Google Ads for Legal Marketing: Campaign & Bidding Playbook

If you run a solo, small-to-midsize, or multi-location practice, Google Ads for law firms is a proven, intent-driven way to reach people actively searching for an attorney right now. The question isn’t “Should law firms use Google Ads?”—it’s “Which campaign types and bidding strategies match your goals, geography, and practice areas without wasting budget?”

This guide explains the relevant Google Ads campaign types and all current bidding strategies, and translates both into practice-area playbooks and size-based plans. It also provides a pragmatic framework to help you avoid wasted clicks while benefiting from automation.

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TL;DR

• Start with Search and (if eligible) Local Services Ads (LSAs) for high-intent leads. Add Performance Max (PMax) for incremental conversions; use Demand Gen/Display/Video for remarketing and education.
• Use Maximize Conversions (then Target CPA) once call/form tracking is clean. If you can score or value leads, graduate to Maximize Conversion Value or Target ROAS.
• To prevent waste: launch with Exact/Phrase as your control, add Broad in a sandbox with strict negatives and a CPA guardrail, keep geos tight, isolate brand, and maintain clean conversion hygiene.
• Reserve SKAGs (single-keyword ad groups) for a few make-or-break exact queries; prefer tightly themed ad groups elsewhere. Manual CPC can work briefly on tiny budgets—plan to graduate to Smart Bidding ASAP.

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Google Ads Campaign Types for Law Firm Marketing

How to use this section: Every campaign type maps to a different moment in the client journey and shows in different Google surfaces. Scan the “Best for,” “Strengths,” and “Cautions” to decide where each fits in your funnel, then combine them into a plan that balances immediate intake with long-term demand.

Search Campaigns for Law Firms — Core Lead Generation

Text ads on Google search results (e.g., “injury lawyer near me,” “DUI attorney [city],” “divorce lawyer near me”). Highest commercial intent, premium CPCs, best close rates.

Best for: All consumer-facing practice areas (PI, Criminal/DUI, Family, Immigration, Estate, Employment, Bankruptcy, Real Estate), and B2B (Corporate/Business, IP, Tax controversy).

Strengths

• Direct demand capture; precise keyword control
• Extensions (call, sitelinks, lead forms) supercharge response
• Ideal for phones-as-primary conversion in Criminal/PI

Cautions

• Expensive clicks; sloppy matching or weak negative keywords drain budget
• Requires disciplined structure and conversion hygiene

Local Services Ads (LSAs) for Law Firms — Pay Per Lead, Trust Badges

Appear above standard Search ads with “Google Verified” badge, firm name, ratings, phone/messaging. You pay per lead, not per click.

Best for: PI, Criminal/DUI, Family, Immigration, Estate, Bankruptcy, Employment (plaintiff), some Real Estate and other consumer categories.

Strengths

• High-intent calls and messages; built-in trust signals
• Simple budgeting via per-lead bids or automated maximize-leads modes

Cautions

• Verification required; rankings influenced by reviews, responsiveness, and bid
• Intake handling speed directly affects results

Performance Max (PMax) for Law Firms — Cross Network Conversion Engine

One campaign serving across Search (incremental), Maps, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, optimizing to your conversion goal.

Best for: Scaling after Search/LSA are stable; finding incremental conversions you’re not explicitly targeting.

Strengths

• Automation finds pockets of demand (long-tail, cross-network)
• Uses your assets (text, images, video) + audience signals

Cautions

• Lower keyword transparency; requires strong conversion hygiene
• Creative quality and signal quality matter

Demand Gen for Law Firms — Feeds on YouTube, Discover, Gmail

Visual, feed-based prospecting and remarketing across Google surfaces. Great for mid-funnel education, remarketing, and assists to Search/LSA.

Best for: Longer journeys (Estate, Immigration), brand building and remarketing for Family, Employment; retargeting for PI/Criminal.

Strengths

• Efficient reach in visual feeds; builds warm audiences
• Flexible goals (traffic, conversions, conversion value)

Cautions

• Not direct-intent traffic; measure contribution via assisted conversions and view-through impact rather than only last-click results.
• Needs strong creative (imagery, short video, testimonials)

Video (YouTube) for Law Firms — Reach, Views, and Action

• Video Reach (awareness): frequency-controlled reach buys target Cost Per Mille (tCPM).
• Video Views (consideration): pay for engaged views target Cost Per View (tCPV) to lift education and trust.
• Video Action (direct response): convergence with Demand Gen for performance controls.

