Why You Should Get Google Reviews for Your Local Services Ads

There are several ways to get reviews for your LSAs. However getting a LSA verified review should be made a priority.

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Did you know that your Local Services Ad (LSA) has its own review platform that is entirely separate from your GMB reviews? While you should always continue to get reviews through your Google My Business (GMB) listing, you should get reviews directly on your LSA profile as well.

Why Reviews Matter for LSAs

Did you know that the average consumer spends 13 minutes and 45 seconds reading reviews before making a decision?¹ Keeping this in mind, let’s focus on why reviews matter for LSAs.

In general, reviews matter. They can strengthen your firm’s credibility and build client trust. They can also influence how people decide whether or not they would like to enlist your services.

For LSAs, reviews are one of seven known ranking factors that affect how your LSAs show up and perform. Both your review rating and the number of your reviews affect your LSA rankings—and the higher your ratings and the more reviews you have, the more likely you can convert leads through your LSA as well.

Differences Between LSA Reviews and GMB Reviews

LSA reviews can come either from directly on the LSA profile itself or from a GMB listing associated with the LSA. You do not need to have a GMB listing to have LSA ads for a particular location. But, for your LSA ad to go live, you will need at least one review, either an LSA review or an associated GMB review, with a minimum of a 3.0/5.0 average rating.

First, if you have a GMB listing with reviews, you can tie your GMB reviews to your LSA account. If your GMB listing does not have any reviews, you can ask your clients to review you on your GMB profile.

Alternatively, as mentioned, you do not need to have a GMB listing for your LSA ad to go live. For your LSA profile, Google provides a custom URL for LSA reviews that you can send to your clients to ask them to review your services.

Whether your reviews are from an associated GMB profile or directly on your LSA profile, the average of all of them needs to be at least a 3.0/5.0 average rating.

Even if you have an associated GMB profile, there are several reasons why you should supplement your GMB reviews with LSA reviews.

• Having LSA reviews protects you if your GMB profile is suspended or removed. If your LSA only had GMB reviews, and your GMB profile disappeared, your GMB reviews would disappear as well, leaving your ad with zero reviews and ratings. This would place you in violation of having a minimum of one review on your LSA. The Google Review Team performs audits on LSAs, and if you were unable to have your GMB profile reinstated or have a direct LSA review before then, your LSA ad would be removed. Again, having an LSA review would keep your LSA ad running, should your GMB profile be removed or suspended.

• Your LSA reviews can be labeled as a “Google verified job,” provided that the job was booked through your LSA. Unlike GMB, this could curb the amount of potentially fake reviews.

• LSA verified reviews are given priority over GMB reviews, i.e., they are shown above GMB reviews regardless of when they are posted.LSA reviewers can protect their identity by having the option to post their review anonymously, which might be important for particular types of clients, such as criminal defendants.

We will cover the details of how LSA reviews are processed and verified in a future blog post.

How You Can Get LSA Reviews

There are a few ways in which you can ask your clients for reviews:

Verified LSA Client Reviews

• LSA Account App or Desktop Dashboard. Verified LSA client reviews always require the attorney to begin the process. To have a client leave you a Verified LSA client review, first sign in to your LSA account (desktop or app). You will then enter your clients’ email addresses and ask them to leave you a review through one of the following options:

• • • Leads Page. Go to your leads page and mark your leads as booked and authorize Google to send an email to your client with a link to leave you a verified LSA review. You will need to provide your client’s email address and will also need to confirm that your client agreed to receive this email request from Google.
    • Reviews Page. Click on the “Ask for a Review” tab on the “Reviews” page (you can click on the “ASK FOR REVIEW” link next to each job). Similar to the booked leads option above, you will need to provide your client’s email and will also need to confirm that your client agreed to receive this email request from Google. (US & Canada only)

Non-Verified Client Reviews

• LSA Business Profile. Get reviews from clients who didn’t book your service through your LSA. They can leave a review directly in the “Reviews” section of your LSA business profile by clicking on “Add a Review.”

• • Google LSA Custom URL. You can send your Google LSA custom link directly to your clients.
  • Justia Amplify Service. If you are enrolled in the Justia Amplify service, you have exclusive access to a customized client review platform. Through your branded page, clients have easy access to multiple review platforms, including your LSA, to leave a review.

Make LSA Verified Reviews a Priority

The prominent placement of the rating and number of reviews on your LSA ad, just beneath your firm’s name, makes it one of the first things that potential clients see about your firm when doing a Google search. Potential clients can access the Reviews section on your LSA business profile to read your firm’s reviews in more detail. In addition to helping with LSA rankings, reviews have been one of the top factors in clients’ decision making as to which lawyer or law firm they hire. Do not neglect to get more and better reviews. And while we always encourage law firms to seek reviews for their GMB profiles, those with LSA ads should prioritize seeking and obtaining Google verified reviews through their LSA account.

¹ https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/

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