Key takeaways
- Ask how the agency tracks from click to signed case.
- Accounts, data and ad wording should be your firm’s.
- Treat guarantees of case numbers as a warning sign.
- Match the service to the gap: leads, speed of follow-up, or long-term visibility.
What should you decide before you talk to agencies?
- The gap. Do you need more leads, faster follow-up on the leads you have, or better conversion to signed cases?
- The time frame. Do you need cases this quarter or in a year?
- The numbers. Your current cost per signed case and signing rate. Use our cost guide to work them out.
How do SEO, paid ads and faster follow-up differ?
| Approach | What it does | Typical trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Builds organic visibility over time | Usually takes months; payback is slower but can last |
| Paid search and social ads | Puts your firm in front of people now | Pay per click or lead; results stop when spend stops |
| Local service ads | Pay-per-lead listings in local results | Competitive; verify lead quality |
| Faster follow-up | Reaches the leads you already pay for within minutes | Does not create new demand; protects the spend you have |
Several marketing vendors report that SEO, local service ads and referral networks deliver the lowest cost per signed case over 12 to 24 months. Those are vendor claims, not independent findings, so test them against your own numbers.
What should you ask an agency?
- Whose name are the ad accounts, analytics and phone numbers in?
- Can you show tracking from ad to signed case, not just clicks and leads?
- Who approves ad wording, and how do you handle my state’s rules?
- What is the contract length, and what happens if I leave?
- What do you report, how often, and in what form?
- Which firms like mine can I ask about their experience?
What are the red flags?
- A guaranteed number of cases or a guaranteed ranking.
- Accounts held in the agency’s name.
- Reports that stop at traffic and leads.
- Ads or testimonials your lawyers have not approved. Advertising rules apply to your firm, not just the agency.
- Long contracts with no exit.
Where does SouthSeas Marketing fit?
We build the AI Ads Growth System: AI makes and tests the ads, and an AI voice assistant calls each new lead within minutes. Your firm reviews the wording and owns every account. It is not a full SEO program. If your main gap is long-term organic visibility, say so in the free audit and we will tell you plainly whether we are the right fit.
Want this worked out for your firm? The free 20-minute growth audit looks at your ads and how new leads are handled today, and you keep the written plan. Book my free growth audit.