Many law firms come to us after being burned by a “budget-friendly” marketing agency that promised big results at a fraction of the price. In fact I often half joke that one of my primary roles is that of SEO Therapist to help law firm owners who have been burned to learn to trust and find love (or at least an agency they can trust and grow with!) once again.
On the surface, an agency that promises results for much less than everyone else sounds like a great deal. But in legal marketing — where competition is fierce and margins are tight — cutting corners almost always leads to wasted budget, frustration, and missed opportunities for your firm.
How Agencies come up with their pricing
I think it’s important for you to first understand how agencies come up with their pricing. I belong to a group called the Agency Management Institute which is composed of roughly 150 agency owners who all learn how to run successful agencies. We’re all taught the metrics to run our agencies by to have healthy successful agencies. This means that we likely all have very similar profit margins.
It’s too competitive a space to get away with trying to have higher profit margins than everyone else so the main difference in our pricing comes from the cost (i.e. experience) of our staff, our overhead and how much time we are allocating each team member to work on your account each month.
When you hire an agency you’re paying for time and expertise (ok and overhead). Neon Ambition is a remote agency so I tend to downplay this as our overheads are low but this could be a cost driver for many agencies if they have a big expensive office rent to pay each month.
When it comes to the team you are hiring here are a few things to consider:
Who Is Going To Be My Main Point of Contact?
Is it an experienced Account Manager who is trained to keep projects on time and on task? Who understands how law firms work, how well oiled intake teams operate and who knows their way around LeadDocket and Casepeer? Or will you be dealing directly with an SEO or PPC Specialist that no matter how talented at their job, likely isn’t as organized or good at communicating as a great Account Manager.
How Often Will We Be Meeting?
Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? For most clients we are meeting weekly with them until the heavy lifting of launching your campaigns is done and then move to a bi-weekly or monthly cadence. But if your budget is large enough it might make sense to have weekly meetings. Service is one of our core values so you’ll hardly ever find yourself wondering what’s going on or unclear of what’s happening in your campaigns.
If you have a smaller budget then a monthly meeting might make sense. You should ask about this and the level of experience your account manager has. An account manager with 1 to 3 years of experience is unlikely to provide as much value to your firm as one who has 10 years of experience and has helped firms through many issues over the years.
How Many Years of Experience Does the SEO Strategist or PPC Manager Have?
More years of experience likely means they’ve tried more strategies and know what works and what does not. Do you want to pay for someone to learn on the job or do you want to pay for someone experienced enough to know what to do the first time?
Who Will Be Writing and Editing My Content?
Does your current agency have a dedicated editor on staff? It’s uncommon to find agencies highlighting an in-house editor on LinkedIn, which can indicate a gap in their content quality assurance process. Without a specialized editor, editing responsibilities might fall onto you, or the original writer may end up self-editing, leading to overlooked errors, inconsistencies, and less-polished final content—which isn’t ideal. A professional editor ensures accuracy, clarity, and consistency, reducing your workload and enhancing quality.
How Many Accounts Does My Account Manager or SEO Strategist Handle?
As an agency that has grown every year we’ve been in business, I’ve interviewed a lot of SEOs and Account Managers and during interviews I’ve heard them tell me they were assigned 30 and up to 200 accounts at once! It’s impossible to give everyone the attention they need if they have even 15 to 20 accounts let alone 30 to 200. At Neon Ambition we average 8 accounts per Account Manager and SEO strategists for law firms.
How Much Content Are You Going To Be Producing Each Month?
Does your current SEO contract say or is it vague? Is there an estimated word count or number of pages they’ll be writing for you each month? There is a big difference between an agency that cranks out 500 word blogs and one that writes the piece long enough to answer the query and be helpful and informative no matter what the length.
How many Backlinks Will They Build Each Month?
