Speaker 1: 0:05

Why should I trust Google's algorithms? Welcome to Legal Marketing 101. I'm Toby Rosen. Today we're diving into something that isn't just a question I get from clients every now and then, but something that can actually be really transformative for your firm's approach to digital marketing. And yes, the algorithm quote unquote is a huge topic. We're learning more about the algorithm all the time and the huge dump of Google info. This year it definitely made us all think a lot more about what Google is doing and how this whole thing works. But today we're not going to talk about all of that. We will come back to a lot of it, but we're going to try and stay on this one question. Why should I trust Google's algorithms with my money on Google Ads? Why should I turn over control to the algorithm?

Speaker 1: 0:51

So let's start with the basics. Google Ads uses a really complex set of algorithms to determine which ads to show to users and when to show them. You should already know that these algorithms analyze a staggering amount of data in real time, including search queries, user behavior, location, device information and a lot more, to ensure that the right ad reaches the right person at the right moment. This means your law firm's ads have the potential to be seen by people actively searching for legal services just like yours, increasing the chances of converting those views into actual clients. You know, that's the whole game, and one of the key components of this process is something called the ad auction. Whenever someone searches for a keyword that you're targeting, Google holds an instantaneous auction to decide which ads to display. The winners aren't simply the highest bidders, too. Google also is looking at the quality of the ads, the relevance to the search query, all of this information and this is where the algorithms really come into play. They assess factors like your ad's click-through rate, relevance to keywords and landing page experience, and these elements combine to give your ad a quality score which can affect both your ad positioning and your cost per click.

Speaker 1: 2:05

We've talked about this before, but it doesn't stop there. Google's machine learning and algorithms. They're constantly learning and adapting. They're doing this continuously. They analyze which ads are performing well and they use that data to optimize performance for those advertisers and for other advertisers, making ads more effective over time. And they assess user behavior across sites using the Google tracking code to understand which users are likely to take action, what actions they are likely to take, and so on, and so on, and one could interpret the name Google as the number of search results you're able to find on their platform, but you could also interpret it as the number of data points they collect on each individual user. Just some food for thought. But before we even talk about the behavior, interest and demographic options we have at our fingertips with Google, it's really important to have an understanding of how those data points are already impacting your campaigns. By really understanding and utilizing Google's algorithms effectively, we can take a more strategic approach to our advertising efforts, and what that really means is not just spending money to get your name out there, but actually investing in a system that constantly refines itself to bring you the best possible results.

Speaker 1: 3:21

All right, let's talk about accuracy and precision. These are two words that are music to any marketer's ears, and that's especially true when it comes to digital advertising, and Google's algorithms have pretty much mastered the art of optimizing ad delivery based on user behavior and preferences. This is no small feat, and it's a huge reason why so many businesses, including a lot of law firms, trust Google Ads to help them reach their target audience effectively. So what does this actually mean in practice, and how can I make this sound less like a sales pitch for Google Ads. Well, Google's algorithms analyze countless data points about user interactions. They are looking at what people are searching for, the websites they visit, their online behavior, even the devices they use. This lets Google tailor ad delivery to each individual user and ensures that your ads are shown to those that are most likely to be interested in your services. And for law firms, this means that your ads reach potential clients who are actively looking for legal assistance or who fit the profile of someone who might need legal services soon. And the beauty of this system is its precision by understanding the user intent and behavior patterns through all these billions and billions of data points, Google can position your ads where they're most likely to have an impact. This isn't just about casting a wide net. It's about honing in on the right audience to maximize your return on investment. And the more data the algorithms collect from you and from other people, the better they become at predicting and meeting user needs.

