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How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency

Samuel Edwards
|
April 22, 2023

So, you want to start a digital marketing agency.

Awesome.

You probably already realized this is a challenging endeavor – or else, you wouldn’t be looking for guides like this.

But don’t fret. With the right strategy, the right resources, and enough diligence and follow through, you’ll be in a position to make your digital marketing agency successful.

Why Start a Digital Marketing Agency?

Advertising Agencies in the US

There are currently more than 90,000 marketing agencies in the United States. That’s a lot of competition. But it’s also an illustration of just how appealing the idea of owning your own successful digital marketing agency is.

These are just some of the reasons that attract people to the realm of digital marketing company ownership:

  • It’s easy. Okay, it’s not really that easy. But it’s easy compared to starting other types of businesses. You don’t need to create an advanced new tech product, you don’t need to spend millions of dollars on factories, and you may not even need to hire people. As far as businesses go, navigating the digital marketing landscape is relatively straightforward. With the right digital marketing tools, you can efficiently manage campaigns, track analytics, and optimize results without massive upfront costs.
  • It’s indefinitely valuable. A successful digital marketing agency is also an excellent money-making opportunity. Whether you do the work yourself or outsource it, you can charge a premium for the services you offer. As long as your client portfolio is robust and diversified, your agency can be a revenue-generating machine for years, if not decades. And in some cases, you can sell your mature agency for a massive profit later on. Expanding services like social media management and paid advertising campaigns can further increase your revenue potential.
  • It allows you to be independent. Most people don’t like the idea of working for someone else; it’s just something we feel like we have to do. But as an agency owner, you can be independent, setting your own hours and working the way you want. Building your own business in digital marketing means having the flexibility to choose your niche, define your services, and scale at your own pace.
  • It puts you in control. If you’re already involved in the world of marketing, you might be especially attracted to starting a digital marketing company so that you can be in the driver’s seat. As the leader of this agency, you will be the one choosing clients, making creative decisions, and ultimately guiding the business. You’ll also have the freedom to build a digital marketing team that aligns with your vision and specializes in different areas such as social media platforms and paid advertising campaigns.
  • It uncaps your income. As a business owner, there’s no fundamental limit to how much money you can make. As long as you keep attracting new clients and providing more services, you can keep scaling up your revenue and profits. Whether it’s through SEO, content marketing, social media management, or other strategies, a successful digital marketing agency has virtually limitless growth potential.

How to Start a Digital Marketing Agency: The High-Level View

In this guide, we’re going to cover all the little elements of starting a digital marketing agency.

But first, it’s helpful to establish a high-level overview – the architecture on which we’ll build our next points.

Starting a digital marketing agency usually unfolds over four distinct phases:

  • Individual development. First, you need to make sure you’re in a position to start an agency and make it successful. That could mean fleshing out your skills as a digital marketer, gaining more experience as an entrepreneur, or even shadowing and learning from existing agency owners.
  • Strategy and planning. Next, you need to focus on strategy and planning. How is your agency going to work? How is it going to be distinguished from its main competition? And what is it going to take to make it successful?
  • Founding and establishment. With a business plan in place and all the skills you need, you’ll be ready to officially create and start running your business.
  • Growth. From there, we’ll focus on growth. Your business is already running and (hopefully) making a profit. We just want to make it run bigger and better.

Individual Development: Digital Marketing Skills and Knowledge

Digital Marketing Skills

Let’s start by focusing on the initial skills and experiences you’ll need to be successful in the digital marketing world.

As an agency owner, you may or may not be doing the ground-level work responsible for helping your clients succeed. Either way, you’ll need to have a grasp on the fundamentals of digital marketing so that you can communicate with clients effectively, appropriately pitch your services, and step in as a leader when necessary.

