Google Ads for Business Law Firms and Solo Attorneys
Google Ads put a business law firm in front of an owner at the moment the owner types a contract, an LLC or a partner problem into a search box. We build the campaigns around the matters the firm wants and the counties its attorneys practice in, and no ad runs until an attorney has read it.
Campaigns that follow the firm's matter list, not a single catch-all
A Google Ads account with one campaign called Business Law gets one budget, one set of keywords and one landing page, and it tells the intake lead nothing. We split the account the way the firm already thinks about its work: contract review, company formation, commercial leases, partner agreements and disputes, buying or selling a company, employment advice for employers, and the general search for a business lawyer near me. Each matter type gets its own keywords, ad drafts and landing page.
Owners type a document or a problem first and a lawyer word second. Someone searching for a lease clause and someone searching for a way out of a partnership are in different situations, and an ad written for one will not suit the other. The split also lets the firm pause one matter type in a week when the calendar is full, without touching the rest.
One campaign per matter type: what the owner types and where the ad lands
| Matter type | A searcher's phrasing | Page the ad leads to |
|---|---|---|
| Contract review and drafting | contract lawyer near me, someone to review a vendor agreement | The contract-review page, with the consultation request above the fold |
| Company formation | lawyer to set up an LLC, startup lawyer in my city | The formation page, which says how the firm bills for formation work in its own words |
| Commercial lease | attorney to look at my commercial lease before I sign | The lease page and its consultation request |
| Partner and shareholder agreements | business partner agreement lawyer | The partner-agreements page |
| Disputes between owners | business partnership dispute lawyer, breach of contract attorney | The disputes page, with the after-hours path for the intake lead |
| Buying or selling a company | attorney for buying a small business | The transactions page, written with referral sources in mind |
| The general search | business lawyer near me, small business attorney in my county | The page for the office nearest the searcher |
Searches we keep out of a business law firm's account
Career, salary and law-school searches
Students, the curious and job seekers type the same two words an owner does. Terms about jobs, salaries, degrees and courses go on the negative list on day one.
Template and do-it-yourself filing searches
Someone who wants a blank form or a way to file a company alone is not looking for a firm. We exclude form, template and diy wording and watch the search-term report for new variants.
Searches for a lawyer at no charge
Queries built around the word free draw clicks from people whose first question is cost. The firm explains how it bills on its own page, and these searches stay out.
Practice areas the firm does not take
Immigration, patent, tax-only and family matters all contain lawyer words. The intake lead gives us the decline list and every item becomes a negative keyword.
Other firms' names and document-service brands
A search for another firm by name is a search for that firm, and a document brand is a search for that brand. We keep both out, and no ad copy mentions another firm.
Places outside the attorneys' practice area
A search that names a state or county where no attorney practices is a consultation the firm cannot take. Location settings and place-based negatives keep those clicks out.
From approved matter list to a live Google Ads campaign
Agree the matters and the decline list with the intake lead
We start from the matters the firm wants and the ones it turns away. The second list does more work, because it becomes the negative keywords.
Draw the map around the counties the attorneys practice in
Location targeting follows the offices and service areas the firm confirms, and we check which people the settings actually reach. A reader in a state with no attorney is a booking the firm will have to decline.
Draft the ads and the matching consultation pages
Each draft names the matter type and the place, then points to a page that says the same thing the ad does. Ideas for wording are in the next section.
Send every ad and landing page to the attorney
The attorney reads and edits the ads, the pages and any extensions before launch. Rules differ by state, and the firm's counsel decides what may run.
Launch with call tracking and a tagged form
Calls from ads ring through a tracked number tied to the firm's line, and the request form records which campaign sent the visitor, so the firm sees which matter types produce calls and which only produce clicks.
Review the search-term report every week and adjust the matter budgets
New junk searches become negatives. A matter type that books consultations gets room, and one that fills intake with matters the firm declines gets trimmed.
