Common Mistakes We See When Undertaking PPC Audits for Law Firms.

If you’re running Google ads or other PPC campaigns for your law firm, but seeing mixed results, it may be that you (or your ad agency) are making some of these common mistakes. 

Over the past few months, we’ve carried out several Google Ads audits for solicitors and legal practices - both those set up by Google Ads agencies, freelancers and in-house teams - and the same issues keep cropping up. So we thought we’d share the most common mistakes we see and explain how you can avoid making them.

If your PPC isn’t delivering the results you hoped for, there’s a good chance one (or more) of these problems is holding you back. The good news? Most of them are easy to fix

Choosing the wrong keywords (or letting Google run riot) 

This mistake typically appears in two main ways.

First, poor keyword selection.

It’s easy to forget that pay-per-click literally means you’re paying for every single click, whether it leads to an enquiry or not. That’s why it’s so important to choose keywords that are likely to bring in qualified leads.

Running ads on vague terms like “lawyer” or “legal help” might sound like you’re casting a wide net, but in reality, you’re wasting budget. You’ll often attract clicks from people looking for free advice, legal aid, or even jobs - none of which were the aim of your campaign. 

Success lies in specificity. Someone searching “spouse visa solicitor near me” has far clearer intent than someone simply Googling “immigration lawyer”. The difference might seem small, but it’s a world apart when it comes to user intent and conversion rates.

Remember: broader, top-of-funnel terms are often better tackled through your SEO strategy, not your ad budget.

The curse of broad match keywords

Even if you’ve picked the right keywords, Google has a sneaky way of derailing your strategy: broad match. When you use broad match keywords, Google takes liberties – showing your ad for search terms that are only loosely related to your chosen keyword.

Take “spouse visa solicitors” as an example. If you use broad match, your ad could show for someone searching “spouse visa requirements”, “free immigration advice”, or even a competitor’s brand name. 

What to do instead
Be specific. Choose keywords that match exactly what your ideal client would search for. For example, if you offer conveyancing services in Leeds, a keyword like “conveyancing solicitor Leeds” is far more relevant than just “conveyancing firm”. 

Use exact match or phrase match keywords to retain more control, and keep a close eye on your search terms report to identify irrelevant queries – then add them as negative keywords to prevent wasting your budget. 

Poor campaign structure 

The way you set up your Google Ads campaigns and ad groups can make a massive difference to how they perform – and how much budget you waste.

Let’s break it down. In Google Ads, your budget is set at the campaign level. But your keywords and ads sit inside ad groups, which are part of that campaign. If you’ve lumped multiple services into one campaign – say, conveyancing and commercial contracts – you’re giving Google free rein to decide how to spend your money. And spoiler: it won’t always prioritise the high-value stuff.

Here’s an example. Let’s say conveyancing clicks cost around £4, while commercial law clicks are £25. If both are in the same campaign, Google’s going to chase volume – and that usually means pouring your budget into the cheaper clicks. Great if you want lots of low-value leads. Not so great if your commercial clients are worth thousands.

Ad groups matter too. If you cram 50+ keywords into a single ad group, you’ll struggle to know what’s performing – and you won’t be able to write ads that closely match the search intent. That can hurt your Quality Score, reduce your click-through rate, and push your cost-per-click up unnecessarily.

Structure for success

Get organised. Keep your campaigns separated by service, especially if the value or cost of those services varies. Then keep your ad groups nice and tight – a few closely related keywords in each, all pointing to the same page and paired with ads that actually match the search.

Think of it like this: if you’re tidy with your account setup, Google’s more likely to show your ads to the right people. Less budget-wasting. More decent leads.

Missing Conversion Tracking (or Only Tracking Half the Story)

You’d be amazed how many law firms are running Google Ads with no proper conversion tracking in place. Or they’re tracking one thing – like form fills – and ignoring everything else.

If you’re not tracking calls, live chat enquiries, or even what happens after someone gets in touch, you’re flying blind. And spending money doing it.

While you will never be able to measure every single action (cookie consent, attribution modelling and other issues contribute to loss of visiblity), making sure that you do measure what you can is vital to ensuring that your ads perform well. 

Not every enquiry is created equal. If you’re only counting how many people clicked “submit” on your contact form, you’ve got no idea whether they were the right fit, whether they went on to become a paying client, or whether they just ghosted you.

And even if you’re getting enquiries and tracking them in Google Ads, are you linking that back to your CRM? If not, you’re missing the whole picture. We’ve seen firms get excited about high lead numbers… only to realise later they were mostly timewasters or the wrong type of client altogether.

What should you track? 

Make sure you’re tracking all your key conversion actions – forms, calls, live chats, bookings – not just one. And where possible, connect that data with your CRM so you can see which campaigns, keywords, or ads are actually driving the desired results.

