“Criminal defense” is not one market. A domestic violence arrest, a federal target letter, a shoplifting charge and an expungement are different clients, searching different words, at different hours, for very different fees. A Google Ads account that treats them as one campaign lets the cheapest, highest-volume searches eat the budget meant for serious cases.
This guide breaks Google Ads down by charge: what each type of client searches, what those clicks cost, which searches to block, and how to set up the campaign and landing page. Click costs are from Google’s Keyword Planner for the United States, October 2025 to September 2026.
The short version: run one campaign per main charge, each with its own budget, negatives and landing page. Put the most budget behind the charges with the highest fees and the searches that actually sign, not the charges with the most searches. In one Birmingham defense firm’s account, months with at least one $10,000-plus case averaged a 5.3× return; the other months averaged 3.0×.
Click costs by criminal charge
| Search | Monthly searches | Top-of-page bid range |
|---|---|---|
| dui lawyer | 100K – 1M | $15.63 – $131.88 |
| criminal defense lawyer | 100K – 1M | $7.35 – $86.00 |
| felony lawyer | 100 – 1K | $7.55 – $90.00 |
| federal criminal defense attorney | 1K – 10K | $8.01 – $85.00 |
| assault and battery lawyer | 100 – 1K | $3.56 – $114.89 |
| assault lawyer | 1K – 10K | $8.52 – $82.88 |
| sex offense lawyer | 100 – 1K | $8.37 – $76.38 |
| sex crime lawyer | 1K – 10K | $7.33 – $74.80 |
| robbery lawyer | 100 – 1K | $10.14 – $72.00 |
| domestic violence lawyer | 1K – 10K | $6.83 – $69.35 |
| drug charge lawyer | 100 – 1K | $4.50 – $68.34 |
| white collar crime lawyer | 100 – 1K | $24.00 – $65.00 |
| gun charge lawyer | 1K – 10K | $6.85 – $54.30 |
| drug possession lawyer | 1K – 10K | $5.59 – $53.56 |
| shoplifting lawyer | 1K – 10K | $5.12 – $53.24 |
| juvenile defense lawyer | 1K – 10K | $4.96 – $50.17 |
| misdemeanor lawyer | 100 – 1K | $5.36 – $43.45 |
| probation violation lawyer | 10K – 100K | $3.70 – $37.83 |
| theft lawyer | 1K – 10K | $4.88 – $34.08 |
| warrant lawyer | 100 – 1K | $3.50 – $32.43 |
| reckless driving lawyer | 1K – 10K | $6.38 – $32.45 |
| expungement lawyer | 10K – 100K | $3.08 – $27.50 |
| driving with suspended license lawyer | 1K – 10K | $4.58 – $26.44 |
| traffic ticket lawyer | 10K – 100K | $3.70 – $14.40 |
Three patterns matter for budgeting:
- Volume and value point in opposite directions. Expungement, probation violation and traffic ticket searches are cheap and plentiful. Federal, felony, sex offense and white collar searches are rarer and expensive, and usually carry much larger fees.
- White collar has the highest floor. “White collar crime lawyer” starts at $24 a click, the highest low-end bid on the list, because the cases are large and few firms compete for long.
- A few cases drive the year. In the Birmingham account, 53% of the best month’s fees came from three matters of $10,000 or more. Budget the serious charges first and let the cheap, high-volume charges compete for what is left.
DUI has its own guide: Google Ads for DUI lawyers.
Domestic violence and assault
Domestic violence is the charge where the search terms are most two-sided. The same words, “domestic violence lawyer”, are typed by the accused and by victims looking for protection or to press charges. If your ads don’t filter for that, you pay $7 to $69 a click for callers you can’t represent.
- Keywords: “domestic violence lawyer”, “domestic assault lawyer” (the term in Minnesota and some other states), “assault charge lawyer”, “charged with domestic violence”, “no contact order lawyer”.
- Ad copy: write for the accused. “Charged With Domestic Assault?” or “Defending DV Charges in [County]” self-selects the right caller.
- Landing page: a dedicated domestic violence page, never your general or expungement page. In the Birmingham account, domestic violence searches were landing on the expungement page until it was fixed.
- Timing: these arrests cluster at night and on weekends, often with a no-contact order the next morning. Answer coverage matters.
"victim"
"shelter"
"hotline"
"how to report"
"press charges"
"file charges"
"get a restraining order"
"protective order for"
"advocate"
"signs of"
"statistics"Be careful with “restraining order lawyer”: some searchers want to fight an order against them, which is defense work. Block “get a restraining order” rather than “restraining order”.
Drug charges
Drug searches split into possession, which is high-volume and lower-fee, and distribution or trafficking, which is rarer and far more valuable. Separate them so the possession volume doesn’t starve the serious cases.
- Keywords: “drug possession lawyer” (1K – 10K a month, $5.59 – $53.56), “drug charge lawyer”, “possession with intent lawyer”, “drug trafficking lawyer”, plus the substance where it matters in your area.
- Laws differ by state. Where marijuana is legal, marijuana possession searches shift toward record clearing and DUI-drug cases. Align keywords with what still gets charged.
