Law Firm Digital Advertising

One of the highlights of digital advertising for law firms is the ability to track a campaign’s success in real-time, allowing marketers the ability to easily make adjustments while gaining invaluable insights into potential clients’ preferences and behavior. Digital ads are also a cost-effective method when compared to traditional law firm advertising methods as you can set control over your budget while still gaining more leads. 

Still not sure if you need digital advertising?

Effective law firm digital advertising can grant your business maximum visibility while connecting your services to the right audience. At MeanPug, we’ve grown some of the largest law firms in the country and managed more than 100 million dollars in PPC and social media ad spend. Our unique and focused experience in legal sets us miles apart from your standard advertising firm; granting us deep insights into the methods that work for each case type and audience.

Explore our digital ad case studies to understand how we connect with audiences, drive conversions, and level-up law firms.

Types of Digital Ads We Offer for Law Firms

At MeanPug, we offer a wide selection of digital advertising services for law firms. To understand which methods and platforms are right for your firm, we carefully evaluate all facets of your practice, audience, and current online performance to craft compelling ads in the right channels.

Get Started with Digital Advertising

Display

Display ads for law firms blend text with imagery or video and include a link back to your site. At MeanPug, we pay special attention to the visual aspect of these ads because we understand that compelling legal ads inspire action. The benefits of these types of ads span far and wide, from attracting meaningful traffic to your site to enhancing brand awareness.

An added benefit of display ads is their ability to target on specific parameters set by law firms. This fine-tuned targeting ensures that your ad spend isn’t wasted on audiences who aren’t interested in your services and instead connects you with a high-intent demographic that is ready to convert. 

Get Started with Display Ads 

Programmatic advertising

Programmatic advertising makes use of algorithmic software used to buy and sell online display space. To launch this type of campaign, we provide the algorithm with all of the necessary information about your audience and campaign as well as custom key performance indicators. The benefits of these law firm ads are that they optimize spending, appear only to your intended audience, drive traffic and conversions, and work to boost ROI. 

Get Started with Programmatic Ads

Regular search ads

Getting to the top of the search engine results page takes time, but with this type of ad, your law firm can gain maximum exposure without waiting months. When a potential client searches for your services or related keywords, your law firm can appear within the top 4 paid search results above the highest ranking organic content. Ads like this provide law firms with robust analytics, shedding light on important insights like user location, pages visited, time spent on site, and the type of device being used. These ads typically work on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis, meaning that each time a user clicks your law firm’s link in the search results, you are charged a fee. Outside of PPC, there are less common types of payment models available like CPM (cost-per-mille, or cost per thousand impressions) and CPA (cost-per-action/acquisition). 

Get Started with Search Ads

Google Ads

Google ads for law firms are a great marketing tool for firms of all sizes and budgets. These ads work by auctioning advertising space at the top and bottom of Google’s search engine results page. When a potential client searches for a keyword related to your law firm’s services, Google ads provide your firm the ability to “bid” for the top spot. 

To create these ads, we select the keywords that most closely match your law firm’s offerings and set a maximum bid based on how much you’re willing to pay for a Google user to click on your ad. To determine where your law firm’s ad appears on the search engine results page, Google will evaluate your bid in combination with your “quality score” which is derived from the perceived quality of your proposed ad. 

One of the greatest features of Google Ads for law firms is that the winners of Google Ad auctions aren’t always the highest bidders, allowing for an even playing field when it comes to smaller firms. Instead of solely looking at bid amount, Google reviews several additional factors to decide which ads will be displayed after a user searches for a keyword. These factors include relevancy to the user’s search, your firm’s ad rank, and the expected click-through rate of your ad. These variables will ultimately determine your cost-per-click.  

Formula to determine ad rank: 

Quality score x maximum bid = ad rank

Formula to determine cost-per-click:

Ad rank of the ad directly below yours / your quality score + 0.01 = Your cost per click

Get Started with Google Ads

Local Service Ads

Local service ads for lawyers are an excellent strategy to promote your firm while generating strong trust signals and filtering out unqualified leads. A fairly new offering from Google, local service ads grant your law firm maximum exposure as they are featured at the very top of the search results, above traditional pay-per-click ads, organic search results, and Google My Business listings. 

