Do you want your law firm to generate new consultations each day? What does it take to get the phone to start ringing?
Law firms that want to diversify their lead sources must start running Google pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. The answer to the question of whether PPC works is - it depends.
Generally, when running PPC advertising campaigns, law firms need to keep an eye on several key metrics. If the metrics look good, then the advertising makes financial sense and it should be implemented as part of an overall marketing strategy. If the metrics don't look ideal, it's time to look into each metric to determine what can be done to improve those metrics and achieve profitability with a campaign.
Two Metrics For Law Firm PPC Advertising Campaigns
ROAS or Return On Ad Spend: this shows the amount of sales revenue made per dollar spent on advertising. For example, a ROAS of 4 means that for every $1 of advertising spent, $4 was made in sales. Based on law firms' margins, this number might make financial sense. If perhaps the ROAS was 2, the law firm might find itself breaking even, or if it has employees, losing money.
Conversion rate on leads: this is the rate at which leads become paid clients. If for example, a lawyer is able to close 10% of leads and each lead costs $50, then the cost of acquiring a client is $500. If the average case is worth $2,500, this might work well.
Important Lead PPC Advertising Considerations
Legal lead campaigns can always improve
Law firm PPC advertising isn't an exact science. While advertising on Google or Bing is just like bidding in an auction, it differs as other factors are considered beyond the bid. For example, the ads, landing page, keywords, etc. are all evaluated by online systems. To continually improve campaigns, law firms need time to make changes and have the systems review the new approaches you take.
Customer lifetime value is vital
While you may think a client is only worth $2,500, you need to keep in mind that many times, they'll send their own referrals to you down the road. If each client on average refers over a friend or family member, that's an additional $2,500 for your top-line revenues.
Given this, you must evaluate the customer lifetime value of new clients each month when reviewing your campaign results. ROAS doesn't consider lifetime value.
Summary
If you have been considering advertising with Google, learn about our law firm marketing services.