Google Ads Audit — see what's leaking budget before you spend another dollar.
Google Ads for Lawyers
Your Trusted PPC Partner for Steady, Qualified Cases
Google Ads for lawyers, done right: expert messaging, conversion-focused landing pages, and strategic targeting, so I can maximize your ad spend and you can rest easy knowing new cases are on the way.
Not sure if Google Ads is worth it for your firm? Contact me, I'll shoot you straight.
Henry Bell and Bellringer Marketing have been great to work with. I met Henry as a marketing novice and I asked him for extra attention as I learn the marketing process. He has exceeded my expectations with his level of availability, communication and his support. I own a small law firm and I started seeing the benefits of hiring Henry after just one month.Henry knew exactly what we needed to help our client build his unique campaign. He filled in the knowledge gaps we were missing.Henry did a great job improving/fixing my Google Search ad campaign. I had something set up by a cheap freelancer that was getting bad returns. After setting something up with Henry, my leads improved greatly! Thank you!Response from the owner 12:25 28 Mar 25 I'm glad I could help!I've had more paid ads consultants than I can count. In the end, it was mostly excuses why it wasn't working in return for a lot of money. Henry was referred to me and almost immediately after meeting him, it was clear he knew what he was doing. He's been highly communicative, asks lots of questions about my business to understand what I do, and through some trial and error, my site visits were elevated with quality clientele, conversions went up, and I started see true results. Feel confident when you hire Henry!Response from the owner 17:04 17 Mar 25 Working with you has been amazing. Thanks Robert!Henry has improved our business tremendously. Within just two months we have several leads. He's also very polite and great to work with!Pleased with the work that Henry from Bellringer Marketing has done with our googe ads. Helped us with increase of our metrics with google and increased our numbers. Thank you HenryResponse from the owner 03:29 08 Aug 24 Thanks DanI began working with Henry from Bellringer this past Spring to manage our Google AdWords program. He is doing a great job. I have found him to be reliable, competent and explained the details very clearly. Our most recent results saw an increase in leads from June to July of 43%. Good job Henry.Response from the owner 21:03 31 Jul 24 Appreciate the kind words, Doug.I've enjoyed working with Henry on updating and maintaining our Google account. He is very knowledgeable about the various Google platforms and has a strong desire for customer satisfaction on every project. I like that I don't have to worry about keeping up with the constant changes at Google as he does that for our company. I'd give 4.5 stars if I could.Response from the owner 19:13 21 Nov 23 Thanks Ron, I'm glad to help. Henry has been great! Really knowledgeable and quality work. Definitely recommend!Henry is a solid individual who has taken the lead and helped us create multiple supercharged, high-performing, beyond excellent ROI, AdWords campaigns. He has also got our retargeting campaign going and the results are not just acceptable, they are beyond anything we could have imagined.
Henry has explained everything to us, step by step. Taken the time to explain his reasoning behind each move and this made us confident in the process. There are a lot of people out there that call themselves "AdWords Experts" but Henry is a true professional. Everything is tracked, so we don't have to guess when the phone rings or some submits a form. We see monthly reports and communicate throughout the week/month.
Henry is currently working with us and we hope he continues to work with us as we expand our marketing efforts. Don't make the mistake of going with someone super cheap or super expensive. Henry is fairly priced and will not let you down. This young man is going placesBellringer Marketing went above and beyond in working to take our marketing strategy to the next level specifically in Google's AdWords.Response from the owner 21:12 31 Jan 21 Thanks a lot Matt, working with you is always a blessing.
Henry has explained everything to us, step by step. Taken the time to explain his reasoning behind each move and this made us confident in the process. There are a lot of people out there that call themselves "AdWords Experts" but Henry is a true professional. Everything is tracked, so we don't have to guess when the phone rings or some submits a form. We see monthly reports and communicate throughout the week/month.
