney” but ranks #4 for one of the most competitive keywords in Florida – Orlando Car Accident Attorney
- Accident and injuries make up just under 1/3 of reviews.
- The homepage has no mention of car accident.
Though this law firm has a great central location, they don’t have many other factors that would contribute to a good maps position for that keyword. One could argue that their position in the maps is heavily influenced by two primary factors, location and review content.
What are the takeaways?
If you are a firm that has multiple practice areas (such as Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Divorce in one location) I’d advise including all that information on the homepage even if you have a focus on one. The more you can diversify your reviews to span all your practice areas in more detail, the better.
Our goal at Market My Market is to use the research and data we’ve acquired to positively affect your business. If you’re looking for a legal marketing agency that understands the ins and outs of the industry, look no further. Contact us today for a free consultation to learn about how we can help you reach your business goals.