Best for: Brand lift in metro markets; authority via explainers and testimonials; low-cost remarketing touches.

Display Ads For Law Firms— Remarketing Workhorse

Responsive banners across the Google Display Network. Not an intent channel—use for remarketing and light awareness.

Best for: Staying in front of non-converters; brand reinforcement; seasonal messaging.

Call Campaigns for Law Firms — Formerly Call Only

Search ads optimized for phone calls (tap-to-call). Perfect when phone calls convert best.

Best for: Criminal/DUI and PI; time-sensitive intakes.

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Google Ads Bidding Strategies for Law Firm Marketing: When and Why to Use Them

Before you choose: Bidding is your cost and efficiency lever. The right choice depends on signal quality (conversion tracking), budget, and your willingness to let Google’s AI optimize in real time. Start with a strategy that fits your data readiness—then upgrade to cost or value targets as performance stabilizes.

Maximize Conversions (Smart Bidding)

Optimizes for the most conversions within budget. Add Target CPA (tCPA) once your CPA is stable.

Use when: Tracking real leads (qualified calls, booked consults, valid forms) and you want scale. Excellent for Search, PMax, Demand Gen; also works for call campaigns when call conversion tracking is reliable.

Target CPA (Smart Bidding)

Optimizes to hit or beat a specified cost per acquisition.

Use when: You know an acceptable CPL and have steady signal. Often: start on Max Conversions → add tCPA at or below your trailing CPA.

Maximize Conversion Value / Target ROAS (Smart Bidding)

Optimizes for total value of conversions; Target ROAS (tROAS) controls efficiency against a value target.

Use when: You can grade or price leads (PI case severity, Criminal case types, Estate flat fees, Corporate deal size). Requires passing values or lead scores to Google.

Maximize Clicks (Automatic Bidding)

Gets as many clicks as possible with optional max CPC caps.

Use when: Seeding data, building remarketing pools, warming up call campaigns, or operating in very low-volume niches before Smart Bidding has signal.

Manual CPC (Manual Bidding)

You set bids. True control—no automated bid adjustments.

Use when: Tiny budgets, volatile categories, or tight compliance cycles at the very start. Plan to graduate to Smart Bidding once 15–30+ quality conversions exist.

Target Impression Share (Search-Only)

Buys visibility (e.g., top-of-page 80–100%) for brand defense or a few mission-critical head terms.

Use when: You must own brand/name queries, or dominate a small handful of high-value terms in select markets.

View/Reach Bids for Video & Display

• Target CPV (YouTube Views): pay per qualified view for mid-funnel education.
• tCPM (target Cost Per Mille) / vCPM (viewable Cost Per Mille): awareness and frequency control on Video/Display.

LSA Bidding (outside Google Ads)

• Maximize leads (automated)
• Target cost per lead (tCPL)
• Max per lead (manual ceiling)

Use when: You need volume vs. cost control knobs that map directly to intake capacity and ROI tolerance.

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Google Ads Automated Bidding: Recommended Conversion Volumes

Bid Strategy	Recommended Conversions (Last 30 Days)	Notes
Target CPA (tCPA)	At least 30–50 conversions	Google needs enough data to model which clicks are likely to convert. Fewer conversions can lead to volatility.
Target ROAS (tROAS)	At least 50–100 conversions	ROAS optimization requires more data, since the algorithm must learn both which clicks convert and the value of each conversion.
Maximize Conversions / Maximize Conversion Value	At least 15–30 conversions	Can work with fewer conversions but performs better with consistent data flow.
Performance Max	At least 20–30 conversions	Google can optimize with smaller datasets but still benefits from higher volumes.

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Google Ads Practice Area Playbooks for Law Firm Marketing: Primary, Secondary, Bidding

How to use this section: Each practice area has distinct search behavior, urgency, and case economics. Start with the “Primary” lines to catch hand-raise intent, add “Secondary” lines for scale and remarketing, and match bidding to your tracking maturity.