Henry is currently working with us and we hope he continues to work with us as we expand our marketing efforts. Don't make the mistake of going with someone super cheap or super expensive. Henry is fairly priced and will not let you down. This young man is going places
Google Ads for law firms with one to three attorneys
Most Google Ads agencies for attorneys are built for large personal injury shops with a marketing director and a six-figure monthly budget. My clients are smaller: criminal defense, personal injury, and family law firms where the attorney is also the person looking at the ad report.
I’ve managed over $3M in Google Ads spend, and most of my work is now legal. Below is what lawyer Google Ads actually cost, how I build an account, and how I keep your ads inside bar rules.
You’re Paying For Every Click. Why Settle For:
❌ Endless unqualified calls
❌ Leads that never convert
❌ Agencies who don’t get legal marketing
❌ Landing pages that bounce traffic faster than they convert
I write ads and landing page copy that speaks directly to your ideal clients, the ones you actually want to sign.
You get data-backed keyword strategies and insider insights into your competitors’ ads, landing pages, and budgets so you can outsmart the competition and convert more clicks into leads.
Know exactly which keywords and ads are driving calls, leads, and sales thanks to a smart setup with GA4, Tag Manager, and CallRail tailored to your business.
Monthly Reports You’ll Actually Use Not fluff. Just the numbers that matter: calls, form fills, cost per case, and what to do next.
Law Firm Google Ads Scorecard: Is Your Account Built to Sign Cases?
This free law firm Google Ads audit checks the 10 things that decide whether your ads produce signed cases or just phone calls: account ownership, call tracking, offline conversions, landing pages, and more.
Let's Fix It:
You didn’t go solo to spend your evenings guessing at ad reports.
Most firms I work with have one to three attorneys and no marketing department, which means the ad account is one more thing on your desk. Every dollar in it should be traceable to a case.
The problem?
Most PPC campaigns get clicks, but not cases.
Calls flood in, and most are people you can’t even help. That’s wasted time, wasted energy, and wasted cash.
What Google Ads cost a small law firm
You pay two things: the ad spend that goes to Google, and the management fee. Keep them separate so you can judge each one.
My minimum is $5,000 a month in ad spend. Below that, a single practice area in a single market can’t buy enough clicks for the account to learn which searches turn into cases. That leaves you paying for guesses.
Work the budget backward from your case fee
The right budget comes from your own numbers, not from what you can spare this month. Here’s an example:
- Average fee per signed case: $4,000
- Target ad cost per signed case (about 20% of the fee): $800
- Lead-to-signed rate: 40%, so the most you can pay per lead is $320
- Click-to-lead rate: 10%, so the most you can pay per click is $32
Those are example numbers only. Run your own before you accept anyone’s budget recommendation, including mine. If your maximum click price comes out below what your market charges, a bigger budget won’t fix it. Intake speed and case value will.
In one criminal defense account I managed, about 24 calls and form fills a month turned into 8 to 12 signed cases. That ratio is what makes the math work. When a firm’s intake converts well, Google Ads for attorneys pays for itself quickly. When it doesn’t, no bid strategy saves it.
How I build Google Ads for attorneys
The order matters. Most failed lawyer Google Ads accounts were built backward: ads first, tracking last.
- Tracking before a dollar is spent. Calls go through CallRail, forms are tracked separately, and leads get matched to your case management system so every signed case traces back to the keyword that produced it.
- Search campaigns only at launch. Display, Search Partners, and Performance Max stay off until tracking proves the account can tell a case from a click.
- One campaign per case type. For criminal defense, that means DUI, drug charges, assault, and so on, each with its own budget and its own landing page. A DUI searcher shouldn’t land on a general “criminal lawyer” page.
- Negative keywords on day one. On one criminal defense account, the search terms report produced 13 separate categories of waste: public defender searches, free legal aid, out-of-state traffic, other practice areas, competitor attorneys’ names, and “what happens if” research. All of it gets blocked before launch, not after it has spent your budget.
- Fix ad structure before raising bids. When a firm loses impression share, the usual advice is to raise the target cost per lead. I’ve tested that directly, and it didn’t improve lead quality. Tighter ad groups and better Quality Score did.
