Why “Solicitor” is a really bad search term on Google Adwords

Solicitor Search Term Google Adwords
Tell me what is wrong with the above search results?

Do you think the three advertisers will make a return on their investment from these advertisements?

I know that it is highly unlikely.

First, the cost for each click is estimated by Google to be £10.58. The reality is that it may in fact be a lot more expensive than this. Google is only estimating because there are so many variables that go into deciding how much you pay for each click.

It is these variables that make me pretty confident that these advertisers will spend a lot more than the £10.58 per click AND they will struggle to make any return on investment.

The variables that are important here are:

  • Poor advertisement copy
  • Click through rate
  • Landing page quality score

I have searched for “solicitor” and the first advertisement immediately mentions ‘Barrister’. Adwords is a place to give the searcher, your prospective client, exactly what they are looking for, not to try and tempt them with something different from the menu of choice.

I searched for ‘solicitor’ but am offered a ‘barrister’, a ‘conveyancing solicitor’ or an ‘injury solicitor’.

The poor advertisement copy will mean that few people click the advertisement and go through to the website landing page.

Even if someone does take this action, they are probably not going to be met with a page with a title of ‘solicitor’, because it is just too vague a search term. However, that is what Google would like to see as it wants you to give the searcher exactly what they are looking for. Therefore, Google will score you badly for this (your quality score) which means that you again pay more for the click.

Bear in mind that even if someone does click on your advertisement for ‘solicitor’ they are highly unlikely to find exactly what they are looking when they land on your page so they are not going to make contact with you. The only page that should appear for this search term due to its ambiguity is probably wikipedia.

Therefore, these three advertisers will be spending a lot of money to get no return.

The truth is, no Google Adwords advertisements should be appearing here because the search term ‘solicitor’ is just too vague and at one word too short to make work.

It doesn’t go into enough detail for me to be able to answer the searcher’s question, so there is absolutely no point in spending more than £10 per click to try and get this searcher to my website.

In my next review I am going to show you why longer search terms of three or more words are so much more likely to produce client instructions for you at a much lower cost. You need to see this one.

In the meantime, if you are spending any money at all on Google Adwords, or have done in the past, you need to read my Adwords Whitepaper. Enter a few details below to receive your copy in the post (yes, the good old fashioned way).

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Now I’ve got eight staff and two offices, and we’ve never been busier.

I’ve been working with Nick for the last six years, and in that time he’s had a significant impact on my business.

We first start working together when I worked at an employment law practice, and when I left there to set up on my own, Nick was one of the first people I called.

I knew that one of the key pieces to get right was the website – in this day and age it’s impossible to run a successful firm without one – and with Nick’s advice, help and guidance, we created our own marketing-focused site that has proven to be the backbone of all the sales and marketing that has followed.

But a good website means nothing unless people see it, and that’s why we turned to Nick to run our Google Adwords, which quickly became a primary source of leads.

In addition to running the traffic, Nick held our hand through every element of the client attraction process, from how to communicate with leads, to how to close sales, and the impact that had on our business cannot be understated.

And that’s why I will always recommend Nick to anyone who needs help with marketing – particularly legal firms: his breadth of knowledge about everything to do with sales and marketing means that he can (and does) help with every part of the picture, resulting in a stronger business than you could have imagined.

Since we’ve been working with Nick, we’ve grown quickly – back in 2013 it was just myself and my wife, and she was part-time.

Now I’ve got eight staff and two offices, and we’ve never been busier.

And if our lead numbers are anything to go by, it’s only going to get better – 2015-2016 saw us get 800 good quality leads in employment law, and that figure more than doubled last year. I can only look forward to more exciting times, working hand-in-hand with Nick to grow my practice and enjoy the fruits that come with that growth.

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