Scaling and growing a PPC campaign is all finding areas for growth in relation to getting the most conversions for every dollar spent.
Believe it or not, many successful PPC campaigns waste hundreds and even thousands of dollars on wasted impressions.
In other words, they’re not ready to effectively scale.
This means that even if your local campaigns are acquiring thousands of impressions every week, your local PPC ads could be potentially falling on blind eyes and deaf ears.
Looking into every impression you receive is difficult, if not downright impossible.
Local businesses, in particular, are more fulfilled when they can convert ad impressions into foot traffic.
In paid search, optimizing PPC campaigns to achieve this goal is called local PPC.
A local PPC ad involves a lot of refinement around optimizing your local PPC ads for nearby searches to compel viewers to visit a location instead of a website.
This is done mainly through geotargeting.
If you’re not familiar, local PPC can be a complicated topic. However, like local SEO, local PPC isn’t as meticulous when you understand the benefits of geotargeting.
As such, this guide will explain all you need to know about both subjects.
To better understand local PPC, let’s provide an example.
Let’s say that you’re at home and want to order takeout for dinner. As you’re searching for restaurants online, you come across an ad for one of your favorite local restaurants that has begun to offer delivery.
Intrigued with the idea of having your food delivered, you click the ad and immediately place your order. As simple as this example sounds, this is what local PPC is. Even with a tight budget, a defined local PPC strategy can help you get your local search ads right in front of prospects with strong buyer’s intent.
With that said, local PPC is a paid search campaign that’s designed to target individuals within a specific region.
You can run these local PPC campaigns on both social media platforms and search engines, primarily through Google and Facebook Ads.
With local PPC, you only pay when a person clicks on your ad, so you have to be careful about who you’re targeting. Wasted conversions on people outside of your scope of service can result in an inflated budget over time.
Thus, the benefits of local PPC are:
With a local PPC strategy, your ads will only show up in front of people who are the most interested in your products and services, mainly because you control who your ads target.
Ideally, your ads should only target people who can benefit from your business. Since your local PPC campaigns is–by definition–local, you won’t have to compete with corporate enterprises. This means bidding won’t be as intensive, and you can actually stretch your marketing dollars to achieve even more conversions.
A successful local PPC campaign will endure less competition, in addition to more impressions and conversions.
As a local business running local business PPC, make sure potential customers and local searchers know you exist is paramount. By running local PPC campaign, you can improve your brand awareness in your community.
As online shopping becomes more popular, it’s never been more important to run a local PPC campaign. When your ads show up to relevant/target audience, they’ll be much more likely to convert since you’re targeting qualified leads instead of unrefined prospects.
Fortunately, local PPC ads are more measurable than other local marketing techniques, such as flyers and banners. By using these ads, you can more accurately track impressions, clicks, and conversions.
One of the most frustrating aspects of running a nationwide PPC campaign is measuring up to enterprises with larger budgets. What makes matters worse is that you could be up against a fierce competitor that’s receiving help from a top-tier digital marketing agency.
In local PPC, you’ll simply be pitted against other nearby businesses. This means you should know your competitive landscape better. Thus, it’s possible to achieve more success running a local PPC campaign compared to a broader one.
Now that you know what local PPC is and why it’s important, it’s now time to begin putting in the work to create an effective strategy. Here are some proven ways to get started:
When you decide to set up your campaign, make sure that your location is highly specific before moving forward. For example, you should even use your zip code to define your local services ads area.
With that said, it’s also important to include areas where you don’t do local business PPC to avoid targeting the wrong prospects. When you include a specific location, your campaign and budget becomes more efficient since your ads won’t reach people who can’t use your service.
The phrases you use in your PPC ads should also be highly specific and relevant to the location where you’re doing local business PPC. For this step, you can use Google Trends to see if people in your area are using “Chinese takeout” instead of “Chinese food near me.”
Also, make sure to include your service location in your ad. By including your city name in the headline and copy of your ad can disqualify ineligible prospects from clicking on your ad.
That way, you can save money by never paying for clicks from someone who’ll never convert. Using hyper-local phrases along with targeted keywords is the key to a successful strategy.
Running a local PPC campaign makes it simple to immediately test and optimize your ads based on real-time results. It’s important to stay vigilant and adapt your ads to changes in its performance, whether positive or negative.
During tests, you can perform A/B tests to conduct side-by-side comparisons to different aspects of your ads, such as headlines, copy, and call-to-actions (CTAs).
If you are already running an effective SEO campaign, you should write down your high-performance local PPC keywords and begin targeting them in your local PPC strategy. For example, if a certain keyword performs well for organic search, it may produce the same results for paid search.
You can gain incredible insights into the best-performing keywords people are using to find your website in Google Search Console. You can also use tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush.
