A helpful pay per click synopsis for law firms so you can win with Google, Facebook, Bing, and LinkedIn advertising.
PPC advertising can be confusing. In this constantly changing digital marketplace, it’s easy for lawyers and marketing managers to get lost in the details — especially if you have not run a successful campaign yet. For that reason, I wanted to provide an overview of PPC marketing for lawyers.
Search Pros has helped law firms and other businesses grow with PPC advertising since 2010. As an experienced Google Partner, we specialize in PPC advertising, improving conversion rates, and all the essentials to help your law firm generate fresh leads and cases.
In this overview, I will cover the basics of PPC for lawyers for your law firm’s marketing. For this article, I will preference Google Ads, but similar things could be written for Bing Ads, Meta (Facebook) Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. Let’s dig in!
Understanding PPC for Lawyers in the United States
PPC, or pay-per-click, is a digital marketing strategy that places lawyers ads on Google and other search engines. To get your ads at the top of Google’s search results, you open a Google Ads account, bid on specific keywords, and pay whenever someone clicks on your ads. In simple terms, PPC means businesses (including law firms) pay a chosen amount each time someone clicks on your ads. Lawyers do not pay for each time your ad is shown, only when someone clicks on it — hence the term “pay per click” or “PPC.”
PPC for lawyers follows the same rules as PPC ad campaigns in other industries. Ad platforms like Google, Bing, YouTube, and Facebook, evaluate your ads based on how well they match what your audience is looking for. A Google Ads campaign uses a Quality Score to rate your ad’s relevance to the keywords you bid on. Google then decides which search ads appear at the top based on factors like the quality of the ad, its relevance, and the bid amount.
When you set up PPC for lawyers in the United States using Google Ads, your ads can appear on Google’s Search and Display Networks. This includes Google’s search engine and other places like YouTube for video ads and Gmail.
The Importance of PPC In Legal Marketing
PPC advertising is a big deal in legal marketing. It’s not unusual for a large, metro-area law firm to spend over $1 million per year on Google Ads. Based on a $10 cost per click, one personal injury law firm in Houston currently spends at least $3 million per month in PPC advertising (see screenshot below). That’s a lot of budget! These growing law firms have learned that Google Ads can help them get noticed and bring in clients.
Choosing the right keywords for PPC ads is essential for lawyers and digital marketing agencies. It affects how well your ads perform, how much you spend on them, and who sees them.
Also, writing good ad copy is critical. You want to tell people what makes your law firm unique and convince them to check out your landing page that’s often customized for the ad copy or campaigns.
Keeping an eye on how your ads are doing is crucial, too. Tracking your ad performance helps you bid better, get a good return on your investment, figure out where prospect calls are coming from, know where your clients are, and ensure your ads reach the right people.
Understanding the role of PPC in legal marketing helps law firms get more of the right people to your websites and find potential clients.
Benefits of PPC for Lawyers In United States
Pay per click advertising, brings several advantages to law firms:
Targeted Marketing:
Traditional ads in newspapers and magazines reach a broad audience, but PPC allows law firms to focus on specific groups of potential clients. By using relevant keywords, that match what your ideal clients search for, law firms can save money and ensure your message is seen by those interested in your legal services. This makes promoting your legal services more efficient.
Flexibility:
Digital marketing is all about how people behave online and the rules of search engines. When lawyers run PPC campaigns to reach specific people online, they can easily adjust it to fit your clients’ changing needs. If a campaign isn’t doing well or starts well but slows down, they can change adjust budgets accordingly. This flexibility is a significant advantage for lawyers who use PPC.
Rich Data:
In today’s data-driven world, PPC advertising for law firms provides a wealth of information to fine-tune campaigns for better returns on investment (ROI). Data collected from PPC analytics can guide marketing decisions related to impressions, clicks, and conversions. A/B testing, for example, allows advertisers to experiment with different landing page variations to find which generates more leads. With customized PPC advertising campaigns for lawyers, you receive constant feedback and can continuously improve your ads until they perform at their best.
Considering these benefits, law firms can leverage PPC advertising effectively to reach their target audience and achieve their own digital marketing strategy and goals.