Ad copy ideas for a law firm, and where the attorney's pen comes in
We describe ad directions to the attorney first and draft lines only after the attorney says which directions are acceptable. The ideas we begin from are plain: name the matter type and the place, mention how a consultation is booked, mention that the billing options are explained on the page, state the hours or the after-hours path. Nothing in an ad should promise an outcome, a saving or a protection, claim a specialty or compare the firm with another one. Price does not appear in an ad either; it points to the billing-options page, which carries the firm's own explanation.
Whatever the ads say, the firm's attorney is responsible for advertising that carries the firm's name. Our part is the one a marketing agency can honestly play: we build, run and report on the campaigns and send each version back for approval. Nothing we write is legal advice, and no ad asks for confidential details.
What the weekly report shows the managing partner and the intake lead
- Calls from ads, split by matter-type campaign, with the tracked number's after-hours calls shown separately.
- Consultation requests from the form, tagged by the campaign that sent the visitor.
- Booked consultations, which the intake lead confirms from the calendar, since a call is not a booking.
- The search terms that triggered ads this week, with the new negatives we added.
- Spend by matter type, set against what the calendar can absorb.
- Ads and pages changed since last week, each with the attorney's approval date.
- Any platform policy notices that apply to the account, with the page we read for current text.
Reports describe what happened. They do not predict calls or consultations.
Setting the budget by what the consultation calendar can absorb
A business law firm sells attorney hours, and an attorney has a limited number. A Google Ads budget should reflect how many first consultations the firm can take this month, in which matter types, in which offices. We start modestly, watch how quickly intake works through requests, and raise a budget only when the firm tells us it has room. Ad spend is paid directly to the platform and is separate from our monthly fee; the pricing page shows how management is priced across one, two or three platforms, month to month with no contract.
Local Services Ads are a different Google product. Whether legal categories are available, how businesses are screened and who is eligible vary by area and change over time, so the firm should check Google's current program rules before planning around them. We do not assume what the program does or requires.
Other platforms belong in the plan too. Bing Ads (Microsoft Advertising) reaches desktop researchers a firm may miss, and Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) suits introductions more than urgent searches. How each inquiry is handled once it arrives is covered under lead generation.
What managing partners ask before turning on paid search for the practice
Can Google Ads be limited to the counties where our attorneys practice?
That is how we build them. The campaign settings follow the offices and service areas you confirm, we check which locations the settings actually reach, and place-based negatives keep out searches that name a state or county where the firm has no attorney.
Will an ad claim the firm is stronger than others at contract disputes?
No. We do not write superiority, specialty or outcome claims, and no ad compares the firm with another. Drafts describe the matter type, the place and how to request a consultation, and the attorney edits before anything runs.
How do you handle after-hours calls from an owner who has just read an alarming email?
The tracked number routes to whoever answers during staffed hours and to a voicemail after them, and the campaign can show the form instead of the phone in the evening. The firm decides how a late call is answered; we make sure the path is the same one the ad describes.
Do you run Local Services Ads for law firms?
Availability and eligibility for legal categories differ by area and change, so the firm should check Google's current program rules first. We build Google Ads search campaigns, and we discuss Local Services Ads only after the firm has confirmed what applies.
Book a call about the matters the firm wants on the calendar
Talk through the matter types, counties and decline list with us, and we will lay out campaigns for the attorney to review. Management prices for one, two or three platforms are on the pricing page.
Which practice areas should the phone ring for?
Name the formation, contract, lease or dispute work your attorneys handle best and the places they practice. There is nothing to prepare. Keep client names and case facts out of the note, because this is a marketing inquiry and not a legal one.
Tell us which matters your firm wants more of.
Say which practice areas keep your calendar full, which ones you would like to take on more of, and where your attorneys practice. You get one monthly figure and a straight read on what fits. Leave client names and case details out of the note, since this is a marketing inquiry and not a place for confidential information.
The stack of pages being initialed is an illustration. It predicts nothing for any firm, client or matter.