Remember, SEO vs. PPC is not a mutually exclusive strategy!
By enabling ad extensions, you can add a lot of important details about your local business to your local PPC campaign. The more details you can add, the better your ads will perform.
Thus, you’ll get the most bang for your buck. The two types of ad extensions you should consider are for your phone number and location. This way, you can add your phone number and address to your ads so your leads can contact you directly.
Before you set up any ad extensions, ensure that your Google My Business (GMB) profile is up-to-date with accurate information. Your campaign will pull your data from your GMB profile.
These buttons make it easier for people to contact your business outright instead of visiting your website.
Again, you can run a local PPC campaign on both search engines and social media platforms. Try using both Facebook and Google Ads. Google Ads is clearly the most widely-used online advertising platform in the world.
Facebook Ads are just as recognizable, especially if your target demographics are constantly using Facebook in the first place.
Having a designated page that can convert qualified leads is key to making sure you aren’t wasting your money on ads that aren’t following through. This is called a landing page.
Instead of linking your ads to your website URL, use a landing page instead. This page should:
You may have to hire a copywriter and UI designer, but the ROI you can achieve from creating a landing page can be extremely beneficial to your bottom line.
Geotargeting is often synonymous with local PPC, and that’s for a great reason. Geographic ad targeting, or geotargeting for short, is an advertising strategy where the advertiser can choose specific locations where their ads will appear.
Geotargeting is popular on virtually any online advertising platform, from Google Ads to LinkedIn ads. The purpose of geotargeting is to place your ads in locations where prospects are more likely to convert, improving the ROI of your ad budget.
Here is what a sample geo-targeted ad looks like:
The good news for advertisers is that geotargeting is a rather simple concept. With this feature, your ads can trace the most qualified leads based on:
One of the most exciting facts about geotargeting is that your net can be as narrow and wide as you want. Below are some of the examples of geographical categories you can target in your ads:
This is the widest range you’ll ideally want to target. Outside of this range, your ads won’t be considered local, and then you’ll be bidding against global competitors. In any case, you use this category to address concerns your audience may be facing, such as 24-hour customer service and worldwide shipping.
If you’re still trying to reach a large audience but the “countries” range is too wide, then you can settle for this category instead. For this category, you can target specific provinces, regions, and states.
This is the perfect setting for local PPC ads. In this category, you can target leads (via location extensions) in specific radiuses and proximities from your business, rather than casting a wide net in regions and cities.
In fact, targeting a radius is best for driving foot traffic when you’re offering delivery services. The only caveat is that you must meet a certain threshold of traffic when targeting specific radiuses.
This means that if your target range is too small, your ads may not be seen at all, and you’ll just waste your time. On the other hand, if your target range is too large, then you could be targeting people who aren’t going to travel to visit your business.
If you’re going to use geotargeting to refine your ad reach, here are some effective strategies for getting the job done:
Brick-and-mortar stores often use location-specific ads to drive foot traffic. If you’re following this successful PPC strategy, take it a step further and create time-specific ads as well. For example, if your business is open at specific times, optimize your ads accordingly.
If you’re drawing a lot of visitors to your restaurant during lunch hours but want the same results for breakfast, then set your ads earlier in the day to accomplish this goal.
When you’re using geotargeting to segment your campaigns, this opens up the door of possibilities regarding the different aspects you can test, such as:
However, this is only on a limited scale. If you’re not sure how your campaign will perform, you can test your ad to specific markets before it goes live.
This tip may seem very basic, but do you understand how many location names are similar in any given city. When you misspell or use the wrong location name, your ads aren’t going to give mixed signals.
As such, make sure that your locations are very specific and accurate before running them.
As you can see, local PPC isn’t too difficult to understand. However, if you really want to establish a competitive advantage in your industry, you should hire a qualified PPC agency to run your ads.
Whether your ads aren’t reaching your target audience or you’re spending too much money, we can help. Contact us today to speak to a member of our team and receive a free proposal.
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Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn’t an optional marketing accessory – it’s a serious tool for law firms that want measurable results fast. Whether your practice areas involve personal injury, criminal defense, family law, federal crimes, or estate planning, PPC gives you access to leads who need your services now. But throwing money at Google and Facebook without a plan will only drain your budget. If you’re tired of seeing competing law firms outrank you, this guide is for you.
Let’s explore the 10 key aspects of PPC campaigns that will bring you paying clients without wasting your ad spend.
PPC only works if you get the foundation right. That means finding keywords and phrases that your ideal clients type into search engines when they need help. If you choose the wrong keywords, you could end up wasting your ad spend fast. Law firm PPC is highly competitive and one of the most expensive PPC markets around. Small mistakes can cost a lot of money.
