Google Ads management for law firms

Which searches waste money for law firms?

Education, DIY and wrong-practice-area searches are the most common legal leaks.

• Law school, paralegal jobs and bar exam searches.
• Free legal advice, legal aid and DIY form searches when you don't offer them.
• Practice areas you don't take — for example criminal searches on a family law campaign.
• Searches about a case in the news or a named lawyer at another firm.
• Searches outside the jurisdictions where you're licensed.

Common tracking problems for law firms

Most legal enquiries arrive by phone, and many firms don't know which calls came from ads.

Check whether phone calls from ads are counted, and whether short calls are excluded. A two-second misdial and a twenty-minute intake call shouldn't count the same.

Intake forms are often handled by a separate intake service or chat tool. If those submissions don't report back to Google Ads, the account can look like it produces nothing even when cases are being signed.

What does a good cost per lead look like?

For law firms, the number that matters is cost per signed case, not cost per enquiry.

Many legal enquiries aren't viable cases. Track how many enquiries from ads become consultations and signed clients, then compare the ad cost per signed case with the typical fee for that case type.

Different practice areas deserve different targets. A cost per lead that's fine for personal injury could be far too high for a simple will.

What does a legal Google Ads audit look at first?

Call tracking, practice-area separation and the costliest search terms.

• Is each practice area in its own campaign?
• Are calls under a minimum length excluded?
• Which searches cost the most with no recorded conversion?
• Does location targeting match where you're licensed?

Frequently asked questions

Related guides and tools

• How to audit a Google Ads account — A step-by-step checklist, in business language.
• How to find wasted spend in Google Ads — Where money leaks and how to check each place.
• Which Google Ads search terms are wasting your money — How to find the search terms wasting your Google Ads budget, group them into patterns, and exclude them with negative keywords without blocking real customers..
• How much should Google Ads cost per lead — There's no universal good cost per lead.