  • Learn the basics. Make sure you understand the basics of digital marketing. if you have a degree in marketing, or significant experience in the field, you may already have this down. You should be familiar with the “four P’s” (product, price, promotion, and place), popular digital marketing channels, and relevant industry terminology. If these concepts are unfamiliar to you, consider taking some marketing courses online or doing your own research to increase your competence.
  • Become a contractor. It’s helpful to become a digital marketing contractor in at least one field before trying to start your own agency. This way, you’ll get an immersive view of how digital marketing transactions work, how campaigns run, and the best ways to interact with clients. Not all contractors make for good agency owners, but all good agency owners have at least some ground-level experiences.
  • Network. Consider networking with other digital marketers. It’s a great way to learn about different sides of the industry, different marketing channels, and how different agencies are run. Additionally, building your professional network can help you find clients, employees, and contractors when it’s time to officially start your agency.
  • Find a mentor (and shadow them). There’s a reason why 84 percent of Fortune 500 companies have mentorship programs: they work. Consider reaching out to existing digital marketing agency owners to see if you can shadow them and get some advice before heading off on your own. Always be respectful and mindful of your mentors’ time.

Individual Development: Entrepreneurship and Management

Digital marketing skills can help you significantly, but there’s more to running a digital marketing agency than just practicing digital marketing.

You also need skills and experience related to entrepreneurship and management.

In other words, how do you run the business?

  • Do your research. Business fundamentals aren’t the type of subject that can be taught or learned in an afternoon. If you have a business degree, you’ll have an edge here. Otherwise, you’ll need to do your own research and potentially take classes to learn the basics of entrepreneurship and management. What does it take to make a business successful? What do successful business owners have in common? How do you write a business plan?
  • Develop your soft skills. It’s a good idea to develop your soft skills as well, especially if you’re going to be directly managing people. Skills like effective communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution are essential.
  • Anticipate your biggest challenges. Every business owner is going to have strengths and weaknesses based on their past experiences, their personality type, and their existing biases. What are your biggest challenges? What are your blind spots? You need to be able to analyze, acknowledge, and work on these weaknesses.

Strategy and Planning: A Business Plan for Your Digital Marketing Agency

A Business Plan for Your Digital Marketing Agency

Once you feel confident in your skills and experience, you can begin developing a formal business plan for your digital marketing agency.

While it’s not strictly necessary to have an official, written business plan, it’s typically helpful.

This is your opportunity to evaluate the idea behind your digital marketing agency, from start to finish, and project how it’s going to operate. This is also going to serve as the blueprint for founding and establishing your digital marketing agency.

Pay close attention to:

  • The business model. How is your digital marketing agency going to make money? Obviously, you’re going to charge your clients for the provision of digital marketing services. But what kinds of arrangements are you looking for and how are you going to charge? Digital marketing agencies can take different approaches, such as charging a flat fee for each project, charging a monthly retainer fee, charging a fee based on percentage of advertising spending, billing based on hours, or even making money on commissions. As you might imagine, these approaches have different strengths and weaknesses; monthly retainer fees lead to more consistent income, but it also locks you into more client obligations.
  • Products and services. What types of products and services are you willing to offer? Some digital marketing agencies specialize in a specific channel, field, or tactic; for example, you might choose to exclusively focus on link building for SEO or PPC ads through Google. Other agencies pride themselves on offering a range of different services, fulfilling all the marketing needs of their clients in one place. There’s no right or wrong answer for your approach; what’s important is that you choose the best fit and plan around it.
  • Areas of expertise. What are your areas of expertise going to be? This is one factor in your competitive differentiation; in other words, this should distinguish you from your top competitors. Are you going to focus on serving a specific industry? A certain size of business? Businesses hoping to achieve a specific type of goal?
  • Your target audience. Who is your audience going to be? Who do you envision as your main clients and how are you going to reach them? What’s going to convince them that your digital marketing agency is worth using? Why is this audience valuable? The more market research you do, the better you’ll be able to answer these questions.
  • Competitive differentiation. Don’t forget that the world is overrun with marketing agencies – and there’s an even greater number of marketing contractors in circulation. If you want your digital marketing agency to succeed, you need to competitively differentiate. What does your digital marketing agency do that’s different from everything else on the market? What are your biggest competitive advantages? Pricing, quality, specialized expertise, and geographic targeting are common options here.

Start Your Digital Marketing Agency: Founding and Establishment

With a business plan and a solid vision for how your digital marketing agency is going to develop, you can find the business and begin establishing it.

