Google Ads for law firm marketing is a quick and effective way to advertise and grow your law firm. Google’s pay-per-click ads can help your law firm land one of the top spots on Google search listing pages. This is because of Google’s strong targeting capabilities that allow you to reach clients in need of legal services, helping your firm generate more clicks, and create high-intent leads. In this article, we will walk you through the steps of creating your Google Ads account, customizing your campaign settings, and creating and writing your Google Ads.
Google Ads?
Google Ads is Google’s online advertising platform, and effective Google Ads appear at the top of Google search result pages. Businesses pay Google to display their business ads to users who need the services their business offers. Google ads can reach users from the instant they search for keywords related to products or services like yours.
A key component of Google Ads is that businesses only pay for their ads when users click on them, call their business, or visit their website. This is why the keywords you target are important. You only want your ads to bring in high-intent clicks and leads for your business. You also get to set your average daily and monthly budget.
Below are examples of Google Ads that show up when you search “law firm for divorce”:
Why Google Ads for Law Firm Marketing?
Google Ads is a highly effective way to reach clients who need the legal guidance and services you offer. You can grow your law firm business by bringing in new litigants and generating high-intent leads for your business using Google Ads marketing.
Using relevant keywords will push your ads to be displayed in front of users looking for legal advice and services like yours. If your law firm has lawyers specializing in specific cases, you can target keywords related to those cases. For example, if you specialize in divorce cases you should target keywords like “specialty law firms for divorces”, “law firms divorce attorney” or “family law divorce lawyers”. When your ads target relevant and high-intent keywords you can bring in new clients to your practice and generate more clicks and leads.
If you are a lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases, then check out our Google Ads for Personal Injury Lawyers guide. Or check out our Google Ads for Criminal Lawyers guide if you are a prosecuting attorney or defense lawyer.
Do Google Ads for law firms sound like a great marketing idea, but you don’t have the time?
How To Create An Ads Account
If you need to create a Google Account you can do so at ads.google.com. You will need to be signed into a Google account.
Then click on one of the Start Now buttons in blue.
To finish creating your account, you will need to fill out your law practice’s business information.
Once logged in to ads Google, click the blue button “+” sign to create a new campaign.
Law Firm Landing Pages
When users click on your ad they will be directed to a page on your website called the landing page. The landing pages in your ads should be about a specific topic for your firm, like “lawsuits”. Your landing page should have a strong call to action (CTA) since this is a great place to collect leads for your firm.
When creating ad groups consider creating different landing pages for each ad group. Each landing page should be created and customized for the different legal matters you are advertising. When you have different landing pages for each ad group, you can provide your potential litigants with the most relevant information. The more relevant information you can provide in your ads and landing pages, the more likely they will turn into leads and clients for your firm.
For example, if a user is searching for a law firm that can help with family law then your landing page should contain information about popular cases like “divorce”, “child custody”, or “domestic violence cases”. You should also include a call to action on your landing page. This allows you to turn your landing page visitors into leads for your firm. You can offer new clients a free consultation with a lawyer in exchange for their contact information.
Example of a landing page for family law lawyer in Los Angeles:
Starting Your Law Practice Ad Campaign
Select, New Campaign, in Google Ads to start your law firm campaign.
On the next page, from the options Google Ads has given you, select Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.
Campaign Type
Choose Search as your ad campaign type.
Results
Next, select the results you hope to gain from this campaign from the three options provided. As a law firm looking to increase your client base and grow your firm, phone calls and website visits.
Campaign Name and Ad Networks
Make a name for your ad campaign, for example: “Law Firm Marketing Campaign”.
In your Networks settings, both Search and Display Network will automatically be selected. ONLY have Search Network selected.
Ad Dates & Ad Schedule For Lawyers
Next, you can set a start and end date for your Google Ads for law firm marketing campaign. Keep in mind, your ads will run until you enter an end date for your campaign. In these same settings, you can create an ad schedule for your campaign. These are the times you want your ads to run.
