How PPC Marketing for Attorneys Can Be Effective

Attorneys should use a range of tools as part of their marketing strategy, including PPC, which stands for pay-per-click, a model of internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. PPC marketing for attorneys can be highly effective when used correctly. The great thing about PPC advertising is that your ads will appear to those who need your services exactly when they need them, potentially giving you a client that will hire you right away. Unfortunately, the competitive nature of the field can lead to wasted money if you do not use pay-per-click correctly.

A Quick Review of PPC Marketing

With pay-per-click advertising, you pay for the ad when someone clicks on it. You can use PPC ads on search engine results pages (SERPs) or partnering websites. Your law firm will compete with others who want the ads in an auction to see who gets the spot, but other factors also play a role. These additional factors can include relevance, the search query, and your landing page. Among the various PPC methods, the most popular are Google Ads and Bing Ads.

PPC Puts Your Law Firm’s Ads at the Top

The remarkable thing about pay-per-click advertising on search engine results pages is it will place your listing in a prominent spot near the top of the page. Most searches on Google will display three or four Google Ads listings at the top of the page, which is where your PPC ad would appear. Since those ads appear at the top of the screen, they are more likely to be clicked on than the top-ranking search result.

PPC Ads Let You Target Keywords

When using pay-per-click advertising, you have the freedom to customize your keywords, allowing for extra targeting. This means that you can focus your efforts and money on keywords that are more likely to indicate an urgent need for a lawyer. Use that to your advantage to target the right keywords and improve your return on investment (ROI).

PPC Ads are Flexible

A major benefit of PPC marketing is that attorneys can change the daily budget of a PPC ad campaign at any time, and even suspend a campaign at a moment’s notice. You can see how your campaign performs today, and adjust and tweak it to improve results tomorrow.

PPC Ads are Measurable & Trackable 

A major benefit of PPC advertising for attorneys on Google and Bing is that they’re easily measurable and trackable. Attorneys can simply use the Google Ads tool in conjunction with Google Analytics to see high-level performance details, including impressions, clicks, and conversions (based on the defined business goals). There’s no mystery to your PPC performance.

Using the Right PPC Ads

There are a few types of PPC advertisements that attorneys should consider using as part of their marketing strategy. Search ad campaigns appear above the ranked search results when someone searches for a keyword on Google. You will pay when you get a call from the link or someone clicks to go to your website.

Display, video and HTML5 ad campaigns can appear on partnering websites via something like the Google Display Network. That network is vast, with more than 2 million websites (including The New York Times, CNN.com, Forbes, NationalLawReview, and more) and the ability to reach more than 90 percent of those online.

Finally, remarketing or retargeting campaigns let you show your PPC ads to those who have visited your website in the past.

Making Use of Your Budget

To get the most out of your PPC marketing campaign, you need to understand how expensive it can be. Because of the competitiveness of this field, the average click costs $54.86 for keywords related to legal services and lawyers. Specialized terms have even higher suggested bids. Those with experience in law firm marketing say that you may need a monthly budget for PPC ads of $30,000 or more depending on your keywords and niche.

Because of the high cost of PPC advertising for attorneys, you want to do your research to ensure that you choose a highly targeted keyword that will deliver a high ROI. You can also make the most of each of these clicks by enhancing your ads with things like ad extensions. The options include quick links for targeted landing pages, your phone number, and even snippets.

Takeaway

When properly optimized, pay-per-click advertising can drive highly qualified leads right to your law firm’s website. Effective PPC management requires careful planning, analysis and a deep understanding of the legal industry, however. To extract the value out of your PPC marketing program, you need to plan your campaign, craft smart ads, and set an appropriate budget. For specific tips on how to set up your law firm’s PPC campaigns for success, refer to our article: Best Practices for Setting Up Your Law Firm’s PPC Campaigns.

At Good2bSocial, our team has a deep understanding of Google Ads and Bing Ads. We’ll build campaigns and continuously optimize to ensure you’re getting quality leads. We also provide detailed reporting and analytics so you’ll understand how your marketing dollars are being spent and the results your PPC campaigns are yielding. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation.

Updated and Republished from November 2018.