Google Ads for Personal Injury Attorneys

Last Updated on: 17th July 2025, 02:48 pm

Your potential client’s medical bills are stacking up, physiotherapy appointments won’t be scheduled for weeks, and they don’t know who will be covering the costs.

Does your ad speak to them with empathy? If so, they’ll click. And they will choose you as their representative in court.

This guide will show you how to run great Google Ads for personal injury attorneys. I’ll talk about the setup, the strategy, and the structure, so you show up for the cases you excel at.

Choose the Right Campaign Structure for Google Ads for Personal Injury Attorneys

Search campaigns should be your default. You’re showing up right when someone types in phrases like “back injury from work accident” or “car crash lawyer near me.” They’re filled with intent and immediate.

Search campaigns cover placements like Maps and Images, and, if you leave the setting enabled, Google’s Search Partners. 

Now, sometimes that extra reach helps, sometimes it muddles the waters. If you’re managing your own account, I’d recommend switching Search Partners off until you’ve nailed the performance on Google Search itself.

(That said, channels like YouTube can still play a role, but after someone’s found you. If they’ve already clicked on your site, remarketing on YouTube can keep you top of mind while they’re weighing up their options. Especially if they’re comparing lawyers, or watching videos about insurance claims or injury recovery.)

And What About Performance Max?

PMax is a campaign type that runs ads across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and others.

But if you don’t know how PMax works, it’ll chew through your budget, showing ads in all the wrong places, and you won’t even realise what’s going wrong. Especially if you haven’t set up conversion tracking properly or if your firm specialises in multiple areas like personal injury and criminal defence.  

PMax has its place. But if you’re running your own ads without a Google Ads expert’s help, stick to Search. It’s cleaner and easier to learn from, which is why I’ve made it the foundation of my best-selling book: Rapid Google Ads Success for Lawyers. 

Be Specific with Your Location Targeting

Unless you’ve got offices dotted across the country, keep your radius realistic. Target the city or region where you actually take cases. 

Google lets you set up multiple radius zones or even drop a pin on a postcode, so use it.

And a quick tip: don’t just target people “in or interested in” your location. That’ll catch people researching a trip to your city, not necessarily living there or needing legal help. Change your location settings to Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations. 

Ad Schedule: Should You Be Running Ads at 2 AM?

If your team answers calls or you’ve got a solid lead form set up, you might be fine running ads 24/7.

If not, start by running your ads during business hours (say, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). That way, if someone calls, there’s actually someone to pick up. This is a common strategy across industries, including Google Ads for doctors.

Budget & Bidding: Start Smart, Then Scale

You don’t need to overthink this in week one. Set a daily budget you’re comfortable with (use my latest stats on the CPC you can expect), choose a bidding strategy like Maximise Conversions, and watch it like a hawk for the first couple of weeks.

Later, once the campaign has had time to learn (and you have conversion tracking in place), you’ll be able to see which keywords send in the best leads and increase the bids accordingly.

Want a full breakdown of bidding strategies? Follow the link for real examples from campaigns I’ve managed personally.

Ad Assets in Google Ads for Personal Injury Attorneys

Importantly, include ad assets! 

Specifically, use call assets, sitelinks to your practice areas, and location info if you’re targeting local traffic. 

They take up more space in search results, which means you’re more likely to get that click.

Keyword Research for Google Ads for Personal Injury Attorneys: Think Like a Client in Crisis

If someone’s just been rear-ended and can’t work for the next three months, they’re not Googling “What is a tort?” They’re typing things like:

• “Can I sue after a car accident (city)”
• “Average payout whiplash (state)”
• “Top-rated personal injury lawyer near me”

That’s someone likely ready to book a consultation if they find the right firm.

Example of Great Google Ads for Personal Injury Attorneys: Whiplash Claim Solicitors

Here’s what a client in crisis would come across first thing when searching for “average payout for whiplash Ireland”:

This ad does a brilliant job of lowering resistance from the start: “No cost or obligation to ask questions.”

Then it leans into trust: “Chat to an expert whiplash solicitor. 24/7 real-time assistance. Friendly & approachable.” It sounds human, not corporate.

You’ll also notice the “Business identity verified” badge from Google. That’s a trust signal showing Google has confirmed this is a real, legitimate business. This is especially important in personal injury, where scepticism runs high.

And finally, those clickable links underneath the ad (dynamic assets) are excellent. They let people self-serve: check compensation, talk to a lawyer, read reviews…whatever they need, fast. 

It’s a simple but powerful way to turn one ad into a mini landing page.

Spy on Competitors (and Outsmart Them)

I like using SpyFu because it shows what your competitors are bidding on, including terms they’re overpaying for and ones they’re completely missing.

If everyone else is bidding on the broad stuff like “personal injury lawyer”, you might spot golden opportunities in long-tail phrases like:

• “best car accident lawyer for Uber drivers”
• “how much is pain and suffering worth in Ohio”

These are the phrases people type after they’ve already decided they want help. You don’t need 10,000 keywords, you need the right ones.

Build a Funnel With Your Keywords to Improve Your ROI on Google Ads for Personal Injury Attorneys

Your keyword list should mirror your client’s thought process whenever applicable:

• Top of funnel: “Should I get a lawyer after an accident?” → Not of interest to you. You’re only looking for those who are ready.
  
