Google Ads for Lawyers in 8 Steps – Beat Your Competition

Lawyers know how important it is to get their names out there to attract new clients. One of the best ways to do that is to utilize the internet and advertise your services on Google, specifically on Google Ads. When done right, Google Ads for lawyers can lead to incredible results for their firms. 

How to Run Google Ads for Lawyers 

The key to running Google Ads for lawyers is to do your research, look at data, and test strategies. Then, adjust those strategies as needed. Before we get into how exactly to plan those strategies, let’s get into the basics of Google Ads and how they work. 

What are Google Ads? 

Google Ads are paid advertisements that show up on a search engine results page (SERP). If you search for something on Google, you’ll likely see the first couple of spots on the page have an “ad” tag next to them. This means that companies paid to be in that top spot through bidding. You can also have your ads show up on other websites using Google Ads. 

Using Google Ads is a beneficial digital strategy because it helps you get access to high-intent prospects. This means your name and firm get in front of people looking for specific services you offer or information you provide. 

Can Law Firms Use Google Ads Effectively? 

Yes, law firms can use Google Ads effectively if they have a solid strategy in place. One of the first things to determine when thinking of this strategy is how much to invest in Google Ads.

Luckily, Google actually provides a good breakdown of how to determine what your daily budget should be for your campaigns. 

Google suggests taking your monthly advertising amount and dividing it by the number of days there are in the month.

So say your monthly budget for Google Ads is $3,000 and you’re running a campaign for the month of September. Divide $3,000 by 30 days and you get a $100 daily average. 

The key with this, though, is to look at your Google Ads return on investment (ROI). If you’re getting more clients from your ads, then your ROI will be greater. If you aren’t getting clients, though, scale back on the spending and evaluate your strategy. The last thing you want to do is burn through your Google Ads budget with nothing to show for it. 

8 Steps to a Successful Google Ads Campaign

As mentioned above, lawyers and law firms need a comprehensive strategy to have success with Google Ads. Here are some key steps to launching and maintaining a Google Ads campaign that converts.

Step 1: Perform Market Research 

You need to know about what your target audience wants and needs to successfully advertise to them. That’s where market research comes into play. Market research is the process of gathering crucial information about your target audience, such as: 

• What they like to buy 
• How they buy things (online vs. in person) 
• What they value most when working with brands
• How much money they make 
• How they find value in their lives 

As a lawyer, you want to position yourself as someone who can help a client through a difficult situation and get the results they want. You can’t do that without first understanding who they are and how their lives are impacted by this situation. 

Here are three key ways to conduct market research as a lawyer: 

• Interview past and current clients and assess their needs 
• Ask past and current clients to fill out a survey to gather data 
• If you have first-party data, analyze it and see if you notice any trends in demographics, situations, and behaviors 

The more you know about your target audience, the better you can advertise your law firm to them via Google Ads. 

Step 2: Choose Keywords That Resonate With Your Audience 

Once you know about your audience, it’s time to research which keywords will resonate with them online. Keywords are the words and phrases people type into Google to search. Some keywords for lawyers and law firms include:

• Lawyers near me 
• Law office near me 
• Legal advice 

If you choose the right keywords to target with your Google Ads, you can see incredible growth for your practice. With that in mind, let’s get into the types of keywords and keyword matching options to choose from according to Google. 

Broad Match: This means your ads can show up on keywords related to your keyword, even if the keyword itself isn’t within the search. 

Phrase Match: This is a slightly more targeted option for your ads. By selecting this option, you allow your ads to show up on searches that include the meaning of the keyword. 

Exact Match: By using this option, your keywords will show up on searches that have the same meaning or intent as the keyword you’re targeting. 

Negative Keywords: This is a Google Ads option to use if you don’t want your ad to show up on searches that have a specific term. For instance, if you’re a lawyer who doesn’t take on divorce cases, you could add a negative keyword for “divorce lawyers near me”. 

One tip for finding keywords to target is to find long-tail keywords to target. Long tail keywords are keywords that have between three and five words in them. Finding long-tail keywords will help you target your ads more deliberately. The more niche you get with your long-tail keywords, the more likely you’ll reach an engaged audience that’s looking for your services. 

Step 3: Choose the Right Bidding Strategy

One of the great things about Google Ads is that you can choose from a number of bidding strategies that help you achieve your campaign goals. You could choose to do Smart Bidding, or Manual CPC bidding. 

Manual CPC (Manual Cost-Per-Click) bidding is a hands-on ads approach that allows you to control the cost of a user clicking on your ad. This is beneficial because you can control the cost per click, meaning you control how much you pay when people click on your ad. This can be time-consuming, though. 

