Do you pay someone to manage your law firm's AdWords campaigns?
No? You might want to consider it. Unless you're a sophisticated paid search media manager and have the time to devote to properly managing your campaigns, you're likely wasting money.
Yes? Are they following Google's third-party partner policies?
Unfortunately, some online legal marketing agencies don't. Here's what you need to know and why it matters.
You can read the Google AdWords working with third parties policies here.
First, you choose a Google-certified agency. To me, this is table stakes. It's not that all Google Partner agencies are awesome. Instead, you should view Partner status as a floor of minimum credentials. Think of it as licensed to practice not necessarily competent to practice.
Second, and here's the important part, they should provide you with full transparency into their fee versus the cost of your advertising. Here are some quick tips for choosing your AdWords partner:
Following these general guidelines will help you avoid most the scammers.
If your prospective AdWords manager suggests any of the following, run away and tell your friends, tell Google, and tell us too:
Unfortunately, I know for a fact that many of you are being taken advantage of by your AdWords partners. If you're reading this, you've now been warned and have no excuses. Take accountability for your advertising spends. If you're in an agreement with a vendor who won't commit to Google's basic third-party policies, end it. Report them.
Here's a recent Google SERP for "๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐ฎ." Ads? โLSAs? โLocal Pack? โLinks? โ ๐ท AI Overview? โ 6 firms listed. Only one tiny ๐. Click the ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ button? ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐: Here's a more detailed look at some of these firms: THE PEARCE LAW FIRM, P.C.Edith Pearce, […]
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Meh, links! All things being equal, links still tend to move the dial more than any other factor in legal SERPs. Maybe links are having a diminishing impact internet-wide. But in my experience, quality links, especially relevant links (both topically and geographically), tend to improve law firm visibility in search more than most everything else. […]
