Google Ads for Law Firms

When You Can’t Wait for Organic Rankings

SEO is a long game. Build authority over time. Climb rankings gradually. Reap rewards for years.

But what if you just opened your practice? What if you need to replace a departing partner’s caseload? What if a slow season is killing your cash flow?

Google Ads solves the timing problem. Pay to appear at the top of search results immediately. Someone searches “DUI lawyer near me” and your ad shows up before anything else. No waiting. No hoping. Just visibility.

You only pay when someone clicks. They see your ad and scroll past? Costs nothing. They click through to your website? You pay for that click. Simple model, powerful results.

How Google Ads Works for Attorneys

Potential clients search for legal help. Your ad appears above organic results. 

That’s the basic flow. The execution determines whether you waste money or generate cases.

Keyword Targeting

We identify what potential clients in your area actually search for. “Criminal defense attorney” is obvious. “What happens after a DUI arrest” captures people earlier in their journey. “Lawyer for custody modification” hits a specific need.

Different keywords cost different amounts. Broad terms like “lawyer” burn budget fast with low conversion rates. Specific long-tail keywords cost less and convert better. We build campaigns around the searches most likely to become paying clients.

Geographic Targeting

Law is local. We target your actual service area. City, county, radius around your office. No paying for clicks from people three states away who will never hire you.

This pairs with your local SEO efforts. Paid and organic working together to dominate local search results.

Ad Copy That Converts

You get a few lines of text to convince someone to click. Most law firm ads are forgettable. “Experienced attorney. Free consultation. Call today.” Sounds like everyone else.

Our content team writes ad copy that stands out. Specific benefits. Emotional triggers. Calls to action that work. The same journalism standards we apply to website content apply to your ads.

Landing Pages

Where clicks land matters as much as the ads themselves. Send traffic to your homepage and watch conversion rates tank. Send traffic to a focused landing page that matches the ad’s promise and conversions climb.

We build landing pages designed for one purpose: turning clicks into contacts. Clear messaging. Obvious contact options. No distractions.

Bid Management

Google Ads runs on an auction system. You bid against competitors for ad placement. Bid too low and your ads don’t show. Bid too high and you overpay for every click.

We manage bids to maximize your budget. Adjusting based on time of day, device type, geographic performance, and keyword profitability. The goal is lowest cost per lead, not lowest cost per click.

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What We Manage

Campaign Setup
Account structure matters. We build campaigns organized by practice area, location, and intent level. Proper structure makes optimization possible.

Keyword Research and Selection
Ongoing research identifies new opportunities and eliminates waste. Search behavior changes. Competitors enter and exit. We adapt.

Ad Creation and Testing
Multiple ad variations running simultaneously. Testing headlines, descriptions, and calls to action. Keeping winners, killing losers. Continuous improvement.

Negative Keywords
Not every search deserves your ad. “Free lawyer” attracts people who won’t pay. “Pro bono attorney” wastes clicks. “Law school” brings students, not clients.

Negative keywords block your ads from showing on irrelevant searches. We build extensive negative keyword lists that save budget for searches that matter.

Landing Page Optimization
We monitor what happens after the click. Which pages convert? Which don’t? What can we test to improve results?

Conversion Tracking
Phone calls. Form submissions. Chat initiations. We track every way someone can become a lead. You’ll know exactly what your ad spend produces.

Monthly Reporting
Clear reports showing spend, clicks, conversions, and cost per lead. No jargon. No hiding behind vanity metrics. Just honest numbers that tell you whether this investment pays off.

Google Ads and Bar Compliance

Attorney advertising rules apply to paid ads just like everything else. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and your state bar’s specific requirements govern what you can say.

We know these rules. Your ads stay compliant so you don’t get a letter from your bar association. Getting clicks isn’t worth risking your license.

Budget Reality Check

Legal keywords are expensive. “Personal injury lawyer” can cost $100+ per click in competitive markets. “Car accident attorney” isn’t cheap either.

But cost per click isn’t the number that matters. Cost per client is.

If you spend $2,000 on ads and sign one personal injury case worth $50,000 in fees, that’s a good investment. If you spend $500 on ads for estate planning and sign three clients worth $1,500 each, that works too.

We help you understand realistic budgets for your practice areas and market. Some firms start at $1,000 per month. Others invest $10,000 or more. The right number depends on your goals, competition, and case values.

No minimum budget requirements from us. No pressure to spend more than makes sense. Just honest advice about what’s realistic.

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Google Ads vs SEO

Not an either/or decision for most firms.

Google Ads:

• Immediate visibility
• Pay per click
• Stops when you stop paying
• Highly controllable
• Great for testing markets

SEO:

• Takes months to build
• No per-click cost
• Compounds over time
• Builds lasting asset
• Higher long-term ROI

Smart strategy often combines both. Google Ads drives leads while SEO builds momentum. As organic rankings improve, some firms reduce ad spend. Others maintain both channels indefinitely.

We’ll recommend what makes sense for your situation. Sometimes that’s ads only. Sometimes SEO only. Usually some combination.

Local Service Ads

Google also offers Local Service Ads for attorneys in some markets. These show above regular Google Ads with a “Google Screened” badge.

Different model. You pay per lead, not per click. Google verifies your license and insurance. Leads come through Google’s platform.

We manage Local Service Ads alongside traditional Google Ads for firms in eligible markets. Another channel to capture potential clients searching for legal help.

No Long-Term Contracts

Month to month. Always.

Google Ads should prove its value every single month. If it stops working, you should be able to stop paying. We don’t lock you into annual contracts that benefit us more than you.

Most clients stay because results justify the investment. Not because paperwork forces them to.

Already Running Google Ads?

Not happy with your results? Happens all the time.

We audit existing accounts and identify what’s wrong. Wasted spend on bad keywords. Poor ad copy. Terrible landing pages. Missing conversion tracking. The usual culprits.

Sometimes small fixes produce big improvements. Sometimes accounts need complete rebuilds. We’ll tell you honestly what we find and what it takes to fix.

Common Google Ads Mistakes

• Sending traffic to your homepage Generic destination kills conversion rates. Landing pages matter.
• Targeting too broadly Nationwide targeting for a local firm wastes budget fast.
• Ignoring negative keywords Without them, you pay for clicks that never convert.
• Set it and forget it Campaigns need ongoing optimization. Autopilot wastes money.
• No conversion tracking If you don’t track leads, you can’t optimize for leads.
• Writing boring ads Blending in with competitors means splitting the market instead of winning it

We fix all of these. Every campaign we manage avoids these mistakes from day one.