Pay-per-click: it’s been around since 1996 and allows businesses to buy visits to their website. Conscious has been helping law firms use PPC to generate new inquiries and target their ideal demographic for years now with our specialist Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Services for Lawyers.
Just like almost every type of modern marketing service, PPC changes with the online landscape and shifting social media platforms. We recently wrote about How Social Media Marketing Changed for Law Firms in 2024, and when looking back, you can’t help but look forward—so what is the future of PPC marketing for law firms?
First off, in short, what exactly is PPC for Law Firms?
Well, there are several types of PPC Ads, including:
- Search Ads— These appear on search engine results pages (SERP)
- Social Media Ads— These appear in feeds on social media platforms
- Shopping Ads– These usually involve a product image and price
- Display Ads—These appear as images on websites
- Video Ads–These will be video clips playing on video platforms like YouTube or TikTok
All of these advertising channels will drive traffic back to your website, with law firms keen to capitalise on a range of them wherever possible. Whilst PPC trends continue to evolve and change how law firms advertise their services, the most common campaign type for law firms remain search campaigns.
With law firms favouring search campaigns due to their highly targeted nature, there are a few key elements to be aware of when understanding how these campaign types work:
- Bidding on Keywords: Your campaign is built around selected keywords to secure the most relevant traffic for your firm.
- The Ad Auction Process: This is a real-time automated auction process that occurs every time a user searches a query. The winning advertiser gets to display the first ad that appears in the SERP! The auction is where your cost-per-click (CPC) will be determined, depending on how competitive the bidding is.
- Ad Placement: Not all ad placements are equal. Ads with higher bids and quality scores will likely appear at the top of the SERP, where the user's eyes are more likely to be drawn.
- Landing Pages and Conversations: What’s the point of an ad that directs users to an Error 404? Just as important as the advert is the landing page it’s connected to. Here, the user should be met with a unique PPC landing page that is designed with conversion rate optimisation in mind, providing ample opportunity for users to get in touch with your firm.
So, what’s changing in PPC?
Don’t rely on third-party cookies…
Google announced its plan to phase out third-party cookies in back in 2020. The implication of this meant that advertisers would no longer be able to rely on third-party cookies to optimise campaigns, as a result of less data for Google to work with.
In a surprise move in July of 2024, however, Google abandoned this planned phasing out of third-party cookies. However, after 4 years of adapting to proposed changes, PPC advertisers are wary of wholly relying on third-party cookies. With that in mind…
…say hello to first-party data collection
PPC campaigns are now more commonly collecting data directly from users, utilising enhanced tactics such as customer match audience targeting to enhance performance.
Google is also developing alternatives which will limit tracking at the individual level by grouping users based on interests.
Enhanced Conversion Tracking (ECT)
ECT is a Google Ads feature that improves the accuracy of conversion measurement by using hashed first-party data, such as encrypted email addresses, to feed Google Ads’ bidding algorithm. This additional information helps in understanding the client journey from the first click to getting in touch, which in turn helps advertisers optimise their campaigns.
This is a more accurate method of tracking than traditional means and is compliant with increasing privacy regulations.
Setting these conversions up involves creating the conversions in Google Ads and implementing tracking code directly on your website or via Google Tag Manager.
Automated Bidding & Responsive Search Ads
AI is streamlining all sorts of services offered by legal PPC agencies, so automated bidding on keywords via smart bid strategies such as “Maximise Clicks” or “Target CPA” can aid in optimising campaigns based on historical performance, with minimal interference.
Furthermore, Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) are optimising the ads themselves, trying out combinations of titles and text to see which ones users respond to the best, and then circulating them.
Rising costs
Digital marketing has become a standard practice for law firm marketing. The result of an increasingly congested PPC environment for law firms is that competition is growing and keywords are becoming more expensive.
CPCs are increasing, and law firms are turning more and more to PPC experts to ensure these rising costs are mitigated. Through the right strategy, PPC remains a productive tool for any law firms’ advertising efforts.
Voice search
This started off as an accessibility feature but, after significant technological advancements, now offers PPC campaigns an opportunity to make use of more colloquial and conversational search terms. Word combinations and more relaxed and informal usage are rising in the ranks in terms of popular usage.
In 2025, voice search is expected to become a more common source of search queries. PPC advertisers are now, therefore, undertaking advanced research to understand how this will affect the phrasing people use to search for things and how we can adapt keyword targeting to match this.
Emphasis on mobiles
Mobile usage is now the dominant form of navigating the internet. With the importance of landing pages mentioned earlier in this piece, if your PPC landing page doesn’t work on mobile, it will drastically affect performance and become a drain on your advertising resources.
Rise of the Interactive Ad
Video and image content are becoming increasingly important channels in PPC, especially on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook. These can act as more engaging formats than more search ads and can reach a wider audience as they don’t use keywords as a way to target audiences.
Whilst search advertising remains king for lead generation in PPC, with rising costs to consider, law firms are becoming more open to using video and display ads as a means of brand awareness, targeting people who are higher up in the sales funnel, but may come back to enquire later on.
How to keep your finger on the PPC pulse
PPC will keep changing, and Conscious’s tried-and-true campaign monitoring and optimisation methods will keep a close eye on your PPC and what it needs through consistent performance analysis, A/B testing, campaign optimisation, & reporting.
You can check out a more thorough breakdown of our Pay-Per-Click Advertising service if you’re interested in learning more about the process.
Is your Law Firm looking to make the most of its PPC?
If you want to make the most of your PPC strategy (or start one altogether), then get in touch with our team at sales@conscious.co.uk or on 0117 325 0200.