SEO Local

What this page is for

Local shows how the firm appears on Google Maps for the searches clients type, such as "patent lawyer" or "car accident attorney", at every spot around the office, not just at the office itself.

Google ranks a business differently a few miles away. Local lays a grid of points over the firm's area, checks Google's map results at each point, and shows the rank there. From that it works out who the firm competes with, where it's strong, where it's missing, and what is most likely to move it up.

The page has five views:

Set it up

1. Open Grow > SEO > Local.
2. Find the office's Google listing: start typing the firm's name and pick it from the matches, or paste its Google Maps link.
3. Add up to five searches, the words a client would type. Start with the firm's main practice area plus "lawyer" or "attorney".
4. Choose the grid size and the radius. A 7 × 7 grid over 5 miles suits most offices.
5. Save. The first scan starts straight away and takes a few minutes. The map stays blurred while it runs.

When the listing is added, Superpractice also reads the listing's Google reviews on its own, so the Reviews view fills without any action.

To add another office, open Settings on the page and choose Add a location. Each location has its own grid, searches and reports. Switch between them with Location at the top of the page.

When it updates

• Every Monday, every search is scanned again, the competitors' Google profiles are read, the suggestions are refreshed and the report is rewritten.
• Scan now at the top of the page runs a fresh scan whenever you need one, at most once an hour per location.
• Each point is checked up to three times and the middle result is kept, so one unusual result doesn't change the map.

Add a search

1. Open the Search menu on Rank map or Over time.
2. Choose Add a search at the bottom.
3. Type the search, or pick one of the suggestions. Suggestions come from the report and from the keywords the firm already tracks. As you type, the field shows how many people search that phrase each month in the US, so you can pick the wording clients use most.
4. Click Add and scan. The map switches to the new search while its first scan runs.

Each location can track five searches. To rename or remove one, open Settings.

Read the rank map

Each tile is one point on the grid. The number is the firm's rank in Google's map results for that search at that point.

The tile with the ring is the selected point. The tile labelled Your office sits on the office.

Showing switches the map to any competitor's ranks, so you can see where they are strong. Compare to picks an earlier scan and adds the change since then to each tile and figure.

Who ranks at one spot

The panel on the right of the map always shows one point: the office at first, then any tile you click. It lists:

• where the point is and its exact coordinates (click them to copy);
• how the firm's rank there has moved over the weeks, once there are two scans;
• How to move up here: what is holding the firm back at that spot and the next step;
• everyone Google shows at that point, up to 20, in Google's order, with their rating, reviews, main category and address, and a link to the listing on Google Maps.

Click any business in the list to open the head-to-head comparison.

The firm's figures

Hover over each label to see how it is worked out.

A business can rank 1st near its own office and nowhere else. Its average where it appears looks strong, but its share of local voice stays low. Share of local voice is the better measure of who holds the area.

How to rank higher

Under the figures, the report reads the latest scan, the firm's listing, its reviews and posts, and what the competitors' Google profiles show, then explains what stands between the firm and the top 3:

• one sentence on the main reason;
• the biggest levers first, each with the numbers behind it and one step for this week, linked to where it's done;
• other steps worth taking;
• what the firm already has right.

The report is rewritten after every scan. Click Write it again for a fresh one, at most once every 15 minutes. It never promises results and never suggests anything Google's guidelines or the bar rules forbid, such as keywords in the business name or paying for reviews.

Within reach

Within reach lists spots where the firm ranks 2nd to 5th and the business just above it is beatable: it has fewer reviews, a lower rating, or sits farther from that spot than the firm's office. Click a row to select that spot on the map.

Who ranks

The table lists every business Google showed for the search across the grid, ordered by share of local voice. Type in the search box to find a business by name, category or address; each row keeps its place number from the full list.

Google's map results for a search like "patent lawyer" often include firms in other practice areas, such as personal injury or criminal defense. After each scan, every business is checked from its name and Google categories, and the ones that clearly practise a different area are folded away. Choose Show N in other practice areas at the bottom of the table to see them; your choice is remembered. Your own firm, and any business that has not been checked yet, always shows.

Click any row to open the head-to-head comparison. Hover a name to see the address.

Compare one competitor head to head

The head-to-head window puts one competitor beside the firm, line by line. On a computer, the top of the window is a map with both offices pinned and the miles between them. Below it, one sentence says how they compare, then:

• Rankings: their grid next to the firm's for every search the firm tracks. Switch to Over time for a line of both firms' rank week by week.
• Reviews: rating, total reviews, new reviews in the last 90 days, owner replies, and newest review.
• Profile: Google categories they list that are related to the search and the firm doesn't, description, photos, posts, services, hours, online booking and attributes.
• Distance: how far from each office each firm holds the top 3.
• About them: other facts from their profile, such as unrelated categories they also list.

The leader on each line is marked. Use Show them on the map to switch the map to their ranks, or Add to intel to track their website on the Competitor intel page.

Suggestions

Suggestions are changes likely to help the firm rank higher, raised after every weekly scan. For example:

• add a Google category the firms above use, when it is related to the firm's practice;
• fill in what the Business Profile is missing, such as a description, hours or photos;
• ask more clients for reviews, or reply to the reviews waiting for one;
• create an office page or a service page for the city;
• report a competitor listing that breaks Google's naming rules.

Each card says why and has one action. Profile changes copy the text and open the firm's Google listing, where you paste it. Website pages go to the content pipeline. Dismiss removes a card.

The folded N things already in place line lists what the firm already has right.

Reviews

Reviews shows the firm's Google reviews, read every Monday and whenever you click Read from Google.

• The figures at the top show the rating, total reviews on Google, new reviews this month, and the share with a reply.
• New reviews by month charts the last 12 months, with the 12-month average. The current month is marked as partial.
• The list loads as you scroll. Filter by stars, reply status, written or stars-only, and date. Search by reviewer or words, and sort by date or stars. Waiting for a reply shows only the reviews without one.

Reply to a review

1. Click a review.
2. Superpractice drafts a reply written for that review. It answers something the reviewer actually said, in a tone that suits the rating, and doesn't repeat the firm's recent replies.
3. Review the checks under the draft. A reply never confirms the reviewer was a client, mentions their matter, gives legal advice, includes a phone number or link, or offers anything in return. A one- or two-star review gets a calm reply that invites them to talk it through directly.
4. Edit the draft if you like. Click Write it again for a different draft.
5. Click Copy and open Google. The reply is copied and the firm's Google reviews open. Signed in as the profile's owner, click Reply under the review and paste.

Posts

Posts turns the firm's published articles into Google posts.

1. Pick an article.
2. Click Write the post. Superpractice writes a title and a post of about 600 to 900 characters in short paragraphs. The first sentence carries the point, because Google shows about the first 100 characters before More.
3. Check the preview, which shows the post as it appears on Google, with the article's featured image.
4. Review the checks. Only rule failures block the post; tips don't.
5. Edit the title, text, button or link if you like, or click Write it again.
6. Click Copy and open Google. The post is copied and the firm's Google listing opens. Signed in as the owner, choose Add update and paste.

The link on the button is tagged so clicks show up as Google Business leads.

Over time

Over time follows one search week by week: the firm's average rank, share of local voice or points in the top 3, with a competitor's line on request. The weeks when a suggestion was applied are marked. Below the chart, the grids from the start and end of the range sit side by side, and By search compares every search this week against the start of the range.

Usage

Local runs as part of the firm's SEO workspace. The weekly scans, reviews, competitor profiles, report and reply drafts count as Local search and reviews credits on the firm's Billing page.