If you’re looking for a more hands-off approach to bidding with Google Ads, you can use Smart Bidding. Depending on what your goals are for your ad, Smart Bidding and other automatic bidding strategies can help you try to deliver on those goals.

Determine if you want to get conversions, impressions, or clicks with your ads to determine which automatic bidding strategy will work best for you. 

Step 4: Test Ad Copy 

One of the best things you can do for your Google Ads for lawyers campaign is to test your ad copy. Testing ad copy allows you to see which messaging and calls to action resonate best with your audience. This is vital information to know, as the wording of your ad could make or break your campaign. 

You can test your ad copy with Search Ads 360. This allows you to test copy and see accurate and easy-to-understand results that will influence your future campaigns. Some things to consider testing include: 

• Calls to action (CTAs) 
• Appealing to emotion vs. practicality 
• Using localized copy vs. non-localized copy

If you don’t test ad copy, you’re limiting the potential of your Google Ads. Test the copy, see what works and what doesn’t, then adjust as needed to achieve your ad goals. 

Step 5: Maximize Ad Extensions

Let’s say you run an ad and someone is highly interested in reaching out to you for your services. Rather than making them take an extra couple steps to find your contact information, make their life easier by using extensions on your ad.

Extensions are features that expand on your ad and reveal additional information like your phone number, law firm address, or website. 

Ad extensions are crucial for in-the-moment user engagement. Think about it: If someone is highly interested in your services, they want to contact you as quickly as possible.

The more you make them work to find your information, the more you risk them losing interest. Give them the best and easiest experience possible by providing all the information they need instantly. 

Step 6: Use Display Ads to Remarket 

Let’s say someone visits your law firm’s website, but they don’t take any action. How can you remain top-of-mind to that user? One way to stay relevant is to use display ads to remarket to past visitors. 

Display ads are ads that show up on other websites. These ads can be text-based, image-based, or even video-based. You can go into Google Ads and use your data to target people who previously visited your website.

That way, your law firm stays relevant to past website visitors so that if their interest in your service picks up again, your firm’s name won’t be forgotten. 

One way to make your display ads stand out is to include photos of your law firm in your ads. That way, users can put a location to your firm’s name, giving the ad a more personal touch. 

Step 7: Bid on Your Brand’s Keywords 

While you’ll organically rank online for your firm’s brand keywords, you should still make it a point to bid on keywords related to your brand.

You want to ensure your firm stays on the top of the SERP for your branded keywords so that no one else can rank above you.

Bidding on your law firm’s keywords will help ensure engaged users land on your website and not your competitors’. 

Step 8: Bid on Your Competitor’s Keywords 

In addition to bidding on your own brand keywords, something else you can do to get an edge on your competition is to bid on their branded keywords.

Sure, it may be viewed as a sneaky way to get ahead on Google, but it could lead to more people visiting your website and becoming future clients.

If you aren’t getting them, your competition will. 

How to Beat the Competition 

Speaking of the competition, there are some ways you can beat your competition in the Google Ads world. Here are some key strategies to consider. 

Create Personal Videos

Your competition may have image-based or text-based ads. To make your law firm stand out on Google Ads, try creating personal videos that speak to the audience you’re trying to reach through those targeted keywords.

Adding a personal video gives your practice a unique touch that sets you apart from the crowd. People may brush a normal ad off, but they may be more inclined to watch a video from you and see what you have to offer. 

Try Call-Only Campaigns

It’s fair to say that, sometimes, you want to actually get on the phone and talk to potential clients. That’s completely understandable, and Google Ads for lawyers gets that, too.

That’s why they have something called call campaigns, where your ads are built to encourage people to call you instead of going to your website or a specific landing page.

This type of ad is especially beneficial for mobile users, as they are only a click or two away from getting in direct contact with you. Compare that to your competition’s Google Ads, which may lead to their website or a specific landing page that requires users to take an extra step in contacting them. 

Prioritize Local Keywords

Honing in on local keywords is a great way to target an audience that’s close to your firm’s location. While your competition may be focusing on broader keywords that aren’t location-based, you can tap into a whole new audience by making local keywords a priority. 

Create Ads for Specific User Intent 

Your competition may use a set template for their Google Ads that are broad and generic so it can be used across multiple campaigns. Something you can do to set our ads apart is to create separate ads that target specific user intent for your keywords.

Each keyword has a different intent, so the more you can speak to that intent the better your message will resonate with your target audience. 

There are plenty of opportunities for Google Ads for lawyers. The key is to do your research, know your audience, and come up with a smart strategy that works for both you and your audience.

You get clients, and they get a good lawyer who will help them win their cases; all thanks to Google Ads. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Google Ads can be an excellent tool for lawyers to expand their reach and connect with potential clients. If you’re a lawyer looking to take advantage of Google Ads, don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more about how we can help you create a successful advertising campaign.