May 19, 2025 • 10 mins
Is Google Ads Still Worth It for Law Firms in 2025?
Are your Google Ads campaigns delivering the results they used to for your law firm? The digital advertising landscape has undergone seismic shifts, and what worked in 2021 simply won't cut it anymore. As we navigate 2025's competitive terrain, law firms must adapt or risk watching their marketing budgets disappear into what I call "the money pit."
The truth is that Google Ads remains incredibly powerful for law firms – but only under the right conditions. Success now demands well-defined intake systems, comprehensive conversion tracking, and relentless optimization. Firms that treat Google Ads as a "set it and forget it" tool are destined to fail.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Is Google Ads Still Worth it for Law Firms in 2025?
Welcome to Legal Marketing 101.
I'm Toby Rosen.
Today we are talking aboutGoogle Ads.
Obviously, if you know me, thisis one of my favorite topics.
But today we are talking aboutwhether or not Google is still
worth it, and if you don't wantto listen to the whole episode,
(00:30):
I'll give you the answer rightnow.
The answer is yes, it's stillworth it, but and this is a big
but, this is a Kardashian sized,but here it's only worth it if
you evolve with the platform.
That is the only way that thisis going to work.
So let's start with theelephant in the room.
Google ads looks nothing likeit did even a few years ago.
If you've been running campaignson Google for a while, you've
probably noticed that the gamehas changed completely, and not
(00:53):
in ways that are making it a loteasier for law firms.
First, the competitionlandscape has shifted.
Local services ads have muscledtheir way to the top of the
page, the AI stuff is up there,and all of this is pushing
traditional search ads furtherdown the page.
That means, even if you'rerunning great campaigns on
Google, you're literally gettingless screen space, and behind
(01:13):
the scenes, google's auctionsystem is increasingly AI-driven
the manual bidding, all thisstuff that I still really like.
I have to admit that even it isstarting to slip, because the
days of obsessively tweakingindividual keyword bids may be
something of the past very soon.
Now there's a lot more that'sgoing to happen to Google in the
next year.
So the AI stuff and thecompetition landscape just the
(01:37):
real estate we can achieve hereon Google, it's very different
and it's going to continue toget different.
But this is the first elementthat has really changed things
on Google, and we're also seeinga really sharp rise in cost per
click, especially in the highstakes areas like PI, family law
, immigration.
If your cost per click or yourbudget felt expensive before,
buckle up because it is gettingpricier and that means every
(02:01):
click we generate has to count.
And another big shift is thequality score and landing page
experience.
These things have become somuch more critical to your
success.
On Google Ads, google's AI islooking at the whole picture.
Their ability to process datais really incredible.
But they're looking at how fastyour site loads, whether the
landing page matches the user'sintent, not just the keyword,
(02:23):
and they're looking at how wellyou convert those visits into
actual customers.
Conversion tracking is notoptional anymore.
It is the backbone of asuccessful campaign because,
look, google is looking at thatdata and so if you're not
optimizing for conversion,you're not going to perform well
on Google Bottom line.
Here the fundamentals stillmatter a lot, but the way that
(02:43):
we succeed with Google ads isevolving rapidly.
It's a lot less aboutmicromanagement and a lot more
about the strategy, feeding thedata to the right places and
being quick to adapt to thesechanges.
But now we've talked about howthe changes work.
Let's talk about whether or notit's worth it.
And look, we have to be realhere.
(03:04):
It is not for everyone and infact, for a lot of small law
firms it is just a money pit.
It is just a backyard fire pit,a solo stove.
Please sponsor me.
It's a money pit that you canset your money on fire in.
If you're working with a smallbudget, maybe no intake tracking
Google ads in 2025 is lightingyour money on fire.
(03:24):
I know it's tempting to justtry a $500 campaign and and see
if it works a little bit andthen spend more money on the
implementation.
But the reality is those legalclicks are really expensive and
without a proper system to trackwhere the leads are coming from
and whether they're converting,you are flying completely blind
.
I feel like I used that phrasein an episode recently and trust
(03:44):
me, google is going to takeyour money either way.
