Case studies
Every number here comes from the firm’s case management system: signed matters and the fees paid, not Google’s conversion count.
Amari Law Firm · Birmingham, Alabama
Flat-fee criminal defense practice. I was the only paid media manager, from September 2025 to August 2026.
The numbers
Both channels ran for the same firm in the same market. Local Services Ads started in January 2026; search ran the whole engagement.
| Measure | Google Ads (search) | Local Services Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Period | Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 | Jan to Aug 2026 |
| Ad spend | $146,851 | $61,094 |
| Signed-case fees | $496,700 | $336,950 |
| Signed cases | 140 | Not reported separately |
| Ad spend per signed case | $1,049 | Not reported separately |
| Signed fees per $1 of spend | 3.4× | 5.5× |
The average signed case was worth about $3,500 in fees. Fees are the flat fee on each signed matter as recorded in the firm’s case management system. A signed fee is not the same as cash collected, and leads with no traceable source were left out, so the totals understate what the ads produced.
What the data showed
Months that included at least one case over $10,000 averaged a 5.3× return. The other seven months averaged 3.0×. That is why I judge keywords on the fees they bring in, not on lead count.
One month spent $4,979 and signed $37,500 (7.5×). Another spent $24,085 and signed $53,250 (2.2×). Nearly five times the budget produced 42% more fees, because extra spend reaches broader searches and less urgent callers.
Broad searches such as “criminal attorney” returned about 2×. Searches naming a charge and showing urgency returned about 4×. Moving budget from the first group to the second was one of the largest gains in the account.
In Jefferson County the campaign was losing 47.5% of possible impressions to budget. After the budget rose there, impression share went from 44.5% to 86.2%. Areas that did not sign cases did not get more money.
A monthly review disputed invalid leads and recovered roughly $850 to $1,300 a month in credits, about 15% of charged leads in June. Low-fee categories such as minor traffic tickets were switched off.
Method
Calls, forms and Tag Manager are checked and rebuilt before any campaign change, so bidding stops learning from bad data.
Out-of-area searches, other firms’ names, charges the firm doesn’t handle and spam forms are excluded in the first weeks.
DUI, domestic violence and other charge searches land on a page about that charge.
CallRail ties each call and form to its click. When a matter signs in Clio, its fee goes back to Google Ads as a signed-case conversion.
Cases often sign one to three months after the first call, so budget decisions use months that have had time to fill in.
The first two months
Call tracking, form tracking and duplicate events were all broken when the work started. September was the first month with numbers worth trusting; October was the first month after the campaign restructure.
| Measure | September | October |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | $5,500 | $5,800 (+5%) |
| Phone calls | 62 | 83 (+33.9%) |
| Form fills | 15 | 20 (+33.3%) |
| Cost per call | $88 | $70 (−21%) |
| Impression share | 34% | 45% |
| Conversion rate | 17% | 21% |
Matters signed in September were worth $30,000 against $5,500 in spend, a 5.4× return on signed value. Read the full two-month case study.
Reporting
Ad spend divided by cases signed, by campaign and by charge.
Which keywords bring the cases that pay, not just the most calls.
Search ads and Local Services Ads reported separately.
Each new matter in the case management system carries its source and fee, or the ads can’t be credited.
Where more budget would reach searches that already sign cases.
Invalid leads reviewed and disputed for credit every month.
Limits
One firm, one market. This is one two-attorney flat-fee practice in Birmingham. Click costs, fees and competition differ by city.
Signed is not collected. Fees are counted when a matter signs. Some are paid over time and some engagements don’t collect in full.
No guaranteed outcome. Past results don’t promise the same return for another firm. The free account review shows what your own numbers support.
Read the details
How fixing tracking before touching campaigns cut cost per call 21% and raised conversions 33.8% on 5% more budget, September to October 2025.
Cost per signed case, what drove it up or down, and why spending five times more raised signed fees only 42%.
Monthly lead disputes, the categories that were turned off, and budget pacing for late-night arrests.
How CallRail, Clio and Google Ads offline conversions connect each click to the signed case it became.
Free account review
Thirty minutes, no obligation. I work with one criminal defense firm per city and 12 firms at most.
Or call Henry directly: 612-203-3591
