Posts, photos and Q&A
How should a law firm use Google Business Profile posts, photos and Q&A?
Question-led posts with no phone digits, real photos of the firm with no client faces, and what's actually left of Q&A after Google shut it down in 2025.
By Charlotte Thompson, Co-Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
The short answer
If you read one part of this page, read this.
Use posts to answer the questions clients ask you every week, one question per post, with no phone number in the text. Use photos to show the real office, sign and team, never clients or case files. And don't plan around Q&A: Google discontinued the Business Profile Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and its help article on Q&A no longer exists.
The phone number rule is the one that quietly costs firms posts without anyone noticing. Google says posts with a phone number it can't verify may be rejected or removed. What we've seen is worse: posts with phone digits were reported as published and never appeared on the profile at all.
We write and schedule Business Profile posts for client firms as part of AI search and social media. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
How posts work
A post is an update, offer or event that shows on your profile in Search and Maps.
Google offers three post types. For law firms, the update is the one that matters: a description, an image and an optional button.
- Updates
General information about the business: a description, photo or video, and an action button with a link. This is where answers to client questions go.
- Offers and events
Offers need a title, dates and times and come with a "View Offer" button. Events need a title and dates. We rarely use either for law firms: an offer invites fee talk, which bar rules and our own copy rules keep off the profile.
- Where people see them
Google says posts appear in the "Updates" or "Overview" tabs on mobile and in the "From the owner" section on a computer, in Search and Maps.
- How long they last
Google archives posts older than 6 months unless a date range is set. You can schedule posts ahead and set them to repeat.
After you publish, Google reviews each post. Live means public. Pending means it's still processing or the profile isn't verified. Not approved means it broke a content policy, with a question mark showing which one.
The phone number rule
Never put phone digits in a post. Use the call button instead.
Google says posts that include a phone number "might get rejected" if the number can't be verified as the business's, and that it "may remove posts with unverified contact information." Its suggested fix is the Call now button.
In our client work it went further than rejection. Posts with phone digits in the text showed as published, with a public link, and never appeared on the profile. Nothing flagged them, so a firm could post for months to nobody. Since then, our rule is no phone digits in any post, ever, even the firm's own verified number.
Step by step
How we write a law firm's Business Profile posts.
Each post answers one question a real client has asked, in the firm's jurisdiction, in plain words. The question goes first, because update posts have no title field.
Start from the firm's confirmed practice areas
Only case types the firm takes, from its confirmed list. A post about a practice the firm dropped brings calls it has to turn away.
Pick a question clients actually ask
"Do I have to go to court for a DUI in Florida?" beats "Know your rights." The questions come from intake calls and consultations.
Lead with the question, answer it early
The first line restates the question, and the answer starts right after it. Phones cut the text short, so the useful part has to come first.
Write four or five short paragraphs
We aim for about 1,300 to 1,450 characters: enough to be useful, short enough to read on a phone. Name the state or province plainly, and say "generally" where the law has exceptions.
Check it against the bar rules
No promised outcomes, no "specialist" or "expert," no fees. A post is public lawyer advertising like any other. Our advertising rules overview has the basics.
Add a clean image and close without digits
We pair each post with a simple card in the firm's colors carrying the question, then the call or website line.
Schedule ahead, then look at the live profile
We keep months of posts scheduled for each firm. We also check the profile itself, because a post with a valid image sometimes appears as text only, and every tool reports it as healthy.
Our post rules
Every rule we apply to a post, and the reason behind it.
Some come from Google's pages, some from what we've seen on live client profiles, and some from lawyer advertising rules.
| Element | Our rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | Never in the text | Google may reject or remove it; we've seen such posts never appear |
| Call to action | Call the firm by name, or the website | Never "send us a message" |
| First line | The client's question, word for word | Update posts have no title field |
| Topic | Only practice areas the firm confirmed | Wrong-practice posts bring calls the firm declines |
| Claims | No results, fees or "specialist" | Bar advertising rules apply to posts |
| Image | A simple card with the question | No client photos, no stock faces |
Posts do double duty: people read them before they call, and they add to the public picture of what the firm knows. Our social media guide covers the same question-led approach on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Photos
Real photos of the office, sign and team, and never a client.
Google says photos should represent reality, without significant alterations or excessive filters or AI. It suggests at least three exterior, interior and team photos, and only shows them once the profile is verified.
- Google's specifications
JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, 720 by 720 pixels recommended and 250 by 250 at minimum. Videos up to 30 seconds, 75 MB and 720p. Google says new photos can take 24 to 48 hours to show.
- Logo and cover
Add both. Google says that if your cover photo is low quality, it may show a photo someone else uploaded instead, so make it a sharp, well-lit picture of the office or sign.
- What we upload
Only photos the firm owns: the building and sign from the street, the entrance, the reception and meeting rooms, and the team. No stock photos on a profile, and nothing copied from the firm's website or anywhere else.
