In this article
- Practice Area: Which Cases Are Worth Advertising
- Where Law Firm Clients Call and Where They Write
- Is Google Ads Worth It for a Law Firm? Start With the Budget
- Advertising Rules: What Law Societies and State Bars Allow in Your Ads
- Law Firm Keywords: Negatives, Rivals’ Names and Where You May Practise
- Local Services Ads for Lawyers: Yes in the US, Not in Canada
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Find Out Which Practice Areas Are Worth Advertising
Google Ads for a law firm is a different job from ads for a clinic or a fence maker. The practice area sets what a click costs and how clients reach you, your law society or state bar sets rules for your wording, and Canada lacks some tools the US has. We are a Google Partner, our Google Ads specialist has 15 years in the field, and we run campaigns for family and criminal law firms.
Not sure which of your practice areas is worth advertising? Start with a free audit.
Practice Area: Which Cases Are Worth Advertising
A law firm sells many kinds of case, and each behaves like its own business. In the US, top-of-page bids reach about $49 for divorce, $185 for DUI and $490 for personal injury.
| Search | Canada | United States | How clients reach you (our estimate) |
| criminal lawyer | $12.84–50.66 | $9.80–93.99 | Call |
| dui lawyer | $20.09–69.46 | $21.95–185.23 | Call |
| divorce lawyer | $4.62–23.73 | $7.03–49.16 | Call or form |
| child custody lawyer | $3.46–30.13 | $5.24–54.23 | Call or form |
| immigration lawyer | $4.20–14.86 | $7.02–32.30 | Form |
| personal injury lawyer | $19.65–109.36 | $94.57–491.59 | Call or form |
Our Keyword Planner check, October 21, 2026: top-of-page bid ranges, not the price per click. Last column: our estimate, not measured data.
We run family and criminal law, not personal injury, the priciest line above. We left immigration out because the urgency isn’t there; that is no verdict on immigration ads.
A practice pays when the fee for a won case outweighs what the clicks to win it cost, and someone answers when an urgent client calls.
Where Law Firm Clients Call and Where They Write
Urgent matters get a phone call. Someone arrested, charged with DUI or facing an emergency custody dispute calls at any hour; in our experience the case goes to the lawyer who picks up (why answering first wins).
Planned matters (estates, business law, immigration) are slower: in our estimate they arrive as a form after days of deciding.
Run urgent-case ads only when a lawyer on call or an after-hours answering service picks up.
In the family and criminal campaigns we run, most clients call, so call tracking is a must; Google’s forwarding numbers are available in Canada and the US, but we don’t rely on them and set up our own (why Google Ads misses phone leads). In law, a call is not a case: judge each campaign by the retainers it signs, not the calls it counts.
What the sources say
What Google says. If you do use Google forwarding numbers, call recording is on by default for calls through them when both numbers are in the US or Canada, and callers hear a short notice. Healthcare and financial services are exceptions; law firms aren’t named. Recorded calls are also evaluated by AI.
Does recording intake calls fit your confidentiality duties? Ask your law society or state bar.
See how we track every call and form from law firm ads →
Is Google Ads Worth It for a Law Firm? Start With the Budget
What the sources say
What the benchmark says. LocaliQ and WordStream publish search advertising averages from Google and Microsoft Ads (updated June 2026; the source names no country). Attorneys and legal services average $9.87 per click and $131.63 per lead, against $5.42 and $66.69 across all industries.
The math on that benchmark. A lead is not a signed case. If one lead in ten signs (an example, not data), each new client costs about $1,300 in ad spend, before our flat management fee, and $30 a day buys about 7 legal leads a month: less than one signed case.
We start accounts from $30 a day, though the figure depends heavily on the industry and the cost per click, and law may need more: $9.87 averages all legal searches, and DUI, personal injury and Canadian criminal bids in the table start above it.
Work the budget back from the signed cases you need and the fee each one pays. Benchmarks are averages, so before we launch anything we audit your practice areas, jurisdiction, phone-answering hours and region, then build the campaign as part of our Google Ads management.
Advertising Rules: What Law Societies and State Bars Allow in Your Ads
What the sources say
What Google says. “You’re required to comply with the local laws and regulations of any area your ads target, in addition to Google Ads policies.”
In Canada, the Federation of Law Societies’ Model Code asks that marketing be “demonstrably true, accurate and verifiable” (4.2-1) and bars advertising as a specialist without certification by the law society (4.3-1). Every law society except Quebec’s Chambre des notaires has implemented it in whole or in part. Ontario’s commentary counts “best”, “super” and “#1” as rankings, which must not mislead.
In the US, ABA Model Rule 7.1 bars false or misleading communications about a lawyer’s services. Rule 7.2 bars stating or implying specialist certification unless a state-approved or ABA-accredited body certified the lawyer and the ad names it, and requires “the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content.” States adopt their own versions; some, including Texas and Florida, require ads to be filed with the state bar, with exemptions.
In ad text, that means no “specialist”, “expert” or “best” unless your rules allow it, and your firm name and contact details on every ad or landing page. This is not legal advice; confirm with your law society or state bar.
Law Firm Keywords: Negatives, Rivals’ Names and Where You May Practise
Legal searches attract people who will never hire you. Keep out “lawyer salary”, “law school” and “free legal advice” with negative keywords.
Another firm’s name is a separate risk. Google doesn’t restrict trademarks as keywords, but if the owner complains, it may restrict the name in ad text, including in a direct competitor’s ad. Bars can be stricter: North Carolina’s 2010 Formal Ethics Opinion 14 found that using another lawyer’s name as a keyword breaks its rules.
Geography is a rules question too: Google’s rule above covers any area your ads target, so our advice is to target only places where you may practise.
Local Services Ads for Lawyers: Yes in the US, Not in Canada
What the sources say
What Google says. Local Services Ads charge per lead, not per click. Google’s help lists 17 lawyer categories in the US, with state bar license checks for each lawyer. Canada’s list has 16 categories, all home services; lawyers aren’t among them. Google is moving these ads into Performance Max; its late-2026 phase covers “professional services”, and lawyers aren’t named (Google’s help, checked October 21, 2026).
A Canadian firm can’t use Local Services Ads for legal services today.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can an ad quote past results?
In Canada, the Model Code’s commentary on 4.2-1 says citing amounts recovered or past success may break the rule unless the ad adds that past results are not necessarily indicative of future results and that outcomes vary with the facts. In the US, the comment to ABA Model Rule 7.1 warns that truthful results can still mislead and that a disclaimer may help. Your bar’s version decides.
2. Should a firm run a separate campaign for each practice area?
We would: our rule is one campaign per cluster of related services. Family and criminal law are different clusters with different bids (see the table), and a budget caps an individual campaign, so each can have its own.
3. Can an ad quote a fee?
In Canada, the Model Code (4.2-2) allows it if the ad is reasonably precise about the services each fee covers, says whether disbursements and taxes are extra, and the lawyer sticks to that fee in every case. Your bar’s version decides.
Google’s help pages and the legal rules cited were checked October 21, 2026.
Find Out Which Practice Areas Are Worth Advertising
Tell us your practice areas, region and budget. We’ll check your account, call and form tracking, and where inquiries may go unanswered. Ads in English and French are included.