  • Build the brand (and the website). All great digital marketing agencies have a professional, cohesive brand. These brand standards serve as the foundation of all your forthcoming marketing and advertising strategies, and they form the first impressions of the people who interact with your brand initially. Your logo, your color scheme, your brand name, your tagline, and even your voice all plays a role in how people perceive you, so take this project seriously and be prepared to invest in your brand. Additionally, you should build a compelling, conversion-optimized, and fully functional website. Most digital marketing agencies operate with their website as the central hub of communications and operations, so don’t skimp on the details.
  • Start hiring (or building partnerships). Next, you can start hiring or building partnerships. Depending on your service model, you might provide digital marketing services from an in-house team, a network of contractors, or a third-party agency that offers white label services – or all of these simultaneously. As you might expect, there are pros and cons to each approach. And no matter what, you’ll need to do your due diligence before bringing someone on board. In the earliest days of your digital marketing agency development, it’s unwise to hire too many people; labor is expensive, so you’re better off practicing minimalism until you have a steady stream of revenue.
  • Attract your first clients. Your digital marketing agency won’t last long unless you have paying clients keeping it alive. That’s why your next priority is attracting your first clients. If you spend time developing your professional network, you might already have contacts who could serve as potential clients. Otherwise, you’ll need to carefully analyze your target market and find ways to reach out to new prospects; fortunately, as a digital marketing expert, you already know how to do this. Just keep in mind that people may be reluctant to work with you if you don’t have much experience or a robust portfolio of work; if you meet much resistance, consider sweetening the deal by offering a discount or other incentives.

Growth: Scaling Your Digital Marketing Agency

Growth: Scaling Your Digital Marketing Agency

At this point, your digital marketing agency has all the fundamentals in place to make money and continue operations.

But if you want to make even more money and keep growing, you’ll need to invest in scaling your operations. There are many marketing and advertising strategies that can help you here, such as:

  • Pay per click (PPC) advertising. It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that we strongly recommend pay per click (PPC) ads for scaling a new digital marketing agency. You’ll get guaranteed traffic, you can target people with pinpoint accuracy, and over time, you’ll learn more about your campaign so you can optimize it for better results.
  • Search engine optimization (SEO). As far as long-term strategies go, there are a few approaches better than search engine optimization (SEO). With excellent content, a steady supply of backlinks, and technical optimization, you should be able to climb the rankings of search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more organic traffic. However, the digital marketing industry is highly competitive in this area, driving up costs.
  • Content marketing. In a similar field, you could focus on content marketing. Providing people more information they genuinely need builds their trust and will eventually attract them to your brand.
  • Social media marketing. Social media accounts for your business are free and easy to set up, and you can post and interact with your audiences for free as well. Social media is an excellent distribution platform for your content, and it could be a lucrative source of new traffic and leads.
  • Email marketing. Marketers love email marketing because of how inexpensive and easy to automate it is. If you’re able to get a list of relevant prospects and leads, you can generate a drip email campaign that steadily helps you secure new clients.
  • Referral marketing. Referral marketing is especially powerful in the early days of your business – so give your existing clients a good reason to recommend you!

It’s also important to recognize that people are going to pay close attention to how you market yourself. You’ll be describing yourself as a marketing expert on your website and throughout your marketing and advertising materials, so if the quality of your work doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, you won’t be able to scale successfully. Think of yourself as your first major client.

Are you ready to start your own digital marketing agency?

Are you looking for a partner who can support you with white label PPC services?

Or do you need help scaling up your own PPC ad campaign?

We can help you with all of it. Just drop us a line and we’ll send you a free proposal for any of your PPC advertising needs!

Author
Recent Posts

Samuel Edwards

Chief Marketing Officer

Throughout his extensive 10+ year journey as a digital marketer, Sam has left an indelible mark on both small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises alike. His portfolio boasts collaborations with esteemed entities such as NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Price Benowitz LLP, a prominent law firm based in Washington, DC, and the esteemed human rights organization Amnesty International. In his role as a technical SEO and digital marketing strategist, Sam takes the helm of all paid and organic operations teams, steering client SEO services, link building initiatives, and white label digital marketing partnerships to unparalleled success. An esteemed thought leader in the industry, Sam is a recurring speaker at the esteemed Search Marketing Expo conference series and has graced the TEDx stage with his insights. Today, he channels his expertise into direct collaboration with high-end clients spanning diverse verticals, where he meticulously crafts strategies to optimize on and off-site SEO ROI through the seamless integration of content marketing and link building.