- Faces
Never a client, ever. Photos of the firm's own lawyers and staff go up only when the firm says yes. No legible client names, files or documents anywhere in frame.
Q&A
Business Profile Q&A is no longer something a firm can plan around.
Google discontinued the My Business Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and the Business Profile help article that explained Q&A no longer loads. Google hasn't published a help page describing a replacement for businesses.
Google's developer page states it plainly: "The My Business Q&A API was discontinued on November 3, 2025." Google's own definition of discontinued is an API that "will always return errors." On the help side, the Q&A article for business owners now returns a page-not-found message. Some older Google pages still mention Q&A in passing, but none tells you how to manage it today.
So we no longer spend client time on Q&A. The answers people used to look for there go where the firm still controls the words: the services list and description on the profile, question-led posts, and FAQ sections on the firm's own website. Our Business Profile setup guide covers services and the description.
From our client work
Posts and photos support a firm's reputation; they don't replace reviews or intake.
We see posts and photos work as proof that the firm is real, current and knows its practice. Reviews and a phone that gets answered still do the heavy lifting.
A new business law firm we spent six months building a reputation for now has prospective clients and referral partners reaching out on their own. A boutique tax firm we started with profiles and presence now gets more cases from referrals than from paid. In both, the profile is one of the places a prospect looks and finds a firm that's clearly established.
- This week: search your recent posts for any phone digits and rewrite them.
- Open your profile on a phone and confirm your latest posts actually show.
- Replace any stock photo with a real one of the office or sign.
- Remove any photo that shows a client or a readable document.
- Send your next five clients the review link; our reviews guide has the wording.
Replies to reviews belong to the same profile; our guide to responding to negative reviews covers what a lawyer can and can't say. For a practice-specific plan, see estate planning marketing or schedule a consultation.
Common mistakes
Where firms go wrong.
These are the post and photo mistakes we find most when we take over a profile.
The phone number in every post
It feels helpful. On Google it risks rejection or removal, and in our experience it can make posts silently disappear.
Stock photos of smiling strangers
Google wants photos that represent reality. A stock handshake tells a prospect nothing about your office, and it's not the firm's own photo.
Client faces or files in office photos
A busy reception shot or a desk with open files puts people and confidential details on a public profile. Shoot when the office is empty.
Generic holiday posts with nothing to say
Google's tips ask for posts with real value. A question a client asked last week does more than a stock greeting.
Still waiting on Q&A
Firms still plan to seed Q&A with answers. Google discontinued the Q&A API in November 2025; put those answers in services, posts and the website.
Real results
What this looked like for real firms.
Two firms where the work started with how the firm looks wherever a prospect checks it.
Identifying details are anonymized to protect our clients. Individual result, not a promise or prediction of any specific outcome for your firm.
FAQ
Questions lawyers ask us.
Straight answers to the questions that come up most.
Can we put our phone number in a Google Business Profile post?
We don't. Google says posts with a phone number it can't verify may be rejected, and it may remove posts with unverified contact information. We've seen posts with phone digits reported as published that never showed. Use the profile's call button and close the post with the firm's name instead.
How often should a law firm post on its Business Profile?
Google doesn't set a frequency. What matters more is that every post answers a real question and actually appears. We keep months of posts scheduled for each firm so the profile never goes quiet, and we check the live profile rather than trusting the scheduler.
Is Q&A still on Google Business Profiles?
Google discontinued the My Business Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and its help article on Q&A for businesses no longer loads. Google hasn't published a business help page on a replacement. Put common answers in your services, description, posts and website instead.
Can we post photos of our lawyers?
Yes, if the lawyers agree. Google suggests team photos so potential clients get a feel for who you are. Never post clients, even happy ones, and keep documents and screens out of frame. Our short video guide covers filming the lawyers themselves.
Should we upload new photos every week?
We tested exactly that on client profiles and stopped in October 2026, because firms that got weekly photos did no better on views or calls. Upload a good set at setup, and add new ones when something real changes, like a new office or a new lawyer.
Do Business Profile posts count as lawyer advertising?
Treat them that way. They're public statements by the firm about its services, so the same rules on misleading claims, results and specialization apply. Our social media rules guide covers how bar rules treat posts.
Can you write and schedule our posts?
Yes. We write question-led posts from your confirmed practice areas, check them against the rules, and schedule them months ahead. To talk it through, schedule a consultation.
Where we do this
The services this guide touches.
What this looks like when we run it for a firm, with a demo for your practice on each page.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Official pages we read when writing this page. Platforms and rules change, so check the current version before you act on any of it. This is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
- Google Business Profile Help, Create and manage posts on your Business Profile
- Google Business Profile Help, Business Profile photos, videos and posts content policy
- Google Business Profile Help, Manage your Business Profile photos and videos
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips for business-specific photos on your Business Profile
- Google for Developers, Business Profile APIs deprecation schedule
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google
Written by
Co-founder of Ad Hoc Digital. Leads social media and content, runs onboarding for new client firms, and is on the regular check-in calls with clients.
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