Pay-per-click or PPC advertising refers to online promotional materials that are paid through interactions between a user and the ad. If a person is reached by, likes, comments, shares, clicks on, or otherwise makes an action that involves the advertisement, the advertiser pays a set fee. The most famous PPC ad space is the Google Display Network, but there are other providers who use different models.

Why do lawyers use pay-per-click advertising?

A law firm uses hires Google Ads experts and use omnichannel strategies for the same reason that larger companies do—they deliver on engagement and get immediate results. Lawyers use organic content in the form of law-related blog posts, search engine optimization, and social media marketing to build steady streams of traffic and potential clients.

For the widest reach in the shortest amount of time, though, you would be hard-pressed to find a better alternative to PPC. A law firm waiting to rank in organic search results for a highly competitive keyword like ‘personal injury lawyer near me’ can use PPC to climb up to the first page of search. Small law firms and lawyers with a solo practice find Google Ads effective in driving traffic to their website.

Is there a downside to PPC advertising for law firms?

A big disadvantage in using legal search terms as keywords is that they are among the most expensive. Payday loan and mortgage terms are the only ones that cost more than legal keywords, and small business owners are painfully aware of these costs.

Furthermore, though you can ostensibly prepare for keyword costs no matter how steep they get, there are other things that impact how much a lawyer really pays for an advertisement. For example, the location of a campaign can drive a price higher. The frequency with which ads are shown and the targeting settings of the campaign all contribute to the cost of the ads.

Generally speaking, the more targeted an advertisement, the less inexpensive it becomes, as it reaches only a small part of people online in a given area. This means a lawyer should employ a good digital marketing agency, or be knowledgable in online advertising themself, to keep costs down while reaching the largest number of people who could be interested.

How can law firms maximize their PPC advertising budget?

Lawyers should just remember that the more general their campaign, the more expensive it gets. One way to keep ads specific is by choosing one city or a cluster of neighborhoods to target. Showing an ad to the entire state or country will be counterproductive. Scheduling also works; attorneys should only run ads during business hours.

They can also prevent irrelevant clicks on ads by using specific phrases in the copy. It is important to constantly review search terms and update when necessary. Finally, including a negative keyword list is also a good idea; your firm wouldn’t want to appear for terms like “pro-bono”, “low-cost” and other similar ones.

Conclusion

For large companies, PPC is a cheap alternative to billboards, TV spots, and other traditional channels. The possibilities are also varied; you can have a website image, a search result, a social media post, or even a newsletter as part of your PPC strategy. For small businesses and sole proprietors, however, that is not the case. This makes it important for small companies to make the most of their PPC budget.

For more insights on how to get better results from your online marketing campaigns, get in touch with Discover My Business today.

We are PPC management experts and digital marketing specialists in New York focused on helping law firms thrive online. Contact us today to learn more!