If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Are we paying too much to get new cases?”, you’re not alone.
We work with law firms across the country, many of them heavy advertisers on television, Google, and social media—and this question comes up more often than you'd think. Law firm owners aren’t always sure if their ad dollars are bringing in the right cases at the right cost. And without knowing what your cost per case "should" be, it’s easy to overspend without realizing it.
So, let’s unpack how to lower your cost per case, and more importantly, how to make sure your marketing is actually doing what it’s supposed to do: bring in high-quality, profitable cases for less.
What Is “Cost Per Case” in Legal Marketing
Your *cost per case (CPC)* - not to be confused with *cost per click* - is simply the total amount of money you spend on advertising divided by the number of signed cases you get from that advertising.
Cost Per Case = Total Ad Spend ÷ Number of New Cases
For example, if you spend $100,000 on TV, PPC, and social media ads and sign 50 cases, your cost per case is $2,000. The lower that number is, without sacrificing quality, the more efficient your marketing.
What Is the Average Cost Per Case for Law Firms
This varies by market and practice area, but here’s a rough guide from industry benchmarks:
- Auto Accidents (PPC): $500 – $3,000 per case
- Mass Torts: $1,500 – $5,000+ per case
- TV Ads: Can range from $2,500 – $15,000+ per case
- Google LSA: Often under $1,000 per case
- SEO-Driven Leads: Can be as low as $300–$700 per case
If your cost per case is trending higher than this, don’t panic. But do take it as a sign to reassess your marketing mix and attribution.
Why Most Law Firms Overspend Without Knowing
Let’s be blunt: law firm marketing is filled with big promises. And if you’re spending $20K, $50K, or even $100K+ each month without clear attribution reporting, you're flying blind.
Here are a few signs you’re overspending:
- You don’t know which ads are producing real cases
- You’re running overlapping campaigns with unclear targeting
- Your TV buy doesn’t align with your online strategy
- You’re paying high CPCs on Google Ads without filtering for case quality
- Your SEO agency isn’t producing content that ranks or drives conversions
- Your CRM isn’t showing a clear journey from click to client
Any of these can drive up your cost per case, and fast.
3 Proven Ways to Lower Your Cost Per Case
Now, let’s talk solutions. Here’s what we’ve done for our clients, especially personal injury firms, to help them drop their cost per case *while increasing the quality* of leads.
1. Use Google Local Service Ads (LSA) for High-Intent Leads
LSAs are one of the most overlooked tools in legal marketing. They’re Google’s way of showing verified lawyers in local searches, complete with your firm’s photo, reviews, and a “Google Screened” badge.
But here’s the kicker: "You only pay when a qualified lead calls your firm."
That means no wasted budget on curiosity clicks or unqualified traffic. We’ve pivoted several law firms from traditional PPC to LSA and saw their cost per case drop by 30–50% within 60 days.
Pro Tip: Set up your LSA account with tight practice area filters. Only pay for what matters.
2. Invest in SEO, The Right Way
SEO is a long game, but it produces some of the lowest cost-per-case numbers in legal marketing when done correctly. A well-optimized blog post or practice area page that ranks can generate leads for months, or even years, without the pay-per-click price tag.
At VIP Marketing, we’ve helped law firms in highly competitive markets outrank their competitors by combining smart content strategy with real keyword intent. For one personal injury firm, we built out a hyper-local SEO strategy with blog content and GMB optimization, and dropped their average case cost from $2,800 to under $900 in 6 months.
3. Stop Wasting Money on High-Cost Clicks With No Strategy
Google Ads work, but only if you’re disciplined. Many law firms pour money into broad match keywords, use outdated landing pages, and fail to weed out low-quality leads.
If your Google CPC is high, it’s time to reevaluate:
- Are your ads targeting the right time of day?
- Are your landing pages fast, mobile-friendly, and conversion-optimized?
- Are you tracking signed cases, not just clicks or calls?
You can’t afford to guess here. In one case, we helped a client cut their CPC by 40% and boosted conversions with a redesigned landing page and retargeting funnel.
One Law Firm’s Pivot That Paid Off
Let me share a quick story.
One of our personal injury clients came to us frustrated. They were spending heavily on TV and Google Ads but couldn’t say exactly where cases were coming from, or if they were even profitable.
We ran a full audit and found:
- They weren’t showing up in local LSA searches
- Their site was under-optimized for keywords in their core market
- Their CRM wasn’t tracking signed cases properly
- Their TV ads were running in the wrong programs for their target audience
We built a new plan. We added LSAs, tightened their PPC campaigns, restructured their intake process, and focused SEO efforts around the top 10 local search terms with real case intent.
In under 90 days, they dropped their cost per case by 42%. Same budget. Better results.
Let’s Recap: How to Lower Your Law Firm’s Cost Per Case
If you remember nothing else, remember this: You’re not stuck with the cost per case you have now.
You can lower it.
Here’s how:
- Track actual signed cases per channel, not just leads
- Use LSAs for cost-effective, high-quality intake
- Invest in SEO to build long-term marketing equity
- Fix your PPC targeting and landing pages
- Align all marketing efforts around intake and case attribution
Final Thoughts, and an Invitation
At VIP Marketing, we’ve helped law firms across the country get more out of their marketing without spending more. Our role isn’t to sell you something, it’s to help you make sense of the chaos and give you options that work.
If this blog helped you rethink how you’re measuring marketing success, subscribe to our newsletter for ongoing insights. We keep it honest, tactical, and specific to law firm growth.
And if you’re ready to explore how to lower your cost per case, we’d be happy to hop on a quick good-fit call to see if it makes sense to work together.
We’re here when you’re ready.