• Mid-funnel: “How much do personal injury lawyers cost?”, “How much is pain and suffering worth in Ohio?” → Getting warmer there, as you’re seeing signs of people who want to hire a lawyer.
  
• Bottom of funnel: “Contingency fee injury lawyer (city)” → Bingo!

This is what I call Keyword Journey Mapping, because the words people type change as they move from curious to committed.

Don’t Skip Your Negative Keywords

Want to avoid calls from people looking for immigration help when you only handle car accidents? Add negative keywords not related to your practice areas or showing signs of prospects not interested in hiring a lawyer (“how to represent myself in a personal injury case”, “free legal advice for personal injury”, etc.).

Google won’t do this for you. You have to be proactive, or you’ll spend $15 on a useless click.

Ad Groups: One Service, One Message

An ad group is where you tie your keywords to your actual ads. Think of it like this: each group is a “conversation” about a single legal service you offer. 

You don’t want to mash together workplace accidents, dog bites, and product liability into one group because then your messaging becomes vague and your clicks get expensive.

Instead, break things up by practice area. 

If you handle both motorcycle accidents and slip and fall injuries, each should get its own ad group with its own keyword list and its own ads. 

That way, someone searching “motorcycle accident attorney near me” sees an ad that speaks exactly to that, not some generalist pitch about being a “personal injury firm.”

Google rewards this kind of relevance with higher Quality Scores and lower cost per click. More importantly, your potential client doesn’t have to guess whether you’re the right lawyer…because your ad already proves it!!

💡Bonus tip: Inside each ad group, test a few different headlines and descriptions. Google will rotate them and learn which combinations bring you the best leads.

Once your ad groups are in place, it’s time to tell Google how much you’re willing to pay when someone clicks. Here’s how to handle it like a pro:

• Set a default bid when creating your ad group. It’s your baseline of what you’re willing to pay per click for all the keywords in that group.
  
• Want more control? You can tweak bids for individual keywords later. Google will use the keyword-level bid if you’ve set one, even if it’s different from the group default.
  
• Need to change bids for multiple groups? Head to your Ad Groups tab, select the ones you want to update, and adjust their max CPCs in one go. No need to do it keyword-by-keyword.

💡Use higher bids on high-intent phrases (like “hire a personal injury lawyer in (city)”) once you’ve seen them convert. Don’t waste top dollar on vague queries.

If you prefer to let Google handle the math, Automated bidding can work, but only once you’ve got reliable conversion tracking in place. 

Optimise Your Ad Copy and Landing Pages

Writing Google Ads for personal injury attorneys that get clicks is only half the job. The other half is making sure the landing page follows through.

If your ad promises a free consultation, your landing page needs to highlight how to get one. Clear headline, clear CTA, clear path to action.

Add credibility. Mention how many cases you’ve handled, drop in a client testimonial, or point to awards you’ve won. 

Don’t lump everything into one generic page. If your ad is about maritime injury claims, your landing page shouldn’t read like it was written for car accidents. Match the message. Show them they’re in the right place.

💡Use AI tools (like ChatGPT) to build something interactive like a settlement calculator, a claim checker, or a chatbot. Something that helps your visitors take action instead of just scrolling.

The more specific and useful your landing page is, the more likely it is that they’ll turn from curious visitor into booked client.

Example of a Great Google Ads Landing Page for Personal Injury Attorneys: Whiplash Claim Solicitors

The ad headline promises help with Derry whiplash compensation, and when you click, the landing page doesn’t waste a second. 

“Whiplash Claims Solicitors” is the headline, and the page immediately reinforces the message from the ad: free enquiry, specialist support, and 24/7 assistance.

Contact options are front and centre. Phone numbers for both Belfast and Derry, a bold “Make A Free Enquiry” button, and a simple form on the right. 

What’s smart here is how the page offers multiple ways to build trust and move the lead closer to converting: reviews, a compensation calculator, and clear legal service categories all help reassure the visitor they’re in the right place.

Monitor Conversions and Optimise

Once your Google Ads for personal injury attorneys are live, your job’s not done. It’s only just getting interesting.

Track online leads properly. Set up your Google tag to track what happens after someone clicks your ad. You’ll want to record things like form fills, call clicks, and appointment bookings.

Don’t forget offline conversions. If your team closes leads by phone or in person, connect your CRM to Google Ads or use offline import tools. That way, you’re not optimising for clicks but for clients.

Use conversion data to optimise.

Once the campaign is out of the learning phase, review what’s working:

• Which keywords bring real clients?
  
• Which landing pages convert best?
  
• Which calls are worth $10 vs $1000?

Then shift the budget toward what’s profitable.

💡With solid conversion tracking in place, you can also test Smart Bidding options like Target CPA or Maximise Conversions. Let the system learn from your data first.

Ready to Fast-Track Google Ads Success for Your Injury Law Practice?

Personal injury leads are some of the most competitive in the Google Ads world. But with the right setup, you can shortcut months of trial and error and start bringing in qualified inquiries from people actively searching for your help.

What you’ve just read is a solid start. But trust me, there’s plenty more where that came from. I’ve helped dozens of lawyers in my PPC agency for lawyers go from invisible to fully booked using these exact steps (and a few extra tricks I only share with my clients).

If you’re serious about growing your firm through Google Ads, grab my 7-step Google Ads guide for lawyers or book a strategy call and let’s get your campaigns converting fast.

You’ve got cases to win. Let me help you get the right clients through the door.