Law firm marketing that counts signed cases

Where it leaks. One campaign bids on “lawyer” for every practice area, so a DUI search lands on the injury page, and the firm pays for clicks on “paralegal jobs” and “free legal aid.” Headlines such as “Top injury specialist” or “Millions recovered” can break the bar’s rules before anyone calls.

What we change. A campaign for each practice area with its own ads, budget and landing page, plus negative keywords for jobs, law school and free legal aid. Copy is checked against your state’s version of the rules before it runs, and we keep a dated copy of every version in case your state requires filing or your bar asks to see it.

Where it leaks. Ads point to a homepage that lists a dozen practice areas and a wall of verdicts. Someone hurt in a crash or charged last night wants four answers: do you handle this, who will I talk to, how soon, and what will it cost me.

What we change. A page for each practice area that answers those four questions on the first screen: the case types you take, the lawyer responsible for the page, what happens after they call, and how fees work, including who pays case costs on a contingency case. The phone number stays tappable at the top on mobile.

Where it leaks. In Clio’s 2024 secret-shopper test of US law firms, only 40% answered the phone and 33% replied to an email. Long forms add a second problem: under ABA Model Rule 1.18, a site that invites details about a matter can make the sender a prospective client whose information the firm must protect, which can keep the firm from representing the other side.

What we change. Calls reach a person during and after office hours, whether your staff or an answering service, and the form asks only for name, phone, case type and county. A short notice beside it says sending the form doesn’t make someone a client and asks them to hold back confidential details until a conflict check is done.

Where it leaks. Leads sit in an inbox until the next morning, consultations get booked without a reminder, and a contingency agreement goes out by email and is never signed. In the meantime the person can call the next firm on the results page.

What we change. A call-back sequence that starts the minute a lead arrives: a call, then a text and an email if no one picks up, then a reminder before the consultation, and a fee agreement sent for e-signature right after it. Calling back someone who asked to hear from you isn’t solicitation under Model Rule 7.3. Live calls to people who didn’t ask generally are.

Where it leaks. When every form fill and every short call counts as a conversion, the account bids toward whatever is easiest to get, including wrong numbers and people who need a different kind of lawyer. For criminal defense and divorce there’s a second limit: Google’s customer data policy doesn’t allow uploading conversion information tied to crimes or divorce.

What we change. Calls count only past a minimum length you choose, every lead is tagged with its campaign, and your case management system marks each one signed, declined or conflicted. We report cost per signed case by practice area from those records, and send signed cases back to Google only for practice areas where its rules allow it.

Where it leaks. The firm has one Google Business Profile with a keyword-stuffed name that risks suspension, practice pages with no named author, and review requests that come with a gift card attached.

What we change. A Business Profile for each public-facing lawyer, as Google’s guidelines allow, under the firm’s real name. Practice pages carry the name of the lawyer who wrote or reviewed them, and every client gets the same review request after the matter closes, with no incentive.