Nightmare on PPC Street
- Brent Harkins
Executive Summary
Over the years, we’ve reviewed more Google Ads accounts than I care to count, and for too many law firms, the results are terrifying:
- High spend, low ROI
- Intake teams buried in junk leads
- Campaigns on autopilot with no accountability
It’s a recurring terror we call The Nightmare on PPC Street.
And it’s not just bad luck, it’s bad campaign structure, bad data, and bad strategy. But the good news? These monsters can be defeated once you know what you’re up against.
The 6 Monsters Still Haunting Law Firm Google Ads Campaigns
1. The Fake Conversion Phantom 🎭
The Problem: Most agencies count every call as a conversion, including clicks that never turn into actual conversations. We’ve seen call extension clicks counted as leads even though the phone never actually rang.
What We Do: We only count calls that last 2+ minutes as true conversions. This ensures we’re measuring real client opportunities, not noise or misdials. Not only that, every account we manage uses CallRail for call tracking insights and reporting.
2. The Broad Match Beast 🧛
The Problem: Loose keyword match types bring in irrelevant traffic sucking your budget dry. Think: “pro se divorce” or “free divorce help.” Your campaign might look active, but it’s not attracting qualified leads.
What We Do: We use tightly controlled match types and maintain a 3-to-1 ratio of negative keywords for every targeted search term, keeping irrelevant clicks (and costs) out.
3. The No-Targeting Troll 👹
The Problem: Many campaigns skip demographic or geographic targeting, letting ads show to users with no intention — or ability — to hire your firm.
What We Do: We layer in age, income, relationship status, geo-radius, and even household characteristics to attract the right clients and reduce wasted impressions./p>
4. The “Set It and Forget It” Specter 👻
The Problem: Campaigns are launched and abandoned. No bid strategy testing, no ad rotation, no fresh creative. You’re flying blind while your agency collects the check.
What We Do: We continuously test, refine, and optimize. With custom real-time data dashboards, regular reporting, and dedicated strategists who actively manage performance day to day, our team provides transparency with white-glove service.
5. The No Bid Adjustment Zombie 🧟♂️
The Problem: No difference in bidding between mobile and desktop, weekdays and weekends, morning and night. That’s a fast track to inefficient spending.
What We Do: We apply device, time-of-day, and location bid adjustments optimizing spend to favor high-performing segments and minimize waste while making your budget go as far as possible.
6. The Homepage Horror 🏚️
The Problem: Sending PPC traffic to your homepage is like leading clients into a haunted house — most never make it out.
What We Do: Every campaign we build includes custom landing pages focused on one service, a primary call-to-action, and one goal: conversions.
Want Us to Audit Your Law Firm’s Google Ads Account (for Free)?
We’ll identify exactly where you’re losing money and how to fix it.
✅ Conversion tracking audit
✅ Targeting and bidding review
✅ Strategy outline for your ideal caseload
⚠️ We only work with one law firm per city, so availability is limited.