Developing a Successful PPC Strategy for Law Firms
A successful PPC strategy for law firms involves setting clear goals, choosing the right advertising platforms, and optimizing ad spending for maximum return on ad spend (ROAS). Establishing SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals can ensure your PPC campaigns are achievable and that the budget is used efficiently.
Selecting suitable ad platforms like Google, Facebook, or Bing can help law firms effectively reach your target audience on a large enough network of users. Meanwhile, optimizing ad spend requires careful monitoring and budget adjustments based on competition and performance.
Setting Campaign Goals
Defining campaign goals is vital as it steers and concentrates a law firm’s PPC efforts toward achieving the desired outcomes. Utilizing the SMART acronym can help law firms establish clear, measurable goals, enabling them to allocate your ad spend efficiently and maximize the return on your investment.
Tracking key metrics, such as website traffic, leads generated, conversions, and ROI, can help law firms measure the success of their PPC campaigns and make necessary adjustments to optimize their marketing efforts.
Choosing the Right Platforms
Choosing fitting platforms for PPC advertising is crucial in enabling law firms to reach their target audience and enhance the efficacy of their campaigns. Running PPC campaigns on multiple platforms, like Google Ads and Bing Ads, can amplify audience reach and facilitate the evaluation of which campaigns are the most effective on each platform.
Optimizing Ad Spend
It’s crucial for law firms to optimize ad spending as it dictates how much they can afford per click, the number of clicks they can garner, and the platforms where they will display your ads. By monitoring spend and adjusting your bids based on competition and performance, law firms can ensure that ad spend is used efficiently and effectively. This is especially important for law firms since legal clicks tend to be higher than other clicks.
Google’s Keyword Planner can provide insight into the amount of expenditure other law firms are allocating to specific keywords, helping law firms make informed decisions about your PPC budget.
Tracking and Analyzing PPC Campaign Performance
The optimization of results and maximization of ROI require tracking and analyzing PPC campaign performance as part of your online marketing efforts. By monitoring key metrics, such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate (C/R), and cost per conversion (CPA), law firms can assess the efficacy of their campaigns and make informed decisions about adjustments that may be necessary to improve performance.
Utilizing analytics tools like Google Analytics (GA4) can provide valuable insights into user behavior and campaign performance, enabling law firms to make data-driven decisions and optimize their marketing efforts.
Key Metrics to Monitor
Monitoring key metrics is essential for understanding the performance of your law firm’s PPC campaign and making necessary adjustments to optimize results. Here are a few metrics to consider – see definitions further below.
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Calls
- Cost per click
- Click-through rate
- Quality score
- Conversion rate
- Cost per conversion
- Cost per lead
By keeping a close eye on these metrics, law firms can make data-driven decisions and ensure PPC campaigns are operating at peak efficiency.
Using Analytics Tools
Utilizing analytics tools like Google Analytics (GA4) can help law firms track the performance of their PPC campaigns and make informed decisions about necessary adjustments. These tools provide valuable insights into user behavior and campaign performance, enabling law firms to optimize their marketing efforts and maximize ROI.
What’s the Difference Between PPC and SEO?
Pay per click (PPC) advertising means you pay each time someone clicks on an ad. These ads are placed at the top of search engine results without organic search engine optimization (SEO). On the other hand, SEO is about making your website appear naturally in search engines without paying for ads. In short, PPC is about paid clicks whereas SEO is about organic clicks on search engines like Google.
Common PPC Terms
Here are some words you might hear when talking about PPC advertising and what I mean for your ads:
- Impressions – the number of times your ad is shown too users.
- Clicks – the number of times users clicks on your ads.
- Cost-per-click (CPC) – the money you pay when someone clicks on your ad.
- Click-through rate (CTR) – how often people click on your ad compared to how often it’s shown.
- Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) – the average cost to turn ad clicks into actual customers.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) – the ratio of money you make (or lose) compared to what you spend on PPC ads.
- Quality score – how Google rates ads based on how well they match keywords.
- Ad rank – a rating that decides where your ad appears in search results.
- Exact match keywords – a keyword that triggers when the search matches your keyword exactly.
- Broad match keywords – a keyword that triggers when the search differs slightly from your keyword.