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Author

Samuel Edwards

Chief Marketing Officer

Throughout his extensive 10+ year journey as a digital marketer, Sam has left an indelible mark on both small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises alike. His portfolio boasts collaborations with esteemed entities such as NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Price Benowitz LLP, a prominent law firm based in Washington, DC, and the esteemed human rights organization Amnesty International. In his role as a technical SEO and digital marketing strategist, Sam takes the helm of all paid and organic operations teams, steering client SEO services, link building initiatives, and white label digital marketing partnerships to unparalleled success. An esteemed thought leader in the industry, Sam is a recurring speaker at the esteemed Search Marketing Expo conference series and has graced the TEDx stage with his insights. Today, he channels his expertise into direct collaboration with high-end clients spanning diverse verticals, where he meticulously crafts strategies to optimize on and off-site SEO ROI through the seamless integration of content marketing and link building.

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Samuel Edwards
|
June 11, 2025
How to Get Coaching Leads Through Cost-Effective PPC Campaigns

Whether you’re a life coach or a business coach, you need a steady flow of leads to stay profitable. It’s not enough to post on social media. No matter how popular you become, being well-liked and even loved doesn’t guarantee clients.

For coaching businesses, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns can be a powerful way to attract high-intent leads – people actively looking for transformation, accountability, and clarity. But you can’t just throw some ads up on Google and expect results. You need a strategy that uses the right targeting, messaging, and structure to avoid expensive lessons in trial and error.

In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials of building cost-effective PPC campaigns designed specifically for coaches who want conversions, clients, and growth.

Everything begins with keyword research

The first step to creating any high-performing PPC campaign is identifying what your potential clients are searching for online. PPC ads show up in search results (Google, Bing) and social media feeds (Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok) based on the phrases users type into the search bar when looking for content.

To get your ads seen by your ideal clients, you’ll need to tap into their innermost thoughts – like a burned out executive searching TikTok at 2:00 a.m. for “how to find my purpose” or “how to get a promotion.” You’ll want to target searches that indicate the user is unhappy and is looking for a solution that coaching can help them achieve.

Not all keywords are equal. You’ll get more leads that convert by targeting keywords that indicate a user is ready to take action. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ubersuggest to find keywords with strong intent. High-intent searches might include phrases like:

·  Business coach for entrepreneurs

·  Life coaching to reduce stress

·  Life coaching to find my purpose

·  How to grow my small business fast

·  Career transition coaching

These and similar phrases related to your coaching business will be the foundation for your paid ad campaign on any platform.

Understand the customer journey

The customer journey consists of three stages that lead someone into the buying stage:

·  Stage 1: Awareness. The prospect is aware they need help, but they don’t know exactly what they need or how to get it.

·  Stage 2: Consideration. The prospect has named their problem and are actively looking for a solution.

·  Stage 3: Decision. The prospect knows they want to work with a coach, and they’re in the process of deciding who to work with.

If you’re running a full marketing campaign with email marketing, you’ll want to run ads that address leads in all three stages. The people you capture in stages one and two will need to be nurtured over time through email. Leads you capture in stage 3 can be more easily turned into a paying client faster. If you aren’t capturing emails yet, only target leads in stages two and three for the best results.

Define multiple client avatars for ideal targeting

No matter what type of coach you are, your ideal clients will have a variety of goals and pain points. Not everyone will share the same concerns or desires. For example, some business owners want to grow their business and open new locations, while others want to build a stronger team or increase their revenue. Some life coaching clients want better relationships while others want to find their life purpose. When you run ads, your target market needs to think, “this ad is for me.” Generic copy won’t cut it.

Your ad copy should target one avatar at a time

You’ll need to run a different ad campaign aimed at each client avatar. To get the most conversions, you’ll need to reach one avatar at a time. Speaking to one avatar in your ads and landing page copy allows you to go deep into their needs, fears, hopes, worries, and concerns. The more specifically you can connect with people, the more likely they are to convert.