But if you're in an industrywhere it's $10 or $50, even per
click we're looking at a verysmall sample size from one of
those $500 or $1,000 tests.
And if we don't even have anydata on what's happening to
those users, oh boy, I'm justgoing to pass out at that one.
And the same goes at the entireintake process.
(04:05):
This has to be dialed in.
You can have the best adstrategy in the world, but if no
one's answering the phone orfollowing up with the potential
clients those leads are why?
Why even pay for them in thefirst place?
They're gone.
We still see firms that arespending thousands and thousands
a month on ads, but lettingthese hot prospects slip through
the cracks because their intaketeam is poorly managed, poorly
(04:28):
trained or just overwhelmed.
It's like pouring a bunch ofwater into a crock.
It's not going to stay in thecrock.
And here's the really big one.
If you think Google ads is aset it and forget it tool, do
yourself a favor and just don'tbother.
The firms that are winningtoday are the ones that are
actively managing, optimizingand adjusting their campaigns
(04:49):
constantly.
But let's look, I can be angryand aggressive about this.
Let's look at the flip side.
Who should still be runningGoogle ads?
If your firm has that reallywell-defined intake system,
solid CRM, then, yeah, you'reahead of the game.
That means you can track everylead, see exactly what's working
and make data-driven decisions.
So run some ads.
(05:09):
Google ads is still apowerhouse for firms in
high-value practice areas,whether that is personal injury
or class actions or some certaintypes of family law where a
single client could mean tens ofthousands in revenue these
types of law they still workbecause if your LTV, your
lifetime client value, is stilllong, google Ads can absolutely
(05:29):
be worth the investment.
And, most importantly, thefirms that win with Google Ads
I've said it like five times.
You should know what I'm aboutto say but they are the ones
that are ready to test, tweakand optimize relentlessly,
constantly, without everstopping, because there's no
magic formula anymore.
There kind of never was, butthere definitely isn't one now.
(05:49):
Success in any type of marketing, but particularly on Google ads
, comes from staying agile,watching the data closely.
It's 2025.
We've got to watch the data andadapting as fast as Google is
evolving, because if we're notadapting to what Google is doing
, then again I'm just going topass out at this episode.
So if you're in that group offirms, you're ready to tackle
the Google ad stuff.
(06:10):
You've got the tracking.
You can throw $500 into a testand immediately see if it worked
or not.
Then what is working in 2025?
First up is LSAs local serviceads and yes, these can be a
little bit hit or miss, but whenthey hit they really hit.
And here's the key Reviews.
I've talked about it 10 times,but it's the key to everything.
(06:31):
If your firm has a solid baseof great reviews, you keep them
fresh then LSAs are a goldmine.
But if your reviews yourprofile is really weak or, worse
, it's inconsistent withwhatever you're doing, then
you're going to struggle to staycompetitive in that space or
get a foothold in the firstplace.
A lot of people thought LSAswere going to be a shortcut, but
what they really are is.
(06:52):
They're sort of Google's way ofsaying show me your social
proof or get out of the way.
And next there's search ads.
Yeah, these are still alive andcooking, and yes, they have
evolved and yes, they'regenerally more expensive.
But high intent keywords likebest divorce lawyer near me or
injury lawyer free consult thisis where the action is.
(07:13):
Broad or long tail keywords isa little bit dicey these days.
It depends market to market.
But Google's AI this has takena lot of the guesswork out of
the equation, and so trying tosneak into new markets with
clever targeting it's a lotharder than it used to be.
We kind of need to do the rightthing the right way and then be
smart.
So we still need these tight adgroups, but it's way more
(07:35):
important to have sharp copy andreally, on the intake side, you
need that automation working inyour favor.
And then there is the landingpage game.
This is one I've talked about alot on the show and we're going
to again, but this is anon-negotiable Every campaign
has to have its own tailoredlanding page.
No more just dumping trafficinto the homepage, crossing our
(07:55):
fingers and hoping someone calls.
Our pages have to actually havesomething specific.
We need to match the promise ofthe ad.
We need to be lightning fast.