As a Law Firm, you may want your ads to run the same hours your firm is open. Only running your ads at the same time as your office hours will give you time to nurture any leads your ads generate. This will prevent you from missing out on any leads your ads may collect after your firm is closed. If you take too long to nurture any leads, you may miss out on potential clients for your firm.
To be confident that the ad schedule you created is helping your ads produce positive results, you can test different ad schedules. After you have enough data from your different ad schedules, you can choose which ad schedule works best.
Do not change the settings in the Campaign URL Options and Dynamics Search Ads settings.
Location & Languages of Litigants
Next, enter and set the location and language for your ads. For a more targeted location, select “Advanced search” and enter your target city or zip code.
Ensure you select “Presence: People in or Regularly in your targeted locations” as your target option.
You can implement a bidding strategy for your Google ads for law firm marketing based on your location target. For example, you could focus on bidding for high-intent keywords if your competitors are bidding for lower-intent keywords, and vice versa. This will depend on your local competitors and how they are bidding for keywords.
Law Firm Marketing Budget & Bidding
In the next step of customizing the settings for your ad campaign, you will need to set your average daily and monthly budget. You will also need to choose the bid strategy for your campaign.
Keep in mind if you have a smaller budget for your campaign, you will need to target more specific and granular keywords. This is to ensure that your ads reach relevant individuals who are actually in need of your legal advice and services. If you have a bigger budget for your campaign you can target much broader keywords in your ad groups.
For this guide, skip the Google budget recommendations, and enter a custom budget amount. We will start with $250 as the daily budget, and Google’s budget feature will provide you with an estimate of the expected performance, like weekly clicks, average CPC, and weekly costs. You can always adjust your budget by increasing or decreasing it after gaining enough data.
In your bidding settings, ensure you skip the customer acquisition setting. We don’t want to bid for new customers only.
Ad Rotation & Conversion Tracking
Click on the More Settings list under the budget and budding section to customize more settings for your ad campaign.
In the ad rotation section the “Optimize: Prefer best performing ads,” will be selected. Instead, switch your setting to “Do not optimize. Rotate ads indefinitely.” Rotating ads indefinitely will make Google push out all your ads equally.
In the next section, you can set up conversion tracking. Conversion Tracking can help identify which ads and keywords are performing better and more successfully for your business.
Ad Assets (formerly Ad Extensions)
Did you know that the larger your ads are, the more likely users are to click on them? There is evidence proving that users are more likely to click on larger ads that appear on their search result pages. Ad assets can help you enlarge your ads by including more of your business information in them.
In your ad, you should include a call asset. This asset is very easy to incorporate and takes little to no time but is very beneficial. A call asset makes it easier for a potential client to call your law firm by simply clicking a button.
You should also include sitelink assets. Sitelink assets allow you to include extra relevant links in your ads. For example, if your ad is about family law, then you can include links to pages on your websites about “divorce cases”, “child support cases”, or “child custody cases”. You could also link to a page on your website that includes client testimonials. If potential clients see that you have helped other families, they may feel more confident and trusting towards your law firm.
Need help creating extensions for your Google Ads for law firm marketing?
Below is an example of a law firm ad that uses call assets and sitelink assets.
Ad Group Name & Keywords for Lawyers
Next, you will need to come up with a name for your ad group and include the keywords you want to target in that ad group. Both your ad group name and keywords should be about one service or product from your business. Keeping your ad group name and keywords consistent and relevant with each other will help your campaign provide users with the most relevant information to what they need.
The keywords you target are the keywords that will cause your ads to display on the search result pages. This is why the keywords in your ad groups should be popular keywords that users search for when looking for services like yours.
For instance, if your ad group name is “Law Firm – Family Law”, then you should enter keywords like, “child custody lawyer”, “law firm for divorce” or “family law law firm cases”. The keywords you decide to include in your ad group should be keywords that users may search when searching for a family law lawyer.
After clicking “Get keyword suggestions”, review these keywords and remove any that are irrelevant for your ad group.
