Personal injury has the highest CPCs in all of Google Ads—$100+ for competitive terms. At these stakes, every wasted click on non-case searches directly impacts your firm's profitability.
5 min
Audit time
6
Areas analyzed
Read-only
Account access
We've audited hundreds of personal injury lawyer accounts. Here are the most common budget leaks we find:
Personal injury keywords regularly exceed $100/click in competitive markets. At these rates, even a 5% improvement in lead quality dramatically impacts ROI. Most firms bid broadly, paying top dollar for unqualified inquiries and non-case research.
Car accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, and wrongful death have vastly different case values ($30K - $2M+). Running mixed campaigns means the same bid for a $50K auto case and a $500K med mal case—leaving the high-value cases to competitors with dedicated targeting.
Personal injury has statutes of limitations—typically 2 years. People often wait until urgency hits (approaching deadline) to hire. Campaigns that don't capture 'how long do I have to sue' searches miss leads with time pressure driving immediate action.
Real data from WordStream 2025 (Legal). See how your metrics compare to average personal injury lawyer advertisers.
$94.5
Average CPC
+1,697% vs $5.26 average
3.12%
Click-Through Rate
Clicks per impression
4.87%
Conversion Rate
Clicks to leads
$1842
Cost Per Lead
+2,528% vs $70.11 average
Not all keywords are created equal. Here's which ones to target and which to avoid for personal injury lawyer Google Ads.
Highest volume PI case type. Clear intent to hire attorney.
Highest case values ($500K-2M+). Worth premium CPC for quality cases.
High-value cases from families in crisis. Urgent need for guidance.
Statute pressure drives action. Often better quality than generic 'lawyer' searches.
Trucking cases have higher damages, commercial insurance. Worth premium bid.
Job seekers researching careers.
Career research, not clients.
Every PI lawyer offers free consults—attracts tire-kickers.
Research phase, low conversion. Often at-fault parties checking exposure.
Research queries with low conversion rates.
Timing matters. Here's when personal injury lawyer demand peaks and how to allocate your budget throughout the year.
Year-round—accidents don't follow seasons
Increase budget 40-50% during peak demand
Slight dip in December due to holidays
Reduce spend or focus on maintenance services
Business hours (9am-5pm) when people can make calls privately from work
Winter weather increases auto accidents. Summer increases motorcycle and recreational injuries. Holiday periods see DUI accident spikes.
Budget recommendations based on real WordStream 2025 (Legal) data and typical personal injury lawyer ROI.
Minimum Monthly Budget
$15,000
~8 leads/month
Recommended Range
$25,000-$75,000/month
Best ROI for most personal injury lawyer businesses
Cost Per Customer
$9210
At 20% close rate
At $1,842 CPL and 20% sign rate, each case costs ~$9,210 to acquire. Average auto case fee = $35K. Med mal/wrongful death = $200K+. One major case covers months of ad spend. Focus on case value, not volume.
Our AI audit checks every aspect of your Google Ads account against personal injury lawyer-specific best practices.
We check if case types (auto, med mal, slip fall, wrongful death) have separate campaigns with value-appropriate bidding.
We identify if career keywords, calculator searches, and at-fault party research are burning budget meant for legitimate injury victims.
We verify case-type-specific ads mention relevant experience: 'Recovered $15M in trucking cases' not generic 'experienced attorney'.
We check if phone calls are tracked, recorded, and scored by case quality—not just counted as leads.
We audit if targeting matches your licensure and courts you practice in—can't take cases outside your bar admissions.
We score pages for case type specificity, verdict results, trust signals (Super Lawyers, settlements), and prominent phone numbers.
Understanding your competition helps you find your edge. Here's what personal injury lawyer advertisers are up against.
Competition Level
extreme
390,000+ monthly searches for 'personal injury lawyer' in the US
Main competitors: Morgan & Morgan, national injury firms, local established practices, heavy TV advertisers
How to Win
Your Differentiator
Win with specialization (truck accidents, med mal, wrongful death), local presence, verdict/settlement results, or intake process excellence (speed to sign).
"Audit showed we were paying $180/click for generic terms. Shifted to case-specific campaigns with results messaging. Cost per signed case dropped 40%."
— Personal Injury Attorney
Pay per audit. Use when you need it.
“$19.99 to find $1,400/mo in waste? Best ROI I've ever gotten.” — Elite Electric, San Diego CA
$19.99 per audit
“Paid for itself in 1 day”
— J.M., Plumber
$17.00 per audit
“Perfect for my 3 locations”
— T.K., Dentist
$15.00 per audit
“Use it monthly, always finds something”
— R.S., HVAC
$10.00 per audit
“Run it for all my clients now”
— M.L., Agency
Common questions about Google Ads for personal injury lawyer businesses
Competitive PI firms invest $25,000-$75,000+ monthly. CPCs exceed $100 in major markets, with CPL often over $1,500. The math works because one case can generate $50K-500K+ in fees. Cost per signed case of $10K is profitable when average case fee exceeds $35K. Budget should align with your case capacity and practice area values.
CPC Benchmarks
Average cost per click for personal injury lawyers
Common Mistakes
7 mistakes costing personal injury lawyers money
Best Keywords
High-converting keywords to target
Budget Guide
How much to spend on Google Ads
ROI Calculator
Expected return on ad spend
2025 Benchmarks
Full benchmark comparison data