Personal Injury (PI & MVA)

Primary: Search (non-brand + brand), Call Campaigns, LSAs
Secondary: PMax; Demand Gen/Video for education/testimonials
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; adopt value bidding once you can score leads by severity/liability. LSAs: test Maximize leads vs. tCPL vs. Max per lead.
Why: CPCs are steep; speed and trust matter. Mix intent capture with low-cost reminders.

Criminal Defense & DUI

Primary: LSAs; Search/Call (extended hours)
Secondary: Demand Gen (remarketing), PMax, Video Views
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; accurate call conversion tracking is crucial. LSAs: start Maximize leads, add Max per lead caps in high-cost metros.
Why: Urgency and phone-first behavior dominate outcomes.

Family (Divorce, Custody)

Primary: Search; LSAs in eligible metros
Secondary: PMax; Demand Gen/Video explainers
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; value bidding if you can differentiate high-value matters (e.g., contested vs. uncontested).
Why: Mixed urgency and research; education/credibility lift conversion rates.

Immigration

Primary: Search; PMax
Secondary: Demand Gen; Video Views
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; value bidding if case types vary in worth (employment vs. family petitions). Segment by language.
Why: Longer journeys; language, case type, and geography matter.

Employment (Plaintiff/Defense)

Primary: Search; LSAs in some markets
Secondary: PMax; Demand Gen for thought leadership
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; value bidding when you can grade lead quality (damages, viability).
Why: Spiky queries; mid-funnel content de-risks decisions.

Estate & Elder Law

Primary: Search
Secondary: Demand Gen/Display remarketing; PMax; Video Views
Bidding: Max Conversions (or Max Clicks in very low volume) → tCPA; tROAS for flat-fee packages.
Why: Longer consideration; remarketing and education close the loop.

Bankruptcy & Debt Relief

Primary: Search; LSAs
Secondary: PMax; Video Views
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; keep budgets tight; rely on remarketing.
Why: Price sensitivity; efficiency and intake speed determine ROI.

Corporate/Business & Commercial Litigation

Primary: Search (precise B2B keywords)
Secondary: PMax; Demand Gen for executive education
Bidding: Max Conversions → Max Conversion Value/tROAS once you can model lead quality.
Why: Lower volume, higher value. Precision and value weighting beat raw volume.

Real Estate Law

Primary: Search
Secondary: PMax; Demand Gen/Display
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; tROAS if you sell flat-fee services.
Why: Transaction-driven demand; remarketing recaptures shoppers.

Tax Law

Primary: Search (aware of seasonality)
Secondary: Demand Gen; PMax; Video explainers
Bidding: Max Conversions → tCPA; value bidding if matter types differ (audits vs. back taxes).
Why: Problem-solution queries; educational content builds trust.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Primary: Search (trademark, patent counsel)
Secondary: PMax; Demand Gen/Video for authority + remarketing
Bidding: Max Conversions; move to value bidding as soon as case complexity/fees can be reflected.
Why: Lower volumes; quality of inquiries trumps quantity.

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Google Ads Comparison Table (Practice Areas, Campaigns, & Bidding)

How to read this table: Use “Primary” to prioritize budget for immediate intake. Use “Secondary” for scale, remarketing, and incremental conversions. The “Recommended Bidding” column shows where to start and how to evolve as signal improves.

Practice Area	Primary Campaign(s)	Secondary Campaign(s)	Recommended Bidding	LSA
Personal Injury	Search, Call, LSA	PMax; Demand Gen; Video	Max Conversions → tCPA; add value bidding w/ lead grades	Strongly
Criminal/DUI	LSA; Search/Call	PMax; Demand Gen (RMK); Video Views	Max Conversions → tCPA; per-lead caps in LSA as needed	Strongly
Family	Search	PMax; Demand Gen; Video	Max Conversions → tCPA; tROAS if values	Often
Immigration	Search; PMax	Demand Gen; Video	Max Conversions → tCPA; tROAS if values	Often
Employment	Search	PMax; Demand Gen	Max Conversions → tCPA; tROAS if values	Varies
Estate/Elder	Search	Demand Gen/Display RMK; PMax	Max Clicks (low vol.) → Max Conv → tCPA; tROAS for flat fee	Sometimes
Bankruptcy	Search	PMax; Video	Max Conversions → tCPA	Often
Corporate/Business	Search (B2B)	PMax; Demand Gen	Max Conversions → tROAS (quality-weighted)	Limited
Real Estate	Search	PMax; Demand Gen/Display	Max Conversions → tCPA; tROAS for packages	Varies
Tax	Search	Demand Gen; PMax	Max Conversions → tCPA; tROAS if values	Sometimes
IP	Search	PMax; Demand Gen/Video	Max Conversions → tROAS (case value)	Limited

