How to Manage Your Law Firm’s Google Reviews
Google Reviews are a major factor in any law firm’s online reputation—for good or bad.
When handled well, reviews can help you establish credibility and give prospects the confidence they need to engage with you. When handled poorly, they can frighten prospects away or make you appear unprofessional.
Fortunately, it’s well within your power to shape the kinds of reviews your law firm receives. And even if you end up with a few negative reviews, how you respond to them can actually improve credibility while mitigating any damage to your public image.
Here’s how to manage your law firm’s Google reviews and enhance your brand online.
The Importance of Google Reviews
There’s no denying the impact that online reviews can have on a law firm’s standing. According to the 2020 Local Consumer Review Survey from BrightLocal:
- 87% of consumers read online reviews when assessing a local business
- 79% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from family and friends
Having more Google reviews will also help you rank higher in Google Search and Google Maps, two of the primary ways potential clients and referrers are likely to find you. Plus, it’s one of the best ways to optimize your law firm’s Google My Business listing.
In short, attracting plenty of positive Google reviews is well worth any law firm’s time. So how should you go about doing that?
How to Get More Glowing Google Reviews
Many law firms take a passive approach to their online reviews. If a client happens to leave a review, great—otherwise, there are more important priorities to worry about.
There are a couple of problems with that mindset.
First, if you aren’t actively seeking out reviews, you’re almost certainly missing out on numerous opportunities to provide social proof for your abilities and professionalism.
Second, clients are often most motivated to leave a review when they’re dissatisfied and upset with your practice. As a result, you could end up making people think that your past clients are predominately unhappy with you—an impression that will hardly inspire anyone to reach out to you.
In order to avoid this, you’ll want to create a system that encourages your clients to leave a positive review of your services. I’ve developed a simple method that’s helped me accumulate more than 50 client reviews. It’s easy and effective, and it only takes 5 minutes.
But there’s no rule saying your system has to look identical to mine. You can always put your own spin on it. Whatever works best for you!
Just remember: never try to trick Google by soliciting reviews from non-clients or creating fake reviews yourself. Google will see right through your deception, and the penalties for your account could be severe. You might get your entire listing suspended from Google’s platform altogether.
Besides, if your clients are already happy with your work, you shouldn’t need any sleight of hand to earn positive reviews. Just make it easy for them to share their satisfaction with the world!
Once those reviews start coming in—or if you already have some—it’s time to respond. And yes, you should always respond to every review, whether positive or negative.
How to Respond to Positive Google Reviews
Responding to positive reviews is pretty simple. Generally, it’s going to be some variation of “Thank you.”
Now, that doesn’t mean every reply should be the same. On the contrary, it’s much better to add some variety. After all, the reviewer took time out of their day to do you a favor by leaving a review. Leaving a “canned” response could rub people the wrong way.
Just don’t feel the need to go overboard. Keep it simple, brief, and polite—and always include the client’s name as it appears in their review. Try responses like:
- Thanks for the kind words, John. It was a pleasure to work with you!
- Thank you, Sarah. We all appreciated the opportunity to help you. If we can ever lend a hand again, just let us know!
- Thank you for this kind review, Alex. We’re very happy with how your case turned out! It was great getting to know you and an honor to represent you.
- Thanks, Emily! We’re thrilled with how everything turned out as well. Stay in touch!
Not only will this make the reviewer feel valued, but it will also demonstrate your law firm’s friendly, professional, and caring attitude to any potential clients looking over your past reviews. That sort of thing can go a long way to making people comfortable with contacting you.
[Note: It should go without saying that your reply should not include any confidential information about the client or the case. For example, if the client uses an initial for a first or last name, you should not reveal the full name.]
How to Respond to Negative Google Reviews
I’d love to say that you won’t ever receive any negative reviews, but unfortunately, that’s never a guarantee. In our experience, many of the negative reviews attorneys receive aren’t even from clients but from people with rejected cases – even more frustrating.
If a negative review does show up, your instinct may be to get angry and lash out. Obviously, you should suppress that instinct. An unprofessional reply will only make you look worse in the eyes of prospects. (And ignoring it completely could be just as harmful.)
The good news is that by crafting your response carefully, you can salvage some of the damage the negative review might otherwise have had on your reputation.
Make sure to use civil, courteous language—even if the reviewer didn’t. Address any complaints they have honestly, and show them that you take their perspective seriously. If possible, provide a brief explanation for any misunderstandings.
Depending on the nature of their comment, you could even invite them to contact you directly so you can discuss the matter further. If you manage to reach an understanding, they may remove their review.
Either way, you’ll be demonstrating to anyone “listening in” that you’re willing to invest time into resolving any concerns a client may have. This can help you build trust and put them at ease about your professionalism.
One added note: In some instances Google will remove a negative review for a narrow set of violations, including fake entries, multiple negative reviews from the same person, inappropriate or profane content, never having any previous contact with the business, and reviews from current/former employees. If you think a review fits one of these categories, you can flag it as inappropriate in your Google My Business account. Be forewarned, however, that Google rarely takes down a review.
Your Law Firm’s Online Reputation Is Worth Protecting
By following these tips, you can boost your law firm’s visibility online, improve your reputation, and strengthen your connections with potential clients and referrers.
But managing a successful internet marketing strategy takes plenty of time and energy—two things most busy professionals have in short supply. If you’d rather pass the hassle on to someone else, we’d love to lend a hand.
At Let America Know, we help trial attorneys across the country hone their internet outreach through social media and email.
Just get in touch with us, and we’ll help you reap all the benefits of a strong online presence without any of the headaches.
Click here to check out our done-for-you social media program for legal professionals.