These are the questions partners and office managers tend to ask before they send a request. The answers stick to what Google publishes, what the model and state rules say, and how this site works. Short groups below set the scene; the full answers follow.
Advertising for Law Firms is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work. Nothing on this site is legal advice.
About this site
The site connects law firms with one independent marketing agency. It sends no clients to lawyers, recommends no firm to the public and shares no fees. The about page walks through how a request travels from the form to the agency.
Google, rankings and ads
Google is plain about what money can and cannot buy. Search results cost nothing to appear in, and ads are a separate auction. The answers below quote Google’s own pages, and the law firm SEO and law firm PPC guides go further.
State rules and the firm’s role
Every state writes its own lawyer advertising rules, so the answers here describe and quote rather than advise. The lawyer advertising rules guide holds the longer version.
Check your state’s rules
Answers on this page about ads, reviews and lead sources describe published rules as examples. They do not say what your state allows. Ask your state bar or a lawyer who handles ethics questions before anything runs.
The form and what the firm keeps
The form is about marketing the firm, never about a client’s matter. Ownership of the website, the domain and the ad accounts is worth settling before any work starts.
Still have a question about marketing the firm? Put it in the last box of the form and an independent agency can answer with a written proposal.
Questions firms ask
Is Advertising for Law Firms a marketing agency?
No. Advertising for Law Firms is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
Is this a lawyer referral service?
No. The site never refers clients to lawyers, never recommends a lawyer or firm to the public and never shares fees. It connects law firms with a marketing agency, and that is all it does.
Is this legal advice?
No. Nothing on this site is legal advice. The guides describe marketing work and quote published rules as examples. For a legal question, ask your state bar or a lawyer who handles ethics questions.
Does asking for a proposal cost the firm anything?
Nothing. Asking is free, and sending the form does not commit the firm to hire anyone. Any price comes from the agency in its proposal, apart from the two SEO plans shown on the pricing page.
Who sees what I send?
The request is stored on this site and emailed to the site’s operator, who passes it to one independent marketing agency that works with law firms. That agency answers by phone or email.
Can anyone promise the firm a top ranking on Google?
No. Google says no one can promise a top ranking, and that it does not accept payment to crawl a site more often or rank it higher. Its advice is that if someone promises first place, find someone else.
Does the firm pay Google to appear in search results?
No. Google says appearing in its search results costs no money, whatever anyone claims. Ads are different: Google Ads charges for clicks and Local Services Ads charge per lead.
Can a law firm run Local Services Ads?
Google lists lawyer categories in Local Services Ads, such as personal injury, bankruptcy and business lawyers. Each requires state bar license checks for every lawyer in the firm, plus identity checks on the owner.
Do the same advertising rules apply in every state?
No. Lawyer advertising is regulated state by state. The ABA publishes Model Rules, and each state adopts its own version. Texas and Florida are two states that review or collect filings of certain ads.
Who decides whether an ad meets the rules?
The firm. An agency drafts and builds the campaign, but your state’s lawyer advertising rules apply and your firm decides what runs. Neither this site nor the agency gives that judgment.
What should the form never include?
Any detail of a legal matter: names of parties, facts of a case, dates, documents or anything confidential. The form is only about marketing the firm, so keep it to the firm, its practice areas and what it needs.
Who should own the website and ad accounts?
The firm should. Ask that the domain, hosting, Google Business Profile, Google Ads account and analytics are in the firm’s name, with the agency given access. Then nothing is lost if the firm changes agencies.
Can each lawyer at the firm get a Google Business Profile?
Google counts lawyers among individual practitioners. A public-facing lawyer who can be reached at the verified office during stated hours can have a profile alongside the firm’s profile, named with the lawyer’s name only.
Can the firm hide its office address on Google?
Keep the address. A firm that sees clients at its office and also serves people elsewhere can enter both its address and its service areas, which Google allows.