Are Google Local Service Ads (LSA’s) now the new “silver bullet” in digital marketing for lawyers? Since the advent of online search, the majority of which is now taking place on mobile, Google quickly became the ten-thousand-pound gorilla in the demand fulfillment marketing space. What started for attorneys in 1977 (Bates vs. Arizona) with the yellow pages has now been replaced with “googling” for information. You know you have changed the world when your own name, which many people still don’t know the definition of, has now become a verb. And what started over a decade ago with Google selling paid visibility to the right side of these organic search results has now become something that would make even the robber barons of the 19th century envious of. In true robber baron form, Google over the last decade has dramatically expanded their domination over search results pages to now include the top results (PPC), followed by map results (Google My Business) followed by organic results…or what is left of your “free” search results. When mobile shrunk the screen and overtook PC search results only a few years back, these “Google owned” and monetized properties now go three-scrolls deep in mobile search results leading many people to ask how much Google domination of search results is too much? Well, in 2020 we might finally have an answer. Google began testing their initial home services ad models back in 2015 and by mid-2020, they announced the nation-wide roll-out of their Local Service Ads (LSA’s) for local businesses…including attorneys. The initial roll-out has been largely sporadic with new metros and practice areas suddenly coming online unannounced by Google – while others are still waiting. And when your practice areas come online in your metro you will likely know it because they are hard to miss…they are right at the top of your Google search results! Moreover, they now take almost the entire above-the scroll screen results on most mobile devices and who doesn’t want to be there? That is why if you haven’t heard about these LSA ads yet, you soon will. THE ONGOING CHALLENGES WITN GOOGLE PAY-PER-CLICK (PPC) ADS
For a long time if you wanted to get to the top of Google, you had two choices – you could try to “out-SEO” your competition in the organic search results or you could buy the highest visibility by paying Google. Over time, as Google continued to bury organic search results deeper and deeper below their own properties, the “SEO only” crowd quickly realized that like it or not, Google controlled the battlefield and fighting for organic visibility alone was a losing battle. As a result, law firms have increasingly purchased more visibility from Google through Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads which could not only allow you to buy the top of the search results, but recently the top of the maps as well (through promoted pins). As a result, it was not unusual to now see divorce and criminal attorneys in major metros spending thousands of dollars on these ads each month while some personal injury attorneys are spending well into the six figures each month – all going to Google. But as many attorneys learned, running PPC ads EFFECTIVELY with Google was not an easy process. Running EFFECTIVE Google PPC campaigns is a process that takes constant maintenance to refine and control – most often now done by people who specialize in managing PPC programs. This process involves a constant refinement of keyword selections and management, ad text and extensions optimization, negative keyword management, click-fraud prevention, A/B testing, landing page optimization, conversion management, and much more – far more in fact than most attorneys can now handle on their own. But even when done effectively, Google designed PPC on an open-bidding platform which means attorneys will bid against each other in markets to determine the costs-per-click they pay to attract business through it. And in most mature markets, bidding has become so competitive that it is not unusual to find attorneys getting only a 2 to 1 (give or take) return-on-investment for their PPC ads. Attorneys that know this also know that despite the relatively poor ROI, they can still quickly generate a larger number of cases simply by cranking up these ads, thereby using PPC as a “firehose” to help keep their business afloat and busy when needed. But that didn’t solve a fundamental problem for Google…HOW CAN GOOGLE GET MORE PAID-SEARCH CUSTOMERS BIDDING ON THEIR SEARCH RESULTS?As previously discussed, Google PPC has become a complicated process that in order to be effective must now be run by professional PPC managers to be the most effective. Google will actively solicit attorneys by making the process of getting started very easy but as many attorneys have learned the hard way, that does not mean it is very effective when it comes to results. It is one thing to initially setup an account and it is entirely another to manage and refine it over time. That is why most attorneys who consistently stick with PPC have good PPC managers while the others do not. As a result of this problem, Google had to find a more effective way to sell paid advertising while addressing this complexity issue. And how did they do it? By adding yet another way to buy Google ads at the top of search results. ENTER GOOGLE’S LOCAL SERVICE ADS (LSA’S)When Google LSA’s were announced, there were noticeable differences between PPC and LSA ads. Beyond the obvious of the LSA ads now appearing ABOVE PPC ads, the ads also appear and behave differently. To start with, all ads in the search results currently contain the same standardized elements: A picture, firm name, reviews, years in business, phone number, operating hours, and a “Google screened” indication. From here, searchers can either call/text the phone number and/or click through to the standardized Google business details page to learn more (Note: LSA ads now click through to a Google page, not your website like with PPC). What Google ultimately wants users to do from either page is the call/text a law firm which is how they register the contact as a “lead” and then charge the law firm for it. The calls route through a designated Google phone number that both tracks and records the calls for the firm.The process to initially setup your LSA account is rather tedious involving the disclosure of sensitive business information such as your tax ID#’s, license numbers for each attorney in your firm, etc. – followed-up by a third-party background check (currently using Pinkerton) that will cause some attorneys to wince. Click here to download the setup questions you will need to complete online. Once successfully setup and running, law firms will be designated as “Google Screened” by Google which for some may be like getting the stamp of approval from God and therefore worth all the initial discomfort.
