PPC for Law Firms: Why Your Choice of Agency Matters

Why PPC for law firms isn’t a tick-box exercise (and why the quality of your agency matters)

If you asked three different law firms which PPC agency they use, there’s a good chance each would tell you they’re getting broadly the same service. After all, they’re all paying someone to manage Google Ads campaigns, generate enquiries and bring new clients through the door.

But are they really getting the same thing?

Not necessarily. And the differences can have a significant impact on how much value a law firm gets from its marketing budget.

There’s a common misconception that all PPC agencies follow much the same process. That managing Google Ads is largely a case of setting up campaigns, choosing keywords, writing adverts, monitoring performance and making adjustments along the way.

But effective PPC management is much more involved than that. The knowledge, experience, technical ability and strategic thinking behind a campaign can vary considerably from one agency to another.

For law firms investing thousands of pounds in paid advertising, understanding that difference is important.

There’s an interesting comparison between the legal profession and the digital marketing industry.

Solicitors generally work within the same regulatory framework. They have to follow the same professional rules and meet the same regulatory requirements. Of course, the standard of service a client receives can vary depending on the solicitor, their experience, communication and approach to client care.

PPC agencies don’t operate in quite the same way.

There isn’t one universal process that every PPC specialist has to follow. There isn’t a single checklist that guarantees an account is being managed properly, and there isn’t one prescribed way to structure, track or optimise every campaign.

Two agencies could be managing Google Ads accounts for law firms operating in the same area of law, targeting similar audiences and working with comparable budgets, yet approach the work very differently.

One might have a much deeper understanding of conversion tracking. Another might have more experience with campaign structure, bidding strategies or the particular challenges of marketing legal services.

Some will have invested in specialist tools and reporting systems. Others may rely on more basic setups.

The fact that both agencies are running Google Ads doesn’t mean they’re delivering the same quality of service.

When law firms think about PPC, they often focus on what they can see: the adverts appearing in Google search results.

But the adverts are only one part of the process.

A considerable amount of work happens behind the scenes, and the decisions made during account setup and ongoing management can influence everything from the quality of traffic to the accuracy of performance reporting.

For example, consider how different agencies might approach:

How campaigns and ad groups are organised can affect how effectively budgets are allocated, how closely adverts match search intent and how easily performance can be analysed.

A well-considered structure gives an agency greater control over its campaigns and makes it easier to identify opportunities and problems.

Choosing keywords isn’t simply about finding terms with high search volumes. For law firms, understanding the intent behind a search is particularly important.

Someone searching for general legal information may be at a very different stage of their journey from someone actively looking to instruct a solicitor.

An experienced PPC specialist should understand those distinctions and consider them when deciding which searches to target.

Different campaigns may require different approaches to audience targeting, location settings and exclusions. These decisions need to reflect the firm’s services, geographical reach and potential clients.

Google offers a range of bidding strategies, but knowing which one to use, when to use it and what data it needs to work effectively requires knowledge and experience.

Simply choosing an automated bidding strategy doesn’t mean a campaign is automatically optimised.

Launching a campaign is just the beginning. Search behaviour changes, competitors adjust their strategies, costs fluctuate and performance needs to be monitored.

An agency should be doing more than checking whether the adverts are still running. It should be looking for ways to improve the campaign and making informed decisions based on the data available.

These are just some of the areas where the quality of PPC management can differ.

For example, one agency might track:

• Clicks on telephone numbers,
• Contact form submissions,
• Clicks on email addresses,
• Live chat interactions,
• Calls that meet a particular duration threshold,
• Enquiries that have been reviewed and identified as relevant.

These actions don’t all carry the same commercial value.

A click on a telephone number doesn’t necessarily mean someone made a call. A call doesn’t necessarily mean someone spoke to a member of the firm’s team. And a form submission doesn’t necessarily represent a genuine potential client.

