As Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) continue to evolve, we are here to help lawyers and legal marketers stay in the know! Check out this post to get the latest breaking updates shared in the Google Partner newsletter about LSAs for lawyers.

FYI: Responsiveness Matters

There are various factors Google utilizes for LSA ad rankings and determining which law firm ads appear on the search engine results page (SERP) for a particular search query. Among the many ranking factors considered, a law firm’s responsiveness can impact where the firm ranks and appears in search results.

A firm with significantly higher responsiveness is more likely to see its ads ranking and is more likely to receive leads from its LSAs! To improve your responsiveness as evaluated by Google, and in turn the performance of your LSA, ensure your business hours are accurate and work to optimize your ad schedule for times when your office is open and someone is available to respond to potential clients.

Interested in learning more about ad ranking? Google shares more about the LSA ranking factors in this article.

Alert: Personal Injury Attorneys Will Soon Need More Reviews for New LSAs

Google announced that it has updated its minimum Review count requirements for certain verticals (industries). While this change does not impact all law firms in the legal vertical, it does impact personal injury lawyers.

Beginning on June 30, 2022, law firms starting a new LSA targeting the personal injury vertical will need to have at least five customer reviews before the ad can run. Previously, law firms running these ads only needed to have one review with at least a three-star rating.

There are a few ways to receive reviews, such as adding reviews from your Google Business Profile and receiving reviews directly on your LSA profile. If your LSA in the personal injury vertical goes live before this deadline, you will not be required to meet this requirement.

This change may suggest that LSAs are going to become more competitive in this arena. Moreover, reviews are already a ranking factor for LSAs and additional reviews may also correlate to improved ad performance in any vertical. Thus, we highly recommend focusing on getting more reviews as soon as possible so your ads perform better and connect you with more potential clients.

Final Thoughts: Why Do You Care?

Understanding the trends impacting your legal marketing strategies helps you better optimize your efforts and run more effective campaigns. LSAs are a continuously evolving marketing strategy, and it is important to regularly adjust your ads to stay on track with best practices.

If you need help optimizing your Google Local Services Ads in a changing environment, we can help. Contact our Justia Amplify team today to learn more.