We need to be mobile optimizedthat's part of lightning fast
and we usually need to be prettymuch laser focused on
generating conversions.
We don't want a phone numberand a button if we can avoid it.
So if we're building greatlanding pages, go back and
(08:18):
listen to the episodes on this.
But really, what you'rethinking about is clear CTAs,
calls to action, easy contactforms and zero distraction.
No, if it doesn't lead the userinto making the action, then
it's not optimized for theconversion.
Let's put it at that.
Now I'm going to run through twomore things that are a little
bit more bleeding edge, butthey're cool, and these are two
(08:40):
of the things that you can do toreally supercharge your Google
ads in 2025.
And if you're not doing this,well, again, I'm just going to
pass out.
How many times can I say this?
So, first, up call tracking andyour CRM.
If you are not using thesetools, you are wasting money
full stop.
You have to know where yourleads are coming from and what
(09:00):
happens to them once they reachyou.
Guesswork doesn't cut it.
We need to know where they camefrom, how much it costs us to
acquire them and how much theyactually generated for us,
because if those numbers don'twork out well, we have a problem
.
And next we have AI, enhancedoptimization.
This is some secret sauce.
We're going to get into it morein the future.
But these machine learningtechniques, they can really help
(09:21):
us test everything.
All this A-B testing I've beentalking about for years, whether
it's headlines, ad copy, buttoncolors on the website all of
these things we need tocontinually refine our campaigns
.
The firms that are embracingthis AI enhanced technology are
the ones that are staying aheadof the curve, and everybody else
is calling me so.
In short, the fundamentals onall of this, they haven't
(09:42):
changed, but the space evolves,the precision, the tech needed
to succeed, that is absolutelyat a new level.
And Google ads yes, it canstill drive absolutely massive
ROI for your law firm.
I know this because we're doingit with firms every day.
But you have to play the newgame by the new rules.
So what do you need to do today?
(10:03):
Review your ad structure.
If you haven't really changedanything since like 2021, you're
behind.
It's not COVID anymore.
We're doing business again.
And if you want to do morebusiness, you need to make sure,
whether it's your advertisingmanager, your assistant who's
running your campaigns or youyourself, make sure these
systems are updated, because ifthey're not, I'm going to beat
you.
That's it for Legal Marketing101.
(10:25):
Check out RosenAdvertisingcomfor more Thanks.
Is Google Ads Still Worth it for Law Firms in 2025?
Welcome to Legal Marketing 101.
I'm Toby Rosen.
Today we are talking aboutGoogle Ads.
Obviously, if you know me, thisis one of my favorite topics.
But today we are talking aboutwhether or not Google is still
worth it, and if you don't wantto listen to the whole episode,
(00:30):
I'll give you the answer rightnow.
The answer is yes, it's stillworth it, but and this is a big
but, this is a Kardashian sized,but here it's only worth it if
you evolve with the platform.
That is the only way that thisis going to work.
So let's start with theelephant in the room.
Google ads looks nothing likeit did even a few years ago.
If you've been running campaignson Google for a while, you've
probably noticed that the gamehas changed completely, and not
(00:53):
in ways that are making it a loteasier for law firms.
First, the competitionlandscape has shifted.
Local services ads have muscledtheir way to the top of the
page, the AI stuff is up there,and all of this is pushing
traditional search ads furtherdown the page.
That means, even if you'rerunning great campaigns on
Google, you're literally gettingless screen space, and behind
(01:13):
the scenes, google's auctionsystem is increasingly AI-driven
the manual bidding, all thisstuff that I still really like.
I have to admit that even it isstarting to slip, because the
days of obsessively tweakingindividual keyword bids may be
something of the past very soon.
Now there's a lot more that'sgoing to happen to Google in the
next year.
So the AI stuff and thecompetition landscape just the
(01:37):
real estate we can achieve hereon Google, it's very different
and it's going to continue toget different.
But this is the first elementthat has really changed things
on Google, and we're also seeinga really sharp rise in cost per
click, especially in the highstakes areas like PI, family law
, immigration.