That’s not to say these interactions shouldn’t be tracked as they can provide useful information about how people interact with a website.

The important thing is understanding what is being measured and not treating every recorded action as an equally valuable conversion.

Consider two agencies reporting on campaigns for similar law firms.

Agency A reports 120 conversions in a month. Agency B reports 65.

At first glance, Agency A appears to be performing considerably better.

But what if Agency A is counting every click on a telephone number as a conversion, while Agency B is tracking completed enquiries and qualifying telephone calls?

The headline figures tell a very different story once you understand what’s behind them.

This is why law firms should never judge PPC performance purely on the number of conversions reported.

Ultimately, law firms aren’t investing in PPC because they want a bigger number on a marketing report. They want new business.

Of course, clicks, website visits and enquiries are all important parts of the customer journey, but they only tell part of the story.

A campaign might generate a high volume of traffic but attract people who aren’t looking for the services the firm provides. It might generate plenty of enquiries, but many could be unsuitable, outside the firm’s geographical area or unlikely to turn into paying clients.

In contrast, a campaign generating fewer enquiries could be attracting people who are much more likely to instruct the firm.

This is where understanding the legal sector becomes particularly valuable.

A PPC specialist needs to appreciate that not all legal enquiries are equal. Someone looking for a free answer to a general legal question has very different commercial potential from someone who has a genuine need for legal representation and is ready to instruct.

Ideally, PPC reporting shouldn’t stop at the point someone submits a form or makes a telephone call.

Where the firm’s systems and data protection arrangements allow, there should be a way to understand what happens to those enquiries after they reach the firm.

How many are relevant? How many become appointments? How many result in new instructions?

Connecting marketing activity with actual business outcomes gives a much better indication of whether campaigns are delivering value.

It can also help PPC specialists make better decisions about where to invest the advertising budget.

Google Ads and Google Analytics are constantly evolving. New features become available, existing functionality changes and the way platforms collect, process and use data continues to develop.

An agency’s ability to keep up with those changes matters.

For example, the way Google Ads and Google Analytics are connected, how data is shared between platforms and how personalised advertising settings are configured can all affect an account’s measurement and advertising capabilities.

These aren’t necessarily things a law firm will see when looking at its adverts or monthly performance report.

But they are part of the technical foundations that support effective campaign management.

Different PPC specialists will have different levels of experience in these areas. Some will have a much deeper understanding of analytics, tracking implementation and the wider technical environment than others.

The same applies to the tools agencies use.

Some invest in specialist tracking, call analysis, reporting and data platforms. Others use different combinations of software or rely more heavily on Google’s own reporting tools.

There’s no requirement for every agency to use exactly the same tools (even for Google Partner agencies). What matters is whether the approach is appropriate, reliable and gives the client the information needed to make informed decisions.

An agency should be able to explain what it’s tracking, how it’s tracking it and why.

What should law firms look for when choosing a PPC agency?

If you’re currently working with a PPC agency, or considering appointing one, it’s worth looking beyond the monthly cost and the number of conversions promised.

Here are some questions worth asking.

PPC management is an investment, not a tick-box exercise

There’s a reason why two law firms can spend similar amounts on Google Ads and achieve very different results.

The advertising budget is only one part of the equation. The expertise behind the campaign, the decisions being made, the quality of the tracking and the ability to interpret and act on the data all play a role.

Choosing a PPC agency shouldn’t simply be about finding someone who can set up adverts and keep them running. It’s certainly more about finding a team with the knowledge, experience and strategic understanding to manage your campaigns properly, measure what matters and continually look for ways to improve the return on your investment.

And if you’re already working with an agency, don’t assume that because your adverts are appearing in Google and your monthly report shows conversions, everything is necessarily being done as well as it could be.

Not all PPC agencies are the same. The difference isn’t always visible in the adverts themselves, but it can be very visible in the results your law firm achieves.

Speak with our PPC Expert 0161 877 4888