Another important component of this type of ad is that it is accompanied by a “Google Screened” badge, which lets users know that your law firm has been vetted and approved by Google; providing additional trust signals, and allowing users to easily call, book an appointment, or view important information like business hours, address, and services provided. 

Get Started with Local Service Ads

Bing Ads

Many legal advertising agencies focus heavily on Google ads, but we understand the benefits of smaller channels like Bing when it comes to law firm advertising. While Bing may not be the #1 search engine in the world, it holds an impressive 6.7% market share and boasts over a billion unique monthly users. Thanks to the popularity of Windows 10, over a billion people worldwide using the operating system have search queries frequently directed towards Bing as Microsoft is the owner of the search engine. A little-known bonus of this ad type is that Microsoft ads for law firms tend to have higher click-through rates on Bing than Google, making this ad type a strong component of any law firm’s marketing strategy. 

Average click-through rates on Bing vs Google

Bing = 1.24% CTR           Google = 0.86% CTR

Get Started with Microsoft Bing Ads

Native Advertising

Native ads for law firms are a powerful way to connect to potential clients thanks to their softer and more organic approach. What sets native ads apart from other forms of law firm advertising is that these ads are designed to blend in with the content your potential client is already engaging with, therefore lending your ad a “native” feel on the page. 

These sorts of ads often appear as recommended blog content, in-feed ads, or ad listings at the top of the Google search results page or sidebar. When creating native ads for law firms, we carefully consider each audience’s specific interests, needs, and motives and then decide on which content type and platform would best appeal to them.

Outside of these ads’ enhanced ability to connect with users, law firm native ads also grant you the option to target by device, day of the week, or time of the day, providing your law firm with a great deal of control and user insights. 

Get Started with Native Advertising

Remarketing

Remarketing is a popular technique in legal marketing that allows you to serve ads to users who have visited your firm’s website in the past. This particular ad type is highly effective in that it allows you to target persons who have already interacted with your site and sought out your services. On average, remarketing has led to a 10x increase in click-through rate and a 50% reduction in cost-per-click. 

When it comes to remarketing in the legal space, we recommend this approach for any firm that wants to engage more with their audience, increase brand awareness, boost conversion events, and ultimately, sign more clients. 

Get Started with Remarketing

Social Media Advertising

Many law firms mistakenly overlook social media, but this channel can provide an unparalleled opportunity for deep client insights, as well as the ability to connect with your audience on a personal level. By utilizing social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others, your law firm can create highly-targeted paid ads equipped with a wealth of analytics at your disposal.

At MeanPug, we use our expertise in digital ads to ensure that your firm’s budget never goes to waste. Our approach to social ads blends hyper-targeted audiences with the ability to create effective personalized content for each demographic. 

If you’re considering getting started with social media ads for your law firm it’s important to understand that these ads are typically more budget-friendly when compared to other channels. When taking into account their high conversion rates and added audience insights, it’s clear that social ads are a necessary marketing tool for any law firm regardless of size or practice area. 

Get Started with Social Media Advertising

Online Video Advertising

When law firms create promotional content that is shown before, after, or during breaks in streaming content, this is known as online video advertising. At MeanPug, our approach to online video ads involves a deep understanding of your firm’s history and brand, as well as examining your areas of practice, and potential client base. After careful review, we select the strongest platform to host your ad based on your desired audience, case type, and unique parameters. 

Video ads for lawyers are an excellent way to gain trust, expand brand awareness, and increase revenue and leads. While many law firms still rely heavily on traditional advertising channels like television and billboards, online video ads are much more budget-friendly and provide client insights that traditional avenues just can’t compete with. This form of advertising is also highly effective thanks to its ability to be hyper-targeted, so none of your ad spend goes to waste on demographics who are uninterested in your services.

Get Started with Online Video Advertising

Local Service Ads for Lawyers: Getting Googled Screened

We touched upon local service ads for lawyers earlier, but it’s important to break down the distinct benefits this particular ad type offers for legal professionals. A fairly new offering from Google, local service ads allow your firm to advertise itself above paid search results and organic listings, providing your business with maximum visibility on search. Not only are you able to jump way ahead of the competition with this type of ad, but you also receive a “Google screened” badge which is displayed next to your firm’s name. 

