Google Business Profile, still known to many as GMB, is one of the few levers in local search that a law firm can control week to week. Reviews and citations matter, but posts and updates are your living signal. They show Google that your listing is maintained, they give searchers timely reasons to call, and they influence how your firm appears on branded and discovery searches. The firms that do this well treat posts as a newsroom for their practice, not as a dumping ground for canned marketing.
Why posts and updates matter for lawyers
Law practices rely on moments of need. A car accident last night, an arrest over the weekend, a looming filing deadline. The Google Business Profile appears in those moments for searches like “DUI lawyer near me” or “injury attorney open now.” A static profile looks abandoned. A profile with recent updates, relevant offers, and local proof reads like a firm that will pick up the phone.
From an SEO perspective, posts feed freshness and engagement. Google has never said that posting directly improves rankings. What often moves the needle is indirect. Posts can lift click-through rates on your profile, add topical relevance through language and questions answered, and drive actions such as calls, directions, and website visits. Those behavioral signals correlate with stronger visibility in the map pack, especially in competitive metros where most firms have similar categories, hours, and review volume.
I have watched small firms beat better-known brands in a three-mile radius by treating posts as a consistent content stream. It did not happen overnight. At the sixty to ninety day mark, their listing started appearing more often for non-branded queries, and their call tracking numbers showed a higher percentage of first-time callers who found the firm on Google Maps.
How Google treats different post types
The post feature has changed over the years, and not all types are equal for law. “What’s New” and “Updates” are the workhorses. “Event” is useful for webinars or clinic days. “Offer” can work in limited contexts, for example free case evaluations or expungement specials. “Product” posts are tricky for professional services, and most firms should skip them.
Each post type pulls different UI elements into your listing. Event posts show dates. Offers surface a tag and an expiration, which can drive urgency but also look gimmicky if misused. What’s New gives you a headline, description, and a call-to-action button. For lawyer SEO, the goal is relevance and trust, not salesy widgets.
Two practical constraints matter. Posts display prominently for about seven days, though they remain visible under the Updates section for longer. Also, Google sometimes rejects posts that look promotional in prohibited ways, that include a phone number in the copy, or that imply outcomes or guarantees. If your post is repeatedly rejected, tone down claims, remove phone numbers from the text (use the CTA button instead), and avoid legal superlatives like “best lawyer in Chicago.”
Building a posting cadence that fits your firm
Most firms overthink frequency at the start and burn out. I have found a steady rhythm beats a sprint. A weekly post is enough for many practices, with two per week for high-volume consumer firms like personal injury, criminal defense, and immigration. Multi-location firms should post at each location’s profile, not just the main office, with local details baked in.
The easiest content to sustain grows out of your actual work. A new verdict or settlement, an update to state law, an FAQ you answered on a consult, a community appearance, or weather-related advice that ties to your practice, like safe driving tips before a snowstorm in a city where winter accidents spike. Aim for a calendar that balances evergreen content, timely guidance, and proof of activity.
For resource planning, think in quarters. Sketch twelve topics, assign owners, and block an hour a week for drafting and publishing. If you have intake staff, train one person to gather raw material from attorneys and paralegals. The best posts feel like they were written by someone who was in the room, not by a generic social feed.
What to write so people actually click
Lawyers tend to write to impress other lawyers. GMB posts should read like quick, useful notes to potential clients. Keep headlines under 58 to 65 characters so they fit neatly. Lead with the plain-language reason someone should care.
A personal injury firm in Phoenix took a common angle and made it specific: “Monsoon crash? What to do in the first 24 hours.” The copy laid out three steps, then linked to a checklist on their site. Calls rose during the summer rains. A criminal defense shop in a college town posted “Charged after a bar fight? Read this before you talk to anyone” the week after homecoming, and it drove a spike in chats from the profile.
Tone matters. Avoid obvious keyword stuffing. Work naturally with terms like lawyer SEO only when you are speaking to a professional audience, which you rarely are in a GMB post. Users want to know you understand their situation, you are nearby, you are available, and you have handled cases like theirs. That human proof sits nicely beside your NAP details and review rating.
Visuals that pull their weight
Images and short videos increase engagement. Google crops aggressively, so test how your visual renders on mobile. For images, 1200 by 900 often displays cleanly. Photos from your office, your team in court-appropriate attire, and local landmarks outperform stock photography. If you use any courtroom images, avoid implying affiliation with government or the judiciary.
Short video snippets can be effective. Thirty seconds of a partner answering a common question, recorded in a quiet conference room, will outperform a motion graphic every time. Add captions, since many people watch without sound. Keep any on-screen text minimal and legible on small screens.
Legal advertising rules and platform policies
Compliance is not optional. Different states enforce different rules through bar associations. Most share a few core principles: do not promise outcomes, do not call yourself a specialist unless certified, include required disclaimers if mentioning past results, and avoid misleading comparisons. When in doubt, shorten claims and anchor them to verifiable facts.
