If you've optimized your law firm's Google Business Profile categories, added photos, and gotten reviews, you've done the basics. But there's a layer most firms completely skip: attributes and the services section. These two features are responsible for a significant portion of the differentiation between firms that rank #1 in the local pack and those that appear further down — or not at all.
It works alongside the rest of your local search setup — our complete guide to Google Business Profile for law firms walks through the full system end to end.
Attributes tell Google — and prospective clients — specific things about how your firm operates. The services section tells Google exactly what legal work you do. Both feed directly into local pack rankings and AI search citation decisions.
What GBP Attributes Are Available for Law Firms
GBP attributes appear as a series of checkboxes that describe specific characteristics of your business. For law firms, the available attributes vary by category but typically include:
Accessibility attributes:
- Wheelchair accessible entrance
- Wheelchair accessible parking lot
- Wheelchair accessible restroom
Service options:
- Online appointments
- Onsite services
- Language assistance (list languages your team speaks)
- Gender-neutral restroom
Highlights (where available):
- LGBTQ+ friendly
- Transgender safespace
- Women-led
- Veteran-led
These attributes appear on your GBP listing and filter into Google's local search. When a user searches "wheelchair accessible lawyer near me" or "Spanish-speaking immigration attorney" — firms with the relevant attributes set are the only ones who appear in those filtered results. The firms without them are invisible to those queries.
Language Attributes: A Major Missed Opportunity
The language assistance attribute is one of the most underleveraged GBP features for law firms that serve multilingual communities. If any attorney or staff member on your team speaks Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, Hindi, French, or any other language relevant to your market — add it. This filters your firm into language-specific local searches that most competing firms don't appear in at all.
Check your GBP language settings carefully — Google may not surface all language options in the standard attribute UI. In some cases you need to suggest an edit or contact Google support to add specific language attributes not shown by default.
Building Your Services Section Strategically
The GBP Services section allows you to create a structured menu of your legal services. Each service can have a name, description (up to 300 characters), and price (optional). This structured data feeds directly into Google's understanding of what your firm does and what queries you should appear for.
Build your services section in three layers:
Layer 1 — Practice area categories: Personal Injury, Family Law, Criminal Defense, Estate Planning (these become section headers)
Layer 2 — Specific services under each category: Under Personal Injury: Car Accidents, Slip and Fall, Medical Malpractice, Wrongful Death. Under Family Law: Divorce, Child Custody, Spousal Support, Adoption.
Layer 3 — Descriptions: For each service, write a 200–300 character description that explains what it is and who it's for. These descriptions are indexed and searchable.
The Price Field: Use It or Lose It
Google provides a price field for each service. Most law firms leave it blank — which is understandable given that legal fees are case-dependent. But leaving it blank entirely misses an opportunity. Use the price field to communicate your fee structure: "Free initial consultation" for services where you offer that, "Contingency fee — no win, no fee" for personal injury services, or "Flat fee from $X" for services where you offer predictable pricing. This information appears directly on your listing and is a conversion driver.
Keeping Attributes and Services Current
Audit your attributes and services section quarterly. Google adds new attribute categories regularly, and your profile needs to reflect current reality — if you've added a Spanish-speaking attorney, update the language attribute that week, not at the next quarterly review. Stale attribute information is worse than no information because it creates false expectations.
Related: AI SEO for Law Firms · GBP Categories Guide · GBP Optimization Checklist · Practice Area Schema · About LexScale.ai