When it comes to conversion, the best marketers understand that trust is everything, and nothing implies a greater level of trust than possessing a Google screened badge for your law firm. Unlike regular PPC ads, LSAs for law firms can also save you a great deal of money considering that you’ll only pay for the qualified leads you receive.

But, how do I get Google Screened? 

To become Google screened, your law firm will first need to create a local service ad profile with Google and then submit the necessary information for an in-depth license and background check. To become qualified for a Google Screened badge, all members of your law firm will be subject to these inquiries and reviews, including your founder. To participate in local service ads for lawyers, your firm must also possess a Google My Business rating of 3 or higher. 

While there are some requirements to get started, LSAs are an ad type we highly recommend thanks to the strong trust signals they provide paired with the unparalleled visibility they hold on Google.  

Get Started with Local Service Ads for Lawyers

How Much Does it Cost to Run a Digital Ad Campaign?

The average digital ad campaign in the legal space spans anywhere from $1250 to $10,000+ a month. While it’s impossible to determine an exact figure without a consultation or strategy in place, your law firm’s digital ad cost will typically depend on variables like the number of strategies you’d like to invest in as well as the types of ads you’d like to run. 

What does the typical digital ads package at MeanPug include?

• Ads on multiple platforms (Google, Bing, social media platforms, etc)
• Bid management
• Optimized ad copy
• Ad landing pages designed to maximize conversions
• Campaign tracking and reporting
• Monthly ad spend paid to networks

Traditional Ads: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Tend to outperform other channels when it comes to brand awareness
• Harder to ignore than digital ads (think billboards, stadiums, television and radio ads, etc)
• Helps to convey the emotional elements of your campaign
•  Demonstrates stability, trustworthiness, and security to certain audiences

Cons:

• More expensive than digital advertising
• Not easily measurable; results and tracking are not available in real-time
• Lacks the ability to target and sub-segment 
• Unable to easily make changes to the campaign once it’s live
• Slowly losing its audience (fewer people reading newspapers, watching regular television, etc.)

Digital Ads: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Easy to test various demographics with little risk
• Immediate insights into performance
• Able to easily make changes as needed
• Control over spend
• Allows for highly-specific audience targeting

Cons:

• Healthy competition 
• Users have the ability to block some digital ads
• When it comes to video streaming ads, many people opt to skip
• Not everyone is on the internet or wants to share personal data

Interested in Traditional or Digital Advertising? Let’s Talk!

• Reach: The number of people who will see your law firm’s ad or content
• Clicks: How many times users click on your ad to visit your site
• Impressions: The number of times your content was displayed on search
• CTR: Or, “click-through rate”, is a metric that measures how many clicks your ad received in relation to its number of impressions. 
• Video completion rate: How many users watched your video to the end
• Increased brand exposure and growth: The more exposure your law firm gains on a local and national level, the more you can expect to see your business grow. At MeanPug, we have doubled some of the largest firms in the country, and we’d love to help you too! 
• Cost per retained client: The most important end goal of law firm marketing is signed cases. At MeanPug, we carefully balance ad strategies and spending to ensure that you’re paying as little as possible for high-quality leads and retained clients.
• Return on ad spend: When you allocate marketing spend to digital ads your law firm can expect a 5:1 return on investment.

Why Is MeanPug the Right Digital Ad Agency for Your Law Firm?

Whether you are a large personal injury firm or a boutique whistleblower practice, we understand what it takes to get your audience to act, and we know the right channels to reach them! We’ve grown some of the largest plaintiff law firms in the country, and we’re more than willing to share our winning strategies with your firm. 

Interested in learning more about our approach to paid advertising? Listen to co-founder Andrew Nasrinpay discuss MeanPug’s unique perspective on legal advertising. From his time as Director of Paid Search at Morgan & Morgan to his experience as MeanPug founder and partner, Andrew shares his expertise, knowledge, and insights on LSAs and legal advertising.