What Is Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising?

As an attorney, you find yourself in one of the most competitive markets when it comes to online marketing. Pay Per Click advertising especially is extremely competitive and it is very easy to lose money if you don’t have a solid plan. PPC ads are ads that you pay for on different search engines. The most popular forms of PPC are Google Ads and Bing Ads. On the search results page, these PPC ads appear towards the top of the page:

PPC ads work off of a bidding system. The attorneys that are participating in PPC will bid against each other in any given market for placement on the search results page. Since PPC ads appear at the top of the search page, it is not enough to depend solely on organic. To succeed online and continue to grow your practice, you have to have a well rounded digital strategy which includes having a strong PPC strategy. 

A Few Ways Your Law Firm Can Benefit From PPC Ads

HyperLocal Targeting: Law firms can benefit from the targeting capabilities of PPC ads. If you know that your target audience is most likely or historically has come from the northwest side of town, then you can target your ads to show for users that live in the northwest side of town. If you want to expand your reach and start taking cases for your entire state rather than the closest cities to you, then you can set up your PPC ads to show for users in the entire state. The flexibility of the geographic targeting in PPC ads is extremely powerful and is very beneficial for any law firm that is trying to grow their practice and get their feet on the ground. 

Case Targeting: What cases do you prefer to practice? This is also an opportunity to target high dollar cases. Although users search for attorneys using generic terms like “criminal defense attorney near me” or “business attorney in [city name]”, they are also using very specific terms that fit the exact scenario they are facing. This is an incredible opportunity for you as an attorney because that means you can point your marketing strategy towards the cases you want to handle. Instead of taking all real estate dispute matters, you could focus on commercial real estate evictions. PPC ads allow you to get really narrow on your targeting so that you can generate the cases you want to practice versus having to accept what comes to you. 

Instant Results: PPC is instant whereas SEO takes a solid 6 months to a year to see results. If you start your PPC campaign for your law firm today, you could very well start generating leads tomorrow if you have the right strategy. Also, since PPC ads are instant, you are able to react to timely events and generate cases based on those timely events. 

How To Judge Success From Your Law Firm’s PPC Efforts

Lead Tracking: When setting up your PPC campaign, you need to make sure that you set up tracking. The tracking that you set up needs to equate to leads or people that reach out to you for a consultation. Only tracking clicks or impressions (reach) is a recipe for losing money. Google Ads & Bings Ads have a fairly straightforward way to set up tracking leads, but if you find it difficult to complete, reach out to an expert to help you get that setup. It is vital that you have lead tracking set up before you start spending money on PPC ads. 

Cost Per Lead: Once you have your lead tracking set up, you will then be able to analyze your data on an ongoing basis to understand if your PPC spend was worth it. Your Cost Per Lead will tell you if you need to change strategy or even get help with managing your campaigns. Based on how you optimize your campaigns. Although the legal industry is incredibly competitive, it is possible to get a very low Cost Per Lead and maximize your margin / profit on the leads you generate. The only way to get there is constant research and continual optimization to make sure your campaigns are set up for success. 

PPC Advertising Services For Attorneys

There are many services out there that can help manage your law firm's PPC efforts. At Lab Coat Marketing, we have been able to provide excellent results for our clients. In some cases we have been able to provide 50x ROI. Every client is unique and every market requires its own unique attention to achieve results like that, but we are always up for the challenge and love helping our clients grow their firms and achieve their goals. We would love to have a conversation with you to help you achieve your goals as well!