To figure out what your ideal clients want, think about their struggles and the potential keywords they might be searching on various platforms. For example, a lot of people are unhappy at work. In this case, potential keywords they might be searching for include:

·  How to find a job that doesn’t suck

·  How to handle conflict at work

·  How to win respect at work

Once you know the pain points you want to target, craft your messages so they speak to emotional triggers. People respond to a sense of urgency (“Burned out? Don’t wait”), personal growth promises (“Find your life purpose in 90 days”), and emotional relief (“Stop second-guessing yourself”). Speak to where your ideal client is right now and show them you can take them where they want to be.

Using this information, you’ll craft ads with headlines, copy, and corresponding landing page copy that speaks directly to your ideal clients. For example, your ads might look like this:

Ad #1 Example

Problem/Keyword search: How to find a job that doesn’t suck

Ad headline: Hate Mondays? Let’s Fix That.

Ad copy:

You spend 90,000 hours of your life at work. Shouldn’t more of them feel fulfilling? Learn how to reconnect with purpose and enjoy what you do. Book your free clarity call now.

Ad #2 Example

Problem/Keyword search: How to handle conflict at work

Ad headline: Tired of Office Drama? Here’s Your Way Out

Ad copy:

Learn strategies to set boundaries and manage work conflict like a pro. Click for a free strategy session.

Ad #3 Example

Problem/Keyword search: How to win respect at work

Ad headline: Feel Invisible at Work? Let’s Change That

Ad copy:

You’ve got the skills. You put in the hours. But the recognition never follows. Sound familiar? Respect isn’t about being louder – it’s about confidence, clarity, and strategy. Book your free consultation and finally be recognized for your full value.

Use dedicated landing pages optimized for conversions

Just like each of your ads target a specific avatar, your landing pages need to do the same. Don’t send traffic to your homepage. Your landing page should reflect exactly what your ad promised.

If your ad says, “Executive Coaching for Burnout Recovery,” then the landing page should address burnout, speak directly to executive professionals, and offer a call-to-action (CTA) for a discovery call.

Effective landing pages consist of the following elements:

·  A dedicated page made just for your ad

·  A seamless transition from ad to landing page

·  A clear headline that addresses the pain point directly

·  Testimonials or results from real clients if possible

·  A strong CTA, like “Book your free 30-minute breakthrough session”

·  A clickable phone number or link to book a call immediately

Remember, you’re not selling coaching services. You’re selling a better version of your prospect’s life. Make sure your copy reflects that.

Be generous with your budget

Coaches often underspend on ads, thinking they can game the system with just $5/day. That’s not an effective strategy. What you may not realize is that setting a low budget actually reduces the number of people who see your ad. Your ad visibility increases the more you spend.

Start with a modest, but meaningful budget of at least $1,500-$2,000 per month. The good news is your cost per click (CPC) will be significantly lower than other industries, like legal and insurance. However, if you’re not sure how to set a PPC budget or handle bidding strategies, hire a professional PPC agency to manage your ads. It’s the easiest way to avoid costly mistakes.

How to target the right people at the right time

Your ads should target the right people at the right time.

First, think about your ideal client who is looking for your services.

Who hires coaches? Usually, it’s:

·  Entrepreneurs who feel stuck or overwhelmed

·  People who want to start a business, but don’t know where to begin

·  Mid-level professionals seeking career growth

·  High achievers facing burnout

·  People at a personal crossroads (divorce, job loss, mid-life crisis, etc.)

Once you pinpoint who might be looking for your services, you’ll need to choose the right advertising platforms. Your main options are:

·  Google Ads

·  TikTok Ads

·  Instagram Ads

·  Pinterest Ads

·  Facebook Ads

·  LinkedIn Ads

·  YouTube Ads

Advertising on each of these platforms comes with pros and cons – some are specific to coaching services. For example, while Pinterest is likely cheaper than Google, Pinterest leads might not be committed. However, TikTok and YouTube users frequently search for solutions to specific problems.

