This page is for plaintiff-side personal injury firms in the US and Canada that want more signed car, truck, premises and catastrophic-injury cases from paid search, at a cost per case they can predict. Ogus Marketing Group runs Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Facebook Ads for law firms, and we judge PI campaigns by one number: ad cost per signed case, by case type.
Request your free Google Ads audit or call 365-366-2524.
We’re a Google Ads Partner agency in Hamilton, Ontario, serving US and Canadian firms remotely. Our founder, Jack Ogus, has managed more than $10M in Google Ads spend and more than $1M in Facebook ad spend. We run paid advertising only; we don’t sell SEO. This page is part of our PPC for lawyers service; we run separate programs for criminal defense and family law firms.
Why personal injury marketing is harder than other practice areas
PI leads are the most expensive in law. In LocaliQ’s legal benchmark data (256 US campaigns, April 2022 to March 2023), Accidents & Personal Injury Law had the highest median cost per lead of any practice area, $159.17, and the lowest conversion rate, 5.45% (LocaliQ, Legal Search Advertising Benchmarks).
Case types are priced very differently. That $159 median hides a wide spread. Keyword tools put the asking price for individual PI searches far above it:
| Case type | Example search | Reported cost per click | Source and basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car accident | “car accident lawyer near me” | $290.61 | PPC.io, Keyword Planner top-of-page bid, US, July 2026 |
| Pedestrian | “pedestrian accident attorney near me” | $501.53 | PPC.io, same basis |
| Wrongful death | “wrongful death attorney near me” | $188.64 | PPC.io, same basis |
| Spinal cord injury | “spinal cord injury attorney” | $160 | Fraud Blocker, Ahrefs estimate, Jan 2026 |
| Car (non-“near me”) | “car injury attorney” | $145 | Fraud Blocker, same basis |
| Catastrophic injury | “catastrophic injury lawyer” | $130 | Fraud Blocker, same basis |
| Workplace injury | “workplace injury attorney” | $125 | Fraud Blocker, same basis |
| Brain injury | “brain injury attorney” | $115 | Fraud Blocker, same basis |
Read these as ceilings, not bills: PPC.io calls its figures “the auction’s asking price for a top-of-page slot, not what a tuned account actually pays.” They show where competition is heaviest, which is why the case-type and county mix you choose decides your cost more than any bid setting. More keyword data is in our post on Google Ads for personal injury lawyers.
Speed decides who signs. Clio’s 2024 Legal Trends Report secret-shopper study found only 40% of firms answered the phone and just 33% responded to emails, down from 56% and 40% in 2019 (Clio 2024 Legal Trends Report, as summarized by 2Civility). At $159 a lead, an unanswered form sends a case to the firm down the street.
How we run personal injury Google Ads
A portfolio of case types, not one PI campaign
Each case type you want gets its own campaign, budget, ads and landing page: typically car, truck and commercial vehicle, motorcycle, premises and dog bites, and wrongful death or catastrophic injury, plus a small brand campaign. That lets us put more money behind truck cases in month three if they’re signing, and cut motorcycle spend if it’s producing calls you decline.
Within each campaign, ad groups follow the searcher’s situation (“rear-ended by a commercial truck lawyer,” “uninsured driver hit me attorney”), and head terms like “personal injury lawyer [city]” stay on tighter bids until those groups spend their full budget. Geography is set county by county with Google’s “Presence” option, which reaches people “in or regularly in your targeted locations” (Google Ads Help, Location targeting).
Negative keywords specific to PI
On top of the standard legal exclusions on our Google Ads for lawyers page, PI accounts need their own list, reviewed weekly against the search terms report:
- Wrong side or wrong product: “insurance defense,” “car insurance quote,” “rental car,” “body shop,” “towing”
- Mass torts you don’t take: product names and “class action settlement check” searches, which often come from claimants checking on a payout
- Workers’ comp, if you don’t handle it: “workers comp benefits,” “light duty,” “return to work” (if you do, give it its own campaign)
Some are judgment calls: “how much is my case worth” can bring good cases with the right landing page, so we test it first.
Ad copy and landing pages, approved by you
PI ad copy carries more rule risk than most practice areas (see the state rules below), so the responsible attorney at your firm approves every ad before it runs. We build or brief a landing page per campaign: “Hurt in a truck crash in [County]?” for truck searches, with the phone number in the first screen, what happens on the first call, a short form, and the contingency-fee and cost language your state requires.
