Rank in the most competitive legal vertical.
Get leads from those seeking defense.
Attract businesses seeking legal guidance.
Attract leads from high net worth individuals.
Scale leads from people seeking financial help.
Capture demand with the highest intent.
By Despina Gavoyannis | on Jul 16, 2024
Imagine this: someone needs your legal services and heads to Google to run a search. On page one, they find your ad displayed prominently with your headshot, high star rating, and office hours.
They hover over the ad and see a click-to-call button, which they use to reach out to your office. After providing a free 30-minute consultation, they agree to hire you to manage their case.
Now, picture this happening dozens of times per month (if not more).
Getting high-quality leads like this is something many law firms struggle with. But you can overcome it using Google Local service ads for law firms.
We’ll show you how.
Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) are paid search ads that appear at the top of Google’s search results pages than traditional ads. They allow businesses to advertise their services to local customers. Unlike Google Adwords or Google Ads, LSAs show up in Google Maps results, in addition to Google’s search results, making them easier to find by your prospects.
Here’s an example of an LSA from an auto accident attorney in Atlanta:
It includes your law firm’s name, star rating, number of reviewers, how long you’ve been in business, and hours of availability.
Attorneys with large budgets are used to spending big bucks on bus ads, billboards, and television commercials. And while they have a place in legal advertising, it’s not the be-all-end-all for building a law firm’s brand and client roster.
The web is where most people go to find a lawyer today, so it makes sense to advertise there. At least this way, you know for sure they see your ad (unlike a missed bus or billboard) and that they’re actually interested in what you’re offering.
Here’s a look at the top benefits of using LSAs to grow your law firm:
So if you’re looking to grow your firm’s visibility and client base, Google Local Services Ads should be on your radar.
Creating LSA campaigns for your law firm is like any other advertising plan. It requires a strategy and budget to make it work. If you know your target audience and which keywords to target, you can build winning campaigns.
So how do you create your first Local Services ad?
Follow these simple steps.
Not all law firms can advertise using LSAs, so the first step is to determine if you’re eligible. The legal practices that can use LSAs include:
If you fall under one of these categories, then you’re ready to get started. Visit Google Ads to create your account. You’ll determine your eligibility when you click the “Get Started” button.
Enter your details and click “Check Eligibility,” and then select the practice areas of your law firm.
After determining your law firm’s qualifications, it’s time to build your LSA profile. This will include a brief description of your law firm, contact details, business hours, and licenses and certificates you have.
Upload high-quality images of your law firm and staff so it’s more appealing to prospective clients.
Then provide the local areas your law firm services.
Next, you’ll have to verify your law firm is legitimate and that you’re the business owner (or the representative of the law firm).
To verify your law firm, Google will use the business details you provided to send a post card with a verification code. It should take several days to arrive. Once it does, log into your account and enter the code to verify your law firm.
Afterward, Google will review your information to ensure it meets its guidelines. The review process can take a few more days to complete. Once done, you’l be ready to start advertising on Google.
Having that bold green check mark next to your law firm’s listing sets you apart from competitors that ignored this step. To become Google Screened, you’ll have to take additional steps to prove you’re licensed to practice law in your fields.
To earn your Google Screened badge, Google requires the following:
It’ll take between two and five weeks to complete the screening process. Or longer if you have a lot of lawyers in your firm.
Your LSA profile is set up and verified. Now it’s time to create your first ad. One option is targeting your ads based on specific practice areas, such as personal injury or employment law.
Also, include relevant keywords in the ads so they appear for relevant searches. Then set your daily budget and bid on ads based on your area’s average cost per lead.
After you’re finished, preview your ad and publish it.
Law firms with high ratings and lots of positive reviews build trust with prospective clients. So encourage clients to leave reviews on Google after completion of a case. For instance, you can send an email with a link to make it easier for clients to leave a review.
This will increase the odds of your ads appearing in search results for your target keywords. Plus, it’ll drive more clicks from high-quality leads.
Like any advertising campaign, you must monitor and adjust your ads based on performance. If you see certain search terms are driving irrelevant leads, consider an alternative keyword. Or if you see you’re getting a lot of impressions and no clicks, then it’s another sign you’re targeting irrelevant audiences.
Test different keywords to see what works.
Before building your first LSA campaign, keep the following best practices in mind:
LSA campaigns aren’t a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. You must be attentive to your ads’ performance to make adjustments and take action to keep your campaign running efficiently.
Worried you won’t have time to manage LSA campaigns for your law firm? Not to worry — not having time is always a good thing for a lawyer. And with a properly running Local Services Ads campaign, you’ll stay busy working with qualified leads.
One way to ensure this is to work with an agency that can manage it all for you.
At Webris, we don’t excel at just Local Services Ads — we also run holistic campaigns for local SEO (Google Map listings), pay-per-click ads, and SEO content.
So whether you’re looking for assistance with LSA or desire a well-rounded search marketing strategy, book a time for a free consultation.
Using data from your website, our Traffic Projection analysis can accurately forecast how much traffic (and revenue) your website could be getting from Google.
FIND OUT MORE