To get this done, use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Autocomplete, and Semrush to get a list of 30-50 keywords related to your location and practice area.
Remember that PPC keywords will differ from general keywords used to get traffic to your website. You’re paying for each click, so for PPC, you only want to target keywords that indicate the user is likely to become a paying client. High-intent keywords are the ideal target, like “DUI attorney” or “drug charge defense attorney.” These phrases indicate the user is facing charges and needs an attorney now.
Use long-tail keywords related to your practice areas. These are phrases like, “how to beat a DUI charge in [state],” “how much does a child support lawyer cost in [county]?,” and “what should I do after being arrested for [offense]?”
Long-tail keywords are less likely to be cannibalized by your other paid ads, AI-generated summaries, and featured snippets. They’re also more likely to send you hot leads who become clients.
When a user searches for the phrase “how to beat a DUI charge in California,” the algorithm will know the user’s zip code, and will serve them ads for local DUI law firms who have successfully optimized their ads for DUI-charge-related phrases.
Avoid generic keywords, like “lawyer in [city].” While there’s a possibility someone searching for a generic lawyer might need your services, there’s also a chance they’re looking for someone outside of your practice areas. It’s not worth wasting ad spend to find out.
Understand that optimizing your ads for certain searches doesn’t necessarily mean using those exact words in your copy. For example, to optimize for the search “DUI attorney near me,” you’d use the phrase “DUI attorney” and include locations by city name, county, or zip code. You don’t need to include the words “near me” because ad algorithms interpret those words as a command to return local results. Google is good at discerning intent from searches.
Your PPC ads should direct users to a specific landing page created just for that ad. Don’t send people to your home page because it will make conversions harder. Home pages are too generic and will break the user’s sense of continuity and flow.
Each landing page should be specifically relevant to the user’s search query. For example, if your ad talks about services related to divorce, clicking should send users to a web page that outlines your divorce-related services.
Most attorneys create one page for every practice area and send paid ad clicks to those pages. This strategy is good since it serves visitors regardless of their origin. However, in order to track PPC ad conversions, it helps to have landing pages that don’t show up in search results and only get shown via ads. All you need to do is make a copy of your practice area pages, give them friendly URLs, and use them for your ad destinations.
A good landing page will encourage the user to call your law firm right away. To accomplish this, you need the following elements:
Your landing pages serve one purpose: to get users to call your law firm. With that in mind, make sure your phone number is visible on every page above the fold, preferably in your header. To make it clickable use the following markup:
<a href="tel:1234567890">(123) 456-7890</a>
Use this markup for every instance of your phone number throughout your website so mobile users can click to call. This seemingly small convenience will get you more leads.
People need a reason to trust you, so include client testimonials, previous settlement wins, Google and Trustpilot reviews, and links to your Avvo or Martindale profile.
Your copy should aim to convert clicks into leads that either contact you via phone, a contact form, or chat bot. Don’t be wordy – mention your specialty, location, what makes you different, and instruct people to contact you now. For example, your drug charge landing page might state you have 20+ years of experience and that you offer free consultations. Copy doesn’t need to be long to be compelling. For law firms, shorter is better – people don’t have time to read an essay when they’re just trying to get help.
Your CTA should be visible above the fold and on every page throughout your website. It should be clear, short, and direct. For example, tell visitors to call you for a free case evaluation.
Paid ads only work when you’re willing to spend money. If your daily budget isn’t high enough, your ads won’t get served to many people. To increase your impression share and therefore increase ad visibility, you need a good ad Quality Score and a decent budget. Higher bids can push your ads into favorable positions, which can increase your click-through rate (CTR) and generate more conversions.
Legal keywords can cost more than $100 per click, so you need to invest in your ads. However, if you’re doing ads on your own, start with a conservative budget and ramp up once you identify the campaigns that are converting. If you’re working with a reputable PPC agency, you can go all-in from day one without worry.
Even though lawyers typically pay more per lead than other industries, PPC ads are still considered a low-cost, effective form of marketing. Compared to other options, paid ads are cost-effective and excellent for capturing relevant leads immediately. As long as your ads are running, you’ll get clicks to your website.
When you identify your high-performing ads, cut the fat and pause keywords or ads that are underperforming and reallocate that money to your winners. PPC ads need to be managed weekly to ensure optimal performance.
The time your ads run matters; not every hour in the day is equal. There’s no need to advertise 24/7 unless you’re going to answer calls at 3:00 a.m. People might call you, get your voicemail, hang up, and call someone else in the morning. Even if you have a contact form on your website, someone who is stressed out and facing serious criminal charges may not go back to your site to look for an alternate way to contact you. They’ll go to bed and search for someone else in the morning.
