THE RESULTS
50%
reduction in
cost-per-conversion
2.5x
increase in digital conversions
$0
increase in ad spend to achieve the results
The Challenge
A solo practitioner law firm, operating on a $36,000 annual marketing budget, needed a more effective way to attract new clients. They preferred digital marketing due to the automated lead qualification possible through online forms, which was crucial given the limited capacity with only one single administrative assistant. Their existing strategy, focused on Google Local Service Ads (LSA), presented significant challenges.
The firm invested $3,000 monthly in LSA, generating leads through both phone calls and messaging. While messaging accounted for 50% of conversions, these leads rarely completed the pre-screening process. Critically, messaging conversions were non-refundable, making this a costly and inefficient approach. Furthermore, the firm struggled to rank for relevant organic search terms, hindering their visibility among potential clients actively seeking legal services.
Adding to the complexity, LSA ads offer limited optimization options. Beyond bid adjustments and budget allocation, control over targeting is restricted to location and practice area. The platform's limited metrics (call/message leads, impressions, absolute-top impressions, and cost-per-lead) made it difficult to assess campaign effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
Our Solution
Recognizing that LSA ads, like Google Search campaigns, derive value from capturing user intent, we recommended reallocating a portion of the LSA budget to implement targeted search campaigns. Our legal industry research and experience indicated that search campaigns could generate paying clients at a lower cost-per-conversion than LSA.
We initiated a search campaign using a broad list of keywords related to the firm's practice area. After the first month, we optimized these keyword lists and segmented the campaign into focused ad groups, each organized around related keywords. We also developed dedicated, optimized landing pages for each ad group, ensuring a seamless user experience and maximizing conversion potential.
To further refine targeting, we created custom segments based on pre-implementation research. These segments focused on key demographics such as age and income, allowing us to reach the most likely potential clients. For example, we identified that clients in the 35-55 age range with a household income above $75,000 were more likely to require the firm's specific legal services. This granular targeting ensured that ad spend was directed towards the most promising leads.
We adjusted the firm’s SEO strategy to better coordinate with recent changes in the Google Search algorithm. Three high-performing web pages had experienced a drop in rankings due to these changes. Our SEO adjustments included optimizing on-page content, improving site speed, and publishing high-quality content. As a result, the client’s rankings improved for 15 key search terms, with rankings for the top three best performing terms rising to the top 3 positions.
The Results
Our strategic approach yielded significant results for the firm. We reduced the cost-per-conversion by 50% compared to the previous LSA-only strategy. This freed up budget that was re-invested in other marketing initiatives.
More importantly, we generated 250% more qualified leads, leading to a substantial increase in new client acquisition (Yes those are real numbers).
The targeted search campaigns, combined with the optimized landing pages and custom audience segments, proved highly effective in attracting high-intent users actively searching for legal representation. The firm now has a predictable and scalable system for generating new clients.
Are you a small law firm struggling to generate leads? Contact us today for a free consultation.