Part of the initial setup process also involves designating your primary practice area (of which you can currently only select one per account) and sub-practice area categories (of which you can chose many). In the example of personal injury attorneys, I have listed all the current sub-categories you can select here which tells Google where you want to show up in search. Unlike PPC where you have to determine the keywords and negative keywords for yourself, Google LSA’s do this for you…and your competitors for that matter. All Google asks you to do at this point it to pick your budget based on your desired number of leads and then answer your phone (quickly and always) after the leads start rolling in. If you don’t, Google will penalize your ads based on your poor conversion performance of those calls. The potential genius of this new model is Google’s elimination of nearly all the complexities involved with running effective PPC campaigns. Once your LSA account is setup and running, Google will now handle these complexities for you…as well as your competitors. So while this new system may now be easy for the average attorney to now run, many are now asking how cost effective will it be?
HOW MUCH DO GOOGLE LSA ADS COST? When Google launches in your market, they have a page (click here) that allows you to enter your zip code, practice area, and how many leads (calls) you want to generate each month to receive a budget estimate of CURRENT costs to use LSA ads now. If your market is not yet live, this function may not yet work for you. At the time this article was written, I received the following cost estimates from Google based on my location in Scottsdale, AZ:· 50 Personal Injury Leads: $7,500-11,250/mo. ($150-$225/lead)
· 50 Family Lawyer Leads: $4,750-$7,150/mo. ($95-$143/lead)· 50 DUI Lawyer Leads: $7,500-11,250/mo. ($150-$225/lead)· 50 Criminal Lawyer Leads: $7,500-11,250/mo. ($150-$225/lead)· 50 Estate Lawyer Leads: $2,250-3,400/mo. ($45-$68/lead)Now, in order to calculate your average Case-Acquisition-Costs (CAC) and Return-On-Investment (ROI) from these leads, you would need to know how they convert over time. For example, if you are a Personal Injury lawyer and only convert 1 out of every 6 of these leads (16.6% conversion), you could expect to pay, based on the numbers above, $900-$1350 per case. This number may initially sound attractive but once more attorneys come online and compete with each other for the same cases (ala PPC), I can assure you that these numbers will change – and not for the better. That is, unless you are Google. But that is where Google has the upper hand. By placing these ads at the top of the Google search results pages, they know many attorneys will pay large amounts to get to these new top positions. They also know that once these accounts are initially setup, unlike PPC, they will require little/no maintenance to keep them running. In fact, the only quality control mechanism they leave you with is the ability to now “dispute” each call (lead) and then see if Google will end up charging you for them or not. Currently, these dispute options in the LSA system include the following:· Job not served (not on your profile)· Location not served (zip code or city) · Wrong number or sales call (not a customer) · Spam or bot (not human) · Duplicate lead (customer contacted you twice) · Incorrect business (lead does not belong to you) So, if you are an attorney and receive a lead you wish to dispute with Google, you will most likely try indicating that the lead was for a “job not served” – which in your case would likely be the wrong practice area. But what about the quality of the lead? How do you dispute that? And how receptive is Google going to be in allowing your disputed leads to be removed? Therein lies one of the fundamental differences between PPC and LSA ads. EFFECTIVE PPC ad campaigns can help eliminate 35-50%+ of the poor quality leads over time through the use of quality controls such as keyword planning, ad copy, negative keyword management, landing pages, click-fraud prevention, etc. – all of which allow you to potentially outperform your competition by producing higher lead quality at a lower price. And nearly all of this is done before the contact (call) takes place. But with LSA’s, Google has effectively removed most front-end quality controls meaning the only effective way to manage LSA lead quality is through lead disputes after the call/text is received. In short, you are now likely to receive the same quality leads (good and bad) through your LSA ads as your competition – and at the same price. ARE GOOGLE LOCAL SERVICE ADS (LSA’S) GOOD FOR LAWYERS? Open bid advertising systems like PPC and now LSA’s mean that over time, supply will equal demand and pricing will reflect this. I’m also sure Google wants to minimalize any negative cannibalization effects to their own PPC ads – which they will likely allow for to some degree if it means they can get more attorneys bidding for LSA ads than PPC ads. This likely explains why LSA ads are now on top of PPC ads and will continue to remain their over time if this objective is reached. This also means that the limited prices and competition levels you currently see today will be followed and likely even exceed by the previous levels achieved with PPC. I have spoken with a number of firms that run LSA ads both recently and dating back a year ago when they test launched in the San Diego area and most didn’t paint a rosy picture. One firm in particular who ran very complex PPC campaigns along with LSA ads noticed all of the quality differences I had mentioned above. Compared to their refined PPC ads, their LSA ads produced poorer quality leads, requiring higher levels of intake, and produced poorer ROI. Another organization indicated that their LSA ads produced Case-Acquisition-Costs (CAC’s) that in some cases where 4-5X MORE EXPENSIVE than their PPC ads. Others simply didn’t track well enough and decided that since LSA’s were on top of the search results, they would need to be there regardless. As indicated, these results were based on initial test markets and limited runs but are certainly not encouraging – especially if PPC results were still comparatively better for the firms that can tell the difference. WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO RUN LEGAL LSA ADSDespite all of my initial findings and potential concerns listed above, most law firms will likely move forward with LSA ads in some capacity in the months and years ahead so here are a few things you might want to keep in mind when getting started with them:
