Google Ads, according to a significant number of legal marketing experts, ourselves included, is one of the strategies yielding the highest and fastest ROI for law firms, if done properly. Marketers, business owners, and general advertisers are constantly looking for additional ways to promote their services/products.

One of the most important missions of our Nanato Media law firm marketing blog is to educate attorneys and present different options and opportunities that help them get in front of prospective clients and increase their caseloads. We’ve explained why we consider Spanish PPC to be the top choice on various occasions. We’ve reviewed GMB and local marketing updates. We’ve covered several law firm SEO topics and taken a deep dive into the Google Ads extensions and LSAs for lawyers. Today, we’ll focus on local digital marketing, and, more specifically, on Local Search Ads.

First and foremost, you don’t have to mix them with LSAs (Local Services Ads). Local campaigns will help your law firm get in front of nearby searchers, people generally in your proximity, or those searching for services around your location. Local search ads will streamline your Law Firm’s process, making it easier to promote your location on the Google Search Network, YouTube, Maps, or the Display Network.

The first thing to look at before getting into local campaigns is to set your locations on GMB (Google My Business). That’s a pretty basic step, as we consider GMB an indispensable part of any law firm’s digital strategy, making the complete setup essential. According to Google, the ultimate goal is to increase location-tied visits. However, in a world dominated by e-consultations and digital meetings, that shouldn’t necessarily be your top goal. From our perspective, promoting your location shouldn’t be tied just to visitations. Still, the various ways you can promote your business locally will allow you to get in front of the local community and potentially convert them to signed clients without in-person meetings. Local campaigns consider proximity and radius targeting for GMB. This can vary depending on the searchers’ traveling preferences, population, and competition in your market.

  1. On Google Maps

It’s becoming more common to get on our mobile devices and open our maps whenever we want to find a local service provider for our needs. This isn’t any different for law firms, as users can search for a local attorney on maps, check the reviews, go over pictures they’ve added, and get on the phone or visit the law firm’s website. Running a local ad will help you dominate those searches and match with any prospective clients within your radius.

  1. The Google Search Network

We consider all options equally important, but we hold this one in slightly higher esteem. Why? It allows you to place your law firm’s ad on the local pack. This is particularly important if you combine it with an extended Google Ads strategy. For example, if a searcher looks for “personal injury attorney near me” or “abogado de accidentes cerca de mi,” and you run a combination of Google Ads, local campaigns, and LSAs, your ad might end up showing three times on the SERPs, over the organic results, improving your chances drastically to get a conversion that could lead to a new client. According to Neil Patel’s research, those placements account for about 40% of the total clicks, making it evident that you maximize your opportunities to succeed and optimize your ROI.

  1. YouTube

Another option is to show your local ads on the video-sharing network with relevant content, and whenever it’s more probable to engage local prospective clients. This could be an informative video about a similar case for a viewer that is within your radius. Let’s put it in perspective. From a local IP, a YouTube user views content regarding the Texas blackout and its consequences on the community, and you are running local campaigns seeking to represent clients that have been injured due to the loss of electricity. Your law firm’s ad is very likely to show to that user, increasing your chances of getting the attention of a prospect in the research phase and potentially turning it into a valid case.

  1. The Google Display Network 

Like YouTube, your ads can appear on the Display Network whenever they’re most relevant, capturing attention and creating brand awareness for your law firm.

  • How do you bid on Local Campaigns?

Local campaigns use “maximize conversion value” bidding. According to Google: “This bid strategy automatically maximizes the conversion value of visits, call clicks, or driving directions for your campaign based on your average daily budget.” It’s not mandatory to use all of these, as nowadays, in-person visits and appointments are not necessary. Not measuring local visits will allow you to bid on local actions, call clicks, website visits, and/or driving directions. You can find more information on setting your conversion values here or get in touch with us if you have further questions.

  • What do you need to care about in Local Campaigns?
  1. Locations. Before getting started with your law firm’s local campaigns, double-check your GMB for your primary and additional office addresses.
  2. Reviews. We’ve talked about law firm reputation management. For local ads, both the quality and the number of reviews you have are crucial.
  3. Years in business. That will be visible in your ad, so if you don’t fill it up in your GMB, it will show less than a year.
  4. Business hours. If you can take calls 24/7, it’s vital that you add it in your information as your ads won’t stop running, and your local prospective clients will be more likely to call when they need you the most.
  5. Responsiveness to inquiries and client satisfaction. That’s always an essential factor, as Google puts the focus on user experience and searcher satisfaction.

What are our key takeaways?

  • For us, local campaigns are not a standalone strategy but an excellent addition to your overall PPC strategy since it is cost-effective and increases your law firm’s online presence.
  • Combining them with Search Network Ads, LSAs, and an organic presence allows you to maximize your chances of conversions and signed cases by dominating the SERPs.
  • Bidding works differently, and instead of valuing Quality Score, relevancy, landing pages, CTR, etc., it takes into consideration proximity, reviews, business hours, and responsiveness.