Google Ads for Solicitors: How to Start Without Waste

How does Google Ads work for a law firm?

Google Ads is paid search advertising. You choose the searches you want your ad to appear for, write the ad, and send people to a page on your website. Google runs an auction each time someone searches. Under the common cost-per-click model, you are charged only when someone clicks, you set a maximum cost per click, and the amount you actually pay is often lower than that ceiling. You also set a budget so that spend stays under control. Because the price of a click is set by the auction, there is no fixed rate, and what you pay can differ between practice areas, places and times. Google also rates the quality of what you send people to. Its Quality Score is a diagnostic that rates keywords from 1 to 10 using expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. A clear, relevant page is therefore part of the job, not an extra.

What should you set up before you spend?

Set up the measurement first. Google explains that conversion measurement tracks valuable actions, such as sign-ups and phone calls, and shows which keywords, ads and campaigns lead to them. For a law firm, the actions that matter are calls and enquiry forms, and later the signed case. Google describes several ways to track calls: calls made from your ads, calls to a number on your website using a Google forwarding number, clicks on a number on a mobile page, and call outcomes imported from your own system. Forwarding numbers are only available in certain countries, so confirm that they are available to you. Then check the basics: a landing page for each service, a phone number that is answered, a form that works on a phone, and privacy information next to the form. Finally, agree who will review the account each week. Our guide to law firm lead tracking explains the wider picture.

How do you choose keywords and block waste?

Start with the searches that show a need for the work you want, such as a type of matter and a place, and write a separate ad group for each service. Keep them specific. Then work on what you do not want. Google says negative keywords stop your ads showing for searches that do not fit your business, so your budget reaches people more likely to be interested. For a firm, that can mean people looking for jobs, training, free templates or work you do not handle. Google gives three match types for negatives: broad, phrase and exact. It warns that negatives do not automatically cover close variants, and that adding too many can reduce your reach. So review the search terms report regularly, add negatives that clearly miss the mark, and avoid blocking terms that real clients might use. Do this weekly in the first months, then monthly once the account settles.

• Group keywords by service and place
• Write ads that match the page they lead to
• Review the search terms report each week at first
• Add negatives carefully and check their effect

How should you set your budget and bidding?

Set a budget you can afford to lose while you learn, and plan a test period with a clear review date. Work back from the maths in our guide to cost per signed case: how many signed cases do you need, and how many enquiries does it take to get one? Google says that automated bidding can try to get the most clicks within your budget, and clicks are not enquiries. So choose a goal that matches what you want, such as enquiries, and check that conversion tracking is working before you let any automated strategy run. Avoid changing many things at once; if you change the keywords, ads, page and budget together, you cannot tell what helped. Keep a log of changes, with dates. Be cautious about high-cost searches. A click that costs a lot is only a good buy if the signed cases it produces justify it, so test small, measure properly and scale only what works.

How do you tie ads to signed cases?

Google lets you report signed cases back to the account. Its help pages explain that offline conversion imports record outcomes that happen after the click, such as signing a contract. When someone clicks an ad, Google creates a click identifier. You save it with the enquiry, then upload the result, including the type and time of the conversion, once the case is signed. Google says offline imports and enhanced conversions for leads uploads are moving to the Data Manager API, so check the current set-up steps in your account or ask your supplier. Even without imports, you can keep a simple record of source, date and outcome for every enquiry, and compare it with the account each month. Connect the record to your case system, so the signed case is counted once and counted correctly. This is the step that turns Google Ads from a source of clicks into a source of known, costed work.

What mistakes waste the most money?

Most wasted spend comes from a short list of avoidable mistakes. Sending every click to the home page makes people hunt for the service they wanted, and many will give up. Letting the phone ring out, or answering after a long delay, throws away enquiries you have already paid for. Counting every click as a result hides the fact that few of them become cases. Leaving a campaign alone for months allows irrelevant searches to build up. Running ads for work the firm does not want, or cannot take on, fills the inbox with enquiries that go nowhere. Changing wording to sound stronger can slip into claims you cannot support. Each of these is easy to check with a weekly look at the account, the calls and the forms. If you work with a supplier, ask to see the same figures in your own account, and keep your own login so that you can check them whenever you like.

• Landing pages that do not match the ad
• Calls that go unanswered or are answered late
• No tracking beyond clicks
• No regular review of search terms
• Ad claims nobody has approved

What do SRA rules mean for your ads?

The SRA's notice on marketing to the public says publicity must be accurate and not misleading, and that firms must not make unsolicited approaches to the public. It also says firms remain responsible for material produced by third parties, which includes the agency or supplier that writes your ads. If you advertise "no win, no fee", the separate January 2026 notice expects clear, accurate wording and an explanation of the costs and risks. Our guide to no win, no fee advertising covers this. The marketing notice also warns that further approaches to people who first enquired with a third party can still be unsolicited, so ask your COLP before using remarketing or audience features. Never agree to pay a supplier per lead or per referred client for personal injury work without legal advice. This is general information, not legal advice.

Next step

Thinking about Google Ads, or unsure whether your current campaign is paying its way? Book a free audit and we will look at your tracking, landing pages and enquiry handling. See also our lead generation and landing page services.