If you run a local practice — law firm, accounting office, consulting business — and you haven't set up your Google Business Profile yet, you're leaving clients on the table. It's free, it works, and it often outperforms paid ads for local searches. Here's everything you need to know.
What Is a Google Business Profile and Why Does It Matter?
When someone types "family attorney near me" or "accountant in [your city]" into Google, they see a map with a list of local businesses before they see any websites. That map listing is a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).
If your practice isn't on that map, you're invisible to anyone searching locally. If you are on it — and you've filled it out properly — you can show up at the top without spending a dollar on ads. For most solo professionals, this is the single highest-return action you can take for your online presence.
How to Claim and Verify Your Profile
Start at business.google.com. Search for your business name. If it already exists (Google sometimes creates listings automatically), claim it. If it doesn't, create a new one.
Google will verify you're actually the business owner. The most common method is a postcard sent to your business address — it takes about a week and has a verification code you enter online. You can also sometimes verify by phone or email if those options appear.
Important: Use your real business address. If you work from home and don't want your home address public, you can choose to hide your address and show only a service area instead.
The Fields That Actually Matter
Once verified, fill out every field you can. These are the ones that have the most impact:
- Business name: Use your actual business name. Don't stuff keywords in here — Google can suspend your listing for it.
- Category: Pick the most specific category that fits your practice. This tells Google what searches to show you for.
- Services: List every service you offer. Be specific — "estate planning," "LLC formation," "personal injury consultation" rather than just "legal services."
- Business hours: Keep these accurate and updated. If you close early on Fridays, update that. Google penalizes profiles with incorrect hours.
- Description: Write 2-3 sentences about what you do and who you help. Use plain language your clients would use, not the technical terms you'd use with colleagues.
- Photos: Add at least 5-10 photos — your office exterior, your office interior, headshots if you're comfortable. Profiles with photos get significantly more clicks.
- Phone and website: Make sure these are correct and consistent with what's on your website.
How to Get Reviews (Without Being Awkward About It)
Reviews are the single most important factor in your Google ranking for local searches. A practice with 20 genuine reviews will almost always outrank one with none, even if the other practice has been around longer.
The best way to get reviews: ask, right after a good outcome. If a client thanks you for your help, that's your moment. Say something like: "I'm really glad it worked out. If you have a minute, a Google review would really help my practice — it only takes about two minutes."
You can also send a follow-up email with a direct link to your review page. Find your review link in your Google Business Profile dashboard under "Get more reviews."
Respond to every review, including negative ones. Thank people for positive reviews. For negative reviews, respond calmly and professionally — don't get defensive, don't share client details. A thoughtful response to a bad review often reassures potential clients more than the review itself hurts you.
Why GBP Often Beats Paid Ads for Local Professionals
Google Ads for professional services are expensive — often $10-50 per click for competitive terms. You can spend thousands before getting a single client. And the moment you stop paying, you disappear.
A well-optimized Google Business Profile, on the other hand, keeps working for you after you set it up. It shows up in the map results that appear above paid ads for local searches. And people tend to trust organic results more than ads.
The investment is time, not money. An hour of setup and a few minutes each week to respond to reviews can generate clients for years.
Quick Checklist
- Profile claimed and verified
- All fields filled out (name, category, services, hours, description)
- At least 5 photos uploaded
- Phone number and website URL are correct
- At least 5 genuine reviews
- All reviews responded to
- Posts updated at least monthly (use the Posts feature to share news or tips)
If you've done all of this, you're ahead of most of your competitors. The professionals who show up at the top of local searches aren't doing anything magic — they've just filled out their profile completely and asked their happy clients for reviews.