What Call Details Forwarding Change Means for Your Law Firms Google Ads and Call Tracking

What Call Details Forwarding Change Means for Your Law Firms Google Ads and Call Tracking

Acquiring leads is the lifeblood of any successful law firm. Therefore, a popular advertising strategy many marketers recommend to their law firm clients is creating ad campaigns on Google Ads, which can highlight your business on Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, and more Google services that a large number of people use on a daily basis. And in terms of conversion actions a user can take on your ad and website, phone calls are an avenue that...

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Did You Get Google's Destination Requirements Policy Email? Here's What it Means for Your Law Firm

Did You Get Google’s Destination Requirements Policy Email? Here’s What it Means for Your Law Firm

If you have received an email from Google titled “Google Ads Policy Update – Destination Requirements Policy," then you should know that starting in October 2022, Google will be revising its ad destination policy. Ad destination is where your ad leads users to... like a landing page. This policy will be updated to be in line with the ad experience guideline set forth by the Coalition for Better Ads, a group of online media...

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The Google Ads Performance Max Campaign: A powerful lead generation tool most law firms aren’t using.

The Google Ads Performance Max Campaign: A powerful lead generation tool most law firms aren’t using.

Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, and Google Maps have massive audiences that are engaged with these platforms every day. With consumers flocking to these products en masse, law firms have the opportunity to leverage these products through campaigns in Google Ads to generate leads.

While most people are familiar with the traditional search campaigns, Google Ads has included a new type of campaign on its platform that many law firms haven't yet tried. This...

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Raising Your Law Firm's Brand With YouTube Audio Ads, and Other Must-Reads

Raising Your Law Firm’s Brand With YouTube Audio Ads, and Other Must-Reads

How to Get Started With YouTube Audio Ads (Search Engine Land)

“YouTube audio ads are a refreshing new ad type designed to serve brand awareness and reach goals with audio content on the video platform.” As of November 2020, audio ads have remained in a global open beta. For law firms looking to further their outreach online, audio ads may be worth the consideration to engage music and podcast listeners.

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Google Local Service Ads Are Available to Law Firms (Maybe)

Google Local Service Ads Are Available to Law Firms (Maybe)

Google Local Service Ads are now available for law firms. This is exciting news as there has been a lot of anticipation around this offering. With Google Local Service Ads, the advertiser (your law firm) pays per lead instead of paying per click like you would in a PPC campaign.

What are Google Local Service Ads?
A Local Service Ad (or LSA) is an advertisement that appears above the sponsored search results on Google. Someone can select a service provider and book them directly through the LSA page. Unlike pay-per-click, you the advertiser are charged per-lead and not every time someone clicks on your ad.

Here is how a Google Local Service Ad Works

  1. A user searches for a local service. For example, I searched for an electrician in San Francisco. At the top of the search results are several electricians with "Google Guaranteed" underneath.

Example of a Google Local Service Ad

2. Click on the ad. Out of respect for the advertiser, I would normally not click on an ad while writing a blog. But in this case, who cares? The advertiser isn't paying per click, they're paying per lead. When clicking on the LSA ad, you're taken to the LSA landing page, not the advertiser's website.

Google Local Service Ad Landing Page

You will notice that there is no other way to contact this advertiser except for the phone number (which we crossed out). Some advertisers may allow you to make an appointment directly from their LSA page. Whenever the advertiser is contacted through this page, that's when they're charged. When I clicked on the ad, this electrician wasn't charged anything.

How to find out how much it costs.

1. Google has a cost estimator at https://ads.google.com/local-services-ads/cost/

2. Type in your zip code, the number of leads you want each month, and select your law firm's area of practice and then click on "Estimate Budget". 

Google Local Service Ad Cost Estimator

3. If you're like most law firms in most cities you will either:

a) Not see your practice area listed.
or
b) You will see this message: "We're not available in your area yet."

What we found for most industry categories was a cost per lead of $15-$40. If Google LSA can deliver leads for $15-$40 to lawyers, this will be an awesome addition to your law firm marketing efforts! Realistically, you can expect higher rates in competitive markets for competitive practice areas. Since lawyers are a new addition to the offering, there isn't a lot of data to work with.

What does Google Local Service Ads Mean for Lawyers?

Once it's available in your market, Google Local Service Ads will be a great compliment to your existing pay-per-click campaign. Plus, you will get a Google Guaranteed badge for $50/month after Google verifies your license, insurance, and legal status. That Google Guaranteed badge doesn't just apply to your Local Service Ads, that badge will get associated with your Google My Business listing which could help you earn more clicks from your organic map placement.

Want to get notified when Google Local Service Ads are available in your area?

Give us a few details about your law firm, location, and practice areas and we will contact you when LSA's are available in your market.

Google Local Service Ads - Notify Me


Jason Bland, co-founder of Custom Legal Marketing
Jason Bland is a Co-Founder of Custom Legal Marketing. He focuses on strategies for law firms in highly competitive markets. He's a contributor on Forbes.com, is a member of the Forbes Agency Council, Young Entrepreneurs Council, and has been quoted in Inc. Magazine, Business Journals, Above the Law, and many other publications.

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How to Write PPC Ads That Convert

How to Write PPC Ads That Convert

Google Ads -- those little banners that appear at the top of Google searches -- wield a lot of power. There are only three possible outcomes. 1. Someone searching for a lawyer in your area sees your Ad, clicks, and converts. 2. Someone clicks, but doesn’t convert. Or 3. Even if your Ad appears near the top of their search, a potential client might read it with glazed-over eyes. The copy doesn’t stand out, and it doesn’t speak to...

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Google Ads Is Changing the Way Exact Match Keywords Work

Google Ads Is Changing the Way Exact Match Keywords Work

Starting throughout October, Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, will begin implementing changes that will expand the way exact match keywords operate. As an example, if your campaign only used exact match keywords, it used to be that your ad would only show if the search query the user inputted was identical to the keyword or phrase.

Now, however, Google has made it so your ads that are associated with the respective exact match keywords will...

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5 ways for lawyers to improve contact form conversion rates

5 ways for lawyers to improve contact form conversion rates

Any firm can pull together a contact form for their website, but is it attracting visitors? Even more important: are these visitors completing the contact form and ending up satisfied with the experience?

An aesthetically pleasing site design does not necessarily equal excellent conversion rates. It is extremely important to make the lead comfortable while navigating the contact form, guiding them towards trust and comfort with the law firm.

So, what are the best ways to increase your conversion rates and...

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Why you should be using Adwords Extensions

Why you should be using Adwords Extensions

With Google Search dominating search queries with around 65 percent of market share, Google AdWords can help small and large law firms increase their inbound leads. However, specific keywords can be expensive, due to the volume and competitiveness of searches involving such words. In fact, “Attorney” and “Lawyer” are the fourth and sixth most expensive keywords on AdWords respectively.

Therefore, it is imperative that the clicks you are receiving equate to quality leads and conversions. A way to...

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