Accessing & Using The keyword Planner Tool
If you would like more help choosing the best keywords for your ad group, you can use Google Ads’ Keyword Planner tool. The keywords planner tool will show you the most popular keywords that users use when searching for the services or products you offer. It will also give you helpful insights about each keyword, like the number of searches the keyword receives monthly.
In Google Ads, select, Tools and Settings to access and use the keyword planner tool. Choose “Keyword Planner” under Planning.
Now, click on the “Discover New Keywords” box.
In the next step, enter the keywords that you want to target, your location, and your website domain. Try not to be too specific when entering these keywords. Lastly, click “Get Results.”
Google will then show you a list of popular keywords that users are also searching for when they are looking for the kind of legal services your firm offers.
Still not sure which keywords you should be including in your ad group?
Creating Your Google Ads for Law Firm Marketing
Next, you will set your final URL, which should lead users to a landing page about a specific topic when they click on your ad. You will also create your display path, and write your ad headlines and ad descriptions.
Before you begin writing read our article How To Create A Successful Google Ads Text Ad, for more information and secrets to creating a successful Google text ad.
Final URL & Display Path
The final URL is the landing page your visitors will be directed to when they click on your ads. This landing page should be about the specific legal help your potential client is in need of. If you direct your clicks to a page not related to their search, they may click off your ad and seek legal help from your competitors.
The purpose of the Display Path is to give visitors an idea of the information they will see when they click on your ad. Like in the example below the user can assume that if they click on your ad they will be directed to a page about family law, but more specifically divorce cases.
Ad Headlines for your Law Office
Writing strong and persuasive headlines is key to getting visitors to click on your ads, as they are the first thing that visitors in need of your services will see. In your ad headlines, you should include a call to action, so people are persuaded to take action. Also, make sure you include relevant keywords.
Law Firm Ad Description
Your ad description should also include keywords and a call to action just like your headlines. It makes your ads appear more relevant to the type of legal services the client is in need of. Your ad description should also promote benefits and details of your law firm practice that competitors may not offer.
In your description be sure to also include a call to action. If you offer your clients a free consultation you can include that to stand out amongst your competitors. For example, “Call Today For A Free Consultation,” or “Free Case Evaluation, No Commitment. Call Now.”
You can also include credentials, like “More Than 3,000 Satisfied Clients” or “1,500+ Successful Cases.” Showcasing your successes and client satisfaction will give potential clients another reason to call your law firm.
Ad Preview
You can also see a preview of what your ads look like before you publish them. You can preview them on a mobile device and desktop view.
Desktop Preview
Mobile Preview
After Your Ads Are Published
Once your ads are published and running you should be checking on their performance regularly. This will help your campaign generate high-intent clicks while also saving your campaign money.
An important thing to check regularly is your Search Terms list. This is where you will see all the search terms users have searched that cause your ads to show up in their search results. If you see any keywords that are not relevant to your ads and you do not want your ads to show up for then you can add them to your negative keywords list.
Your Negative Keywords list is a list of keywords that you block your ads for showing up for. This helps your ads reach relevant customers and avoids any unintentional clicks.
How To Add To Your Negative Keywords List
First, you will need to check your search terms list. To do so, click on Search keywords on the left tab of your Google Ads account, under the Audiences, Keywords, and Content tab.
Then, click on the Negative search keywords tab, and click on the blue plus sign or “+ negative keywords”.
Enter all the irrelevant and undesirable keywords in the box. For example, if you notice your ads appearing for keywords like case studies, books, or school, add these to your negative keywords list. This way your ads will not show up for search queries that are not truly looking for your services.
Conclusion
If your goal for your law firm is to grow your practice and increase your client base then Google Ads for Law Firms is the perfect way to achieve this. You can help create profitable ads for your law firm while also helping litigants in need of the legal advice and services you offer.
If you need help running and managing your campaign, we have helped over a thousand clients grow their business and succeed with their Google Ads campaigns which you can read more about on YoYoFuMedia’s Page.
Want us to manage your Google Ads for Law Firm Marketing Campaign?
