LSA budget and bidding
How should a law firm set its Local Services Ads budget and bids?
The weekly budget, the monthly max, which bid mode to use, and how we set and adjust a firm's budget against signed cases.
By Santiago Alvarez, Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
The short answer
If you read one part of this page, read this.
Set a weekly budget from the monthly figure you're comfortable spending (weekly = monthly x 7 ÷ 30.4), start on Google's recommended Maximize leads bidding if the budget covers about 10 leads a week, give it about two weeks to settle, then adjust on cost per signed case, not on cost per lead.
Google treats your weekly budget as an average: some weeks spend more, and the hard ceiling is the monthly max, your weekly budget x 30.4 ÷ 7. Mid-month budget changes reset what you can spend for the rest of the month, which is where most surprise overspends come from. Manual max per lead bidding is being retired as Local Services Ads moves into Performance Max.
Our published ad spend range for Local Services Ads is $1,000 to $10,000+ a month, paid to Google on the firm's own card. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
How the budget works
You set a weekly average, and Google enforces a monthly ceiling.
Google calls the weekly budget "your target spend." It can run over in a busy week, but it can't pass the monthly max, which Google calculates as average weekly budget x 30.4 ÷ 7.
Google says it "will attempt to deliver a number of leads based on your average weekly budget" each week, spending less in some and more in others "based on demand for your business." Once you hit the monthly max, your ad stops appearing for the rest of the month unless you raise the budget.
Firms tend to plan in months and Google asks in weeks, so convert once and write both numbers down. When Google moves your account into Performance Max, it divides the weekly budget by 7 to set a daily average, and the monthly cap stays at the daily figure x 30.4, so the monthly ceiling doesn't change.
| Weekly budget | Monthly max (x 30.4 ÷ 7) | Daily average after the move (÷ 7) |
|---|---|---|
| $250 | $1,085.71 | $35.71 |
| $500 | $2,171.43 | $71.43 |
| $1,000 | $4,342.86 | $142.86 |
| $2,300 | $9,988.57 | $328.57 |
Changing the budget
A mid-month change resets the rest of the month, whatever you've already spent.
Google says a new weekly budget decides what you can spend "for the remaining days in the month, regardless of how much you've spent so far." That rule catches firms out in both directions.
Google's own example: raise a $100 weekly budget to $140 on January 18, with 14 days left, and you can spend $280 more that month. Cut it from $100 to $70 on the same day and you can still spend $140 more, because the new allowance doesn't look back at what January already cost.
For a law firm, the practical risk is a raise late in a busy month. A firm that has already spent most of its plan by the 18th and then doubles the weekly budget can end the month well past the figure it had in mind, and nothing in Google's rules stops that.
Bid modes
Google offers three ways to bid, and it recommends letting it set the bid.
A bid is, in Google's words, "the most you'd pay for a lead," and when similar businesses bid on the same lead, their bids set what it's worth. Your bid mode decides who sets that number.
| Mode | How it works | After the Performance Max move |
|---|---|---|
| Maximize leads | Google sets the bid to "get the most leads for your budget"; recommended, with a suggested budget of at least 10 leads a week | Automated bidding continues inside Google Ads |
| Target cost per lead | An optional target inside Maximize leads; Google aims for your average, with some leads above it and some below | One campaign-level target replaces separate targets per category |
| Max per lead | You set the limit you'll pay for a lead, by hand | No longer supported in Google Ads |
- When Maximize leads fits
When the budget can buy roughly the 10 leads a week Google suggests, and the firm can take whatever the category sends. Google's ranking page adds that providers of equal quality and budget on Maximize leads "typically get more leads."
- When a target fits
When the firm knows what a lead is worth because it knows its signing rate and case value, and would rather get fewer leads near that price than more leads above it. Our guide to cost per signed case shows how to find that number.
- Max per lead is on its way out
Manual caps gave firms a hard ceiling per lead, but Google is retiring manual bidding in the new campaign type. A firm still on it should plan the switch rather than have it happen on migration day.
