Google Ads work well for law firms because searchers have high intent. Someone searching “DUI attorney near me” is ready to hire today, not tomorrow.
The question: how much should you pay?
CPC Benchmarks by Practice Area (2026)
| Practice Area | Avg CPC | Avg CPL | Avg Cost Per Retained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal injury | $25-50 | $150-300 | $1,500-3,000 |
| DUI/Criminal | $15-35 | $100-200 | $800-2,000 |
| Family law | $10-25 | $80-150 | $600-1,500 |
| Corporate/contracts | $20-40 | $200-400 | $3,000-8,000 |
| Bankruptcy | $12-28 | $120-250 | $1,000-2,500 |
How to Calculate Your Budget
Example: Personal injury firm in Austin
- Target: 10 calls/day
- Avg CPC in Austin: $30
- Daily budget: 10 × $30 = $300
- Monthly budget: $300 × 30 = $9,000
At 20-30% conversion rate to retained clients, that’s 60-90 cases/month.
At $3,000 avg case value, that’s $180K-270K/month from Google Ads alone.
Why Your Costs Might Be Higher
- Low Quality Score — Your ads/landing pages aren’t relevant. Google charges more.
- Wrong keywords — Bidding on broad terms instead of high-intent long-tail.
- Poor landing pages — Sending ads to homepage instead of practice area page.
- No call extensions — One-click calling matters for lawyers. Use it.
The Math That Actually Works
Don’t optimize for clicks. Optimize for cases.
- 100 clicks at $30 = $3,000
- 10 calls from those clicks = $300 per call
- 2 retained clients = $1,500 per client
vs.
- 150 clicks at $20 = $3,000
- 8 calls (lower quality) = $375 per call
- 1 retained client = $3,000 per client
The first scenario is better, even though CPC is higher.
Focus on: Cost per retained case, not cost per click.