Choose a legal marketing agency by what it will report and what it will refuse to promise. Look for five things: experience in legal advertising rules, channels that match how clients now find lawyers (Google, Local Services Ads, Meta and AI assistants such as ChatGPT), tracking to signed cases rather than clicks, contract terms you can leave, and honesty about guarantees. Ask for these in writing before you sign.
What a legal marketing agency does
A legal marketing agency plans and runs the work that gets a law firm new clients. Depending on the agency, that covers some or all of the following:
| Service | What it is | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Law firm SEO | Getting the site and listings to rank in Google and Maps | Which pages will you build, and how do you report rankings and calls? |
| Paid search (Google Ads, Local Services Ads) | Ads for people who search now | Who owns the ad account? What is your management fee, and is it separate from ad spend? |
| Social ads (Meta) | Ads and retargeting on Facebook and Instagram | Which case types does it suit, and how is lead quality measured? |
| AI visibility (GEO, AEO, AI SEO) | Being named in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI answers | Which prompts do you track? Can you show dated evidence? |
| ChatGPT Ads | The sponsored slot in ChatGPT | Have you run it for a law firm, and who handles OpenAI verification? |
| Website and content | Case-type pages, intake forms, copy | Who owns the content? Is it reviewed for bar compliance? |
| Intake and speed to lead | Call handling, follow-up, tracking | Do you track a lead to a signed case? |
Many agencies do some of these well and subcontract the rest. Ask which parts are done in-house.
Why the choice is harder than it was
Until recently "legal marketing" mostly meant Google. Now a person who was just hurt may ask an AI assistant for a lawyer and receive three or four names. OpenAI's ad policy now permits US legal-services ads from advertisers licensed where the ad is shown, so ChatGPT is also a paid channel (OpenAI ad policies). Google, for its part, says there are no special optimizations required to appear in its AI Overviews beyond being indexed and snippet-eligible (Google Search Central). That makes the old pitch of a secret formula less credible and makes measurement, process and honesty more important. See AI marketing agency for law firms for the new category.
Fifteen questions to ask every agency
About results and reporting
- What do you report each month: rankings, clicks, leads, calls, signed cases?
- Can you track a lead through to a signed case in my intake process?
- Can you show a current client's results in a similar practice area and city, with permission and dates?
- What would you refuse to promise?
About rules and risk
- How do you check each ad and page against my state bar's advertising rules?
- Do you use testimonials, case results or "best lawyer" claims, and how are they vetted? (See law firm advertising rules.)
- If you buy or generate leads, do you recommend my firm to the person, and how is payment structured? Fee-sharing and "recommendation" issues vary by state.
About how the work is done
- Who does the work: your staff, contractors or software? Who is my day-to-day contact?
- Which channels do you propose first, and why for my case types?
- Which AI assistants and prompts do you test, and how often?
- How do you handle OpenAI verification, if ChatGPT Ads are proposed?
About the commercial terms
- Will you work with my direct competitor in my city and case type?
- What is the term, the notice period and the exit? Month-to-month is common for ad management; SEO is sometimes sold on longer terms, so ask why.
- Do I own the ad accounts, analytics, website, content and listings, and do I get them if I leave?
- How is the fee structured: flat retainer, percentage of spend, per lead, or per signed case, and what is not included?
Red flags
| Red flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed rankings, guaranteed AI placement or guaranteed case counts | No one controls Google or an AI assistant. Google itself says no special optimizations are required for its AI features |
| Reports only impressions, clicks and rankings | You pay for cases, not clicks |
| The agency owns your ad accounts or site | You lose history and leverage when you leave |
| Cannot explain how it checks bar compliance | You carry the ethics risk, not the agency |
| Long lock-in with no performance exit | Hard to leave if it is not working |
| Vague about who does the work | Quality and accountability gaps |
| Mass AI-written city pages or bought reviews | Poor quality and legal exposure; the FTC's 2024 rule bans fake reviews and testimonials |
| Will not share how leads are generated | Possible recommendation and fee-sharing problems |
Fee models, and what each rewards
| Model | Rewards | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Flat retainer | Steady work | Activity over outcomes if reporting is weak |
| Percentage of ad spend | More spend | Incentive to raise your budget |
| Pay per lead | Lead volume | Low-quality or shared leads |
| Pay per signed case or revenue share | Outcomes | Bar rules on fee-sharing; check your state before agreeing |
None is automatically best. Whatever the model, ask for cost per signed case and the assumptions behind it. For lead sources specifically, see personal injury leads: buy, rent or earn. For SEO vendors, see how to choose a law firm SEO company; for AI visibility vendors, how to choose a GEO agency.
A simple selection process
- Write down your goal. For example: more truck accident cases in Houston at a target cost per signed case.
- Shortlist three agencies from referrals, other firms and the questions above.
- Send the same fifteen questions and compare written answers.
- Run a short call with each and ask for one live example, not a slide deck.
- Ask for a first-90-days plan with specific deliverables and a reporting date.
- Start with a limited scope if the agency allows, such as one case type or one city, and expand once cost per signed case is visible.
- Review at 30, 60 and 90 days against signed cases and cost, not activity.
What to expect and when
Channels move at different speeds. Paid ads can produce calls within weeks of approval. SEO and AI visibility work compound over months: the first month is mostly cleanup of the site, listings and facts, and new mentions or rankings usually build from month two onward. Be wary of anyone promising faster certainty than the channel allows.
How Bookedly fits
Bookedly (bookedly.co) is an AI marketing agency for law firms in the United States. We run ChatGPT Ads, AI SEO, Google and Meta ads for every practice area, with personal injury as our lead. We take one firm per case type per city, we are month-to-month, we do not promise AI visibility and we do not publish a price list. Wayman Law Group in St. Louis got 3 signed cases from ChatGPT Ads in under 2 weeks; Matt Wayman said: "Had our first two calls from chatads today. Signed one of them up and the other is calling me Friday to sign up." One firm is not a benchmark. See how Bookedly compares with other options and law firm marketing.
If you want a baseline before choosing anyone, the Free AI Visibility Check asks ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your clients ask and shows who is named.
Questions
How much does a legal marketing agency cost?
It depends on scope and fee model. Ad spend is paid to the platform separately; ChatGPT Ads, for instance, have a $25 daily minimum. Ask for management fees and spend in writing.
How do I know if a legal marketing agency is good?
It reports cost per signed case, explains how it follows your bar's rules, lets you own your accounts and does not guarantee outcomes.
Should a law firm hire a legal-specialist agency?
A specialist understands advertising rules and case-type intent. A generalist can still be good if it can show legal work and rule compliance. Ask for both.
How long should I commit?
Prefer terms you can leave. Ad management is often month-to-month; if an agency requires longer for SEO, ask what you get if results do not appear.
Does a marketing agency guarantee cases?
It should not. Nobody controls Google, Meta or an AI assistant, and bar rules restrict misleading promises.
Are AI marketing agencies for law firms different?
They add the ChatGPT sponsored slot and the work of getting named in AI answers. See what an AI marketing agency does.
Sources (checked October 28, 2026)
- developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
- OpenAI Help Center
- FTC, Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (2024)
- ABA Model Rules 5.4, 7.2 and state versions