PPC for Lawyers: Why Clicks Are Expensive and How To Make Them Count

The upside of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is that it can deliver almost instant results for your law firm, unlike search engine optimization, which requires you to wait for the firm to show up on Google. 

But there’s a downside: PPC can be very expensive. 

The legal field is one of the most competitive industries for pay-per-click campaigns. Depending on your practice area, you could be spending hundreds of dollars per click. 

So how do you get the most out of your PPC ad campaign? You want to drive people to your website who are interested in becoming your client. 

Understanding why legal pay-per-click is so expensive and how to optimize your results will help you spend less on PPC. 

Why Is Pay-Per-Click So Expensive for Lawyers? 

When running your Google ads, you’ll notice a bidding process for certain keywords. The more competition there is around a search term, the more your ad will cost. 

Here are some factors that affect your PPC ad price. 

Competing for Prospective Clients 

You want to get the most out of each click on your ad campaign. If multiple lawyers in your city offer the same practice area, you will be competing against them. 

Often, a lawyer can earn substantial money from a single case. This can lead them to bid more on Google. 

If competitors bid high, your ad costs will rise. 

Where Your Law Firm Is Located 

Advertising in Miami or Los Angeles can cost more than in some other cities. 

This also goes for the types of search terms your ad can rank for. Some practice areas cost more to advertise than others. 

Who Is Searching? 

People may search for things unrelated to hiring a lawyer. They may be looking up what something means, or they may be looking to speak with a lawyer. 

If someone is searching to hire a lawyer, they’re more likely to become your client. So, you can raise your price and target people who are searching to become your client. 

Know What Keywords Will Bring People Who Want To Become Clients 

If you want to spend less on pay-per-click, make sure you target keywords people looking to hire a lawyer would type into Google. Using general keywords means you’ll pay for people who aren’t going to become your clients. 

Let’s say you’re a family law attorney who wants to rank for “Orlando divorce lawyer consultation.” Being this specific will help you get more targeted results from people who are closer to hiring an attorney. 

Pro tip: Look at your search term report to see what people are searching for to get your ad to show up. 

You don’t want to spend your PPC dollars to simply drive traffic to your website. You want to target keywords that will bring people who can become your clients. 

Add Negative Keywords 

Just as some keywords can bring your firm prospective clients, others can hurt your campaign. 

You want to add negative keywords that will prevent your ads from showing up for certain searches. Maybe your firm doesn’t offer free consultations, so if someone searches for “free consultation lawyer,” you can add “free” as a negative keyword to your campaign. Once you know which keywords to exclude, you can stop your ad from wasting budget. 

Of course, you’ll want to ensure you’re excluding keywords that won’t keep your ad from showing to someone who might become a client. By checking your search term report, you can verify that you’re adding the right keywords. 

Direct Traffic To Landing Pages 

Don’t direct people to your homepage when they click on your PPC ad. By doing so, you force people to find the practice area they want to learn more about. They may not want to sift through all the information on your homepage and eventually leave your website. 

Landing pages let people click your ad and go straight to what they want to learn. If you’re running a PPC ad campaign that has to do with car accidents, confirm that’s what’s shown on your landing page. 

Your landing page should contain a header about what you offer, a description of your services, why you should be chosen, and contact information. Ensure that your landing page loads quickly and that it’s user-friendly on mobile devices. 

Pro tip: Create landing pages that can help increase your conversions without increasing your PPC budget. 

Have Relevant Ad Copy 

Always have ad copy that is relatable to what you’re trying to rank for. If you’re targeting the search term “Dallas business litigation lawyer,” you should mention what you do in your ad. Aligning your ad copy with your search terms gives your law firm a better chance of showing up for those queries. 

Google will take into account what you think your expected click-through rate is and base your quality score on that. Aligning your landing page with your ad and search queries will also help increase your quality score. 

Pro tip: Avoid making false statements or promising what you can do for someone if you’re not 100% sure it can happen. Keep in mind that there are attorney advertising laws you must follow. 

Track Your Conversions 

Just because people are clicking on your PPC campaign doesn’t mean it’s delivering the results you want. If you’re getting 500 clicks to your website a month but only three people contact you, and none of them become clients, then your campaign is failing. 

It’s best to track your conversions when running pay-per-click for your law firm. You can do this by having a tracking number or form that clients fill out on your website. 

Some law firms have had success using a tracking number on their website to measure how many people call. But again, you’ll want to keep track of people calling who aren’t actually trying to hire you as well. 

Pro tip: Integrate your campaign with your intake process or CRM. 

Calculate How Much You Are Spending Per Lead and Per Client 

When calculating your PPC budget, you want to know two numbers: cost per lead and cost per client. 

Cost per lead is how much your firm spends to gain a lead, and cost per client is how much your firm spends to gain a client. 

Here’s a scenario to help you better understand these numbers. 

Say you have a monthly budget of $5,000 and you got 100 clicks from your ad. Those 100 clicks converted into 20 leads, and five became clients. So you’re spending an average of $50 per click, $250 per lead, and $1,000 per client. 

Those numbers can vary based on what kind of cases you take and how much they’re worth to you. If you have a higher-dollar case, $1,000 per client may not seem so bad. But if you’re not taking those cases, then it could cost you money. 

Increase Your Conversion Rate 

Once someone clicks your PPC campaign, you want to convert them into a client. If they’re not calling your office or leaving information on your website, then you’re losing clients. 

People will look up multiple lawyers when searching for representation. If your law firm doesn’t pick up or follow up within a couple of days, they’ll likely hire another firm. 

Pro tip: Train your team to follow up with clients as soon as possible. 

By improving your conversion rate, you can keep growing your PPC budget without worrying about driving more clicks to your website. 

A/B Test Your Ad Campaign 

As you build out your pay-per-click campaign, you’ll want to test everything. Test different copy for your ads, landing pages, CTAs, etc. 

You are encouraged to continue testing until you find what works best for your firm. Look at the different breakdowns of your campaign. Are more people clicking via mobile or desktop? Is your campaign performing better at certain times of the day or week? 

Once you gather enough conversion data, you can decide what will best benefit your campaign. 

Should I Run PPC For My Law Firm? 

Yes. PPC can benefit law firms if you do it correctly. As mentioned above, you’ll want to optimize your results to drive the most prospective clients to your website. 

Also, set realistic expectations. Because legal PPC is expensive, make sure you’re ready to invest and do so for the right reasons. 

Many law firms find it helpful to implement search engine optimization (SEO) and other online marketing methods to supplement their PPC campaigns. 

Let PaperStreet Help Your PPC Campaign Convert More Clients  

If you’re spending money on driving traffic to your website, you want to maximize those dollars. 

At PaperStreet, we specialize in creating PPC ad campaigns that drive qualified prospective clients to your website. 

We can help you reach people who are searching for the services your firm offers. 

Reach out to us today to start converting more clients from your PPC ad campaign!