Yelp for Lawyers: Does It Really Work?

Yelp is an online platform that connects businesses with consumers. The Yelp community has over 170 million monthly users, making it a useful tool for businesses worldwide. Yelp has a great review system, but what if you want to get the most out of Yelp to increase your ratings and law firm? What is Yelp for lawyers?

The legal industry is competitive, and many law firms look for an edge. There has been much buzz lately about using an online review system, such as Yelp, to find, evaluate, and choose attorneys. 

Many people have wondered if this system works or is just another gimmick. Yelp is one of the most popular review sites in the US, with over 35 million reviews posted since its inception in 2008. Read on to get more insight on the topic, how to make Yelp lawyer reviews work, the pros and cons, etc. 

Is Yelp Good for Lawyers?

Yelp can be a double-edged sword. It is a great way to attract new clients when there are positive reviews, but negative reviews on a legal directory can hurt your law firm’s reputation. Most online users would not use a service with negative reviews since part of their decisions are based on other users’ experiences. For example, some people may write fake reviews to damage a lawyer's good reputation. Additionally, lawyers may be unable to control how their information is presented on Yelp. 

On the good side, Yelp is good for lawyers because it:

• Allows users to search for reviews from past clients of lawyers, which can give them an accurate picture of how well the lawyer performed. This information can help users make an informed decision about who they hire to represent them.
• Provides ratings and other useful information that can help people compare different attorneys. 
• Enables users to easily search for lawyers by location or legal practice area to ensure they're getting the best legal services.

How to Make Yelp Work for Law Firms?

The popularity of online review sites like Yelp has changed the way that people find businesses. In the past, people would usually ask friends and family for recommendations when they were looking for a new lawyer. But now, people are more likely to turn to a Yelp review to find a lawyer that meets their needs.

By taking a few simple steps, law firms can use Yelp to reach potential clients and boost their profile in the legal field. 

• Update your firm's details, including descriptions of the firm's practice areas, contact information, hours of operation, and any other relevant information that potential customers might need. 
• Receive messages, reply to them, and respond to client reviews promptly. 
• Consider investing in Yelp ads for lawyers to increase your law firm's online presence.
• Take advantage of Yelp's ‘Check In’ feature, which allows users to find your law firm if it is near them easily.

Verify Your Law Firm’s Page

Verifying your law firm's page on Yelp is an important step to ensure that you can take full advantage of the many features offered by Yelp. You must first claim your business on Yelp in order to verify and manage your Yelp listing or reviews. To claim your business, first, add it to the platform. After adding your business, you can claim it for free by phone, email, or text.

Yelp Business Dashboard

By verifying your law firm’s page, you will gain access to the Yelp Business Dashboard. This powerful tool helps you manage and monitor your online presence. The Business Dashboard allows you to respond to customer reviews, track customer sentiment, and engagement, as well as gain insights into how customers interact with your page. 

Additionally, verifying your Yelp page also helps increase your business's visibility by improving search engine rankings, allowing potential customers to find and contact your firm easily. 

Add Your Law Firm’s Listing to Yelp

With the help of Yelp, potential clients will be able to quickly locate your law firm and get in touch with you. So, creating a profile also allows you to respond to yelp attorney reviews from clients and build trust and credibility. Taking the time to create a comprehensive profile on Yelp is an important step for any law firm looking to expand its customer base. 

There are primary categories on Yelp for lawyers for various areas of practice. Selecting the category that best fits your law firm will help Yelp and the user categorize your offerings. Yelp allows you to add your services, which are the different legal cases you handle, in addition to the main categories.

Make Sure to Include Correct Business Information

Simple steps can be taken to register on Yelp; just do the following:

• Enter the name of your law firm and click the "Add to Yelp for free" button.

• Phone calls are important! Include a phone number where people can reach you.

• Click continue and add your website if you have one.

• Choose a business category, e.g., criminal law, and hit ‘Continue.’

• Add your law firm’s location.

• Input your name, email address, as well as a strong password to create your business account.

Optimize Your Yelp Legal Profile

You can take advantage of several features to ensure potential customers and clients see your business. These simple steps will help increase the visibility of your Yelp legal profile and improve your chances of being found by potential customers.