Don’t skip TikTok Ads

You might be surprised to learn that TikTok is a gold mine for coaching businesses. It’s not just an app for teens. Over 71% of TikTok’s users are between 18-34 years old, and 32% are 25-34 years old.

Unlike other platforms, TikTok doesn’t function like a typical social media platform where the purpose is to build a community. It’s more like an outreach platform and people are constantly discovering new content creators. The algorithm’s goal is to get as many people watching content for as long as possible. To achieve this, users are given content based on their interests, not just from people they follow. You don’t need followers or viral content to get seen. Each video stands alone in the algorithm and has an equal chance at getting attention.

People use TikTok to find insights and advice on just about everything you can imagine, including personal and business-related situations. While you can run ads on TikTok without a following, it helps to have an established account with solid content. You’ll build more momentum this way, and you can boost your native content to earn more trust across the platform.

Additionally, TikTok ads can target users based on hashtag interactions. People use hashtags on TikTok to find content more than any other platform. If you’re not advertising on TikTok, you’re missing out on clients.

Coaching clients aren’t impulse buyers, and they need to see your face and personality to know if they want to work with you. Wherever you run ads, you can expect people to click on your account to check you out. You’ll get more conversions by publishing short, engaging videos that show your authenticity and provide inspiration and support.

Whichever platform(s) you choose to advertise on, make use of custom audiences to target your potential leads as specifically as possible.

Negative keywords will weed out freebie seekers

Everyone wants clarity, but not everyone wants to pay for it. That’s why you need to block certain searches using negative keywords. You don’t want your ads to show up for people who are just curious, looking for freebies, or looking for unrelated services. They’ll just click on your ads, waste your ad budget, and potentially waste your time if they sign up for a free call.

Suggested negative keywords for coaches include:

·  Free coaching session

·  Coach training program (these people want to be coaches, not hire one)

·  Sample coaching questions

·  Coaching worksheets pdf

Defining these and similar negative keywords will keep your clicks high-quality and your cost per lead low.

Track conversions (not vanity metrics)

It can be exciting to see how many people are viewing and clicking on your ads, and there is a time and place to assess impressions and clicks. However, unless you’re focused on optimizing your ads, forget click-through rates (CTR) and look at how many calls you’re getting booked, how many contact forms are being submitted, and how many email addresses you’re collecting through your lead magnet downloads.

It’s crucial to know which campaigns are bringing you results so you can cut the ones that aren’t working.

Run retargeting ads to catch the ones who got away

People don’t usually buy high-ticket coaching packages the first time around. They need time to research, investigate, and consider their options. You might get some clicks and email signups from your ads that don’t turn into paying clients right away. That’s where remarketing comes in.

Set up ads on Google and Facebook to follow users who have already clicked on your ads and visited your website. Since these ads will be displayed only to people who have already interacted with your brand, you can use different value points to engage them, like testimonials, free guides, and limited-time offers.

Facebook retargeting options are pretty specific compared to other platforms. Since Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, you can target people who have interacted with your Instagram page, too. You can even upload a list of your existing email subscribers from your segment that hasn’t yet converted and target them with relevant ads.

Ready to fill your calendar? Partner with PPC.co

At PPC.co, we help life and business coaches run PPC campaigns that turn clicks into clients. Whether you’re scaling a coaching business or launching your first program, we’ll help you connect with the people actively searching for your services.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let’s start turning your ads into paying clients.

‍

Timothy Carter
|
June 11, 2025
This Mini-Guide Will Help You Build Better PPC Campaigns for Your Law Firm

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.

1. Perform in-depth keyword research

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.

Focus on long-tail keywords

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.

2. Create solid landing pages

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.

The elements of a good landing page

A good landing page will encourage the user to call your law firm right away. To accomplish this, you need the following elements:

A visible phone number

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.

Trust signals

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.

Compelling copy

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.

A call to action (CTA)

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.

3. Set a realistic, but generous budget

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.

4. Run your ads at the right time

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.

5. Target specific locations

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.

6. Use negative keywords

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

7. Track your conversions

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.

8. Use remarketing to capture more leads

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.

9. Use Google Ads Assets (formerly Extensions)

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.

10. Partner with a PPC agency

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.

Ready to get more qualified leads from your PPC ads?

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.   

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