The single category that sums up what the business is, such as a type of lawyer. It carries more weight than additional categories, and changing it can trigger a fresh review.
Glossary
Law firm marketing glossary
The terms that come up when a law firm runs ads, works on AI search, or fixes intake, each in a sentence or two, with a link to the guide that explains it in full.
By Santiago Alvarez, Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
106 terms
Every term, A to Z.
Each definition links to the guide that covers it, and to the official page that defines it where one exists.
A
- A2P 10DLCAlso called: 10DLC registration
The US registration system for business text messages sent from ordinary 10-digit phone numbers. A firm that texts leads from its CRM registers its brand and the purpose of its messages first, or carriers may filter or block the texts.
- ABA Model Rules (advertising)Also called: Rules 7.1 to 7.3
The American Bar Association's model rules on lawyer advertising: 7.1 (no false or misleading communication), 7.2 (advertising, paying for recommendations, specialist claims) and 7.3 (solicitation). Most states adopt a version of them with their own changes.
What the ABA Model Rules allow in adsSource: American Bar Association, Rule 7.1
- Ad copy rules
What a lawyer's ad may say under both the bar's rules and the platform's policies, such as limits on "specialist", results and fee claims.
- Ad creative
The video, image and words of an ad. On Meta it decides most of the results, and it wears out, so firms refresh it on a schedule.
- Advertising filingAlso called: Bar ad review
A requirement in some states to send lawyer ads to the bar for review. Florida, Texas and Nevada each have their own filing rules, deadlines and fees; most states have none.
- AI Mode
Google's conversational search mode, where a question gets a longer answer generated by Google's AI, with links to sources, and follow-up questions continue the thread. Google says no special markup is needed to appear in it.
AI Overviews and AI Mode for lawyersSource: Google Search Central, AI features and your website
- AI OverviewsAlso called: Google AI answers
The AI-generated summary Google shows above some search results, with links to the pages it drew on. Pages must be indexed and eligible for a snippet to appear. Clicks count as Web traffic in Search Console, which also has a Generative AI performance report.
AI Overviews and AI Mode for lawyersSource: Google Search Central, AI features and your website
- AI Performance reportAlso called: Bing AI Performance
A report in Bing Webmaster Tools showing how often a site is cited in Microsoft's AI answers, including Copilot. One of the few first-party numbers for AI visibility.
- AI searchAlso called: Generative engine optimization, GEO, AI SEO
Work that helps a firm get named when people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot or Google's AI answers for a lawyer. It builds on the same foundations as being found in Google: clear pages, a complete Business Profile, reviews and consistent details across the web.
- AI visibility checkAlso called: Prompt tracking
Running the same set of questions a client would ask (practice plus city) through each AI tool, more than once, and recording whether the firm is named and what the tool says about it.
- Answer rate
The share of incoming calls a person actually picks up. On Local Services Ads it matters twice: missed calls can be charged as leads and Google says they may hurt your responsiveness.
- Answer-first page
A page that answers the question in its first sentences, then explains. AI tools and search snippets quote passages, so the answer near the start is the one that gets used.
- Answering serviceAlso called: Virtual receptionist
An outside team that answers a firm's calls when staff can't. For a law firm it should take only what a conflict check needs and hand the lead to a lawyer quickly.
- AttributionAlso called: Lead source tracking
Working out which marketing brought in each lead and each signed case, through tracking numbers, tagged links, CRM source fields and asking clients how they found you.
B
- Bing Places for Business
Microsoft's business listing service, the Bing version of a Google Business Profile. It feeds Bing's local results and maps, so its details should match the firm's listings everywhere else.
- Boosted postAlso called: Promoted post
A social media post the firm pays to show to more people. Some bars treat it as an ad even when the unpaid post isn't one: in Florida, paid social posts must be filed unless they hold only basic information.
- Broad match
The Google Ads keyword match type that shows ads for searches related to the keyword's meaning, not only its words. It reaches more searches and more irrelevant ones, which is why we start law firm accounts narrower.