- Signed cases go back to Google, carefully. I import signed cases, but as a secondary conversion. On a small account, making them the primary goal pushed Google’s bidding into relearning and tanked performance twice. Below roughly 30 to 50 conversions a month, Smart Bidding can’t use case value anyway, so I use the case data to make keyword decisions by hand.
Your Google Ads are attorney advertising
Google approving an ad doesn’t mean your state bar would. Rule 7.1 prohibits false or misleading statements about your services, and that applies to a 30-character headline the same as a billboard. I’ve written criminal defense ad copy under Alabama’s Rule 7.1, and I run every account the same way:
- You approve every headline and description before anything goes live.
- Required disclaimers are pinned so Google can’t rotate them out.
- No dynamic keyword insertion, which would publish ad text no attorney has read.
- No results claims or superlatives your state doesn’t allow.
My Onboarding Process
01
Discovery Conversation
I conduct a brief discovery session to gather basic information about your account and objectives.
02
Preliminary Proposal
I provide a high-level proposal based on that discovery, outlining my approach, services, and expected outcomes, along with the need for a detailed audit.
03
Detailed Proposal Post-Audit
I put together a refined proposal after a thorough audit, adjusting scope and pricing based on what I find.
04
Initiation of Work
Once the plan is finalized, I kick off the campaign build to meet your objectives.
05
Ads Go Live
Your ads go live.
06
Monthly Performance Reports
You get regular Google Ads reporting that keeps you informed on the progress and results of your campaigns.
About the owner
I’ve spent years running Google Ads for law firms, trucking companies, and home service businesses. Legal is where most of my work is now.
Case Studies: Real Law Firm Results.
How a Criminal Defense Firm Cut Cost Per Call 21% by Fixing Its Tracking First
Law firm Google Ads case study: how fixing three conversion tracking failures cut cost per call 21% and lifted conversions 33% on a 5% budget increase.
From Skepticism to $160K in Sales for a Trucking Insurance Provider
A regional trucking company hired Bellringer Marketing after losing money with other agencies. With a $3,500 test budget, Bellringer rebuilt their Google Ads system from the ground up, targeting high-intent freight keywords, optimizing ad copy, and tracking every lead. Within weeks, the campaign generated over $160,000 in sales, turning skepticism into confidence and creating a profitable, scalable lead system.
It's Easy Getting Started
Getting started is easy, your time is best spent growing your business, not wrestling with complicated ad setups. Every step is streamlined so you can see results from day one without the hassle.
📅 Book Me
Get specialized Google Ads campaigns that convert. Your personalized Google Ads service awaits.
⚡Optimized
You get a fully optimized campaign that ensures your business shows up when your ideal customers are searching. The same goes for your landing page.
🧭 Onboarding
I handle the entire Google Ads onboarding process so your accounts are live and ready to perform.
📊 Monthly Reports
Each month, you get the option to join a clear, no-fluff reporting session so you always know how your campaigns are performing and where we’re headed next.
FAQS
For one practice area in one market, plan on at least $5,000 a month in ad spend, plus management. Competitive personal injury markets cost far more. The right number comes from your case fee and how well your intake converts; the table above shows how to work it out.
Yes. People search for a criminal lawyer in the hours after an arrest, and paid search puts you in front of them at that moment. When criminal defense campaigns fail, it’s almost always the setup: no call tracking, no negative keywords, and one generic landing page for every charge.
They do different jobs, so most firms should run both. Local Services Ads charge per lead and carry the Google Screened badge. Search ads give you control over which charges and case types you pay for and what your ads say.
You can, if you’ll review the search terms report every week and your tracking ties calls to signed cases. Most solo and small-firm attorneys don’t have those hours, which is usually when the budget starts leaking.
Not if targeting is set correctly. I target people physically in your area rather than Google’s default, which includes anyone “interested” in it, and I exclude counties and states where you don’t practice.
I Earn Your Trust Monthly. No Long-Term Contracts. Direct Access, Not a Ticket Queue.
Get Your Free Google Ads Audit — a 30-minute call where I review your account live.