- Ad extensions – extra info shown below your main ad. It could be a “call” button, prices, or a link to a specific webpage on your law firm’s website.
- Landing page – where the user goes on your website when they click on your ad.
Creating and Optimizing PPC Landing Pages
For maximizing conversions in a PPC campaign, landing pages are indispensable. A successful landing page for a law firm practice area should feature a concise and direct message tailored to the target audience, straightforward navigation, and an engaging call to action.
Ensuring that landing pages are optimized for both desktop and mobile devices can help law firms provide a seamless user experience and increase the likelihood of potential clients taking the desired action – like calling your law firm.
Designing Conversion-Focused Landing Pages
Designing user-friendly landing pages ensures potential clients can easily navigate and engage with the law firm’s website. A well-designed landing page should include:
- A clear headline
- Concise copy
- Visually appealing design
- 3rd party verification (like client reviews)
- Clear calls to action
Additionally, it is important to ensure the landing page is optimized for mobile devices and has a fast loading time, as this can directly impact user experience and conversion rates. By designing user-friendly landing pages, law firms can increase the likelihood of potential clients taking the desired action and ultimately improve the performance of your PPC campaigns.
Implementing Effective Calls to Action
Implementing effective calls to action on landing pages encourages potential clients to take the desired action, such as contacting the law firm or scheduling a free consultation. Effective calls to action feature strong command verbs, evoke emotion or enthusiasm, provide a justification for the action, and create a sense of urgency.
By incorporating clear and compelling calls to action on your landing pages, law firms can maximize conversions and improve the overall performance of your PPC campaigns.
Which Platforms Are Best for PPC Ads for a Law Firm?
Lawyers can use several platforms for PPC advertising, such as Google, Bing, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. But which one is the best for reaching the your best clients?
Starting with Google or Bing is a good idea if you’re representing individuals. Google is usually preferred over Bing because of the sheer volume of users on Google. Many people turn to search engines for help when they have legal problems. However, LinkedIn is your best choice if your law firm mostly deals with businesses or you want to target specific job titles or industries.
By targeting the right ad platform, it helps you show your ads to the right people who are interested in your legal services. Besides Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads, law firms should also think about using other important ad platforms like Facebook Ads and YouTube Ads to do better with online advertising. Each platform has its own benefits and ways to reach more people, helping law firms advertise better.
Google Ads
Google Ads is the most popular PPC platform for lawyers. Google Ads offers extensive targeting options, keyword research tools, and a wide reach across search engine results pages. Law firms can leverage Google Ads to target users based on factors such as location, language, device, and more, ensuring that your ads are visible to the most relevant audience.
In addition to its comprehensive targeting options, Google Ads also provides detailed tracking and reporting of campaigns, allowing law firms to monitor key performance metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition. Utilizing Google Ads allows law firms to optimize your PPC campaigns and maximize your return on investment.
Meta Ads
Meta Ads (aka Facebook Ads) is another powerful platform for law firms looking to reach a highly targeted audience through ad campaigns. With over 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers a vast pool of potential clients that can be reached through its advertising platform.
Law firms can leverage Facebook Ads to target users based on factors such as age, gender, interests, and online behavior, ensuring that your ads are visible to the most relevant audience.
In addition to its demographic and interest targeting options, Facebook Ads also provides detailed tracking and reporting of campaigns, allowing law firms to monitor key performance metrics and optimize your advertising efforts. Incorporating Facebook Ads into your digital marketing strategy enables law firms to reach a wider audience and enhance your overall online advertising success.
YouTube Ads
As the second largest search engine after Google, YouTube offers a unique opportunity for law firms to engage potential clients through video content. YouTube Ads allows law firms to:
- Reach users based on factors such as age, gender, interests, and online behavior
- Provide a distinct and captivating advertising format
- Generate leads and conversions
By leveraging the power of video content, law firms can create engaging and informative ads that resonate with your target audience, driving clicks and conversions. Additionally, YouTube Ads provides detailed tracking and reporting of campaigns, allowing law firms to monitor key performance metrics and optimize your advertising efforts.
Incorporating YouTube Ads into your digital marketing strategy enables law firms to reach a wider audience and heighten your overall online advertising success.