Keyword match types for law firmsSource: Google Ads Help, About keyword matching options
- Business Profile postsAlso called: Google posts
Updates published on a Business Profile. In our client work, posts containing phone numbers often fail to show even when Google reports them as published.
- Business Profile suspension
When Google removes or restricts a Business Profile for breaking its guidelines, often over a virtual address or a keyword-stuffed name. Reinstatement takes a request with evidence.
- Business Profile verification
Proving to Google that the firm is at the address it lists, by the method Google offers, often a video. Profiles must be verified before they show fully, and before Local Services Ads can run.
C
- Call trackingAlso called: Tracking numbers
Giving each ad or source its own forwarding phone number so the firm can see which marketing made the phone ring, and listen to the calls where the law allows it.
- CAP CodeAlso called: UK advertising code
The UK's code for non-broadcast advertising, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority. It applies to solicitors' ads alongside the SRA's own rules, including what reviews and testimonials may claim.
- CASLAlso called: Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation
Canada's law on commercial electronic messages. A firm needs consent before sending marketing emails or texts, must identify itself and must include a working way to unsubscribe.
Marketing a law firm in CanadaSource: Government of Canada, Canada's anti-spam legislation
- Claim farming
Paying for or selling personal injury claim referrals, often found by cold-calling. Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT have laws against it, so a firm can't buy those referrals there.
- Close variants
Searches Google treats as the same as a keyword, such as plurals, misspellings and same-meaning phrasings. Even exact match includes them, which is one reason the search terms report needs regular review.
- Conflict check
Checking that the firm can take a new matter without a conflict of interest. ABA guidance says intake should collect only what that check needs before the firm decides to take the matter.
- Consult show rateAlso called: Show rate
The share of booked consultations where the person actually turns up. Quick booking, confirmations and reminders move it more than anything said on the consult itself.
- Contact rate
The share of leads a person at the firm actually speaks to, by any channel. A firm can answer most calls and still have a low contact rate if form and message leads go cold.
- Conversion
The action an ad platform counts as a success, such as a call over a set length or a submitted form. What a firm counts as a conversion decides what the bidding chases, so it should be as close to a real case as possible.
- Conversions APIAlso called: Meta pixel
Meta's way of sending conversion events from a firm's server or CRM rather than only from the browser pixel. It lets Meta learn which leads became cases, within its rules on sensitive data.
- Cost per clickAlso called: CPC
What a firm pays Google each time someone clicks a search ad. Legal searches often cost more per click than most industries, and the price varies by practice and city.
- Cost per leadAlso called: CPL
Ad spend divided by the number of leads. Useful, but a cheap lead that never signs costs more than an expensive one that does.
- Cost per signed caseAlso called: Cost per acquisition
Total marketing spend divided by the cases it brought in. It's the number that tells a firm whether a channel pays, once the lag between lead and signing is allowed for.
- CRMAlso called: Customer relationship management
Software that holds every lead, its source and every contact with it, from the first call to the signed case. Different from case management software, which runs the matter after signing.
D
- DMCC Act fake reviews banAlso called: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
A UK law that, from April 6, 2025, bans fake reviews and reviews bought with hidden incentives as unfair commercial practices. It applies to law firms like any business.
- Dynamic number insertionAlso called: DNI
A website script that swaps the phone number shown on the page depending on how the visitor arrived, so calls can be tied to the ad or source that sent them.
E
- Exact match
The narrowest Google Ads keyword match type: ads show for searches with the same meaning as the keyword. Our law firm accounts start here because it keeps spend on the case types the firm wants.
G
- Google Business ProfileAlso called: GBP, Google My Business
A firm's free listing on Google Search and Maps: name, address, hours, categories, reviews and photos. It feeds the map results, Google's AI answers and Local Services Ads, which requires a verified profile.