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Google Ads Campaign Setup Details for Law Firm Marketing: What Lawyers Need To Get Right

Why this matters: Configuring campaigns correctly prevents most wasted spend and speeds up Smart Bidding’s learning. Small settings—geo options, assets, conversion types—can materially change CPL and lead quality. Treat these as your build standards.

Search (must-haves for legal)

• Structure by intent: separate brand, core non-brand themes, and adjacent terms.
• Match & negatives: begin with Exact/Phrase; build a shared negative list (see “Negative Starter Lists”).
• Assets: sitelinks (practice areas), callouts (free consult, contingency), structured snippets (services), call assets, location, lead forms if appropriate.
• Geo & schedule: presence-only targeting; align hours with staffing; exclude weak ZIPs.
• Bidding: start Max Conversions; add tCPA when stable; use value bidding when you can pass lead quality.

LSAs (intake engine)

• Complete verification; select categories; connect Google Business Profile.
• Strengthen profile: photos, bios, reviews, fast response.
• Test Maximize leads vs. tCPL vs. Max per lead; match to intake capacity and ROI tolerance.

Performance Max (scale & assist)

• Provide strong creative sets (text, images, logos, video).
• Keep primary conversions to true leads; demote micro events.
• Use audience signals (in-market, customer lists); start Max Conversions, then tCPA/tROAS.

Demand Gen (remarketing & mid-funnel)

• Build audiences: site visitors, form starters, video viewers, CRM lists.
• Creatives: square/landscape images, short video, testimonials, checklists.
• Bidding: Max Conversions/tCPA for performance; Max Clicks/Target CPC for traffic expansion.

Video (YouTube)

• Reach (tCPM) for awareness at efficient frequency.
• Views (CPV) for education/testimonials.
• Action (or Demand Gen) for direct response with conversion/value bidding.

Display (remarketing workhorse)

• Lists: all visitors, high-intent (contact page, quote started), past clients (for reviews/referrals).
• Bidding: Max Conversions/tCPA for remarketing; vCPM for awareness flights.

Call Campaigns (formerly call-only)

• Emphasize tap-to-call; set minimum call duration for a conversion.
• Bidding: Maximize Clicks to start, then Max Conversions/tCPA once call tracking is reliable.

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Google Ads Campaign Marketing Strategy by Law Firm Size

Why scale matters: Firm size determines budget flexibility, creative depth, and staffing coverage. Use the mixes below as starting blueprints, then reallocate toward the lines delivering the best qualified CPL and booked-consult rates.

Solo & Micro (≤ ~$3k/month)

• Stack: LSA + Search (brand + 1–2 non-brand themes).
• Bidding: Max Conversions; add tCPA once CPL stabilizes.
• Geo: tight radius; presence-only.
• Ops: call recording, fast response, simple landing pages.

Small–Midsize ($3k–$15k/month)

• Stack: Search + LSA + PMax; add Demand Gen/Display RMK.
• Bidding: tCPA on Search/PMax; value bidding where you can grade leads.
• Ops: formal intake scoring; pass outcomes back (offline import).

Multi-Location / Regional ($15k+/month)

• Stack: All of the above, region-split; brand defense across markets.
• Bidding: portfolio tCPA/tROAS; creative libraries for PMax/Demand Gen.
• Ops: review program to support LSA rank; extended hours or 24/7 for Criminal/PI.

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Avoiding Wasted Google Ad Clicks: Exact/Phrase First, Broad in a Sandbox

Pragmatic approach: Max Conversions + Broad can spray money in legal. The solution is a two-phase rollout: prove efficiency with Exact/Phrase in a control campaign, then add Broad in a tightly controlled sandbox with a CPA guardrail, heavy negatives, and daily query mining.