Does the contract specify details such as the exact number, type, or quality of backlinks, or does it vaguely reference something general like “backlink outreach”? Many agencies use ambiguous language to avoid committing to clear deliverables. Without specifics, there’s no accountability for the quality, relevance, or authority of the backlinks provided. Without these clear details, you risk paying for ineffective or potentially harmful backlinks that won’t positively impact your rankings or could even damage your site’s reputation with Google.
All of these considerations are in play when putting together a quote for a law firm. I unfortunately find too many lawyers shopping based on price and not realizing that you get what you pay for and that a cheaper quote is cheaper for a reason.
If your prospective agency’s main selling point is that they’re cheaper than everyone else, here’s what you need to know:
Inexperienced Teams Are Often Behind Cheap Services
Agencies offering extremely low pricing typically rely on junior marketers or outsource their work overseas, resulting in teams that operate by rigid checklists rather than strategic thinking. These teams usually handle too many accounts at once, leaving insufficient time to dedicate proper attention and care to your campaigns each month. They might also struggle to adapt effectively when algorithms or market conditions shift, and lack the expertise to connect campaign metrics directly to signed cases. Ultimately, this approach produces generic, ineffective campaigns that may generate traffic, but rarely yield the high-quality leads essential for meaningful growth
Ultimately, this approach produces generic, ineffective campaigns that may generate traffic, but rarely yield the high-quality leads essential for meaningful growth.
Experienced marketers cost more — but they also save you money by avoiding mistakes and making smarter decisions which ultimately gets you results and signed cases quicker.
Outdated or Risky SEO Tactics Can Hurt You Long-Term
Cheap SEO agencies often rely on outdated or risky methods, such as low-quality link-building schemes, excessive keyword usage, or thin and automatically generated content. While these approaches might provide short-term ranking improvements, they inevitably lead to significant ranking declines, penalties from Google, or even complete removal from search results—damaging your firm’s online presence and credibility in the long run.
Recovering from bad SEO work can take longer — and cost more — than doing it right the first time.
Low-Quality Leads Cost More Than You Think
You may be generating a high volume of leads with low-cost marketing, but are those leads actually converting into clients? If your intake team is constantly fielding calls from unqualified prospects, you’re wasting time, energy, and valuable resources. Remember: you’re not paying for leads — you’re paying for signed cases.
Good marketing focuses on cost per signed case, not cost per click or form fill.
Set-It-and-Forget-It Campaigns Lead to Ongoing Waste
Cheap agencies often set up PPC or SEO campaigns and rarely revisit them. If your agency is saying they’ll do SEO upfront without an ongoing effort, you are not getting true SEO. Without continuous optimization, your ads and organic efforts will drift off course — wasting budget and missing high-value opportunities.
We’ve audited campaigns where firms were unknowingly wasting thousands each month simply because no one was monitoring or adjusting the strategy.
Great marketing requires regular audits, strategic pivots, and senior-level attention.
The Opportunity Cost Is Huge
Every month you spend with an underperforming agency isn’t just wasted money—it’s lost opportunity. While your competition invests in smart, strategic marketing, you’re falling further behind. In highly competitive practice areas like personal injury or criminal defense, playing catch-up later will cost significantly more than investing properly from the start.
Your competitors, who consistently invest in quality content, authoritative backlinks, and targeted campaigns, will gain substantial momentum, making it harder and more expensive to surpass them later. Choosing the right agency upfront ensures you avoid this costly scenario altogether.
Investing wisely from the beginning prevents costly catch-up later, positioning your firm ahead of competitors who benefit from consistent strategic marketing.
Cheap Marketing Is Often the Most Expensive Mistake You Can Make
We understand the temptation to save money. But in legal marketing, you truly get what you pay for. Low-cost agencies may seem like a bargain upfront, but they rarely deliver lasting results — and they often leave you with bigger problems to clean up later.
Wondering if your current marketing partner is costing you more than you realize? Let’s talk — we’ll show you exactly where you could be overspending or missing opportunities. Call Neon Ambition today at 866-624-1365 or fill out our form to request a consultation.
