Google Ads For Law Firms: Worth It?

Google Ads Overview:

Google Ads, formerly known as AdWords, is the largest online advertising network in the world, owned by Google. It allows you to place your ads in Google’s search results for people searching with your chosen keywords. Additionally, you can tap into Google’s vast advertising network, which includes YouTube, Gmail, and countless websites that serve Ads by Google.

For example, a conveyancer in Bondi might want to display ads next to news articles about Bondi real estate published online. With Google Ads, they can.

Google Ads for Law Firms: Pros.

If you want to show your ad to people who: are searching for your keywords, are within 3km of your office, and are in the top 10% of household income, you can.

1. Targeting. Google Ads is precise. You can show your ad to specific demographics, such as men or women in the top 10% of household incomes, within 5 kilometres of your office, who are using your selected keywords in search engines. You can filter out anyone who doesn’t meet this criteria, ensuring your ads reach the right audience.
2. Top-of-mind: With features like Remarketing, you can show follow-up ads to people who have visited your website but haven’t yet inquired.
3. Speed. Google Ads can take you from being invisible in search results to being found within 24 hours. This is much faster than some other marketing channels.
4. Data. Google provides a wealth of data. You can quickly learn what people are searching for, how often, and access detailed performance statistics about your ads, such as click-through rate, cost per click, and conversion rate.
5. Control. You can easily make changes to your ad budget, targeting, or launch new campaigns over the weekend. Most adjustments can be done directly within the Google Ads platform.

Google Ads for Law Firms: Cons.

Every click incurs a cost from your daily ad budget. It’s pay to play. When ad budget exhausts, your ad no longer shows for the remainder of the day.

1. Budget. Google Ads operates on a pay-per-click model. You set a daily budget, and each click depletes that budget. Once your budget is exhausted for the day, your ads will no longer be shown.
2. Roles. Google Ads is designed to drive visitors to your website. However, it’s up to your website and the rest of your marketing efforts to convert those visitors into inquiries. Google gets paid for the click, regardless of whether the visitor converts.
3. Competition. You’ll face competition from other advertisers vying to place their ads above yours, often making compelling offers to attract the same visitors. Expect potential clients to be contact with multiple law firms.
4. Sales Process. When a visitor inquires, your sales process needs to be effective. How you handle the inquiry and what next steps you offer must be more persuasive than what other firms provide.
5. Campaign Assets. To maximise your success with Google Ads, you’ll need persuasive landing pages tailored to specific keywords and audiences. It’s also essential to configure analytics for accurate measurement and ensure key pages on your website, like the Homepage and About Us page, build trust and inspire confidence.

Is Google Ads right for you? No, if…

Don’t use this channel if you must have immediate ROI. It can happen, but Google Ads usually requires a lot of planning and testing to get dialled in. For new advertisers, expect three to six months, minimum.

• You need an immediate ROI. Google Ads requires significant testing to achieve an attractive ROI, and this process takes time. If you can’t tolerate that, this channel might cause stress, as there’s a high risk of operating at a loss for some time.
• You’re comparing it with already proven channels. Many clients I’ve worked with over the past 15 years prefer to invest in what’s already working. While this approach makes sense, it’s important to remember that new channels need time to become as efficient as those that are already proven. There’s always a learning curve.
• You are in a situation where making changes to your website is difficult and slow. In the online world, the “fast fish” eats the “slow fish.” Running a Google Ads campaign will reveal numerous improvement opportunities for your website based on campaign data. Being able to act on that data quickly is a competitive advantage and often necessary for achieving ROI.

And Yes Google Ads is right for you, if…

People search with intent. When they click through, you have a chance to win a client who is in-market right now.

• You want channel diversity. If your law firm currently relies on a single lead source, you’re at risk. Having multiple channels sending you business consistently increases stability.
• You have the budget to experiment. If you can allocate an investment with the understanding that this is new territory and ROI may take time, Google Ads could be right for you. The goal is always to break even as quickly as possible, which can happen right away in some cases, but shouldn’t be expected.
• You want to tap into this demand. People search with intent. If they’re using keywords relevant to your services and see your ad, you have a chance to win a client who is ‘in-market’ right now.
• You can allocate time to this. As a lawyer, your workload is already demanding. Google Ads will require you to allocate time to speaking with your agency regularly. Over time, as the agency learns your preferences, your time commitments will reduce.
• Your law firm has an excellent reputation online. If your law firm lacks reviews or has an average rating below 4.7, it’s best to focus on improving that before investing in Google Ads.

Getting Started With Google Ads

Say hello. We’ll show you keywords you may like to target, budget recommendations and a business case for ROI.

If you’re interested in trying Google Ads for your law firm, we’d like to offer you a free strategy session. In this session, we can show you:

1. Keyword ideas. Using the Google Keyword Planner and other tools, we’ll prepare a list of keywords you may want to target and show you how often these keywords are searched each month.
2. Budget recommendations. We’ll provide indicative costs and share ideas on what a suitable budget range might look like.
3. Business Case. We’ll present projections and a business case, and if you like what you see, we can deliver a proposal to get your campaigns live.

If this sounds good, we look forward to speaking with you.