Most law firms understand how crucial it is to use Google Ads to attract prospective clients.
They know that advertisements take up more and more space on Google search engine results pages (SERPs), the benefits of combining paid traffic to a robust law firm SEO strategy, and the results of competing law firms get.
But get things wrong, and you'll have inconsistent and suboptimal results.
We'll arm you with the knowledge to take your advertising to the next level by discussing common errors and the most critical optimization opportunities for a law firm's Google Ads campaigns.
Do Google Ads Work For Lawyers?
Yes, law firms benefit from Google Ads daily, but it can be difficult for beginners and quickly become very expensive. For example, one of the most expensive PPC keywords out there is lawyer. Both its versions and associated long-tail keywords are equally pricey.
For an effective law firm online marketing campaign, it's crucial know what you’re doing while setting up Google Ads so that you can prevent wasting a lot of money advertising to the wrong people.
You must experiment extensively and pick up new skills along the road if you want to achieve a high ROI. Google offers a wealth of free knowledge to get you started, but for most people, working with a specialist offers the best chances for success.
The Google Ads platform is a powerful tool for connecting you with your target audience. It allows you to tailor your PPC campaigns so that they're relevant to your prospective clients and gives you access to a large pool of potential clients.
But there's more to setting up an effective Google Ads campaign than simply signing up for an account and hoping for the best. Maximizing your ROI (return on investment) helps if you know what you're doing.
1. Understand The Costs Of Google Ads
Google Ads has its own set of metrics for measuring the success of your ads. These include:
- Cost per click (CPC): how much you pay when someone clicks on your ad.
- Cost per mille (CPM): how much you pay when your ad appears to 1,000 people. It's calculated by dividing CPC by 1000.
- Cost per acquisition (CPA): the average cost to convert a client. It's calculated by dividing CPA by conversions or actions taken as a result of an ad campaign using Google Ads and AdWords Conversion Tracking Tools.
2. Choose Campaign Types
Before you start, deciding on your campaign type is important. Are you trying to rank for a specific keyword? Or are you looking to show ads on particular websites or mobile devices?
Google Ads has two main types of campaigns: search campaigns and display network campaigns.
You can set each one up in different ways depending on what your goals are. If your goal is to promote content, then the best choice of campaign type will depend on what exact tactic(s) you want to employ.
For example, you should use a display campaign if you want to show your ads on specific websites and mobile devices. Search campaigns are the way to go if your goal is to rank for specific keywords or phrases.
3. Build A Keyword List
You'll want to consider a few key points as you build your keyword list.
Keyword expansion is the term for adding synonyms and variations of your main keywords into the mix. If you're advertising for a personal injury lawyer in New Jersey, it also makes sense to include lawyers who specialize in personal injury cases New Jersey.
This will allow Google Ads to display relevant ads for users considering other types of legal help.
You may also consider using negative keywords or phrase match instead of broad match when possible. While broad match can be helpful when starting with Google Ads because it allows advertisers more flexibility in terms of targeting, it also means that PPC ads might appear on less relevant searches and lead users away from what they were looking for—so it's best used sparingly at first.
4. Create And Test Ad Copy
The next step is to write ad copy that will attract people to your website. Your goal is to provide a clear and concise description of your law practice while including relevant keywords.
The most important thing you can do is keep things simple and use only the two main sections—one headline and one body text section—that are allowed under Google's rules.
While writing ad copy for lawyers is challenging because it requires so many technical terms related to your industry, certain tricks can help make it easier.
First, consider what someone would search for if they were looking for legal services like yours; then try using those keywords throughout the body text section (but not necessarily at the top).
5. Use Single Keyword Ad Groups for Your Highest-Performing Keywords
Single Keyword Ad Groups are the best option for your most important keywords. When you have just one keyword in your ad group, you can write one highly targeted ad to increase your chances of conversion and ad quality score.
You can then set up the ad to show when people search for queries that match your single keyword in one of three ways:
- Broad match
- Phrase match
- Exact match
Use the broad match modifier when you want to show ads for keyword variations, like synonyms or related phrases. The cost per click is lower, and there's a higher chance of showing up in more searches, but it can lead to more clicks from irrelevant terms that aren't relevant to your business.
Use the phrase match modifier if you have multiple words that occur together in one search phrase, like best New York City lawyers or trustworthy Los Angeles lawyer. This will make it more likely that your ad shows when someone searches these terms, even if they include additional words beyond those two (like best New York City lawyers reviews). However, the ads will only appear if all three words are included in the search query; otherwise, they won't be eligible to show up!
Use the exact match modifier if you're targeting highly specific keywords that must exactly match what searchers are looking for—such as an attorney's name or practice area (e.g., Parker & Associates Injury Law). This allows you to optimize based on specific queries and deliver highly relevant results quickly without paying extra money per click because exact matches tend not to get many clicks anyways (especially compared with broad/phrase modifiers).
6. Use Negative Keywords to Boost Your ROI
Using negative keywords is the best way to ensure your ads are only showing up for the right keywords. Negative keywords help you avoid wasting money on irrelevant searches, and you can add them anytime.
Best used for long tail keywords (which are more specific than broad terms), negative keywords allow you to specify which search terms you don't want to be included in your ad campaign. This can be especially useful if you have multiple long-tail keyword variations that could trigger the same ad with different search terms, like personal injury lawyer near me versus personal injury lawyers in my city.
Negative keywords will prevent your ads from showing up on searches that don't meet your criteria and free up the ads budget to go toward more relevant searches instead of diminishing returns with less profitable ones!
7. Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) In Your Ad Copy
Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) is a feature that allows advertisers to display ads based on specific keywords. It's not only an effective way to get more clicks and conversions but also helps reduce your ad spend by targeting the right people with relevant ads.
When you use DKI, your ad will change depending on what users type into the search engine.
For example, if someone searches for [your city] lawyer, your ad would appear with those exact words. If they search for [your city] divorce lawyer, your ad would include those terms instead.
Dynamic Keyword Insertion allows you to create a more targeted ad without having to write it for each keyword manually. The result is higher click-through rates (CTR), lower costs per click, and more conversions.
8. Use Remarketing List for Search Ads (RLSA)
Remarketing Lists for Search Ads (RLSA) is a list of clients who have visited your website and may still be interested in what you offer. You can create multiple lists with different names and then target them with ads on Google.
Tip: If you're new to retargeting ads for lawyers, we recommend starting with one list first. Then once you get comfortable using it, add more lists as needed!
9. Monitor Your Conversion Rate
Monitoring your Google Ads is an important part of understanding how they're performing and what you can do to improve them.
For example, if you have a goal for new leads, you’ll want to know how many people have converted from seeing your ads. If the ad is targeting a specific keyword, then monitoring its performance will help decide whether or not it needs to be changed.
Google Ads has a lot of metrics that can tell you how effective your campaigns are. It's important to keep track of these metrics so that you know when something isn't working and when things are going well. If you don't monitor them regularly, then you'll never know if there's something wrong with your campaign until it's too late.
10. Invest In A Professional To Manage Your Ad Campaigns
Most attorneys don’t have the time to dig into all the nuances of Google Ads to get them perfectly optimized.
As a busy lawyer, it’s usually best to entrust your Google Ads marketing strategy to professionals who can get you results while you focus on winning cases for your clients instead of worrying about bidding strategies and keyword research.
Alternatively, you may decide that constantly investing money in a pay-per-click campaign for new clients is resulting in diminishing returns. Lawyers have several different digital marketing options at their disposal besides advertising. If you’re looking for a more sustainable option for driving more phone calls from potential clients, SEO and content marketing may be a better option for you.