If your cost per click or yourbudget felt expensive before,
buckle up because it is gettingpricier and that means every
(02:01):
click we generate has to count.
And another big shift is thequality score and landing page
experience.
These things have become somuch more critical to your
success.
On Google Ads, google's AI islooking at the whole picture.
Their ability to process datais really incredible.
But they're looking at how fastyour site loads, whether the
landing page matches the user'sintent, not just the keyword,
(02:23):
and they're looking at how wellyou convert those visits into
actual customers.
Conversion tracking is notoptional anymore.
It is the backbone of asuccessful campaign because,
look, google is looking at thatdata and so if you're not
optimizing for conversion,you're not going to perform well
on Google Bottom line.
Here the fundamentals stillmatter a lot, but the way that
(02:43):
we succeed with Google ads isevolving rapidly.
It's a lot less aboutmicromanagement and a lot more
about the strategy, feeding thedata to the right places and
being quick to adapt to thesechanges.
But now we've talked about howthe changes work.
Let's talk about whether or notit's worth it.
And look, we have to be realhere.
(03:04):
It is not for everyone and infact, for a lot of small law
firms it is just a money pit.
It is just a backyard fire pit,a solo stove.
Please sponsor me.
It's a money pit that you canset your money on fire in.
If you're working with a smallbudget, maybe no intake tracking
Google ads in 2025 is lightingyour money on fire.
(03:24):
I know it's tempting to justtry a $500 campaign and and see
if it works a little bit andthen spend more money on the
implementation.
But the reality is those legalclicks are really expensive and
without a proper system to trackwhere the leads are coming from
and whether they're converting,you are flying completely blind
.
I feel like I used that phrasein an episode recently and trust
(03:44):
me, google is going to takeyour money either way.
But if you're in an industrywhere it's $10 or $50, even per
click we're looking at a verysmall sample size from one of
those $500 or $1,000 tests.
And if we don't even have anydata on what's happening to
those users, oh boy, I'm justgoing to pass out at that one.
And the same goes at the entireintake process.
(04:05):
This has to be dialed in.
You can have the best adstrategy in the world, but if no
one's answering the phone orfollowing up with the potential
clients those leads are why?
Why even pay for them in thefirst place?
They're gone.
We still see firms that arespending thousands and thousands
a month on ads, but lettingthese hot prospects slip through
the cracks because their intaketeam is poorly managed, poorly
(04:28):
trained or just overwhelmed.
It's like pouring a bunch ofwater into a crock.
It's not going to stay in thecrock.
And here's the really big one.
If you think Google ads is aset it and forget it tool, do
yourself a favor and just don'tbother.
The firms that are winningtoday are the ones that are
actively managing, optimizingand adjusting their campaigns
(04:49):
constantly.
But let's look, I can be angryand aggressive about this.
Let's look at the flip side.
Who should still be runningGoogle ads?
If your firm has that reallywell-defined intake system,
solid CRM, then, yeah, you'reahead of the game.
That means you can track everylead, see exactly what's working
and make data-driven decisions.
So run some ads.
(05:09):
Google ads is still apowerhouse for firms in
high-value practice areas,whether that is personal injury
or class actions or some certaintypes of family law where a
single client could mean tens ofthousands in revenue these
types of law they still workbecause if your LTV, your
lifetime client value, is stilllong, google Ads can absolutely
(05:29):
be worth the investment.
And, most importantly, thefirms that win with Google Ads
I've said it like five times.
You should know what I'm aboutto say but they are the ones
that are ready to test, tweakand optimize relentlessly,
constantly, without everstopping, because there's no
magic formula anymore.
There kind of never was, butthere definitely isn't one now.
(05:49):
Success in any type of marketing, but particularly on Google ads
, comes from staying agile,watching the data closely.
It's 2025.
We've got to watch the data andadapting as fast as Google is
evolving, because if we're notadapting to what Google is doing
, then again I'm just going topass out at this episode.
So if you're in that group offirms, you're ready to tackle
the Google ad stuff.
(06:10):
You've got the tracking.
You can throw $500 into a testand immediately see if it worked
or not.