Google Business Profile for law firmsSource: Google Business Profile Help, guidelines
- Google VerifiedAlso called: Google Screened, Google Verified badge
The badge on a Local Services Ads listing that shows the firm passed Google's screening: identity, business and background checks, insurance where required and a bar license check for each lawyer. It replaced the old "Google Screened" badge.
How to get Google VerifiedSource: Google Ads Help, About Google Verified badge
- Google-Extended
A robots.txt control that tells Google whether a site's content may be used for Gemini's training and grounding. Google says it doesn't affect a site's inclusion or ranking in Google Search.
- GPTBot
OpenAI's crawler for collecting content that may be used to train its models. It's controlled separately from OAI-SearchBot, so a firm can block training and still appear in ChatGPT search.
How ChatGPT picks law firmsSource: OpenAI, overview of OpenAI crawlers
I
- In-house marketer
A marketing employee on the firm's payroll, as opposed to an agency. One person rarely covers ads, AI search, social, reviews and intake systems well at once.
- IndexNow
A protocol that lets a site tell Bing and other search engines the moment a page is added or changed, instead of waiting for a crawl. Useful for Copilot, which answers from Bing's index.
- Individual practitioner listingAlso called: Lawyer profile on Google
A Google Business Profile for one lawyer rather than the firm. Google's guidelines allow it for public-facing practitioners, with rules on how it sits alongside the firm's own profile.
- Instant formAlso called: Lead form, Facebook lead ad
A form that opens inside Facebook or Instagram, prefilled with the person's details, so they can contact the firm without visiting its website. Easy to submit, which brings more leads and more low-intent ones.
- Intake
Everything between a lead arriving and a case being signed: answering, the first conversation, the conflict check, booking and holding the consultation, and follow-up.
- Intake specialist
The person whose job is to answer new leads, ask the right first questions and book consultations. A dedicated intake role is often the first hire that changes a firm's signed rate.
- Intermediary connecting serviceAlso called: Lead platform, Legal directory
Illinois' term, since July 1, 2025, for directories, lead generators and matching sites that connect people with lawyers. Lawyers may pay them per lead, but not a share of fees or a fee tied to the outcome, and must tell clients about the relationship.
J
- Job typesAlso called: LSA categories
The case types a firm chooses inside a Local Services Ads category, such as specific matters under family or criminal law. Leads come only for the job types switched on.
L
- Landing page
The page an ad sends people to. For a law firm it covers one case type, matches the ad's wording, and makes calling or booking the obvious next step.
- Law Society of BC ethics advisory on testimonialsAlso called: EA-2025-05
A 2025 Law Society of British Columbia advisory on testimonials: unverifiable praise can breach the rules, and a Google review becomes the lawyer's marketing once the lawyer reposts it.
- Lawyer advertising rules
The rules a regulator sets on what lawyers may say and do in marketing: the state bar in the US, the law society in Canada and Australia, and the SRA in England and Wales.
- Lead creditAlso called: LSA dispute
Money back for a Local Services Ads lead Google judges low quality. Credits are now automatic in the US and Canada, usually within 30 days, and the old manual dispute is gone.
LSA lead credits and disputesSource: Google Local Services Help, lead credits
- Learning periodAlso called: Learning phase
The first days after a campaign or bid strategy change, while Google's or Meta's bidding gathers data. Results swing during it, so judge changes after it ends.
- Legal directory
A site that lists lawyers by practice and place, such as Avvo, Justia or Martindale. AI tools often cite them, so a firm's details there need to be accurate.
- llms.txt
A proposed text file at a site's root that lists its main pages for AI tools. Google says its AI features need no special AI text files, so it's optional, not a ranking factor.
- Local Services AdsAlso called: LSA, Google Local Services
Google's pay-per-lead ads shown above the regular results with the firm's rating and the Google Verified badge. The firm pays for calls, messages and bookings, not clicks.