Tracking to the signed case
Calls are tracked to campaign and keyword, with a minimum call length so wrong numbers don’t count. We import signed cases back into Google Ads, so bidding learns which searches become retainers, not just calls. Your firm owns the Google Ads account, so that history stays with you.
Intake you can see
PI fees arrive months after the click, so the early warning signs are in intake: missed calls, slow callbacks, reasons for declining. A well-run PI campaign tracks those signs alongside the ad data and matches the ad schedule to your phone coverage. Without 24/7 coverage, we reduce bids overnight or recommend an answering service that can screen accident calls.
State advertising rules that shape PI ads
We’re not your ethics counsel; your state’s rules (or law society’s, in Canada) govern. Three large PI markets show how rules change campaign setup:
| State | Rule | What it means for PI campaigns |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | An ad offering contingency fees must state whether the client will owe other expenses, such as litigation costs, and name a responsible lawyer and their primary practice location (Rule 7.02). Ads must be filed no later than 10 days after first use (Rule 7.04), unless limited to exempt basics such as practice areas, contact details and consultation fees (Rule 7.05). | “No fee unless we win” won’t fit in a search ad with the cost disclosure. Put the full wording on the landing page and keep the ad to exempt facts, or budget for filing. |
| Florida | Internet ads other than your own website must be filed with The Florida Bar at least 20 days before first use unless limited to “presumptively valid” content; the fee is $250, or $750 if late (Florida Bar, Advertising filing requirements). | Plan new ad copy three weeks ahead; confirm with the Bar how it treats your search ads. |
| New York | Rules effective June 1, 2026 replaced Rules 7.1 and 7.3 with the ABA model versions: ads must not be false or misleading, and the old “Attorney Advertising” label is no longer required (NYSBA, Amendments Adopted to Advertising Rules; NYSBA, Understanding Changes to New York State Lawyer Advertising Rules). Rule 7.2 on paying for referrals is unchanged. | Verdict and settlement figures can still mislead if they suggest a client will get the same result, so give context and check the current rule text before launch. |
Targeted written solicitation is a separate, stricter area. Florida’s ban on direct mail to accident victims within 30 days was upheld by the US Supreme Court (Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc.), New York removed its separate 30-day blackout for personal injury solicitations in the June 2026 amendments (NYSBA), and in Texas, a written solicitation sent before the 31st day after an accident falls under the Penal Code’s barratry section (Texas Penal Code § 38.12). Search ads aren’t solicitation, since the person searched for you, but these rules matter if a lead vendor contacts accident victims for you.
Local Services Ads for personal injury firms
“Personal injury lawyer services” is a Local Services Ads category (Google Local Services Help). LSA charges per lead, and Google ranks firms partly on responsiveness and reviews. We run LSA alongside search where the category is available and compare the two on cost per signed case. Approved advertisers now carry a single “Google Verified” badge, which replaced the older badges (Google, About Google Verified badge).
The format is changing. Google is moving Local Services Ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals: select home services from August 2026, and “all remaining business categories” in 2027. Google’s page names no legal categories in its 2026 phases, so PI firms should expect the change in 2027 (Google Ads Help, LSA transition to Performance Max). Historical LSA data won’t transfer, so export your reports first. For how LSA compares with search today, see Local Services Ads vs. Google Ads for lawyers.
Lead generation for personal injury lawyers: buy leads or own the campaign?
Many PI firms buy leads. Before you do, check three things:
- Exclusivity. A shared lead sold to three firms goes to whoever calls first. Ask, and get the answer in writing.
- Source. Ask how leads are generated. Texas, for example, allows paying lead generators only if the vendor “does not recommend the lawyer” and doesn’t imply that it “has analyzed a person’s legal problems when determining which lawyer should receive the referral” (Texas Rule 7.03, Comment 13). A vendor promising to “match you with the best lawyer for your case” puts your license at risk, not theirs.
- Data you keep. Bought leads don’t show which searches sign cases. Your own campaigns keep that data in your account.
Our model is the alternative: campaigns in your own Google Ads account, leads that only go to you, and reporting by signed case. We compare both routes on our law firm lead generation page.
