Pay-Per-Click Advertising to Generate Leads for Personal Injury Lawyers

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns are one of the quickest ways for law firms to generate quality personal injury leads. Unfortunately, PPC campaigns are consistently among the most expensive and competitive ways to generate leads for personal injury lawyers. Success requires a broad PPC strategy that finds value in less competitive terms and platforms. In this article we will look at some of the most common PPC channels for generating personal injury leads. We conclude with some PPC tips that can save you time and money.

Common PPC Marketing Channels

Google Ads

To say that Google is the most important search engine is an understatement. Since Google controls some 91% of search engine market share, Google Ads has a place in every personal injury leads generation strategy. Yet marketing reach does not come cheap.

The legal industry has among the highest cost-per-clicks (CPC) of any industry. Costs vary greatly by practice area and location. Unfortunately for personal injury lawyers, competition for the top keywords is fierce. For example, the CPC for the search term “best motorcycle accident lawyer,” can cost upwards of $770.00.

Going all-in on Google Ads is generally not the best option. Yet by using competitive long-tail keywords and employing a pay-per-call strategy (discussed below) firms can find some cost-effective personal injury leads.

Bing Ads

Many lawyers overlook Bing Ads since it has only a fraction of the traffic that Google does. But less competition generally means lower cost CPCs. That being said, CPCs for the legal industry can exceed $100 per click on Bing, still well below the high-end on Google. Again, the trick is identifying cost-effective search terms.

Facebook Ads

There are many reasons why Facebook Ads should be part of your pay-per-click marketing strategy. Facebook Ads can reportedly reach 2.14 billion users. The average Facebook user clicks on 12 ads per month, or 1 every 2.5 days. And Facebook Ads offer advanced targeting features and are significantly cheaper than Google.

Yet Facebook advertising poses some challenges for personal injury lawyers. The largest challenge is one of timing. When a potential client searches for a lawyer on a search engine like Google or Bing, they are typically ready to hire a lawyer. On Facebook, however, the user may not be interested in representation at that time.

One way to overcome this limitation is by monitoring where leads are in the hiring process. For instance, tracking how often a user has viewed your posts and other behavior can provide some guidance on the best time to reach out.

Yelp Ads

Yelp is not just for finding a good place to grab takeout. Yelp is the 44th most visited website in the U.S. and boasts an average of 92 million unique mobile visitors each month. Like any other pay-per-click platform, advertising on Yelp will display your firm’s profile as a “Sponsored Result” when a prospective client searches for the relevant term.

What makes Yelp Ads particularly appealing for personal injury leads is that they are heavily geared towards local businesses. Think of it as a contemporary Yellow Pages of sorts. Good reviews help prospective clients feel comfortable that an attorney is trustworthy and competent to handle their case.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn is typically not the best platform for lawyers that cater to consumers. LinkedIn is a social platform intended for professional networking, not usually to generate leads for personal injury lawyers. Personal injury leads generally do not use the platform to search for an attorney. Yet LinkedIn Ads do have some potential uses.

Personal injury lawyers can network with chiropractors, physical therapists, and other healthcare professionals as a source of referrals. Moreover, for industry specific personal injury cases, like boating accidents, lawyers could choose to display ads to those in the boating industry.

Instagram Ads

A survey performed by Attorney at Work found that 25% of lawyers use Instagram for marketing. Instagram Ads are useful for building brand awareness within local communities. In other words, they keep your firm at the forefront of the minds of potential clients. Should they or their loved ones be involved in an accident, they are more likely to reach out to a law firm that they are familiar with.

PPC Tips to Generate Leads for Personal Injury Lawyers

Tip #1 – Use Call Only Google Ads

We mentioned above that Google can get a bit pricey. One way to keep your costs down is to use “call-only” ads. Unlike CPC campaigns where you are charged per click, with call-only you are only charged when you receive a call. Call-only works great for service-based industries like law where prospective clients require immediate assistance.

When setting up your Google Ads campaign, simply select “Get phone calls” from the new search campaign options. After you have set your targeting parameters and created an ad group, create a call-only ad under “Ads & Extensions.”

Tip #2 – Align Search Intent with the Customer Journey

CPC costs enough without attracting irrelevant clicks. The best way to avoid wasting money is to ensure that your ads, keywords, and landing pages correspond to the user’s search intent. For example, a prospective client may have recently been involved in a car accident. He or she is not necessarily ready to hire a lawyer and searches for “average settlement for whiplash.” You are more likely to convert that prospective personal injury lead if the landing page they are directed to answers their search questions.

However, suppose the user typed “Hire personal injury near me.” This phrase is much more indicative of someone that is at the decision stage. The landing page should include information like the benefits of hiring your firm and have a call-to-action (i.e., schedule a free consultation) that allows the client to take the next step.

Tip #3 – Create a Landing Page for Each Ad Group

This point is related to the last tip but warrants separate treatment. Many firms make the mistake of directing traffic to some generic webpage like their homepage or contact us page. This is a mistake for several reasons. First, the quality of your landing page influences your ad quality score. Landing pages that are irrelevant and/or offer poor user experiences will drive your score lower, making it more difficult and expensive for your ads to appear.

Second, without persuasive and relevant sales copy users are unlikely to take the next step in the customer journey. To maximize your conversion rates, consider hiring a professional to design custom landing pages or use a low-code platform like ClickFunnels to create your own.

PPC ads are an important component of a successful legal lead generation strategy. Find the best ad platforms for your budget and take your marketing efforts to the next level.

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