Back in the day digital marketers had a specific name to describe Twitter. They called it a ‘microblog.’ I don’t hear the expression used much anymore. An experience yesterday on Twitter gave it new meaning, though.
A few months back I interviewed Mike Blumenthal about his new gig at GetFiveStars. GetFiveStars is a review and reputation management platform for local reviews. Mike is a leading name in the world of local SEO. Our paths crossed yesterday on Twitter when I was chatting about local SEO and law firms. Mike listened, and then shared some advice about practitioner listings. If you manage Google My Business at a professional services firm, read on. This post is for you.
What are Google My Business Practitioner Listings?
Practitioner listings are Google My Business listings for specific individuals. These listings are supplemental to the main firm GMB listing. For instance, Gloria Allred might have her own GMB listing, but the firm of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg has one, too.
So, then, where do practitioner listings fall in this messy landscape? Should you make them for prominent professionals in your firm? Should you build landing pages for them? How do you promote them? (Those already exist, most likely, in the form of biographies.) In a concise series of 3 Tweets, Mike answered all the questions I had.
Screenshots of his tweets follow, but I excerpt the bulleted list he provided below:
- Google wants & will insist on listing both practice and practitioner.
- You can’t fight that.
- So both need to be listed.
- If each can be in a different category, great, each will show.
- If more than one fall into the same category, most will not show.
- So, it’s best to pick the most prominent to promote.
- Each should have its own landing page on the same site.
- Most prominent in each category should point to the Home Page.
- Budget dictates who gets promoted first.
- It is not completely controllable.
- View it as an opportunity, not as a stumbling block.
Mike’s answer is masterfully brief. But, if you’re still hungry for information about Google My Business Practitioner Listings, I’ve included a resource list below.
Resources