Reading your law firm’s local ranking map

Read your law firm’s local ranking map by checking the places you want clients from, then comparing those same places over time. A healthy map shows strong positions across the area that matters to your firm; it can still have weaker dots farther out.

This is a ranking grid report: a map of search checks made at different places. I start with the town names, before the colors. A lawyer with ten minutes between calls needs to know whether the report covers places the firm actually serves.

Find your office and read one dot

Locate your office, then choose a nearby dot and read the color guide. Each dot in this example marks a place where a search was checked. Its number is your firm’s reported position there.

Green might mean positions one to three, yellow four to ten, and red anything lower. These are example ranges. Your report must explain its own colors and numbers.

A blank dot needs a label too. Did the check fail, or was your firm below the lowest position checked? Ask the person presenting the map to show one result and explain the number.

Check whether the report measures Google Maps or the local pack. The local pack is the group of business listings shown with a map in Google Search. Keep that choice the same when you compare reports.

What healthy coverage looks like

For a report review, my healthy pattern is a broad group of strong dots covering the places you chose to reach. Weaker dots toward the outer towns can be a reasonable trade-off. Every dot does not need to be green for the map to show useful coverage.

A patchy map has strong and weak dots mixed together inside that chosen area. It means the reported positions vary from place to place. If nearby streets are weak while the surrounding dots are strong, put those streets on the review list.

Google’s explanation of local rankings names three main factors: relevance, distance and prominence. In plain words, those mean how well your listing fits the search, how far away the searcher is, and how well known your business is.

Your Business Profile is your firm’s business listing on Google. Google says complete and accurate profile information helps it match your business to relevant searches.

That makes distance a reason to accept some differences across the map. A weak patch near the office still needs checking. The color shows where to look; the agency needs evidence to explain the cause.

Read the search above the map

For a family law firm, “family lawyer” and “divorce lawyer” are two possible searches to discuss. Pick phrases that match the matters you want. Searching your firm’s name answers a separate question: can someone who already knows you find you?

Then check the town names, the office marker and the distance between dots. With several offices, each map needs to name the business listing being measured. A report for the wrong office cannot answer your question about this one.

Your phone search may differ from the report. Google explains that results can vary with time, location, language and device. Your account’s search history can also affect results. Even with that personal tailoring turned off, Google still uses details such as location.

If you see a difference, save the exact phrase, place, time and a picture of the results. Send those details with your question so the agency can compare the two checks.

Put last month beside this month

Compare the same phrase, office, places, spacing, colors and type of result. Keep both dates visible. This lets you follow the same streets across the two reports.

Suppose the new map leaves out the outer towns. More of it now looks green because some red dots are gone. Compare only the places included in both reports before judging whether positions improved.

A smaller map may suit a change in your plans. Keep the old one and write down why the area changed. Then use the new area for future comparisons.

An average position is one number that combines the dots. Before using it to judge progress, ask which dots were included and how missing results were counted. Check whether the places you care about improved, even if the overall number barely moved.

Turn one weak patch into a clear task

You do not need to operate the reporting software. Ask the agency to show the results behind a weak dot in an area you serve. Then ask what it found that needs fixing.

Suppose your profile leaves out a service your firm provides. Correcting that gap is a clear task, supported by Google’s guidance on complete information above. Your firm can check the wording before the change.

A proposal for a new web page needs the same care. Ask to see what the site fails to explain today. “The dot is red” names the symptom; it does not explain what the proposed page will add.

Write the next task in plain words. For this example: “Add the missing service to our profile after the firm approves the wording.” Put a due date beside it and choose the places to check again.

If no specific gap has been found, keep the next step as an investigation. Approve the extra work once you can see what it will fix.

Bring the inquiry counts to the same meeting

Better positions are useful to review beside calls and form inquiries for the same period. Check what each count means before comparing it with the map.

Google’s Business Profile performance report counts “Calls” as clicks on the call button and website clicks as clicks on the website link. Its figures can include unpaid search results and Google Ads.

A tap is not proof that your staff answered a call. Label button clicks and calls received separately. Your firm can check whether callers reached someone and whether their matters fit your practice.

If the chosen places improved but inquiries stayed flat, test the phone number and the page linked from your profile. If those places stayed weak, return to the agency’s explanation and the agreed task. Bring that task back to the next review with the same map.

Questions law-firm owners ask