- Local Services Ads availability
Where law firms can run Local Services Ads. Google lists legal categories in the US and in Greater London in the UK; its Canada page lists home services only, and Australia isn't offered.
M
- Manager accountAlso called: MCC
A Google Ads account an agency uses to manage clients' accounts. The firm should own its own ad account and grant the agency access, not the other way round.
- Marketing plan
A written plan that starts from the number of signed cases a firm wants, then sets the foundation, the channel order, the intake setup and how results are measured.
- Match type
The Google Ads setting that decides how closely a search must match a keyword: exact, phrase or broad.
N
- Negative keyword
A word or phrase that stops an ad showing, such as "jobs", "free" or another practice area. Law firm accounts need long negative lists, kept current from the search terms report.
- Nevada ad filing
Nevada requires many lawyer ads to be filed with the State Bar after first use, with a fee; websites aren't filed.
- NSW personal injury advertising
New South Wales no longer has a separate ban on personal injury advertising. The general conduct rules and consumer law apply, and the state's claim farming law bans paid cold contact.
O
- OAI-SearchBot
OpenAI's crawler for ChatGPT search. OpenAI says sites that block it won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers, so a firm that wants to be named should allow it.
How ChatGPT picks law firmsSource: OpenAI, overview of OpenAI crawlers
- Offline conversion import
Sending signed cases from the CRM back to Google Ads, matched to the click that started them, so bidding learns which searches produce cases and not just calls.
P
- Past results disclaimer
Wording that tells readers a past result doesn't predict theirs. Some rules require it next to results; New York dropped its required disclaimer on June 1, 2026.
- Pay per lead
Paying for each contact rather than each click. Local Services Ads charges this way. Bar rules allow paying for leads in many places as long as the provider doesn't recommend the lawyer.
- PECRAlso called: Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations
The UK rules on marketing calls, emails and texts. They sit alongside UK GDPR and set when a firm needs consent before sending electronic marketing.
- Pennsylvania advertising rules
Pennsylvania's version of the advertising rules, amended in 2024, with its own requirements on endorsements, dramatizations and fee disclosures.
- Performance MaxAlso called: PMax
A Google Ads campaign type that runs across Search, Maps, YouTube, Display, Gmail and Discover from one budget, with Google choosing placements. Local Services Ads is moving into a pay-per-lead version of it.
- PerplexityBotAlso called: Perplexity-User
Perplexity's crawler for its search index. Perplexity-User fetches pages when a person asks a question. Both are named in Perplexity's own documentation.
- Phrase match
The middle Google Ads match type: ads show for searches that include the meaning of the keyword, with words before or after it.
- Pre-badge ads
Local Services Ads a firm can run after Google's preliminary checks and before verification is complete. They rank below fully verified providers.
- Primary categoryAlso called: Business Profile category
- Published contingency fee maximum
In Ontario, a lawyer who works on contingency must publish the firm's general maximum contingency percentage on its website, under the Law Society's rules.
Q
- Qualifying provider
Florida's term for a lead generator, directory or referral service that lawyers pay. The Florida Bar's rules give these providers their own duties.
- Quality Score
Google's 1 to 10 estimate of how relevant a keyword's ads and landing page are. Landing page experience is one of its three parts.
Landing pages for law firm adsSource: Google Ads Help, About Quality Score
- Queensland PI advertising limitsAlso called: PIPA s 66
Queensland's Personal Injuries Proceedings Act limits personal injury ads to the firm's name, contact details and area of practice, and its own example of a breach is "no win, no fee".
R
- Referral fee
Payment for referring a client. The ABA rule bars paying for a recommendation with set exceptions; Ontario caps referral fees between licensees; the UK bans them in personal injury.
- Responsiveness
How quickly and reliably a firm answers Local Services Ads leads. Google names it in how listings are ranked and says missed calls may hurt it.
What decides LSA rankingSource: Google Local Services Help, ranking
- RetargetingAlso called: Remarketing
Showing ads to people who already visited a firm's website or engaged with its content. Meta and Google limit it where it could reveal sensitive information, which matters for some legal matters.