What a lead costs
Cost per lead depends on your category, your market and how people contact you.
Google says lead prices "may vary depending on your location, the job type, the type of lead, or your bidding mode." It doesn't publish prices by category, and neither do we.
- Category and market
A personal injury lead in a large metro and an estate planning lead in a small town sit in different auctions with different competitors. Our Google Ads budget by practice area guide covers why practices price so differently.
- Calls versus messages
Google prices message leads on how likely the person is to book, and says they're typically cheaper than phone leads, though not always.
- Your profile
Google says higher-quality profiles may pay lower costs per lead. Reviews, answered calls and a finished profile lower the price as well as lifting the position, which our ranking guide covers.
- Credits
Poor leads credited later bring your real cost below what the dashboard shows on the day. Our lead credits guide explains the timing.
How we set it
We set the budget from a monthly figure and adjust it on signed cases, one change at a time.
The number that decides the budget is what signed cases are worth against what went to Google. Everything else is a step toward knowing that.
Agree a monthly figure and what counts as a good lead
When we onboard a firm, we record the monthly budget it agreed and the practice areas that count as a relevant lead at launch, which is often fewer than everything the firm takes.
Convert it to a weekly budget
Monthly x 7 ÷ 30.4, rounded, so Google's monthly max lands on the agreed figure.
Leave it alone for the first two weeks
Google says a new bid mode needs about 2 weeks. Early LSA weeks are lumpy anyway: a whole month's leads can land in a few days.
Judge four-week blocks on good leads
We look at cost per good lead and leads to signed cases, not raw cost per lead. We've seen an LSA account take 10 leads in a month with none worth taking, while the same firm's search ads leads were good at a higher price.
Change one thing, then wait
Budget, bid mode, categories or service areas, never all at once. Otherwise there's no telling which change did what.
Move money toward what signs
If one category signs and another doesn't, that's an argument for narrowing categories or, after the Performance Max move, splitting categories into separate campaigns so each keeps its own target.
Spend limits
Beyond Google's monthly max, we watch every client account against its own plan.
Google caps the month, but a mid-month change or a runaway day can still spend money a firm didn't plan for. So we check live spend through the day against limits of our own.
- Pause at 110% of the monthly budget
If month-to-date spend reaches 110% of the firm's agreed monthly budget, we pause the account and say why. Paused LSA accounts come back on the 1st of the next month.
- Pause on an extreme day
If a single day spends half the whole month's budget, we pause straight away. That's the shape of a bid or budget gone wrong, and catching it the same day limits the damage to part of a day.
- A heads-up, not a pause, on a big day
A day at three times the normal daily rate gets flagged to us, but LSA is bursty, and pausing every busy lead day would cost firms good leads.
- Watch cost per lead against the firm's own history
We flag cost per lead when it runs well above the firm's own norm, but only once there are enough leads in the month to mean something. Under about 5, one expensive lead is noise.
- Holds for time away
A firm on vacation is marked on hold and paused, so the new month doesn't restart its ads while nobody's there to answer.
Pausing and schedule
Pause for capacity or time away, and set the ad schedule to when calls get answered.
You can pause the ad at any time from Profile and budget. Outside your schedule, or while paused, Google says a free version of your listing may still show.
- Ad schedule options
Google offers All day, Only during my business hours, and Custom hours. Missed calls are charged only inside both your business hours and your active schedule, so the schedule is part of your billing as well as your exposure.
- Pausing at capacity
Turning ads off when the firm can't take more cases is a budget decision, not a failure. One LA tenant defense lawyer was over capacity within two months, and we switched her ads off so she could catch up. Our landlord-tenant marketing page covers that practice.
- Before the Performance Max move
Google says your Local Services performance reports won't carry over. Download or screenshot them first so you keep the history your budget decisions rest on.
A worked example
A hypothetical $3,000 month, from weekly budget to cost per signed case.
This is an illustration, not a result. The firm and every number are invented.
