Do you invest all your skill and knowledge to ensure that your clients get the best service possible but still have difficulties getting glowing reviews from them?
For some, it is their practice area. Does your practice area have restrictive rules about the giving of reviews? Does your practice make it daunting and uncomfortable for clients to send in their reviews about how awesome your services are?
Most clients will feel awkward going public about some legal issues, especially if it is a criminal trial. The average client will not want to publicize their issues in an online review, going on and on about what a great criminal defense attorney you are.
Another difficult practice area is family law. Clients who are parties to matters as sensitive as divorce proceedings may not be willing to go public about their divorce in an online review. Thus, family law attorneys have an arduous time eliciting as many positive reviews as they want.
Even if you are a lawyer who is doing just fine without the reviews, a consistent in-flow of positive reviews from past clients will go a long way to boost your visibility and clientele.
Reviews are an essential aspect of a successful law firm search engine optimization campaign, especially for firms that rank in Google Maps 3 Pack. You may find this helpful What your SEO Agency is up to with your budget.
Like Life, Client Reviews Aren’t Always Fair
Nobody knows how good and skilled in your area of practice you are; you cannot please everyone. Not every client will leave your office with a satisfied smile on their face.
In the same manner, the reviews will not always be pleasant. This may be strange, but the truth is that some reviews may be so unpleasant that you feel you are underachieving and question your capability. You can be sure also that many people who may never have hired you will post negative reviews over the slightest perceived disappointment for the sake of mischief. However, we all know that mischief is never really funny to the victim.
There are tons of law firms that are being professionally managed and providing top-notch legal services to their clients, yet some of their offices have only an average review rating.
This is especially problematic for firms that do not get many reviews; it takes only a few negatives to topple their average rating.
If you are experiencing the same or similar issues, then the solutions provided here will be very beneficial to your practice. Getting a 5-star review rating is a lot easier than you imagined, and yes, it is ethical.
How to Get a 5-Star Review Rating Faster Than You Think
Even though the best reviews come from clients who have used your services, every review does not necessarily have to come from a client. You can extend your reviews receptacles to friends, family, business partners, and any other person who knows you on a one-on-one basis and can consequently vouch for your character and professionalism. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the above posting a review for your law firm. However, keep these tips in mind if you are using reviews from non-clients:
A Review from a non-client should look like this:
- The individual writing a review for your Law firm should mention your legal practice area in the review. If you need more details on the power of optimized Reviews then, click on our Lawyer SEO Guide.
- The person posting the Review MUST not pretend to be a client or misleading anyone into believing that they are or were a client of yours. This would amount to misrepresentation.
- Any other person who would recommend you or your firm to someone looking for an attorney in your legal practice area is also an excellent hand to post a review for your firm. This is the singular and straightforward criteria to determine who is fit to post a review for your firm, asides from the category of persons already mentioned above.
Another great source of online reputation management reviews is other attorneys. They are in the same system and practice. Thus, they can vouch not only for your character but your legal expertise and professionalism also.
However, before you begin to make a list of possible reviewers for your firm, you need to provide a step-by-step guide for a person who would want to post a Google Review for your firm. Here’s a Quick Step-by-step Guide to offer them:
STEP 1: Google the name of the firm and the city+State abbreviation.
STEP 2: You will see the Google My Business icon on the right side of the screen. Find the blue link that indicates the number of reviews the company has and click on the link.
STEP 3: A window opens at the top of the browser on your screen. Click the blue button that says Write a Review.
STEP 4: Click the last star on the right to give it a 5-star rating.
STEP 5: Type your review in just below the 5-stars.
STEP 6: When you are done writing the review, click Post.
Content of the Review
There are 1001 valuable things people can say about your firm, whether they have been clients or not, such as:
- That you are a person of character;
- Your high level of integrity;
- How much you care about your clients beyond the mechanical, professional duties;
- Your high level of professionalism and skill;
- Your position and how respected you are in the legal society;
- What a skilled negotiator, arbitrator, or mediator you are; and
- What a skilled litigator you are.
Any of the above can be written by clients or just about anybody who has a personal relationship with you, attesting that you are excellent at your trade.
Limitations
As you collect reviews, keep in mind the following ethical limitations:
- You are not permitted to offer any form of remuneration or gratification in exchange for reviews, as this is against Google’s terms; and
- Employees of your firm are not allowed to post reviews for you.
If you are operating solo or your law firm is small or still starting, you may not be able to hire a high-level lawyer SEO company. However, you can leverage the numerous groups of persons already mentioned to ensure your potential clients have excellent reviews to read. It is time to get started on your 5-star reviews!