14 Tips For Winning More Leads & Clients For Law Firms On Google Ads

11 essential aspects of a high converting Google Ads campaign for law firms

For long Advertisers has been made to belief that all they need to do to start generating leads and clients from Google Ads is to create a campaign and boom, the leads and clients will start coming in.

This is true in theory but in practice, following that root is like flushing your money down the toilet.

Below are the 11 things that must be in place in your Google Ads campaign before you can start generating leads and clients.

#1. Target the right legal service keywords

Like I said above, Google Ads is an intent-based platform and that intent is ingrained on the search phrases (keywords) people use to search on Google.

When you target the right legal keywords, your Ads will only be shown to people who are actively searching for your legal services.

By targeting the right attorney keywords, you'll increase your chances of generating high quality leads and clients.

What is a keyword?

Keywords are words or phrases you specify on your campaign. The keywords you select will instruct Google to show your ads on any search phrase or words that are similar or related to the keywords you selected.

For example, if you select “family law” as your target keyword, Google will match and show your ads on search phrases similar or related to family law like family law, divorce, child custody, and child support.

How to select the right keywords for your campaign

Keywords are the foundation of Google Ads. It’s the most important aspect of your campaign alongside your landing page.

Keywords do only one job – to get your Ads shown when people are searching with search phrases that are similar or related to your target keywords.

Firstly, before you start your keyword selection, you should know there are three types of keywords, namely:

1. Brand keywords
2. Informational keywords
3. Buyer keywords

What is a brand keyword?

Brand keywords are keywords people use to locate a specific law firm.

So, in essence, brand keywords are any search phrase that contains the names of your competitors.

For example, you heard that law firm XYZ is the best criminal attorney in your area in fighting criminal charges.

To quickly connect with law firm XYZ, you’d a quick Google search with the name of the law firm like “XYZ criminal attorney”

You saw XYZ listing when you’d the search, clicked down to their website, and connected with them.

Because people searching with branded keywords have already made up their minds to hire your competitor, it’s very difficult to convert them to a lead or client.

I normally add them to a negative keywords list to prevent them from wasting my client’s ads budget.

What are Informational keywords

Informational keywords are search phrases people use to ask questions, do research, and get direction on Google.

People searching with informational keywords knows that they have a problem or need but they aren’t sure how to solve it hence the reason why they use informational keywords to find a solution.

Legal services Informational keyword search phrases must contain the below words:

• how
• where
• cost
• when
• can

Below is a good example of an informational keyword for law firms:

• how to file bankruptcy
• what is the cost of filing a divorce
• where to file bankruptcy
• can I buy a car after bankruptcy
• where to file for divorce

What is Buyer keywords?

Buyer keywords also known as commercial or transactional keywords are search phrases people use to search for a lawyer to hire.

This keyword is the gem of all legal related keyword types as people use it only when they are ready to take the next step – hiring an attorney.

Attorney Buyer keyword search phrases must contain the below words:

• law firm
• attorney
• lawyer
• law group
• law office

Below is a good example of a buyer keyword for lawyers:

• personal injury attorney
• criminal defense lawyer
• divorce law firm
• bankruptcy law office

Which type of keyword to use for a Lawyer Google Ads campaign

If you have a limited monthly ad budget, the best keyword to target that will give you the required ROI is buyer keywords.

But if you have a lot of monthly ads spend to spare, then you can target both informational and buyer keyword.

Note: If you must target informational keywords together with buyer keywords, make sure you create a separate campaign for both of them.

Among the two keyword types, informational keywords generally have the lowest conversion rate and the highest cost per conversion.

And informational keywords also make up 60% to 80% of the total monthly search volume for legal keywords.

The reason why you should separate buyer keywords from informational keywords is that bid strategy and budget are added at the campaign level, not at the Adgroup or keyword level.

Informational keywords will use it’s advantages, as the keyword with the highest monthly search volume to out-compete buyer keywords for impression and clicks since both will be using the same budget and bid strategy.

If you add them together, most of your ad spend and ad clicks will come from informational keywords which means your conversion will be lower and your cost per conversion will be much higher.

#2. Link your keywords with the right match type or modifier

Associating your keywords with the right match type is very important if you need to prevent your Ads from showing on irrelevant search terms.

In-fact, associating your keywords with the wrong keyword modifier or type is like targeting the wrong keywords.

What is a keyword match type or modifier?

Keyword match type is parameters added to keywords that control which search phrase your ads should show up for.

There are four keyword match types, namely:

1. Broad match
2. Modified broad match
3. Phrase match
4. Exact Phrase match

What is a broad match modifier?

Broad match modifier or type is a parameter you add to a keyword which instructs Google to show your ads for any search phrase they (Google) feel is related or similar to your keyword.

By default, your keywords are set as a broad match type. That means you don’t have to add anything to associate your keywords with a broad match modifier.

Associating your keywords with broad match type is handing over complete control to Google to decide on which search phrase that will cause your Ad to show.

