Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing can be an extremely lucrative way for law firms to increase their lead and case generation and has the potential to lead to a serious ROI.
Due to the high amount of lawyers and attorneys vying for leads, running paid ads can put you far above your competition.
Let’s review a few reasons why PPC can generate massive results for Law Firms:
- Acquire high-value clients
- Capture the existing demand
- Promote major case wins and settlements
- Acquire specific case types
- Have other law firms adopted PPC?
High-value clients
A majority of businesses think that more leads = more money.
While there are exceptions to this rule with some businesses, the rule is quality of quantity. This is especially true for law firms considering the CPC (Cost-Per-Click) is high due to the amount of competition in the space.
You don’t want to spend your hard-earned marketing budget on a lead that isn’t going to provide value to your business.
So why should you focus on quality conversions over the number of total conversions?
- Landmark Verdicts – Lawyers able to win precedent-setting verdicts gain status and an influx of clients seeking similar results. The publicity value can be significant.
- Contingency Fees – Lawyers often work on contingency, collecting a percentage of winnings. One huge victory covers the cost of PPC ads many times over.
- Million Dollar Settlements – Suits involving serious injuries, malpractice, negligence, or corporate liability can lead to payouts in the millions. Even a portion of a massive settlement is highly lucrative.
- David vs. Goliath – Taking down large corporations in an underdog win captivates the public. This builds the law firm’s reputation and boosts confidence.
- Referrals – Winners tend to gain referrals for similar cases. One major win can put a firm on the map for specific practices.
Due to the nature of business with law firms, just one or two clients with strong cases can pay off big time if their lawsuits are successful.
With PPC, it’s not about the quantity of leads – it’s about getting the right quality of cases that can lead to massive rewards.
How can you focus on getting a higher quality of leads?
There are various levers that you can pull to increase your SQL’s (sales-qualified leads)
- Optimizing your keywords & match types
- Refining location targeting
- Simplifying your account structure
- Website CRO optimizations
These along with other various strategies are some levers you can pull to take back control of your ad account.
So what’s the end goal?
Show the right ad, to the right people, at the right time = High-value clients ($$$)
Capturing existing demand
People searching for legal help online have immediate needs, making them primed for retaining services. PPC allows you to capitalize on this buyer’s intent.
Remember the end goal.
Show the right ad, to the right people, at the right time.
Users searching for legal help have an urgent need to get assistance – Their timeline is NOW!
What people are searching for is a direct link to the stage in their buyer’s journey. Seeking legal help is not a user who is looking to browse and read around. They want to engage with businesses and get the help they need ASAP.
Legal cases are often time-sensitive and people don’t have the luxury of waiting around otherwise their case gets cold.
These prospects need and want to get their case worked on quickly before other issues begin to arise, deals get made, or injuries start to heal.
PPC also adds a convenience factor to direct a prospect with fast and easy help right away from the moment of their search.
The keyword you choose, the search term that gets triggered, and the landing page you send the user to is the optimal performance structure to turn your quality clicks into quality conversions.
Promote case wins and settlements
Imagine that you are a prospect looking to find a lawyer to handle your case.
Which headline would you most likely click on?
“$3.2 Million In Settlements” or “The Best Lawyers For Your Case”
I think we can all agree on which headline sounds better and looks more enticing to click on.
When using headlines like “The Best Lawyers For Your Case” it is too generic and doesn’t show any proof of why you are the best; as well as many other law firms use this same headline.
Don’t believe me?
Utilizing PPC to promote your major case wins and big settlements has many benefits that turn your impressions into more clicks.
Showcases your expertise
- Proves your firm gets results (no fluff)
- Enhances your reputation
- Increases your firm’s exposure (word of mouth)
- Positions authority over other firms
There are many other factors that I can list, but I think you see the value here.
If you’re running PPC ads we highly recommend you use headlines like these to promote your case wins and any $ settlements you have won.
And if you’re not running ads, you’re missing out (;
Running ads as a specialist or a variety law firm
The effect of your PPC ads will depend on the practice areas you are providing.
Specialist – (one practice area)
- Variety – (various practice areas)
By running paid ads as a specialist in the legal industry you can distinguish yourself from others in the space as that is the sole area you practice.
Imagine that you go to eat In-N-Out because it’s known for its famous burgers. Why would you expect the same quality burger from McDonald’s when they serve many other food items?
This makes you stand out as a law firm because people expect a higher level of expertise due to the narrow focus on one practice area.
While specializing in one practice looks like the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, for PPC this can be a slight issue due to the narrow audience size
On the other hand, serving various practice areas opens your firm to a much wider audience for your ads to target.
You may think this contradicts what I said earlier about ‘quality over quantity’, but actually this rule still applies!
While yes, you are opening the funnel of your marketing audience, when done correctly you can still be laser-focused with your targeting to keep your conversions at a high quality.
No matter what type of law firm you have, PPC ads can be used to show off your unique value propositions that make your business stand out.
Have other law firms adopted PPC?
Yes and no.
As seen from the screenshot in the last section, there are many law firms that run PPC ads.
However, there are vast amounts of these ads that are not set up for the most optimal performance.
So, even though PPC is being utilized it won’t have the same effect if it were to be set up in the correct way to drive quality conversions.
And for those that aren’t running any ads, when was the last time you took the time to scroll down and browse the various results from the Google SERP (search engine results page)?
Here’s a funny joke, but this rings true for firms that don’t think running PPC ads is just fine.
“The best place to hide your biggest secrets is on the second page of the Google search results”.
With TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts becoming the next big thing, people’s attention span has gotten shorter, and their patience thinner.
Cater to these prospects’ convenience by being right at the top of their search results making their life easier, and getting you more leads.
Running PPC ads for your business
The growth of your law firm can be determined by the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns. Seeing the value of PPC and utilizing the tips provided in this guide will not only increase your lead production but also help you optimize for more SQLs.
So, experiment with ads and see the results for yourself.
Whatever you do, remember the goal: serve the right ad, to the right audience, at the right time.