On the platform side, Google prohibits certain categories and phrasing. Avoid a phone number in the main body, avoid certain types of before-and-after imagery, and steer clear of language that suggests emergency services unless your practice truly offers 24/7 availability. If you get a rejection, edit and resubmit rather than abandoning the post. Keep a simple log of rejections and resolutions so your team learns what passes review.
Crafting posts that map to searcher intent
Local searchers come in with varying intent. Some look for a phone number. Some want reassurance. Some are comparing attorneys. Your posts can meet those micro-intents.
For high-urgency moments, use What’s New with a “Call now” button, and mention immediate next steps. For reassurance, show a brief case story with anonymized facts and a “Learn more” link to a relevant practice page that provides context, not a hard sell. For comparison shoppers, offer a short guide: “Questions to ask a DUI lawyer on your first call,” then link to a page where you answer those questions and invite an evaluation.
Keep a local tie-in. Reference specific neighborhoods, courthouses, or procedures that apply in your state. A family law firm in Houston saw higher engagement when mentioning “Harris County standing orders” than when using generic phrases like “family court process.” The language signals that you work in the searcher’s legal environment.
Using Offers without cheapening your brand
Law firms do not run flash sales. Still, the Offer post type can be useful. Free consultations are ubiquitous, so they rarely stand out. Consider time-bound clinics or fee structures that genuinely help a segment of the market. Immigration firms sometimes run Saturday document prep days. Expungement practices can offer fixed-fee reviews during certain months. Estate planning firms can promote a free community Q&A night with sign-ups.
If you use an Offer, write it like a service, not a coupon. Spell out who benefits, what is included, and what is not. Use an end date so the post does not linger and https://onecooldir.com/details.php?id=315860 confuse people months later. Link to a page with details and a clear booking path. When measured, these offers often deliver fewer total clicks than general updates, but they bring in a higher ratio of qualified leads because the person self-selects into the specific need.
Tracking what works and what falls flat
If you do not measure, you cannot improve. Google’s Insights panel shows impressions and interactions, but it is limited. Set UTM parameters on all links in posts so your analytics platform can attribute traffic correctly. Use a dedicated call tracking number in the profile if your state rules allow it, with proper NAP consistency handled through number insertion on your site and citations. If you cannot use call tracking, at least measure the timing of call volume against your posting cadence.
Look for patterns across eight to twelve weeks. Which topics lead to longer dwell time on your site? Which headlines win the first tap? Which visual formats get seen? On more than one injury firm, safety advisory posts earned fewer clicks than case story posts, but those advisory posts tended to convert at a higher rate because readers were in a problem-solving mindset, not just browsing.
Do not ignore qualitative feedback. Intake staff often hears, “I saw your post about the I-95 pileup.” That anecdote carries weight. Add a simple field to your intake form for “What did you see that made you call?” and review it monthly. It will inform your next quarter’s ideas better than raw numbers alone.
How posts interact with the rest of your local SEO
GMB posts are not a silo. They should reflect and reinforce broader efforts in SEO for lawyers. If your site has a strong practice area hub for truck accidents, your posts can ladder into that hub through internal links with UTM tags. If you just published a guide on expungement eligibility by county, your next few posts can clip highlights and drive queries to that deep content. Consistency between profile categories, on-site content, and post language helps Google connect the dots on topical authority.
Citations and reviews also play into this. Positive reviews that mention specific practice areas and locations are gold. Posts can nudge clients to recall details by highlighting topics like “Thank you to our Eastside clients who trusted us after the SR-520 closures.” Never ask for a review in the post itself. Instead, time a post that celebrates a team milestone or community service, then send personal review requests to clients you served that month. The messaging alignment prompts richer reviews without violating guidelines.
Avoiding the traps that waste effort
Most failure points fall into a few categories. The first is generic content. Mass-produced posts with stock photos, stuffed with keywords like lawyer SEO, do not help. People tune them out, and Google’s systems do not reward them. The second is inconsistency. Posting five times in a week and then going silent for two months resets any engagement gains. The third is misalignment with intake. If your posts push chats and your staff ignores chat notifications after hours, you leak leads.
Another trap is hyper-legal language. Keep citations and statute references on your blog. On the profile, translate the impact. Instead of “RCW 46.61.502 revised penalties,” write “Washington raised penalties for first-time DUI this year. Here’s what changes on day one.” You can add a link to a full explainer for those who want the citations.
Finally, do not outsource judgment. Agencies can help with cadence and polish, but your voice and local insight are the edge. Set review rights so a lawyer can approve anything that mentions results or sensitive topics. A 24-hour turnaround prevents delays while keeping compliance intact.
A simple, sustainable playbook
Here is a concise framework that small teams can execute without drama.
- Frequency: one to two posts per week per location, published Monday or Tuesday for prominence through the week. Mix: two-thirds What’s New updates tied to FAQs, law changes, or local events; one-third proof items like case stories, community work, or attorney spotlights; occasional Offers for clinics or fixed-fee reviews. Visuals: real photos or short talking-head videos with captions; avoid stock where possible. CTA: alternate between Call, Learn more, and Book; match the CTA to the intent of the post. Measurement: UTM on every link, monthly review of Insights and analytics, and a five-minute intake debrief to capture qualitative signals.