Phase 1 (Weeks 1–3): Exact/Phrase “Control” First

• Build one Exact/Phrase campaign per practice theme (e.g., “car accident lawyer [city],” “DUI attorney [city],” “divorce lawyer [city]”).
• Bidding: Max Conversions with a realistic daily budget (or tCPA if you already know a reliable CPL).
• Geo: Presence only (people in or regularly in your targeted locations).
• Search partners: off at launch; add later if CPA holds.
• Brand: separate cheap brand campaign to protect your name and keep data clean.
• Conversion hygiene: only true leads as Primary (qualified calls, booked consults, valid forms). Set call-duration thresholds; de-dupe phone + form from the same click.

Phase 2 (Week 3+): Add a Broad-Match Sandbox

• Budget 10–20% of total.
• Include only high-intent seeds (e.g., [practice] lawyer/attorney). Avoid generic terms (lawyer, legal, court).
• Bidding: Max Conversions with a tCPA guardrail set to your Phase-1 trailing CPA.
• Routing: Add your exact keywords as negatives in the Broad campaign so the control keeps those queries.
• Monitoring: Pull Search terms daily for 2 weeks; add negatives and graduate new winners to Exact in the control.

The Negative Keyword Backbone (Shared List)

Seed day one; expand weekly:

• Global intent filters: free, pro bono, cheap, low cost, DIY, template, sample, pdf, form, forms, example, definition, meaning, statute, law school, exam, salary, job, career, internship, requirements, “how to become,” news, legal aid, public defender.
• Geo filters: cities/states you don’t serve; “online” if you require in-person.
• Service misfires: exclude other practice areas you don’t handle (e.g., PI negates immigration/family; family negates injury/SSD).
• Competitors: exclude by exact match if you won’t conquest; or isolate in a tiny, capped conquest campaign.

Tight Geography & Timing

• Presence-only targeting; exclude low-quality ZIPs.
• Schedule to staffing; if overnight phones aren’t answered, shift spend to form-led variants or cut those hours.

Query Mining Rhythm

• Daily for the first 10–14 days, then 2–3×/week.
• Add negatives in themed batches; move good queries into Exact.

Conversion Hygiene

• Only true leads as Primary; demote micro events to Secondary.
• Validate & exclude spam weekly.
• If possible, pass lead quality or retained status (with values) back to Google; this unlocks value bidding.

Structural Controls

• Brand isolated (cheap, near-100% impression share).
• Exact/Phrase control campaign for proven winners.
• Broad sandbox with its own budget and CPA guardrail.
• Separate call-emphasis ad groups (or a call campaign) in practices where phones win.

When Broad Match Makes Sense

Broad is good at finding long-tail intent you’d never list—with constraints:

• Only obvious commercial seeds ([practice] lawyer).
• Heavy negatives from day one.
• tCPA from the start; tight geo; budget cap.
• Judge by qualified CPL and booked rate, not raw form fills.
  If Broad can’t beat your control after 2–3 weeks of real volume, pause, re-tool negatives or narrow seeds, and revisit later.

30-Day Checklist: Drop-In Plan

Days 1–2

• Launch Exact/Phrase control + separate Brand.
• Max Conversions (or tCPA) with conservative budgets.
• Load the shared negative list.
• Geography = Presence-only; Search partners off.

Days 3–7

• Daily query mining; add negatives; promote winners to Exact.
• Verify call/form tracking; set call durations; block spam.

Days 8–14

• Introduce Broad Sandbox at 10–20% budget with 3–6 seed keywords per practice.
• Add routing (control exacts as negatives in Broad).
• Keep tCPA at/under the control’s trailing CPA.

Days 15–21

• Tighten negatives; exclude poor ZIPs; refine schedules.
• Start lead scoring (A/B/C) and pass values if you can.

Days 22–30

• If stable, lock tCPA in control; consider value bidding where quality values are reliable.
• Scale budgets on the best qualified CPL, not just the highest conversion count.

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Google Ads Negative Keyword Starter Lists: By Practice Area

How to use this list: Treat this as a shared baseline across campaigns; expand weekly from real search-term reviews. Trim any negatives that would block services you actually offer.