Budget: a worked example by case type
Scenario (assumptions for illustration): a five-attorney PI firm covering two suburban counties with $10,000 a month in ad spend. The cost per lead for car accidents starts near LocaliQ’s $159.17 PI median; every other lead cost, sign rate and fee below is an assumption, not a benchmark.
| Campaign | Monthly spend | Assumed cost per lead | Leads | Assumed sign rate | Signed cases | Ad cost per case | Assumed avg. fee | Fees earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car accidents | $6,000 | $160 | 37.5 | 15% | 5.6 | $1,067 | $6,000 | $33,750 |
| Truck and commercial | $2,500 | $350 | 7.1 | 20% | 1.4 | $1,750 | $25,000 | $35,700 |
| Premises and dog bites | $1,000 | $130 | 7.7 | 10% | 0.8 | $1,300 | $5,000 | $3,850 |
| Brand | $500 | n/a | not counted as new demand | |||||
| Total | $10,000 | 52.3 | 7.8 | $1,280 (all spend) | $73,300 |
What a managing partner should take from this:
- Truck signs a quarter as many cases as car but, on these assumptions, earns slightly more in fees. Judged by cost per lead, it gets cut first; judged by fees, it stays.
- Seven truck leads a month is a thin sample. Hold its budget at least 90 days before deciding.
- The return is late. You pay for ads this month; contingency fees arrive when cases resolve, often many months later. Don’t scale spend faster than your cash flow can carry.
- Below roughly $3,000 a month, pick one case type. Our sister program, Law Firm PPC Pros, works from a $1,000 USD/month minimum ad spend, but at PI lead costs that buys only a handful of leads. Run car accidents in one county well rather than five case types badly.
Proof
We don’t yet publish a personal injury case study. Our closest law firm proof is Brown Law (Lorie Brown), a nursing-law practice: 141 leads at $81.39 each over 10 months of Google Ads, with more than 20% becoming clients. Lorie Brown said she was “thrilled with the results.” It isn’t PI, but the method is the same: narrow campaigns, tight negatives, tracking to signed clients. Read the Brown Law case study or see all case studies.
Your first 90 days
Month 1: Audit, tracking and launch. A free audit of your Google Ads and LSA accounts. We agree the case-type mix, counties, schedule and budget split; set up call, form and signed-case tracking; get your approval on every ad and landing page; and launch on exact and phrase match with the PI negative list. LSA verification starts the same month, since Google’s checks take time.
Month 2: Clean-up and intake review. Weekly search-term reviews, bid changes by county and hour, and the first review of lead outcomes with intake: signed, declined (and why), or junk.
Month 3: Reallocate by case type. With 60 to 90 days of data, we report cost per lead and early sign rates by campaign and recommend where to move money, flagging which conclusions need another quarter of signed-case data.
Frequently asked questions
What does personal injury lawyer marketing include at Ogus?
Google Ads campaigns split by case type, Local Services Ads alongside search, a landing page per campaign, call tracking with signed cases imported into Google Ads, and reporting by cost per signed case. We run paid advertising only, not SEO.
How much should a personal injury firm spend on Google Ads?
Enough to fund the case types you want in the counties you serve. At LocaliQ’s $159.17 median PI cost per lead and an assumed 15% sign rate, each signed case costs about $1,060 in ad spend. A firm that wants five or more cases a month from search should plan on $6,000 a month or more, and more in large metros where head terms draw the heaviest bidding.
Is personal injury PPC worth it compared with buying leads?
Often, because your own campaigns give you exclusive leads and keep the search and signed-case data in your account. If you buy leads, ask whether they are shared and whether the vendor’s ads comply with your state’s lead-generator rules. Compare both on cost per signed case.
Do state bar rules affect personal injury Google Ads?
Yes. Texas requires contingency-fee ads to say whether clients owe costs and requires most ads to be filed. Florida requires most internet ads other than websites to be filed 20 days before first use. New York adopted the ABA model advertising rules on June 1, 2026, dropping the old Attorney Advertising label, but ads still must not be misleading. Your firm approves every ad before it runs.
Should personal injury firms use Local Services Ads?
Usually, alongside search. Personal injury is an eligible category, LSA charges per lead, and fast-answering firms with strong reviews rank well. Google is moving LSA into Google Ads as Performance Max pay-per-lead campaigns, with legal expected to move in 2027.
How long before personal injury Google Ads show results?
Calls can start in the first week. Cost per lead is readable after 60 to 90 days. Because PI cases take months to resolve, judging return on ad spend by fees earned takes longer, so we track signed cases by campaign from day one and report fees as cases resolve.
Get a free Google Ads audit for your personal injury firm
If you’re spending on personal injury ads and can’t say what each signed case costs by case type, we’ll review your Google Ads and Local Services Ads accounts for free and show you where the budget is going.
Call 365-366-2524 or fill in the form below to request your free Google Ads audit.
Ogus Marketing Group is a Google Ads Partner agency based in Hamilton, Ontario, running Google Ads and Facebook Ads for law firms and accounting firms across the US and Canada.