Real examples that tend to perform
A few recurring formats have worked across practice areas and cities. Adjust them to your voice, and keep them grounded in your jurisdiction.
The day-after event advisory. Weather spikes, highway closures, police blitzes, and local festivals often lead to legal issues. A DUI firm that posts a clear, non-judgmental guide the morning after tends to capture intent. Avoid scaremongering. Offer options, such as “If you refused a breath test last night, here is how the timeline works in Travis County.”
The courthouse guide. For family and criminal matters, people fear court logistics. A post with a photo of the courthouse entrance, parking details, and a short note about check-in procedures does well. It signals you practice there and it removes friction.
The attorney Q&A short. Pick one question. “Do I have to talk to the other driver’s insurance?” Film a 30-second answer. Post with a “Learn more” button to your longer resource. Keep it personable and clear.
The anonymized case milestone. “This week we helped a Tacoma worker secure wage recovery after a scaffold fall. Every case is different, results are not guaranteed, but here is what helped in this one.” Link to a page on workplace injury rights. Include any required disclaimers for your state.
The seasonal checklist. Estate planning sees bumps before holidays and at tax time. Offer a simple checklist with a “Download” link to your site. The goal is to be helpful first, then available.
Handling multi-location and practice splits
If you have more than one office, resist the urge to copy the same post to every profile. Localize. Mention neighborhood names, nearby landmarks, or county-specific procedures. If your Chicago loop office handles appeals and your Oak Park office handles consumer bankruptcy, tailor posts to the actual services offered at each location. Google’s local relevance system rewards specificity.
Similarly, if your firm runs distinct practice groups, rotate posts so each group gets visibility across a quarter. Map posts to the categories associated with the profile. If your primary category is Personal Injury Attorney but you also handle medical malpractice, sprinkle in malpractice-specific posts with medical context and expert witness process notes, not just generic injury advice.
How posts influence conversion beyond clicks
Posts contribute to the overall impression of your brand as a living practice. When someone scrolls your profile and sees recent updates, a face from your team, and advice tailored to the city they live in, they are more likely to trust the number and tap to call. This is especially true when reviews are strong but not numerous. Posts can bridge the gap by showing recency.
They also supply content to the “Updates” and “From the business” sections, which surface for a surprising number of mobile users who scroll past photos. That area can become a mini-portfolio. When your competitors leave it blank or fill it with generic content, your specificity stands out.
I have watched intake rates jump simply by aligning the first sentence of a post with the dominant concern on calls for that week. During tax season, bankruptcy callers asked about refund seizures. The firm posted a clear answer with a link to a longer guide. Calls that day started with, “I read your note about refunds,” and moved faster to qualification.
Coordination with crisis and reputation management
Posts and updates are not just for marketing. If your office is closed due to weather, post it. If a high-profile case in your city might lead to unrest, post resources and hours. Update holiday schedules. These service posts reduce frustration and build goodwill. Pair them with GBP hours changes so Google displays accurate times.
For reputation issues, posts are not the place to litigate a bad review. But they can provide context. If you are responding to a common misconception, write a helpful post that clarifies process, for example timelines for personal injury settlements or how contingency fees work. Keep it educational. Over time, these posts chip away at the misunderstandings that create negative expectations.
What not to automate
There is a temptation to connect your blog to your GBP and auto-post every new article. Resist it. The audience and format differ. A meaty 2,000-word blog post deserves its own crafted GBP summary, with a sharp headline and a visual tailored to mobile. Likewise, do not auto-post every social update. Social tends to be broader and lighter. GBP needs utility and locality.
Automate only the reminders and the measurement. Calendar prompts, a shared content spreadsheet, and UTM templates save time without flattening your voice. Some scheduling tools can publish GBP posts reliably, but watch for image compression issues and occasional API hiccups where posts publish without visuals. Nothing undercuts credibility like a blank gray box on a legal profile.
Setting expectations with partners and stakeholders
Managing partners often ask how soon posts will move rankings. The truth is that posts are one of several levers. Expect improvements in engagement within weeks, and gradual ranking lift over two to three months when paired with on-site content updates, review generation, and accurate citations. The upside compounds. A consistent posting habit stabilizes your map pack presence even during algorithm updates, while erratic posting correlates with volatility.
If you work with an agency on lawyer SEO, align on outcomes you can track: profile interactions, website visits from posts, calls initiated from the profile, and lead quality as rated by intake. Write into the plan who approves sensitive content, what disclaimers are required, and how you will handle legal review quickly.
A closing thought on voice and trust
People hire lawyers, not listings. Your posts are a low-friction way to let your firm’s voice show through the interface that most prospects see first. Helpful, local, human updates create a steady drumbeat of signals that benefit both search engines and searchers.
Treat posts as a practice, not a chore. Listen to what calls are about this week, write to those concerns, keep it compliant, and keep it going. Over time, your Google Business Profile will feel like the front desk of your firm, ready with timely answers and an open door. That is the quiet edge in SEO for lawyers that few competitors have the patience to build.