Get More Leads with a PPC Agency for Lawyers
Partnering with growth agency like Search Pros can improve overall results from your law firm’s PPC campaigns. Agencies can help with:
- PPC checkup – a customized look at how your current ads are doing.
- Checking out the competition – see what other lawyers are doing in your city.
- Making a particular PPC plan – customized for your law firm.
- Digging deep into your field and finding the best keywords to use.
- Implementing AI to further improve PPC campaign results.
- Creating ads that have been proven to catch people’s attention.
- Make sure you spend your budget wisely.
- Keeping track of progress and trying different things to see what works.
- Reviewing landing pages to help more prospects become clients.
- Continuous improving ads for performance and leads.
PPC Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Even with the best intentions, you might make some common mistakes when using PPC advertising for your law firm’s PPC campaigns. These mistakes can make your advertising less effective. Three of the most common mistakes are picking the wrong keywords, not using negative keywords, and forgetting about mobile users.
- Picking the Wrong Keywords: Choosing the wrong keywords can waste your money and not get you many clients. It can make your ads show up for the wrong people or not show up at all. To avoid this mistake, you should do careful research to find the best keywords for your ads. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to help you find the right keywords.
- Negative Keywords: In addition, you can implement “negative keywords.” These are words you don’t want your ads to show up for. Using them can help make sure your ads only show to the right people. When you combine good keyword research with using negative keywords, your ads will perform better.
- Forgetting About Mobile Users: Most users use their phones to search for legal services. If you don’t think about these mobile users, your ads might not reach as many people as they could. To make sure your ads work on mobile, you should use short and easy-to-read words, bigger fonts and pictures, and formats that work well on phones.
If you take care of mobile users and make your ads good for all devices, your ads will reach more people and perform better. Avoiding these common mistakes ensures that law firms’ PPC campaigns run efficiently and effectively, driving more leads and conversions.
Establish a Winning PPC Campaigns with Search Pros
For lawyers, PPC can be a game-changer in expanding your legal practice and connecting with potential clients. It’s not just about running ads; it’s about building relationships and understanding your unique business needs. My team has a wealth of experience, having worked with over 100 companies on numerous campaigns, and we’re passionate about helping law firms succeed.
Pay per click advertising is a powerful marketing tool for lawyers. It allows you to reach individuals actively searching for legal services in your area. When executed correctly, PPC can be a cost-effective way to grow your client base and increase your firm’s revenue.
However, the key is doing PPC right. Suppose you need more confidence in creating and managing an effective campaign. In that case, it’s wise to enlist the help of a professional law firm digital marketing growth agency with expertise in legal digital marketing services like Search Pros.
My team is here to assist you in developing a winning PPC strategy customized to your legal practice’s unique goals and values. We don’t just provide services; we build partnerships that help your business thrive. So, if you’re ready to supercharge your law firm PPC campaign and see tangible results, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
Let’s take your law firm’s own marketing efforts to the next level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are lawyers allowed to advertise in the USA?
Yes, lawyers are allowed to advertise in the USA, but they must abide by legal advertising rules and ethical obligations. Advertisements can be through various channels such as print, television, radio, and online platforms.
How many lawyers are per capita in the US?
In the United States, there are 1.26 million lawyers, with one lawyer for every 248 residents. New York has the most lawyers per capita, with 9.3 per 1,000 residents. California and Florida have just slightly more than the national average with 4.3 and 4.2 per 1,000 residents respectively.
What is PPC in the US?
PPC, or pay-per-click, is a type of internet marketing that involves advertisers paying a fee each time your ad is clicked. It is an effective way of ‘buying’ visits to your website, in addition to driving website visits organically.
What does PPC stand for legal?
PPC stands for “pay per click,” an online advertising method where law firms pay for each click on your ads. It is a key component of legal marketing campaigns, as it allows law firms to only pay when potential customers take action. PPC is a great way to reach potential customers and drive traffic to your website. It is also cost-effective, as you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
What are the benefits of utilizing PPC advertising for law firms in the United States?
PPC advertising offers quick and measurable results, improved visibility, targeted reach, and the ability to adjust campaigns for greater performance and budget control – making it an ideal tool to help law firms grow in the United States.