- Landing page: possession and trafficking on separate pages or clearly separate sections.
"rehab"
"treatment center"
"detox"
"drug test"
"how long does"
"stay in your system"
"legalization"
"symptoms"
"hotline"Federal criminal defense
Federal cases are where one client can pay for months of advertising. The searcher is often not under arrest yet: they received a target letter, a grand jury subpoena, or a visit from agents, and they are researching before they call.
- Keywords: “federal criminal defense attorney” (1K – 10K, $8.01 – $85.00), “federal defense lawyer”, “target letter lawyer”, “grand jury subpoena lawyer”, “federal indictment lawyer”, plus agency terms such as “FBI investigation lawyer”.
- Geography: target the federal district or districts you practice in, which is often wider than your county campaigns.
- Ad copy and page: experience in federal court, the stages of a federal case, and what to do before talking to agents. These clients read more before calling, so the page should be longer and more detailed than a DUI page.
- Measure longer. Federal matters can take weeks to retain. Judge this campaign over a longer window than DUI or misdemeanors.
"federal public defender"
"jobs"
"prison"
"inmate locator"
"sentencing guidelines calculator"
"pardon"White collar and fraud
White collar searches are few and expensive, with the highest minimum bid of any charge here ($24 to $65 for “white collar crime lawyer”). They are also mixed with civil fraud: people who were defrauded and want to sue.
- Keywords: “white collar crime lawyer”, “fraud defense lawyer”, “embezzlement lawyer”, “wire fraud lawyer”, “accused of fraud”.
- Avoid plain “fraud lawyer” unless you add negatives, since many of those searchers are victims.
- Schedule: unlike arrest-driven charges, these searches happen mostly during business hours. Weight the budget there.
"scammed"
"victim of"
"get money back"
"report fraud"
"identity theft"
"sue"
"class action"Sex crimes
Sex offense defense is high-stakes and sensitive. Searchers want discretion, and the search terms overlap with registry lookups and victim services.
- Keywords: “sex crime lawyer” (1K – 10K, $7.33 – $74.80), “sex offense lawyer”, “accused of sexual assault lawyer”, “criminal sexual conduct lawyer” (the term in Minnesota and Michigan).
- Ad copy: keep it professional and non-explicit. Google restricts sexual content in ads, and explicit wording can get ads limited or disapproved. “Confidential Defense for Sex Offense Charges” works; graphic terms don’t.
- Landing page: emphasise confidentiality and a private consultation, and make a short form available for people who can’t talk on the phone yet.
"registry"
"registered sex offenders"
"offender search"
"near me map"
"victim"
"advocate"
"report"
"statistics"Weapons and gun charges
- Keywords: “gun charge lawyer” (1K – 10K, $6.85 – $54.30), “weapons charge lawyer”, “felon in possession lawyer”, “carrying without a permit lawyer”.
- Policy: Google restricts ads that promote weapons. Legal defense is a different thing, but keep the ad and page clearly about legal representation.
- Negatives: “permit class”, “ccw class”, “gun shop”, “buy”, “for sale”, “range”.
Theft and shoplifting
Theft and shoplifting clicks are cheaper ($4.88 – $34.08 for “theft lawyer”), and the fees are usually lower. They work when the volume is there and intake is efficient, and they can be a good way to fill a newer attorney’s calendar.
- Keywords: “theft lawyer”, “shoplifting lawyer”, “petty theft lawyer”, “retail theft lawyer”.
- Don’t block “civil demand letter”. People who receive a store’s civil demand letter are often facing a theft charge too.
- Negatives: “loss prevention”, “jobs”, “prevention”, “statistics”, “stolen car report”.
Probation violations and warrants
These are some of the best-value searches in criminal defense. “Probation violation lawyer” gets 10K – 100K searches a month at $3.70 – $37.83, and the searcher usually has a hearing date or an active warrant.
- Keywords: “probation violation lawyer”, “violated probation”, “warrant lawyer”, “bench warrant lawyer”, “turn myself in lawyer”.
- Ad copy: urgency and a path forward: “Warrant Out? Talk to a Lawyer Before You Turn Yourself In.”
- Negatives: “probation officer”, “jobs”, “warrant search”, “check for warrants”, “inmate”.
Juvenile defense
The searcher is almost always a parent. That changes the copy and the hours: parents search in the evening and want to understand the process and protect the child’s future.
- Keywords: “juvenile defense lawyer” (1K – 10K, $4.96 – $50.17), “juvenile lawyer”, “my child was arrested”, “juvenile court lawyer”.
- Copy and page: write to the parent. Explain juvenile court, records, and school consequences.
- Negatives: “detention center jobs”, “juvenile justice degree”, “statistics”.
Expungement and record sealing
Expungement is the opposite of DUI: cheap clicks ($3.08 – $27.50), high volume (10K – 100K searches), lower fees, and no emergency. People research for weeks and compare. It suits firms that can handle volume efficiently, often with flat fees and form-based intake.
- Keywords: “expungement lawyer”, “record sealing lawyer”, “clear my record”, “expunge a dui” (where your state allows it).
- Schedule: business hours are fine; these clients are not calling at 2 a.m.