So, what are the best hours to run ads? Most law firms see the most conversions during business hours and early evenings, so that’s when your ads should run in local time. Schedule your ads to run during peak hours for mobile searches. This is easy with Google Ads. To avoid paying for junk clicks, turn off your campaigns on holidays, weekends, or hours you aren’t available unless you have someone ready to take calls.
Location targeting is how you’ll get better conversions. You only want people in your local service area to see your ads, but you need to tell the ad platforms where you want your ads to be served.
Target high-value zip codes based on income, need, and proximity. If you work on a contingency basis, you might want to target people regardless of income since you’ll get paid if and when you win their case. However, if you don’t work with contingency fees, you need to be specific about your targets.
It’s equally important to exclude irrelevant locations from your ads. If you notice you’re getting clicks from neighboring states or areas you don’t serve, set your negative geotargeting rules to block them.
To get more clicks from relevant leads, use location-specific copy in your ads. Mention your city or county in the ad headline to catch people’s attention.
Negative keywords are your secret weapon for reducing wasted ad spend on irrelevant clicks. Add negative keywords that would indicate a user is not searching for actual legal services. For example, standard words like “free,” “pro bono,” “advice,” “template,” “blog,” “forum,” or “DIY” are a good place to start. People searching for these words are unlikely to become paying clients.
Other negative keywords to include are phrases and words that:
· Indicate a person is just looking for information or resources, but they don’t need a lawyer
· Are related to legal areas outside of your practice areas
The back end of your PPC platform will track clicks, but you need to track leads. The easiest way to do this is by hiring a PPC agency to manage your entire campaign from top to bottom. However, if you’re running ads in-house, here are some tracking strategies:
· Use call tracking software. You need to know which ads are generating calls. Tools like CallRail and WhatConverts will show you exactly where your calls are coming from.
· Tie form submissions to campaigns. If you just collect general form data, you won’t know where people came from. Connect each form to the ad group or keyword so you can track clicks and conversions.
· Ignore vanity metrics. A high click-through rate doesn’t mean much if you’re not getting conversions. Focus on cost per lead and cost per signed case. If your CTR is exceptionally high compared to conversions, adjust your campaign until you get better results.
Remember that you can’t improve what you don’t track.
While some people will call right away, not everyone looking for legal help will convert immediately. People facing criminal charges are more likely to make immediate phone calls, but when the matter isn’t urgent, people tend to research their options for a bit. This is where remarketing comes into play.
Remarketing ads help you convert more leads by targeting individuals who have already interacted with your ad or website, keeping your law firm at the top of their mind. You can customize your ad based on the web pages they visited for an even more personalized experience. However, you should limit the frequency so your ad doesn’t follow them for weeks or months.
Google Ads Assets are one of the most under-utilized PPC features, but they’re packed with power that can help you generate more high-quality clicks that convert to leads. The most useful assets for law firms include:
· Lead form assets. If you want to advertise during non-business hours, lead form assets will allow users to fill out a form directly within the ad, skipping the landing page completely. This will allow you to gather leads after hours without disappointing users when you don’t answer the phone.
· Location assets. This will display your physical address, hours, phone number, and map with your ads, including on YouTube. You’ll need a Google Business profile to set this up.
· Call assets. This allows users to call you directly from an ad. It displays a click-to-call button for mobile users, and displays your phone number for desktop users. This only works on the Google Search Network.
If you want to enhance your Google Ads performance, Ads Assets are essential.
PPC isn’t something you want to wing, especially when each click can cost $100 or more. If you’re not getting leads, you need a better strategy. Managing legal PPC campaigns requires a lot of time, constant optimization, and a solid understanding of how to attract leads that will become clients. That’s where a PPC agency becomes your competitive advantage.
At PPC.co, we help law firms build high-performance PPC campaigns that convert clicks into paying clients. If you’re tired of wasting your money and want results you can see, contact us today for a free consultation. We won’t just bring you traffic – we’ll get you qualified leads who need your help now.
When this apartment complex client partnered with PPC.co, their goal was clear: generate more qualified leads through Google Ads. In just 60 days—from January to March 2025—we transformed their paid acquisition performance. Total conversions more than tripled, jumping from 10 to 32, while the overall conversion rate soared by over 300%. At the same time, we drove down the cost per conversion by 44%, delivering significantly more leads at a much lower cost.
By strategically combining Performance Max and high-intent Search campaigns, we not only increased lead volume but improved overall efficiency and ROI. This rapid and measurable improvement underscores the value of data-driven optimization and expert campaign management.
This case study is a testament to what can happen when a well-structured campaign meets expert strategy and continuous optimization. Whether you're launching a new property or looking to boost occupancy in a competitive market, PPC.co delivers real results—fast.
Ready to grow your leads and lower your cost per conversion?
Contact us today to schedule a free audit and discover how we can help you achieve similar results.
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