First, ensure all the information about your law firm is up-to-date and accurate. Then, create a detailed description of your services, including any focus areas or specialties. If applicable, you should also include information about your experience, certifications, and awards. Include details about your working hours, location, contact information, and other relevant data.

Additionally, be sure to upload a few pictures of your law firm and legal services, as this will help create an inviting atmosphere. You should also add links to your website and social media accounts, as this will give users more options if they want to learn more about your law firm. 

Answer Your Inquiries

If clients have any questions or need more information, they use Yelp's answer feature to get quick answers to their inquiries. So, to ensure that you're using it to its fullest potential, it's important to answer a few key questions. Additionally, don't forget to read user reviews carefully before responding to them. 

Check out the photos, ratings, and reviews regularly to better understand client experiences and where you went right or wrong. 

Marketing Options Offered by Yelp for Lawyers

When a user rates a firm on Yelp, it is considered a ‘vote’ for that business. That is why businesses want more Yelp reviews to help them climb in the rankings. As a lawyer, marketing efforts are essential to the success of your practice. And with so many marketing options out there, it can be tough to know where to start. 

Here's a closer look at some of the marketing options Yelp offers for lawyers:

Yelp Ads

Online ads can help lawyers reach potential clients searching for a lawyer's services on Yelp. You can create a text ad that will appear on Yelp when people search for lawyers in your area. For example, when someone searches for ‘lawyers in New York’ on Yelp, your business ad can appear right next to the search results.

Enhanced Profiles

Business Yelp listing enhancements allow lawyers to add more information about their practice to their Yelp business page, making it easier for potential clients to find the information they need.

Yelp Deals

Lawyers are able to provide potential clients with discounts and others —exclusive prepaid deals—from a company's Yelp profile. Yelp deals were created to encourage customers who are looking through the Yelp app or website to choose your firm over competitors.

Business Highlights

You can pay to feature up to six highlights that distinguish your company in eligible categories. These highlights, which will appear on your business page in a section called 'Highlights From This Business,' can be changed or reordered at any time. The top two highlights will also appear in your company's organic and sponsored search results.

Portfolio

A business's Yelp Portfolio is a collection of images of completed projects that it has used to demonstrate the level of quality of its work, expertise, and specializations, as well as other information like price. Customers can get a visual and in-depth overview of previously finished projects in the portfolio, which shows what the firm does best.

Verified License

In search results and on the business' page, this Verified License badge appears next to your law firm's name. Clients can view additional information about your license by clicking on the badge.

You must apply to become verified through Yelp, which manually verifies each license.

Yelp and Leads for Lawyers: Pros & Cons

As the legal landscape continues to evolve, so too does the way that potential clients find and connect with lawyers. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons.

Does Yelp Advertising Work for Lawyers?

In recent years, there has been a growing trend of lawyers using Yelp to advertise their services. Here are a few reasons:

1. Yelp is one of the most popular websites in the world - and people are always looking for legal services on the platform.
2. Yelp offers a pay-per-click advertising model, which means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, lowering your ad spend.
3. Yelp ads for lawyers are targeted, which means you can specifically target potential clients looking for legal services in your area.

So, does Yelp advertising work for lawyers? The answer is not entirely clear. While some lawyers report seeing a boost in business after advertising on Yelp, others say they did not see any noticeable results. It seems that the success of Yelp advertising depends on a variety of factors, such as the location of the lawyer, the type of law practiced, and the target audience.

Conclusion 

Yelp can be an excellent resource for lawyers if used correctly. Following the tips above, you can make the most of Yelp and attract new clients. Ultimately, whether or not to use Yelp for Lawyers is up to each law firm. Still, with careful consideration of the pros and cons, it can be a great asset in helping to build a successful law practice.

It's important to understand that Yelp for Lawyers does not guarantee success, and requires the proper dedication of time, energy, and resources to make sure that it works effectively for law firms and small businesses.

Additionally, suppose you do not have the time or professional means to optimize your Yelp listings. In that case, you can hire a professional digital marketing agency for law firms like Grow Law Firm (GLF). GLF can help better your Yelp presence and leads for lawyers while providing more detailed analytics on performance.