- Negatives: “free”, “forms”, “diy”, “how to expunge yourself”, “background check”, “pardon” (unless you handle them).
- Keep it separate. Cheap expungement clicks inside a general campaign will absorb the budget because Google finds them easy to buy.
Traffic tickets and suspended license
“Traffic ticket lawyer” has 10K – 100K searches at only $3.70 – $14.40, but fees are low and volume can bury intake. In the Birmingham account, removing minor traffic tickets from Local Services Ads cleaned up the lead flow. Run these only if you have a high-volume traffic practice; otherwise block them in your criminal campaigns.
How to structure the account by charge
| Campaign | Budget priority | Hours | Landing page |
|---|---|---|---|
| DUI | High, but tightly controlled | When someone answers, including nights | DUI page |
| Felony, federal, sex offense, white collar | Highest per case | Nights for arrests; business hours for federal and white collar | One page per charge |
| Domestic violence and assault | High | Nights and weekends | Domestic violence page |
| Drug | Split possession and trafficking | Nights and weekends | Drug charges page |
| Probation and warrants | Medium, strong value | Daytime and evening | Probation and warrants page |
| Theft, juvenile, misdemeanors | Medium to low | Evening | Charge pages |
| Expungement | Low per case, volume | Business hours | Expungement page |
- One campaign per main charge, so each has its own budget and Google can’t move money from serious cases to cheap ones.
- A shared negative keyword list for everything that applies to the whole account (jobs, public defender, inmate search, competitor names), plus each charge’s own negatives. The full criminal defense negative keyword list.
- Exact and phrase match to start. In the Birmingham account, merging four overlapping campaigns and moving to exact match cut weekly spend 38% and cost per conversion 65% in the first week.
- One landing page per charge. A domestic violence caller who lands on an expungement page leaves.
How to decide where the budget goes
- Track every signed case with its charge, lead source and fee in your case management system.
- Every month, compare cost per signed case and signed fees by charge campaign.
- Move budget toward the charges with the best fees per dollar spent, not the most calls.
- Give the high-fee charges enough budget to stay visible all day; one federal or felony case can cover months of spend.
- Judge on 60 to 90 days, since revenue lags clicks by one to three months.
One more lesson from the same account: broad terms like “criminal attorney” returned about 2× their cost, while high-intent, charge-specific searches returned about 4×. Specific beats general almost every time. How to track signed cases by campaign.
Local Services Ads by charge
Local Services Ads let you choose which case types you accept. Turn on the charges you want and switch off the rest, then dispute leads that don’t fit. In the Birmingham account, LSA returned 5.5× its cost in signed fees, against 3.4× for search ads. How LSA works for defense firms.
Mistakes that cost defense firms the most
- One “criminal defense” campaign for every charge.
- Letting expungement or traffic volume absorb the budget for felony and federal cases.
- Domestic violence and fraud ads that show to victims.
- Explicit wording in sex offense ads that gets them limited.
- Sending every charge to the homepage.
- Judging federal and white collar campaigns on the same short window as DUI.
Want to see which charges are actually paying off in your account? Bellringer works only with criminal defense firms, one firm per city. Book a free 30-minute account review and we’ll break down your spend and signed cases by charge.
Should a criminal defense firm run separate Google Ads campaigns for each charge?
Yes. Charges differ in click cost, search behavior and fee. Separate campaigns give each its own budget, negatives and landing page, and stop cheap, high-volume searches from absorbing the budget meant for serious cases.
Which criminal charges are most expensive to advertise on Google?
DUI is the most expensive, with top-of-page bids up to about $132 for “dui lawyer”. Felony, federal, assault and sex offense searches also reach $75 to $115 at the top end. White collar has the highest minimum, starting around $24 a click.
Which criminal defense searches are the best value?
Probation violation and warrant searches are often the best value: “probation violation lawyer” gets 10K to 100K searches a month at about $3.70 to $37.83, and the searcher usually has a deadline. DMV hearing searches are a similar bargain for DUI firms.
How do I stop domestic violence ads showing to victims?
Write the ads for the accused (“Charged With Domestic Assault?”) and add negatives such as victim, shelter, hotline, press charges and get a restraining order. Avoid blocking “restraining order” on its own, since some searchers want to fight one.
Can I advertise sex crime defense on Google Ads?
Yes, but keep the ads professional and non-explicit. Google restricts sexual content in ads, so graphic wording can get ads limited or disapproved. Focus on confidential defense and a private consultation.
Is expungement worth advertising?
It can be for firms that handle volume efficiently. Clicks are cheap and searches are plentiful, but fees are lower and clients research for weeks. Keep it in its own campaign so it doesn’t absorb the budget for urgent, higher-fee charges.
How should I split my budget between charges?
Track signed fees by charge, then move budget toward the charges with the best return per dollar, not the most calls. Make sure high-fee charges stay visible all day, since one large case can cover months of advertising.
Get your account broken down by charge
If your criminal defense ads run as one campaign, you can’t see which charges pay and which drain the budget. Bellringer manages Google Ads and Local Services Ads only for criminal defense firms. Book a free 30-minute account review, or see pricing.
