LSAs 2.0: Updated Local Services Ads Tips for Attorneys

What’s up, everybody? I’m Nick Paul, Director of Advertising here at Nifty. Today we’re covering the latest in Local Services Ads for attorneys. So let’s jump right into it!

Google Local Services Ads have been live for a few months now for attorneys across the nation and virtually all practice areas. Let’s talk about what we’ve observed at Nifty since launching these ads for our clients. The first thing we discovered is that most of our clients receive nearly instant leads as soon as they launch ads on this platform. Some of the caveats though are in more competitive metros, like “personal injury in Atlanta”, or “personal injury in Los Angeles,” we see that it requires a higher bid, and it does require the Google-Screened badge before you start to receive phone calls. The other observation we’ve seen is that there are some spam calls that come through this platform. But not to worry—that’s part of the advantage of Local Services Ads: you can actually get refunds on those calls. And you only get charged on those if they’re over 30 seconds. We have seen those calls come in, but they haven’t been a big problem.

We’ve also been noticing that, for some clients, the biggest struggle in getting the ads to show is because of missed calls. Again, this is one of the primary factors Google is looking at to determine ad placement. If you miss a call, however short it may be, this will count against your ad. So, your intake team needs to be on a hair-trigger ready to answer these calls regardless of how many times they ring. 

For a more concrete idea of how Local Services Ads are performing for our clients and attorneys across the nation, let’s compare these to Google Ads. 

Let’s talk about how Local Services Ads compare to Google Ads, in terms of performance. On average, across the board, we’ve seen a lower cost per lead for Local Services Ads compared to Google Ads. This is likely to change in the future, as Local Service Ads have a lot of benefits that Google Ads doesn’t offer right now, namely refunds on bad calls. For example, for personal injury, we’ve seen a whopping 53% lower cost per lead with Local Service Ads compared to Google Ads. 12% lower for workers’ comp and up to 55% lower for family law. Again, this is likely to change over time. We predict seeing a higher cost per lead for Local Services Ads in the future just because of the benefits and features of this platform compared to Google Ads.

An often-asked question is “how can i speed up the onboarding process for my LSAs?” The reality is that the setup process is still very time-consuming due to Google’s process being very manual. What’s great is if you’re a Nifty client, we have a dedicated agency rep at Google who is helping onboard our clients as quickly as possible. 

The next topic I’m going to cover is what’s called “Tier 2 Live.” This may not apply to all of you, but it will apply to those of you who have started setting up your Local Services Ads and have started to receive calls already. What this means is you’ve filled out your background check, but it’s still in processing with Google, so you haven’t earned the Google-Screened badge quite yet. Usually Tier 2 Live lasts for about 2 weeks while your background check is in processing. During this time, you’ll be able to receive phone calls, but, in more competitive markets, like Atlanta or Los Angeles, without that Google-Screened badge, you’re unlikely to rank high enough in the ad pack to receive phone calls.

Now that we’ve covered Tier 2 Live, let’s talk about what you can do to compete for better ad placement. First, you can increase your bids. This is a feature from Google that’s here to stay, and in more competitive markets, as I mentioned, this is becoming a necessity. Second, you can increase your budget. When your budget runs out for the day, your ad will drop to the bottom of the ad pack. So it’s important to maintain enough budget that you retain the Google-Screened badge and retain your presence at the top of the ad pack. The third thing you can do is push for more client reviews. This is an ad placement factor and will have a secondary benefit for your Google Business listing. Fourth, you can expand your business hours. There are two ways to do this–you can expand your ad schedule, which will actually determine when your ad is visible to people. You can also expand your business hours, which is another ranking factor that Google looks at. 

A common question we receive is “what should I do if Local Services Ads aren’t available in my market?” The first thing to remember is that there are device minimums for this ad platform. For example, on mobile there needs to be at least two advertisers for these ads to show up. On desktop, there needs to be at least three. A tip we’ve discovered at Nifty is if you search a larger metro like Atlanta, for “personal injury attorney”, you can usually get these ads to trigger. Once there, you can click and search for another metro, like your own, and see how many advertisers are really showing in this market. If you do your search and you see that there’s at least one advertiser in the area already, great! You should add your local service ads to the mix because those will start to show on mobile. If you discover that there are no advertisers in your market and you have multiple office locations, this is a scenario where we’d strongly recommend that you join the platform. In this case, Google oftentimes will display multiple office locations, and qualify those for the multiple advertisers required to show on mobile and desktop. Finally, if you do the search and discover there are no advertisers in your market, great. You can be the first to the party. This really is a high-performing platform, and it’s your opportunity to be the first to market. 

Once your Local Services Ads are live, you’re going to want to check their ad placement and how you’re performing relative to other advertisers. Let’s show you how this is done. Similar to a previous example, you’re going to want to first trigger the Local Services Ads for your market by searching for a relevant keyword like “personal injury attorney Los Angeles.” Once you’ve done this, scroll through the list and find your listing. If there are a lot of listings, you can do Command+Find on your keyboard to find your listing faster. Some things to definitely keep in mind here, though: the ads are constantly changing in their placements, largely due to budgets, time of day, and services offered. What you see right now may be different in ten minutes. If you’re searching for your ad placement and you don’t see any Local Services Ads, refer to the previous question about how you can search for LSAs in a market with limited advertisers. 

Let’s talk about some tips and tricks we’ve discovered having run Local Services Ads for our clients. First of all, and we’ve mentioned this, if you have multiple office locations,  you should definitely sign all of them up for local service ads. Google will display multiple office locations, especially in markets where there are limited advertisers. 

The next tip that we’ve recently discovered is marking booked leads. This is something you should do as often as possible because it will add a “number of booked leads” badge on your ad. While Google says this badge doesn’t improve performance or improve ad placement at all, it may have an impact on your ads’ click-through rate. 

The last tip is to pay attention to your business hours and your ad schedule. Ad schedule will determine when your ad is visible to your audience, whereas business hours will simply display on your ad when your business is open. 

Google Local Services Ads are rapidly evolving. So, let’s talk about what’s new. Because we at Nifty have a long-standing relationship with Google, we get the heads-up on new features before they’re announced to the public. The first new scoop for Local Services Ads is that headshots are here to stay for professional services. This means that any time you see an LSA for an attorney, you’ll see a photo attached. In regards to bidding on this platform, Google has informed us that it’s here to stay. And, in more competitive markets, we’re seeing that this bidding system is actually necessary to receive any phone calls on this platform. Another announcement from Google is that you’ll have 30 days to submit any refund requests. Finally, the “send request” feature of Local Services Ads is here to stay, and it will be monetized by Google. 

Thanks for watching this video. Again, if your firm isn’t already using LSAs, you’re absolutely missing the boat. Be proactive, reach out to us.

Again, my name is Nick Paul. Stay tuned for additional Nifty content.