Then what is working in 2025?
First up is LSAs local serviceads and yes, these can be a
little bit hit or miss, but whenthey hit they really hit.
And here's the key Reviews.
I've talked about it 10 times,but it's the key to everything.
(06:31):
If your firm has a solid baseof great reviews, you keep them
fresh then LSAs are a goldmine.
But if your reviews yourprofile is really weak or, worse
, it's inconsistent withwhatever you're doing, then
you're going to struggle to staycompetitive in that space or
get a foothold in the firstplace.
A lot of people thought LSAswere going to be a shortcut, but
what they really are is.
(06:52):
They're sort of Google's way ofsaying show me your social
proof or get out of the way.
And next there's search ads.
Yeah, these are still alive andcooking, and yes, they have
evolved and yes, they'regenerally more expensive.
But high intent keywords likebest divorce lawyer near me or
injury lawyer free consult thisis where the action is.
(07:13):
Broad or long tail keywords isa little bit dicey these days.
It depends market to market.
But Google's AI this has takena lot of the guesswork out of
the equation, and so trying tosneak into new markets with
clever targeting it's a lotharder than it used to be.
We kind of need to do the rightthing the right way and then be
smart.
So we still need these tight adgroups, but it's way more
(07:35):
important to have sharp copy andreally, on the intake side, you
need that automation working inyour favor.
And then there is the landingpage game.
This is one I've talked about alot on the show and we're going
to again, but this is anon-negotiable Every campaign
has to have its own tailoredlanding page.
No more just dumping trafficinto the homepage, crossing our
(07:55):
fingers and hoping someone calls.
Our pages have to actually havesomething specific.
We need to match the promise ofthe ad.
We need to be lightning fast.
We need to be mobile optimizedthat's part of lightning fast
and we usually need to be prettymuch laser focused on
generating conversions.
We don't want a phone numberand a button if we can avoid it.
So if we're building greatlanding pages, go back and
(08:18):
listen to the episodes on this.
But really, what you'rethinking about is clear CTAs,
calls to action, easy contactforms and zero distraction.
No, if it doesn't lead the userinto making the action, then
it's not optimized for theconversion.
Let's put it at that.
Now I'm going to run through twomore things that are a little
bit more bleeding edge, butthey're cool, and these are two
(08:40):
of the things that you can do toreally supercharge your Google
ads in 2025.
And if you're not doing this,well, again, I'm just going to
pass out.
How many times can I say this?
So, first, up call tracking andyour CRM.
If you are not using thesetools, you are wasting money
full stop.
You have to know where yourleads are coming from and what
(09:00):
happens to them once they reachyou.
Guesswork doesn't cut it.
We need to know where they camefrom, how much it costs us to
acquire them and how much theyactually generated for us,
because if those numbers don'twork out well, we have a problem
.
And next we have AI, enhancedoptimization.
This is some secret sauce.
We're going to get into it morein the future.
But these machine learningtechniques, they can really help
(09:21):
us test everything.
All this A-B testing I've beentalking about for years, whether
it's headlines, ad copy, buttoncolors on the website all of
these things we need tocontinually refine our campaigns
.
The firms that are embracingthis AI enhanced technology are
the ones that are staying aheadof the curve, and everybody else
is calling me so.
In short, the fundamentals onall of this, they haven't
(09:42):
changed, but the space evolves,the precision, the tech needed
to succeed, that is absolutelyat a new level.
And Google ads yes, it canstill drive absolutely massive
ROI for your law firm.
I know this because we're doingit with firms every day.
But you have to play the newgame by the new rules.
So what do you need to do today?
(10:03):
Review your ad structure.
If you haven't really changedanything since like 2021, you're
behind.
It's not COVID anymore.
We're doing business again.
And if you want to do morebusiness, you need to make sure,
whether it's your advertisingmanager, your assistant who's
running your campaigns or youyourself, make sure these
systems are updated, because ifthey're not, I'm going to beat
you.
That's it for Legal Marketing101.
(10:25):
Check out RosenAdvertisingcomfor more Thanks.
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