Law firms are often sold the narrative that more traffic equals more clients. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. If you’ve invested in digital marketing for your law firm only to find yourself getting more traffic without more leads – or without more quality leads – it could be that you’re targeting the wrong terms, using the wrong copy, or that your intake team needs more coaching.
Before increasing your budget, it’s crucial to make sure your strategy is built to attract qualified leads who are ready to hire — not just curious browsers.
More Traffic ≠ More Signed Cases
It’s easy to feel like digital marketing success is about increasing website visitors, but traffic for traffic’s sake is not what grows your caseload. If you’re running paid ads or SEO campaigns that bring in large volumes of unqualified traffic, you’ll end up wasting time and budget on leads that never convert.
For example, if your agency is bidding on generic keywords like “lawyer help” or “legal advice” without refining for specific practice areas or intent, you’ll attract searchers looking for free information — not legal representation.
The Impact of Targeting and Ad Copy
Lead quality begins with your keyword targeting and ad copy strategy. Here are three areas where we commonly see inexperienced agencies unintentionally sabotage lead quality:
- Broad Match Keywords: Broad match keywords are easy to set up, but they cause ads to show for loosely related searches that aren’t relevant to your firm. Over time, this inflates costs without improving signed cases. For example, if you bid on broad match “car accident attorney”, your ad could show up for searches like “car accident attorney jobs” or “how to sue my attorney after a car accident.” Neither of those searches is from someone looking to hire you — but you’ll still pay for the click.
- Weak or Generic Copy: Your ad copy and landing page messaging need to speak directly to the prospect’s situation and urgency. If it’s generic or too vague, you’ll attract tire-kickers instead of serious prospects.
- Geographic Overreach: Targeting areas outside your ideal service radius often results in wasted calls and intake team frustration. If your firm only serves a few key counties or cities, make sure your ads reflect that. Even if you can technically service an entire state, it’s worth reviewing where the majority of your clients actually come from. You may see better success — and more cost-efficient leads — by focusing your campaigns on searches happening closer to your office, especially if you have a limited budget.
Intake Team Frustration: A Warning Sign
When your intake team starts flagging bad leads, that’s not just noise—it’s an early warning signal. While it’s easy to point fingers at either the marketing agency or the intake staff, the truth usually lies in the nuance. Some leads might appear “bad” on the surface, but if someone searched for “best car accident lawyer Atlanta,” clicked your ad, and picked up the phone, your marketing did its job. If that person turns out to be at fault or not seriously injured, the lead wasn’t necessarily a bad lead driven from a bad keyword—it was simply someone who didn’t understand they likely didn’t have a case.
Even the most refined PPC and SEO strategies can’t guarantee perfect comprehension from every searcher. Some will skim, misunderstand, or be overly optimistic about their situation.
Still, recurring complaints from intake deserve a closer look—especially at the keywords driving those calls. If certain terms consistently bring in unqualified leads, it’s time to adjust your targeting or refine your content to better educate and filter.
Your agency should seek to maximize success by measuring what matters so they can build a winning strategy and reduce intake mismatches. If your current agency isn’t reporting on metrics like cost per signed case, lead-to-client conversion rates, and intake-verified quality, they’re measuring the wrong things.
At Neon Ambition, we focus on what actually drives your firm forward:
- Leads verified as qualified by your intake team
- Cost per signed case (not just cost per lead or click)
- Conversion rates from inquiry to client
- Keywords that are generating those leads
If your intake team is frustrated, take a look at what your agency is measuring. If they aren’t basing your SEO or PPC strategy on the key measurements outlined above, it may be time for a pivot.
How To Start Attracting Better Leads With Your Law Firm Marketing Efforts
While more traffic should/could lead to more qualified leads, unfortunately it’s not always the case. Here are a few checklist items you can discuss with your current agency or marketing manager to make sure you’re focused on the right metrics:
- Refine your keyword targeting to focus on high-intent, specific search terms tied to your practice area and location. Review your search term report in Google Ads to make sure you agree with the terms being targeted and their match types. Review Google Search Console and/or your agency’s top priority keywords to make sure they are focused on the keywords that matter most to your firm.
- Align ad messaging with real client intent. Align ad messaging with real client intent. Your messaging should set clear expectations and resonate with where the prospect is in their decision-making process, helping to filter out unqualified clicks before they reach intake. The more closely your ad copy mirrors the urgency and language a potential client would use, the more likely you are to attract leads who are ready to take action. For example, “Speak with a Personal Injury Attorney Today” is stronger and more actionable than “Learn About Your Legal Options.”
- Review intake recordings regularly. We recommend listening to call recordings at least monthly to identify patterns and spot leads who are slipping through the cracks. It’s also important to have keyword level tracking on your forms so your intake team can see what the lead searched for prior to converting. Educate them that leads that searched for keywords you want to show up for aren’t necessarily bad leads just because the person wasn’t a great case.
Focus on the Right Metrics
Marketing success isn’t about the number of clicks or form fills — it’s about how many quality cases you sign each month. If you’re seeing increased traffic without better leads, it’s time to revisit your targeting, messaging, and intake alignment. For deeper insights, check our previous content on how to improve your law firm marketing efforts and ensure you’re reaching the right audience.
Want to know if your current marketing strategy is attracting the right leads? Call Neon Ambition today or fill out the form for a free consultation. Let’s talk and we’ll show you where to focus to increase your lead quality.