Not Using a Dedicated Landing Page

When someone clicks your ad, they don’t want to land on your homepage and play a game of “Guess which service I’m looking for.” They want to see the exact thing they just searched for – whether that’s “no win no fee employment solicitor” or “fixed fee divorce advice”.

If your landing page doesn’t instantly match the ad and the keywords, people bounce. That drives up your costs and drags down your Quality Score – Google’s way of rating how relevant your ad and landing page are. A low Quality Score = a lower Ad Rank, which means you either pay more per click or get bumped off the page altogether. (Here’s a quick explainer on Quality Score and Ad Rank)

Now – let’s clear up a common myth. A “landing page” doesn’t mean you need some jazzy standalone microsite. It just means a page that’s specific to the ad or keyword. It can absolutely sit on your main website – it just needs to be focused, relevant, and built for conversion. That means clear, concise content, trust signals (testimonials, accreditations etc.), and a strong call to action. Not five paragraphs about your firm’s founding story.

Make sure every campaign (or at the very least, every service area) has its own landing page. Match the messaging in the ad to what’s on the page. And don’t make people dig around for your contact details or enquiry form – make it easy, obvious, and instant.

Because if your page doesn’t give them what they came for, someone else’s will.

Not Checking Your Search Terms Report (or Using Negative Keywords)

Using phrase match is a great way to reach people searching for relevant terms – but it’s not a “set it and forget it” situation. If you’re not checking your search terms report, you’ve got no idea what your ads are actually showing for.

And trust us… some of it will be absolute rubbish.

We’ve seen law firms showing up for “law degree online”, “free legal advice”, or even searches completely unrelated to their practice areas. That’s budget down the drain – and it adds up fast.

The search terms report shows you the real-life queries people typed in before clicking your ad. It’s gold dust – because it lets you spot irrelevant terms to exclude with negative keywords, and also discover unexpected gems that are worth adding in.

What to do instead
Make it a habit to check your search terms report regularly – especially in the first few weeks of a campaign. Add negative keywords for anything irrelevant, and keep an eye out for search terms that consistently lead to conversions (they’re worth building into your campaigns more directly).

Bottom line? Google will always strive to display your ad to a wider audience. Your job is to make sure it’s the right people.

Brand Bidding (By Accident)

Yes – you should protect your brand name on Google Ads. But you don’t want to end up paying over the odds for clicks you were probably going to get anyway.

We’ve seen plenty of law firms mix branded terms (like their own company name) into the same ad groups or campaigns as their high-intent service keywords. The result? Your campaign looks like it’s performing better than it actually is – because people searching your name are usually warm leads, and they convert easily. It inflates the numbers and masks what’s really going on with your cold traffic.

On the flip side, if you’re using phrase or broad match keywords and not checking your search terms (see point above!), you might find yourself accidentally bidding on your competitors’ names. That usually doesn’t end well. People searching for a specific firm often just want their phone number or login – not to switch providers. So you end up paying for clicks that don’t convert.

What to do instead
If you want to run branded campaigns, great – just keep them separate. That way, you can clearly see how your cold and warm traffic are performing. And make sure you check your search terms regularly so you’re not wasting money on competitor names that won’t bring in clients.

Google will gladly take your money either way – it’s up to you to make sure it’s working for you, not against you.

 Not Actively Managing Your Ads

Google Ads is not a set-and-forget platform. If you’re not checking in regularly, things can unravel faster than you’d think.

How often you need to review your account depends on a few things: the size of your campaigns, how much you’re spending (more spend = more clicks = more to stay on top of), and how competitive your space is. If a new firm starts bidding on the same keywords as you, your costs can shoot up overnight. At that point, you need to make a quick decision: stay in the race, switch focus, or adjust your bidding strategy.

We’re not saying you can’t manage your own ads – you absolutely can. However, if no one is looking at them for months, problems will inevitably arise. We’ve seen firms hit by policy changes they didn’t even realise had happened – and in some cases, get locked out of Google Ads completely. (And yes, that’s a nightmare to fix.)

Also worth remembering: the ad auction is live. Bidding strategies, competitor behaviour, and even user search trends change constantly. If you’re not paying attention, your costs can spiral or your best keywords can stop showing altogether.

What to do instead
Stay active. Check your account weekly – even if it’s just a quick scan of your keywords, search terms, ad performance and budget. Make sure your bidding strategy is still working, and that your ads haven’t been disapproved without you realising.

And if you genuinely don’t have time? That’s what we’re here for. We offer everything from full Google Ads management for law firms. to our lighter-touch “Google Ads Light” option – perfect if you just want expert eyes on your account without handing over the whole thing.

Because trust us – ignoring your ads is the fastest way to start wasting money