Google Ads can put a law firm in front of someone at the exact moment they need help. It can also burn through a budget quickly if the targeting is loose.
Legal keywords are some of the most competitive in Perth. The firms that do well are precise about what they target and what they leave out.
This page covers the practical settings. For the wider picture, see our law firm marketing page and our law firm marketing guide.
What to target
Build campaigns around practice areas, not the firm as a whole. Each practice area has its own clients, its own urgency and its own value per matter.
Look for search terms that show someone is ready to speak to a lawyer:
- “family lawyer Perth” or “property settlement lawyer Perth”
- “criminal lawyer Fremantle” or “drink driving lawyer Perth”
- “unfair dismissal lawyer WA”
- “contest a will WA” or “probate lawyer Perth”
- “construction dispute lawyer Perth”
Suburb terms are worth testing for family, criminal and estates work, where clients often prefer a local office. Think Joondalup, Rockingham, Midland or Mandurah, depending on where you are.
Commercial work behaves differently. Searches are fewer, but each matter can be worth a lot. Smaller, tightly themed ad groups work best here.
What to exclude
Negative keywords matter more in law than in most trades. Many legal searches come from people who will never become fee-paying clients.
- Free help: “free”, “legal aid”, “community legal centre”, “pro bono”
- Study and careers: “degree”, “course”, “graduate”, “salary”, “jobs”, “clerkship”
- DIY: “template”, “form”, “kit”, “do it yourself”
- Other states, if you only act in WA: “NSW”, “Victoria”, “Queensland”
- Information only: “definition”, “meaning”, “Wikipedia”
- Practice areas you do not handle
Review the search terms report every week in the early months. You will find new terms to exclude, and some good ones to add.
Location and schedule
Target the areas you genuinely serve. For most firms that is the Perth metro area, plus regional WA if you take matters by phone or video.
Set location targeting to people in or regularly in your target area, not people who are simply interested in it. This cuts out a lot of interstate clicks.
For schedules, look at when someone can answer the phone. Criminal and family enquiries often come in the evening and on weekends. If calls go to voicemail at 7pm, consider running form-only ads after hours or pausing until morning.
Ad wording and the landing page
Keep the ad specific to the practice area. Mention what matters to that client, such as an initial consultation, a fixed-fee first meeting if you offer one, or a CBD office with parking.
Every claim in the ad must be accurate. The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules apply to ads as much as to your website.
Send each ad group to the matching practice area page, not the home page. That page should explain the service in plain English, introduce the lawyer who handles it, and make calling or enquiring simple.
A short form, a visible phone number and a note on confidentiality usually do more than long blocks of text.
Call and form tracking
A large share of legal enquiries are phone calls. If you only track forms, you will undervalue the campaign.
- Track calls from the ad itself using call assets
- Track calls from the website using a dynamic number or click tracking on the phone link
- Track completed form submissions, not just clicks on the submit button
- Set a minimum call length so short or misdialled calls are not counted
Then compare tracked enquiries with what your intake team actually records. Matching the two over a few months shows which practice areas bring in real matters.
Budget thinking
Start with what a new matter is worth to the firm in each practice area. A commercial dispute and a simple will are very different.
Put most of the budget into the practice areas with the highest value and the best capacity to take on work. It is better to run one or two areas well than six areas thinly.
Allow a few months of data before deciding whether a campaign works. Legal matters often take time to convert from enquiry to signed costs agreement.
Common mistakes for law firms
- One campaign for every practice area, with all ads going to the home page
- No negative keywords for free legal help or study terms
- Running ads when nobody is available to take the call
- Counting every click on a phone number as a new client
- Using Google’s broad match without close monitoring
- Copying competitor wording that includes claims your firm cannot support
Ad policies and conduct rules
Google has its own policies on legal services, and they vary by country and service type. Some legal services may need extra verification. Check the current Google Ads policy pages before launching a new campaign type.
Separately, WA practitioners must follow the Legal Profession Uniform Law and the conduct rules. Take care with words like “specialist”, outcome claims and fee offers. If a claim needs a footnote to be accurate, it probably should not be in a short ad.
If you are unsure about a particular claim, check with the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia or the Law Society.
Our Google Ads management service handles these settings and checks for Perth firms.
If you’d like help setting up or reviewing your firm’s Google Ads, SLINKY has been helping Perth businesses since 1998. You’ll deal directly with senior people, with no lock-in contracts. Get in touch.