- Review gatingAlso called: Selective asking
Asking only happy clients for reviews, or screening clients before sending the review link. Google's policy prohibits it.
- Review response
A firm's public reply to a review. The ABA says a negative review alone doesn't let a lawyer reveal client information, so replies stay general.
- Reviews and AI answers
Review counts, ratings and what reviews say about the work feed the local results Google's AI and other tools draw on when naming firms.
- Reviews on Local Services Ads
The rating and review count shown on a Local Services Ads listing. Google recommends at least 5 reviews, and rating and review count are part of how it ranks listings.
- Runners and cappers
California's term for people who find clients for lawyers for pay, which its Business and Professions Code prohibits.
S
- Search terms report
The Google Ads report of the actual searches that triggered ads. Reading it every week is how a firm finds new negative keywords and new case types worth bidding on.
- Second officeAlso called: Satellite office
An additional office the firm actually staffs. Only a staffed office can have its own Business Profile; a virtual office can't.
- Short-form videoAlso called: Reels, Shorts
Short vertical videos on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, which YouTube allows up to three minutes. For lawyers, one clear answer to one client question per video works.
- Smart Bidding
Google Ads bid strategies that set each bid automatically from the firm's conversion data. They need enough good conversions to learn from.
- SolicitationAlso called: Rule 7.3
Targeting a specific person known to need legal help in a particular matter. Live person-to-person solicitation for pay is banned with narrow exceptions; websites and search ads aren't solicitation.
Social media rules for lawyersSource: American Bar Association, Rule 7.3
- Spam ActAlso called: Spam Act 2003
Australia's law on commercial emails and texts: consent, clear identification of the sender and a working unsubscribe.
- Special ad categories
Meta's categories for ads about housing, employment, financial products and services (which replaced the old credit category), and social issues, elections or politics. Ads in them have limited targeting options and must be declared.
- Specialist (wording)
A claim most regulators restrict: in the US a "certified specialist" needs an approved certifier, Ontario reserves it for certified specialists, and Alberta treats "expert" as improper too.
- Speed to leadAlso called: Response time
How long a new lead waits for the firm's first real response. Minutes matter, because people contact several firms and often sign with the first one that talks to them.
- SRA Code of Conduct
The Solicitors Regulation Authority's rules for solicitors in England and Wales, including accurate publicity and no unsolicited approaches to the public.
- SRA Transparency Rules
Rules that require solicitors in England and Wales to publish prices and service information for set services, their complaints process, and the SRA's clickable badge.
- Structured dataAlso called: Schema markup, JSON-LD
Code on a page that labels facts for search engines: the firm, its lawyers, its address, its FAQs. Google says it must match what's visible on the page.
Structured data for law firmsSource: Google Search Central, structured data guidelines
T
- TCPAAlso called: Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The US federal law on marketing calls and texts. It sets consent requirements for calls and texts made with automated systems, which shape how a firm follows up with leads.
- Testimonial
A client's words used in the firm's own marketing. Rules on them vary widely: Florida sets conditions, Quebec discourages soliciting them online, and UK and Australian consumer law police fake or misleading ones.
- Texas Advertising Review Committee
The State Bar of Texas committee that reviews lawyer ads. Texas rules require filing many ads after first use, with exemptions such as most website pages.
U
V
- Virtual office
An address the firm doesn't actually staff, such as a mailbox or a shared space it can't be found at. Google's guidelines don't allow a Business Profile at one.
W
- Weekly budget (LSA)Also called: Max per lead
Local Services Ads budgets are set per week, and Google spreads spend across the week. Until an account moves to Performance Max, the firm chooses between letting Google maximize leads and setting a maximum it will pay per lead.
Missing a term? Every guide is listed on the resources page. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
Are you interested in learning more?
Simply click the button below and book a meeting to find out more