The bad side of associating your keywords with a broad match modifier is that you’ll be getting a lot of traffic, but the majority of the searches that will trigger your ads will be irrelevant to your law service.

For example, the broad match keyword “criminal attorney” will trigger searches like divorce attorney, bankruptcy attorney, or a personal injury attorney.

What is a modified broad match modifier?

Modified broad match is like a broad match modifier but it has a key difference. It allows you to mark some specific words as mandatory for targeting.

While the broad match modifier will try to target your keywords synonyms, similar and related keywords to increase reach, modified broad will stop that from happening.

For example, if you are targeting “personal injury attorney” keywords but you don’t want Google to veer away from personal injury to other areas like divorce, bankruptcy or criminal law, you can add a + sign before the word “personal” and “injury”

That will tell Google that the search phrases that must cause your ads to show must contain the word “personal” and “injury”

For example a modified broad of the keyword “personal +injury attorney” with injury having a plus sign will cause your ads to show for searches that have the word “injury” in them like the one below:

• Personal injury attorney
• Leg injury
• Car accident injury lawyer
• Spinal cord injury

Note how injury appeared in all the searches above.

What is a Phrase match modifier?

A phrase match is a keyword parameter that allows your ads to show only when searches are exact phrase of your keywords or a close variation of the exact phrase of your keywords, with an additional word before or after.

To associate your keywords with phrase match, you need to add a quotation mark around your keyword.

• “divorce attorney”
• “bankruptcy law firm”
• “personal injury lawyer”
• “criminal attorney”

For example, if you add a phrase match to “personal injury” keyword, your keyword will trigger searches like:

• personal injury
• personal injury lawyer
• lawyer personal injury
• injury personal

What is an exact match modifier?

Exact match is a keyword parameter that allows you to bid on search phrases that are the same with your keywords or its variance.

To associate your keywords with an exact match modifier, you need to add a square bracket around your keyword as shown below.

• [divorce attorney]
• [bankruptcy law firm]
• [personal injury lawyer]
• [criminal attorney]

For example, if you add an exact match to “attorney” keyword, your ads will show for searches like:

• attorney
• attorneys
• A misspelling of attorney
• lawyer (A variance of the keyword “attorney”).

Which keyword match type is ideal for Law Firm Google Ads Campaign

The best keyword match type that will help you cast your net wide enough to generate enough impressions, clicks, and leads is a modified broad match modifier.

Modified broad match modifier will help you go wide without wasting your ad spend on irrelevant searches.

#3. Mention your keywords on your ads copy and landing page

Searchers are more likely to click on an ad that mentioned the keyword they used to conduct the search.

Adding your target keywords to your ads will make your ads relevant to what a searcher is looking for and thus, compel them to click down to your landing page.

Ad copies with the searched keywords in them are more likely to get clicked

The same thing goes for your landing page. Mentioning your target keyword in your landing page will help boost engagement and conversion.

#4. Track results by installing Google conversion tracking tag

Installing tracking either with Google Ads conversion tag or with Google Analytics is very important.

Without tracking the performance of your campaigns, you won’t be able to tell what is giving you the best results and what isn’t.

Tracking conversion will help you cut down on waste and helps you invest your money on what produces the best results.

Tools you can use to install Conversion tags on your website are:

• Google Ads conversion tag
• Google Analytics
• Google Tag manager

#5. Bid to occupy the top 3 spots on Google Ads listings

When people are searching on Google, their eyes gaze through the listings from top to bottom until they find what they need or a listing that meets their intent.

Once they find what they need, they then click down to the listing website.

Based on my years of experience rendering Google Ads services to law firms, the top 3 Google Ads listings receive 100% of the ad clicks when the ads meet the intent of the searcher.

In order to stay competitive and get your own share of clicks, you should set your bids to occupy one of the three spots on Google for your keywords must especially for buyer keywords.

Below is a Google search for “divorce attorney ny” showing the top three Google Ads listings at the top of the result page.

#6. Use testimonials and reviews to boost conversion

According to LinkedIn, the world’s biggest B2B advertising platform, having more ratings and testimonials can lead to more sales.

This is because when people are ready to hire a lawyer, they usually use reviews and ratings to make a choice.

Ratings and testimonials help assure potential clients that your law firm has the track record, results, trust, and expertise needed in helping them.

What better way to showcase your track record, results, and expertise to your potential clients than having past clients shout your praise.

Your ratings and testimonials should be boldly displayed on your ad copies and landing pages.

A good example of reviews is BBB ratings, Google my business reviews, and yelp reviews.

Note: The best reviews and ratings are the ones that are verifiable. BB ratings, Google my business reviews and Yelp reviews are all easily verifiable and therefore make the best reviews to display on Ad copies and landing pages.

#7. Make it easy for your potential customers to find what they need

People want to find what they are looking for on Google with the least amount of effort. Make it tedious for them and both your potential clients and Google will punish you for it.

A lot of lawyers have this erroneous belief that all they need to do is to create a campaign and send ad traffic to any web page and the leads and clients will start pouring in.

