The short answer
Most law firms pay $10-$50 per click for family, criminal, employment and immigration searches, and $50-$200+ for personal injury in major US cities. Small firms typically spend $5,000-$15,000 a month; competitive PI firms can spend far more. The number that matters is cost per signed case, which for most practice areas should be a small fraction of the fee.
Cost per click by practice area
Typical US ranges for high-intent searches such as "[practice area] lawyer near me" or "[practice area] attorney [city]". Large metros sit at the top of each range.
| Practice area | Typical CPC | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Personal injury / car accident | $50-$200+ | Contingency fees on cases worth tens of thousands, plus lead-gen firms bidding |
| Mesothelioma & mass torts | $100-$300+ | Very high case values; some of the priciest keywords on Google |
| DUI / DWI defense | $25-$80 | Urgent, high-fee, heavy local competition |
| Criminal defense | $15-$60 | Urgency and fee size vary by charge |
| Divorce & family law | $10-$40 | Strong local competition, mixed intent |
| Employment law | $10-$40 | Employee-side searches convert well; employer-side is cheaper |
| Immigration | $5-$25 | Lots of informational searches mixed in |
| Estate planning & wills | $5-$20 | Lower urgency, lower fees |
UK solicitors usually pay less for equivalent searches, though London personal injury and clinical negligence terms can still be very expensive.
Why legal clicks cost so much
It comes down to what one client is worth. A single personal injury case can bring a firm $10,000 to $100,000 or more in fees. If one in 30 clicks turns into a signed case, a firm can pay over $100 a click and still make a healthy return. Every firm in the auction knows that, so bids climb.
Add lead generation companies and legal directories bidding on the same terms to resell the leads, and national firms bidding in every city, and you get some of the most competitive auctions anywhere on Google.
The upside is that legal searchers are often in real need and ready to act. A well-run legal account can be very profitable. A badly run one can burn $20,000 in a month with little to show for it.
Worked example: a family law firm
A family law firm in a mid-sized US city, spending $8,000 a month at an average of $30 per click, with a solid landing page and intake team.
| Step | Example |
|---|---|
| Monthly ad spend | $8,000 |
| Average cost per click | $30.00 |
| Clicks | 267 |
| Conversion rate to enquiries | 9.0% |
| Enquiries | 24 |
| Cost per enquiry | $333 |
| Close rate to signed clients | 25% |
| Signed clients | 6.0 |
| Cost per signed client | $1,333 |
| Average fee per client | $7,500 |
| Revenue | $45,000 |
| Return on ad spend | 5.6x |
That's $333 per enquiry and $1,333 per signed client, for roughly 5.6x return on ad spend. Intake matters as much as the ads here: if the close rate drops from 25% to 15% because calls go to voicemail, the cost per client jumps by two-thirds.
How much law firms typically spend
| Firm | Monthly ad spend | What that buys |
|---|---|---|
| Solo or small firm, one practice area | $3,000-$8,000 | A focused search campaign in one city |
| Small-to-mid firm, two or three practice areas | $8,000-$25,000 | Separate campaigns and pages per practice area |
| Personal injury firm in a major metro | $25,000-$100,000+ | Enough volume to compete for the top positions |
Where law firm ad budgets get wasted
Informational searches
"How much is my case worth", "free legal advice" and "law school" searches soak up budget. Law accounts need big negative keyword lists.
Calls nobody answers
Legal clients often call. A missed call after hours is a paid lead going to the next firm. Call tracking and after-hours answering pay for themselves.
One page for everything
Sending divorce and DUI searches to the same homepage hurts conversion rate and Quality Score. Each practice area needs its own page.
Cases you can't take
Wrong state, wrong case type, too small. Clear ad copy and a couple of qualifying questions filter these out before you pay for the call.
How to get more cases for the same budget
- 1
Track calls and signed cases, not just forms
Import signed cases from your case management system as offline conversions so Google optimises for clients, not enquiries.
- 2
Split by practice area and location
Separate campaigns let you bid differently for a $40 DUI click and a $15 wills click, and put money where your fees are highest.
- 3
Add Local Services Ads
Google Screened Local Services Ads charge per lead rather than per click and sit above normal ads. For many firms they're the cheapest leads available.
- 4
Run ads when you can answer
If nobody picks up at 11pm, either get an answering service or reduce bids overnight. Calls that go unanswered are pure waste.
- 5
Test Microsoft Ads
Legal clicks on Microsoft Ads are often noticeably cheaper, and plenty of people search on Bing from work computers.