• Global: free, pro bono, cheap, low cost, DIY, template, sample, pdf, form, forms, example, definition, meaning, statute, law school, exam, salary, job, career, internship, requirements, “how to become,” news, legal aid, public defender.
• PI: divorce, immigration, family (if irrelevant), chiropractor (info seekers), “accident statistics,” safety tips.
• Criminal/DUI: legal aid, public defender, court schedule, fines, DMV forms, “beat breathalyzer,” ticket payment, jail roster.
• Family: free divorce forms, DIY custody, mediation (if not offered), child support calculator, legal aid.
• Immigration: embassy forms, USCIS form codes, citizenship test practice, translation services (if not offered).
• Estate: will templates, DIY will, downloadable forms, probate records search, notary services (if not offered).
• Employment (plaintiff): HR templates, employee handbook, EEOC office (info-only), jobs, careers.
• Business/Corporate: free LLC forms, Secretary of State forms, “incorporate yourself,” legalzoom (if not conquesting).

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Real-World Guardrails by Practice

Why this helps: Even the best structure needs nuance by practice area. Use these quick guardrails to dial match types, negatives, and call handling to your reality.

• PI / MVA: Start Exact/Phrase only; add Broad later. CPCs are brutal; keep negatives aggressive. Use a call campaign in peak hours.
• Criminal/DUI: Phones matter—call goals as Primary, conversion window short. Exact/Phrase first; Broad only for a handful of “DUI lawyer” seeds.
• Family: Mix of urgency and research. Exact/Phrase, then test Broad “divorce lawyer” seeds with strict negatives (DIY, forms, legal aid).
• Immigration: Segment by language. Broad can work on very specific seeds (e.g., “marriage green card lawyer”) once tracking is solid; add language negatives to keep out info-seekers.
• Estate: Lower intent density—Phrase often beats Broad. Use remarketing to lift CVR, then consider Broad for just a couple of seeds if CPL holds.

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Why Not Go Back to SKAGs Everywhere?

Short answer: They still help for 1–5 “make-or-break” exact queries (brand, your #1 money term), but at scale they create maintenance overhead and don’t play well with modern auction-time signals. Prefer tightly themed ad groups; reserve SKAGs for the absolute top performers you want to micro-craft.

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Launching Google Ads on Manual CPC

When it’s valid: Ultra-tight budgets or compliance sign-off cycles.
How to do it safely:

• Start Manual CPC on Exact/Phrase only, with a low max CPC.
• Do the same query mining and negative building.
• As soon as you have ~15–30 quality conversions, graduate to Max Conversions or tCPA.
• Don’t leave Manual in place long-term in legal unless you’ve proven it beats Smart Bidding on qualified CPL.

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Google Ads Split Budget Templates: Starting Points for Law Firm Marketing

How to use: Start here, then quickly reallocate toward the lines producing the best qualified CPL and booked-consult rates. Markets, seasonality, and staffing should guide adjustments.

• Solo / Micro (≤ $3k/mo)
  • LSA: 40–60%
  • Search (Brand + 1–2 themes): 40–60%
  • Remarketing (Demand Gen/Display): 0–10% (if traffic allows)
• Small–Midsize ($3k–$15k/mo)
  • LSA: 25–40%
  • Search (by practice & region): 35–55%
  • PMax: 10–20%
  • Demand Gen/Display RMK/Video: 10–20%
• Multi-Location ($15k+/mo)
  • LSA (per market): 20–35%
  • Search (practice × market): 35–50%
  • PMax: 15–25%
  • Demand Gen/Display RMK/Video: 10–20%

(Scale the line with the best qualified CPL first.)

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Common Mistakes Law Firms Make: With Fixes

Why this matters: Most wasted spend comes from a handful of avoidable errors. Use this checklist in audits and during the first month after launch.

• Launching Broad + Max Conversions without guardrails → Fix: Exact/Phrase control first; Broad sandbox with tCPA; heavy negatives; tight geos; daily query mining.
• Letting micro-events drive bidding → Fix: Only true leads as Primary conversions; demote page views/time-on-site to Secondary.
• One budget for many practice areas → Fix: Split by practice and city/region; set tailored CPA/ROAS targets.
• Ignoring after-hours behavior → Fix: Criminal/PI need extended hours or answering service; otherwise trim off-hour spend.
• No negative keyword backbone → Fix: Use the shared list and update weekly.