Speaker 1: 4:51

Now let's talk about this continuous improvement, because it's another huge cornerstone of Google's approach, Because Google's algorithms they're not static. They're designed to learn and evolve and continue to change within your account. This means they're constantly being refined outside your account, but they're also learning on their own, and they're doing this all to deliver better results. To deliver better results, and as the algorithms analyze ad performance, they learn from the data, they identify which strategies work best and then they automatically adjust your campaigns to make them more effective. This continuous improvement translates into automatic optimizations. That's what it ultimately is, and that can be incredibly beneficial for law firms and even for people like me who run marketing agencies. So imagine running a campaign where you don't have to manually tweak every setting to just see better performance. Google's algorithms can adjust our bids, our ad placements, even our targeting settings, in real time, as things are happening in our campaign, and this ensures that our ads are always operating at peak efficiency. This kind of hands-off optimization saves time and resources and allows us to focus on other, more important aspects of our practice or of our marketing. This isn't to say that you have to completely give up control, or you should completely give up control, but you can definitely work on things that matter a little bit more.

Speaker 1: 6:13

And what about transparency and control? You might be wondering if handing over the reins of your campaigns to these algorithms means losing control over your ad strategies entirely, and the good news is that Google gives us a ton of options for customization and oversight on our campaigns. This ensures that we remain in the driver's seat here. Google understands that there is a need for transparency, and they give us a ton of reporting tools that allow us to see exactly how our ads are performing. So we can see all the metrics from impressions, clicks, conversions and we can drill down way deeper to get more valuable insights into the effectiveness of our ads. This data helps us do all the fun stuff we want to do, like A-B testing, and really it just helps us be informed about the decisions for our advertising strategy. But on top of all of that, Google Ads still provides us a bunch of opportunities for customization. So, first off, we can set specific goals for our campaigns and we're still choosing the keywords we want to target, and we're still choosing the geographic locations where our ads are going to appear. And this control means we can still align our ad strategies with our unique marketing goals. We make sure that our ad campaigns are tailored to the specific needs of whatever it is we're trying to sell.

Speaker 1: 7:25

Now, before we go, let's talk about one of the biggest concerns for any law firm cost efficiency. Maximizing ROI is really the most crucial thing when it comes to digital marketing, and Google's algorithms are supposed to be designed to help you do that. Yes, I do argue with how much Google is on our side, but the reality is, despite all my moaning, if we make money, they are more likely to keep making money from us, and they know that. They have the data points. They know that if we target the right audience and if our advertising budget is spent pretty wisely and evenly usually and we reach potential clients that have a high likelihood of engagement, they know that, if all of that happens, we are pretty likely to continue advertising on Google. So, despite all my frustrations, they are technically on our team and their algorithms are one of the more significant tools that they provide to help us win the advertising game.

Speaker 1: 8:22

One of the primary advantages of using Google's algorithms is the ability to reduce the unnecessary spend we have on broad or ineffective ads. All of this optimization is really all just focused on that reducing the crap. Of course, it's plenty possible to still get crap from Google ads. I see it all the time and I constantly still see agencies using more traditional methods that involve casting a wider net and hoping to reach as many people as possible, but inevitably this leads to wasted resources and we're ending up paying for advertising that is reaching people who have absolutely no interest in what we're selling. Google's algorithms completely change the game here by using a level of precision in their targeting that pretty much all humans still struggle to replicate. And, at the end of the day, this frees us up to focus on more important tasks. And it frees up our budget to target users who are actually searching for the legal assistance we provide, or just who fit our ideal client profile.

Speaker 1: 9:21

And this targeted approach look, it doesn't just improve cost efficiency, but it also enhances that client acquisition. By reaching people who are actually interested in services, you increase the likelihood of turning clicks into clients. It's pretty simple math Show your ads to people who are looking for your ads and you'll generate more clients. So if we can use Google's algorithms to help position our ads in front of the right users at the right time and in the right context, it makes our message much more relevant, much more compelling, and it significantly increases the likelihood of generating a conversion.

Speaker 1: 10:00

But look, this isn't just about saving money and it isn't just about generating a bunch of extra clients. This is about investing in a system that continuously refines itself to deliver better results. With each campaign we launch, the algorithms learn and adapt and they ensure that your ads are more effective, more efficient and generate you more revenue over time. So if you've launched some new ads, take a minute, wait for the algorithms to kick in and see what Google can do for you. That's it for Legal Marketing 101. Check out RosenAdvertisingcom for more Thanks.