1. In case you didn’t already realize this by now, online reviews can both promote and destroy a law firm’s reputation and conversions online and LSA’s now bring this front and center like never before. The good news is if you already have good reviews and a system to generate more of them to your Google My Business (GMB) listings, those reviews will be pulled through to your LSA ads as well. In short, what helps your GMB listing stand out and convert now will help your LSA ads stand out and convert better as well. Recent studies on LSA ads have also shown that reviews were BY FAR the primary reason why consumers will chose (or not chose) you from your LSA ads. Bottom line: creating and running an effective reviews program for your law firm is something you must be investing in. 2. If your firm sucks at converting inbound calls, you will hate LSA ads. Why? Because one of Google’s LSA ranking requirements is that calls received are answered and quickly. Google will reward firms with strong conversion so make sure you have this buttoned up (learn more about optimal law firm conversion here). If you don’t always answer calls 24/7, make sure when setting up your ads to designate the “ad schedule: custom hours” that best fit when your firm will always answer inbound calls. These are not to be confused with your “business hours” – for your “ad schedule” hours will determine when your LSA ads are displayed each day. 3. Make sure your headshots and images you chose for your ads are professional and correctly sized/formatted. In addition to your reviews, this will be one of the first things people will judge you on before then decide to contact you – so spend time getting these correct. Nothing is more foolish than spending thousands of dollars on ads using a picture that looks like it came out of a mall photo booth. 4. Keep an on eye on your monthly spending budget. There are currently only 3 LSA ad positions on a PC and 2 on mobile search so you need to keep track of your budget and performance on a regular basis. If you don’t, you could likely get outbid and buried in results long before you ever realize it. Or worse, your “max per lead” bidding mode settings could end up costing you a fortune if lead costs start sky rocking!
5.Don’t think LSA ads are a replacement for a comprehensive marketing mix. If you think that LSA ads will take the place of an effective PPC campaign, legal directories, brand building, social media, etc. it will not and as I have seen through some initial testing, the ROI results can actually be worse. Remember, LSA’s are simply another version of digital demand fulfillment and still do not provide demand generation capabilities you will need to reach optimum conversions – even from your LSA ads. So, will LSA ads be part of your potential marketing mix moving forward? Most likely – yes. But should they replace other effective means of advertising you are doing today? No. For example, recent studies have shown that when LSA’s are present in search results, 25.3% of all clicks go to paid results. When LSA’s are not present, the number drops to 14.6%, or a difference of around 10.7%. As you can see from the adjacent chart, LSA’s, in comparison to a comprehensive digital marketing mix, can generate around 13.8% of your total clicks – which should help give you a good starting point in budgeting for LSA ads as a percentage of your total digital marketing spend. 6. LSA ads are designed to be “local” meaning the closer the searcher is to your physical location when searching (which happens mostly on mobile now), the better your chances of showing up in those search results. Unlike legal directories and PPC that can help extend your visible search beyond your primary office service area, LSA’s are designed to reward office proximity. So, if you are wanting to generate more cases and clients beyond your primary service area, LSA’s will not be your best choice to help you do that. In conclusion, it is easy to get both excited and concerned about Google Local Service Ads (LSA’s) and how they can impact your ability to generate new clients and cases. Even though they are new and now the new top dog in Google search results, that doesn’t always mean that they may be a better answer when cost effectively marketing your firm online. Achieving high visibility is one thing but at what comparable cost are you willing to pay in order to achieve that? Is a 3 to 1 marketing ROI acceptable to you? How about 2 to 1 or even lower? Just remember that effectively run Google PPC ads already perform in these ranges for most law firms now and based on the potential quality issues discussed above, do you expect these results to now improve with LSA ads? The bottom line is to track your results and always align your marketing mix for the highest marketing ROI that will help support your firm goals and objectives. So, are LSA’s now the answer? Time will tell. But what I do know is Google is always finding new ways to generate more money for Google and based on some of the limited results I have already seen, I will continue to advise my clients to move forward cautiously with LSA ads in a way that produces the best results for them first. And, I will also remind them that there is still no “silver bullet” in digital marketing. Need help with your LSA ads and digital marketing strategy? Contact me today and let me know…
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