Paid search advertising programs, like Google Adwords, allow for the placement of text-based ads next to the ‘natural’ search results, and can provide access to the desired audiences that many law firms seek. But what do they actually deliver? Are these ads effective for attracting clients? How much web traffic will they bring? Is it better to offer a paid ad or to show up in the natural search results? While paid search marketing has its place, and has generated billions in revenue for Google, this is also a form of advertising I advise clients marketing legal services to stay away from.

Let me start by being blunt. I’ve never been a huge fan of pay-per-click advertising for lawyer marketing. For product-based marketing, there is a clear rationale and ROI equation for placing text advertisements next to commercial search terms. For service-based marketing, however, pay-per-click advertising presents several issues, which I will explore in detail in this article.