The DUI defense solo who made $13,500 from $600 in ad spend in 12 days shows the other end: a small budget can be judged quickly when the cases are worth a lot. Our law firm marketing cost guide shows typical ranges by channel, and below about $1,000 a month in total, our Growth Guide points firms to the Business Profile and reviews first.
Common mistakes
Where firms go wrong.
These are the budget and bidding mistakes we see on accounts firms bring to us.
Raising the budget late in the month
The new weekly figure applies to the remaining days regardless of what's spent. A late raise on a busy month is how firms end up well past their plan.
Judging a bid change after three days
Google says about 2 weeks. Changing it again before then means the model never finishes learning the first change.
Chasing a low cost per lead
A lower cost per lead that never signs costs more than a pricier lead that does. Track leads to signed cases before deciding a price is good.
Leaving max per lead in place
Google is retiring manual bidding in the new campaign type. Planning the switch now beats finding out on migration day.
Spreading a small budget across every category
A budget that buys a few leads a week split across six categories gives none of them enough to learn. Start with the categories that sign.
Real results
What this looked like for real firms.
A small Local Services Ads budget judged within 12 days, and a firm whose ads we switched off when she hit capacity.
Identifying details are anonymized to protect our clients. Individual result, not a promise or prediction of any specific outcome for your firm.
FAQ
Questions lawyers ask us.
Straight answers to the questions that come up most.
How much should a law firm spend on Local Services Ads?
Our published range is $1,000 to $10,000+ a month in ad spend, paid to Google on your own card. Where you land depends on your category, your market and how many cases you can take. Below about $1,000 a month in total, building the Business Profile and reviews usually comes first.
Can Google spend more than my weekly budget?
Yes, in a given week. Google treats the weekly budget as an average and can spend more when demand is high. It won't pass your monthly max, which is the weekly budget x 30.4 ÷ 7. Mid-month changes reset that allowance for the remaining days.
Should I use Maximize leads or max per lead?
Google recommends Maximize leads, ideally with a budget for about 10 leads a week, and is retiring manual max per lead bidding as LSA moves into Performance Max. If you know what a lead is worth to you, an optional target cost per lead inside Maximize leads keeps some control.
How long before I can judge a budget or bid change?
Google says about 2 weeks for a bid mode to settle. We judge in four-week blocks after that, on cost per good lead and signed cases. Our ranking guide covers the checks to run if leads drop in the meantime.
Can I set a different budget for each practice area?
One Local Services campaign has one budget. After the Performance Max move, Google applies one target across categories in a campaign, and says separate campaigns per category are the way to keep separate bidding. Our categories guide covers which categories to run.
What happens to my budget when the account moves to Performance Max?
Google divides your weekly budget by 7 to set a daily average, and caps the month at that daily figure x 30.4, so monthly spend doesn't change. Manual bidding ends, and your old reports don't carry over, so save them first. Our Performance Max guide has more.
Who pays Google, the firm or the agency?
The firm, on its own card or bank account through Google Ads billing, which charges when you hit a payment threshold or after 30 days. You own the account and see every charge. To talk through a budget for your market, schedule a consultation.
Where we do this
The services this guide touches.
What this looks like when we run it for a firm, with a demo for your practice on each page.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Official pages we read when writing this page. Platforms and rules change, so check the current version before you act on any of it. This is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
- Google Local Services Help, How to edit your budget
- Google Local Services Help, How bidding works for Local Services Ads
- Google Local Services Help, About Target CPL bidding
- Google Local Services Help, How leads work
- Google Local Services Help, About ad rankings
- Google Local Services Help, Why aren't my Local Services Ads running?
- Google Local Services Help, About ad scheduling
- Google Local Services Help, Manage leads and jobs
- Google Local Services Help, How to pay for Local Services Ads
- Google Ads Help, Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals
Written by
Founder of Ad Hoc Digital. Leads strategy and works directly with every client firm on AI search, Local Services Ads, Google Ads and Meta ads.
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