Google Has Opened Up Local Services Ads to Lawyers Nationwide!

Google has just released Local Services Ads to lawyers nationwide in the following practice areas: Bankruptcy, Business Law, Contract Law, Criminal Law, Disability Law, DUI, Estate Planning, Family Law, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Labor Law, Litigation, Malpractice, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Tax, and Traffic. It is brand new, and it will never be easier than it is right now to show up at the very top of a search engine result page (SERP) on Google.

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What are Local Services Ads?

For the last few years, Google has offered Local Services Ads (LSAs), which are sponsored service placements that are priced as Pay-Per-Lead. That is, you pay only when you receive a phone or text contact. These LSA placements show up as a strip of placements at the very top of the Google search result pages, even above the Pay-Per-Click Ad placements.

The LSA placements, formerly known as Home Services ads, were originally for a variety of home services, such as plumbers and house cleaners, but Google started trials for immigration and estate planning lawyers in Houston and San Diego a year ago.

Which Law Firms are Eligible? What is the Screening Process?

Law firms nationwide are eligible to be featured in LSAs in the following practice areas: Bankruptcy, Business Law, Contract Law, Criminal Law, Disability Law, DUI, Estate Planning, Family Law, Immigration, Intellectual Property, Labor Law, Litigation, Malpractice, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Tax, and Traffic. Each LSA is associated with one Google My Business address. The address must have at least one review, and the average of the reviews must be at least 3.0/5.

Law firms will be screened before they are included in the LSAs. This screening involves a basic background check of the owner by Pinkerton, confirmation that they have a license to practice law (bar number), and proof of insurance.

Local Services Ads Profiles

Unlike typical Pay-Per-Click ads on Google, rather than linking directly to your website, these ads link to a detailed profile page on Google that provides an efficient means of communicating directly with the attorney, as well as an overview of the services provided, hours of operation, and more. This profile will share some information from the Google My Business listing with which it is associated.

These ads and profile pages contain ways of directly contacting the service provider by phone or text message, as well as booking appointments.

We’re Here to Help

Local Services Ads are brand new, and there will never be a better time to sign up for this new opportunity. As more attorneys sign up for Local Services Ads, individual markets will see prices rise dramatically. We recommend that all lawyers who use paid advertising through Google get signed up now while the prices are relatively low.

Keep in mind that, as with any brand new offering, Google can change Local Services Ads at any time, and it is important to stay on top of changes as they happen. Keeping on top of new and changing advertising opportunities, such as Local Services Ads, is a never-ending job, which is why it is important to choose a company like Justia that stays on top of changes in these products so that you don’t have to undertake this task.

As part of our Justia PPC Management, we can set up and manage your Local Services Ads for you, as well as managing your other advertising campaigns on Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Bing Ads. If you are interested in these new advertising opportunities, we would like to help you get started on getting set up and running your advertising efforts today. Please call us at (888) 587-8421 or contact us online for more information.

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