Law Firm PPC In 2020: What You Need to Know

If your law firm has dabbled in any online marketing over the years you have probably heard the term PPC before.

But just incase you haven’t, let’s talk about what it is. PPC stands for pay per click and in the search marketing world this means that the advertiser will pay for each click the ad gets on a search engine. I’m sure you’ve seen them on almost every search.

Below is an example of a paid ad on the top of Google:

Google Ad for a lawyer where the advertiser pays for each click

Typically on Google, paid ads show up at the top of Google Search results above the local and organic results which represent the free clicks.

However, with PPC products like Google Ads you will notice they are labeled with the word “Ad” in black. Although it’s more discreet than it used to be, a significantly lower number of clicks go to Google Ads than to traditional local pack and organic results (see below):

An example of a local pack ad and a traditional organic result. Both of these are free listings

PPC for Law Firms can also be cost prohibitive for some law firms with the cost per click ranging to hundreds of dollars per click!

But It’s 2020 and There Is a New Ad In Town

Last year Google rolled out a test for lawyers using a new product as well called Local Service Ads. In the industry, we call these LSA’s.

LSA’s are a product that has been around for a while in other industries, but has now recently rolled out to law firms. LSA’s differ from Google Ads because instead of paying for a click, you pay for the lead.

The other benefit is that they show up above Google’s paid ads in search engine results. You can see an example of this below:

While any law firm can apply for the LSA program and get listed below the coveted “Google Screened” option, your firm and all of it’s attorneys will have to pass a background check by Google who is using Pinkerton. You can learn more about Google’s LSA program here.

Since it launched we have had personal injury clients setup with the ads and so far it actually seems like a good product. But it’s only part of the story.

It’s still new and as more attorneys get involved with the program the costs could be driven up.

Google Ads or Local Service Ads?

The right answer here really depends on your budget and marketing goals. But overall I’m a big fan of building a strong law firm brand and you will find the lowest cost per case if you are everywhere your potential clients are looking.

With that being said, the lowest cost method for generating high quality case leads at scale will be organic and local search.

For many law firms I recommend focusing on a strong digital marketing program that has your firm ranking as high as possible in:

If you are everywhere the searcher is looking, you will be more likely to get their business.

If you’re interested in learning more about Local Service Ads’ make sure to call or email us for more information.

Resources:

Learn more about LSA’s from Google here: https://ads.google.com/local-services-ads/