That is why they send ad traffic to their website home page hoping that potential client could find their way around and contact them.

If a client is looking for a divorce attorney, they don’t want to see an ad for family law or be sent to a family law landing page that offers different types of family law services, they want to see an ad for divorce and be sent to a divorce web page/landing page.

And also, your web page/landing page should make it easy for them to contact or call your law firm.

Here is an article where you’ll learn how to build a landing page and back it up with ads copy.

#8. Create a dedicated landing page

The secret weapon of mass destruction in Google Ads for law firms is your landing page.

The effectiveness of your landing page will determine if your campaign will be among the 90% that are moderately successful or fall within the 10% that are super successful.

The difference between those attorneys that are just barely scrapping through and those that are killing it lies with landing pages.

Those law firms that are killing it are sending Google Ads traffic to a dedicated landing page while those that are barely scraping through are sending ad traffic to their website or a poorly optimized landing page.

The job of your landing page is to persuade prospects from Google Ads to move to the next step - filling a form or scheduling a consultation.

So, if you want to kill it with Google Ads, avoid sending ad traffic to your website and instead opt to send them to a dedicated landing page created for the purpose of converting Google Ads traffic to leads.

Sending Google Ads traffic to a dedicated landing page can help boost conversion and ROI by 700%

What is a landing page?

A landing page is not your website home page or any of your website web pages.

A landing page is a page created specifically to convert Google Ads (Adwords) traffic to leads.

How to create a landing page for a law firm

I have already covered how to create a landing page for law firms in this post here.

#9. Georestrict Google Ads campaigns to your local market

Georestricting your ads will not only help you reach those audiences that reside in close proximity to your law office but also resides in the state you’re licensed to practice law.

Georestricting your Ads will help you generate more quality leads that will easily convert to a paying client.

It makes no financial sense targeting people who live outside the state you are licensed to practice or in areas that are too far from your law office which will hinder them from transacting with you.

#10. Speak the language your potential clients can understand easily

Law jargon can be pleasing to the ear. It can make you look great if you are talking to a judge or your fellow attorneys.

For a client, your jargon means nothing if they don’t understand what it means, it’s implications, and how it will help them solve their problems.

Speaking in languages your potential clients don’t understand will make them stop and wonder if you’d be able to help them.

Remember, the goal of running Google Ads or any other advertising is to remove as much as possible anything that will make them doubt your competency.

So, instead of using complicated words on your ads and landing pages, use simple words that a ten-year-old can understand easily without having to consult a dictionary.

If you must use law jargon, make sure you explain the meaning so your potential client won’t get lost.

#11. Use the right daily Google Ads budget

To run Ads on Google, you’ll need to decide on the right daily Ad budget.

If your budget is too small, you won’t be able to generate enough clicks that could give you the right amount of leads.

And if your budget is too big, you will have underutilized money tired down on Google Ads that you could have used to further your business in other areas.

You could determine the right daily Ad budget by multiplying your keywords average cost per click (CPC) by 10 or 20.

But the best way to determine Google Ads’ daily budget is to use Google keyword forecast.

Google keyword forecast will allow you to input your target keywords and the average CPC you want to pay per click and Google will use the previous month’s data on the keywords to calculate a budget.

Below is an in-debt article I wrote on how to use Google Ads keyword forecast to get a budget.

#12. Don't forget to use call ads

Call only Ads enables potential customers to call your law office directly from Google search results when they are using a mobile device to conduct a search.

According to searchengineland, Google statistics shows that 70 percent of people searching on mobile will call a business directly from the search results. 

This means that using call only Ads will give you a far higher conversion rate that sending traffic to a landing page.

When to use call only ads?

Despite the fact that call only ads has a higher conversion rate that sending traffic to a landing page, must law firms still fail with call Ads because:

• They scheduled the Ads to run when their law office is closed
• They scheduled the Ads to run when their is no sales representative to answer the call
• They don't have a dedicated staff to attend to calls.

So, if you must run Google call only Ads, you must make sure the Ad run during your office hours or when their is a sales representative to answer the calls.

#13. Use Extensions to increase visibility & leads

When you use site extension, your ads will take up more search real estate which makes your Ads stand out from the rest and become prominent.

The more prominent your Ads are, the more engagement and conversions it gets.

Below are the recommended Ad extension for attorneys:

• Call extension (Don't forget to schedule it to run when their is a sales representative to answer the calls)
• Call out extension
• Sitelink extension
• Structured snippet

#14.  Contact leads as soon as possible

According to talkdesk, calling a lead within 5 minutes after they filled a form or requested a consultation will increase your chances of converting that lead to a client.

Failing to call a lead back within an hour dramatically reduces your chances of converting them to a client.

That is why some law firms have a 50% - 70% client acquisition rate from Google Ads while others are struggling to achieve a 20% acquisition rate.

The only time you should delay in reaching out to a lead is when the lead arrived during the office closure hours.

But make sure you reach out to them immediately you are open for business.