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Google Ads for Law Firm Marketing: Example Build-Outs

How to apply it: Seeing the pieces together is the fastest way to move from theory to action. Use these sample builds as blueprints; then adjust geos, budgets, and targets to your market, staffing, and intake capacity.

Personal Injury Firm (Metro)

• LSA: Maximize leads; broad county service; after-hours answering.
• Search:
  • Campaign A—Non-brand PI (Exact/Phrase), Max Conversions → tCPA.
  • Campaign B—Brand defense, Target Impression Share (top-of-page 90%+).
  • Campaign C—Call campaign during peak call windows; Max Conversions with call goals.
• PMax: Max Conversions with verdicts/testimonials assets.
• Demand Gen: Remarketing; client stories; Max Conversions.
• Measurement: Lead scoring A/B/C → adopt value bidding once reliable.

Family Law (Regional)

• Search: Divorce/custody (Exact/Phrase), Max Conversions; consult bookings as primary.
• PMax: FAQs, testimonials, calendar asset.
• Demand Gen & Video: Guides and short explainers; CPV for Views.
• LSA: If eligible, test Maximize leads vs. tCPL.

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Measurement & Value Tracking: Make Smart Bidding Work

Key principle: Smart Bidding learns from the signals you feed it. Keep primary conversions clean, add offline outcomes where possible, and let models learn before you judge.

• Primary conversions only: qualified calls (≥60–120s), booked consults, validated forms.
• Secondary conversions: micro signals (page views, time on site)—don’t let these drive bidding.
• Offline conversion imports: send retained or qualified statuses (and values/scores) back to Google.
• Attribution: data-driven; consider assisted conversions from Demand Gen/Video/PMax before cutting.
• Learning windows: give new strategies 1–2 conversion cycles before judging.

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Budgeting & Pacing

Goal: Fund the most reliable intent first, then layer channels that harvest incremental demand and nurture undecided prospects. Adjust seasonally and by intake capacity.

• Fund Search/LSA first until you hit diminishing returns (rising CPA, lost impression share).
• Add PMax to harvest incremental demand; then Demand Gen/Display/Video to educate and retarget.
• With “Maximize” bidding, set realistic daily budgets; add tCPA/tROAS once stable to control efficiency.
• Adjust for seasonality (Family post-holidays; Tax in spring; DUI on weekends).

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Creative & Landing Pages

Why creative matters: Strong creative and frictionless pages boost conversion rates, which lowers CPL and improves Smart Bidding outcomes. Match messaging to search intent and make next steps obvious.

• Match intent in headlines: “Injured? Free Case Review Today.” “Charged with DUI? Talk to a Lawyer Now.”
• Proof: reviews, LSA badge, case results (within bar rules).
• Frictionless CTAs: tap-to-call, book now, chat; mobile-first.
• Local trust: office photos, maps, local memberships.
• Speed & clarity: fast pages, short forms, compliance-checked disclaimers.

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Compliance & Policy: U.S. Firms

Stay safe: Advertising for legal services is regulated. Keep claims accurate, maintain verified profiles, and protect client privacy—especially when sending back conversion values.

• Review state bar rules on testimonials, case results, and specialty claims.
• Keep Google Business Profile and LSA verification in sync (licenses, addresses, hours).
• Avoid insensitive targeting around traumatic events; protect client data when passing conversion values.

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Final Thoughts on Google Ads for Legal Marketing

For U.S. law firms, the durable pattern holds: LSA + Search for dependable, intent-rich demand; PMax to harvest incremental conversions; Demand Gen/Display/Video to educate and retarget at low cost. Pair with Maximize Conversions (then tCPA), or go value-based (Max Conversion Value/tROAS) once you can grade outcomes. To keep efficiency high, launch Exact/Phrase first, sandbox Broad with guardrails, keep a living negative list, and maintain clean conversion hygiene. Follow the 30-day plan, and you’ll have a modern, defensible intake engine that respects budgets, feeds your intake team steady opportunities, and compounds as your data and creative library grow.

BigDog ICT is a top PPC agency for solo attorneys, trusted by law firms for top-tier paid search strategies that maximize ROI and drive measurable growth. Get Started Today to increase revenue with more qualified leads.

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