The Comparison Framework Attorneys Use to Decide Between SEO, PPC, and LSAs

Before comparing costs and results, it helps to understand what you are actually buying with each channel.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of earning organic rankings in Google's unpaid results. When someone searches "divorce attorney in Denver" and clicks a result that is not an ad, that click is free. The investment is in the work that earned the ranking: technical site health, authoritative content, local citations, and backlinks from credible sources.

The defining characteristic of SEO is that it compounds. A well-optimized page for "criminal defense attorney Chicago" can generate traffic for years. The tradeoff is time — most firms should expect 4–6 months before meaningful ranking movement, and 9–12 months before organic becomes a reliable lead source. That timeline varies by market competition and your site's existing authority.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising (Google Ads)

PPC puts your firm's text ad at the top of search results. You pay each time someone clicks. In legal, click costs are among the highest of any industry — practice areas like personal injury, mass tort, and criminal defense in major metros can run well into double or triple digits per click.

The advantage is immediacy. You can be visible on day one. The risk is dependency: the moment you stop paying, the traffic stops. There is no residual value from a PPC campaign the way there is from a ranked piece of content.

Local Service Ads (LSAs)

LSAs are Google's lead-based product specifically designed for service businesses, including law firms. They appear above standard PPC ads in many searches and charge per lead, not per click. Firms must pass Google's verification process, which for attorneys includes a background check and bar license confirmation.

LSAs show a "Google Screened" badge, which carries trust signals that standard ads do not. Because you pay per qualified lead rather than per click, the cost structure is more predictable — though lead quality and volume vary significantly by market and practice area.

Understanding what you are spending — and when you see returns — changes how you evaluate each channel.

SEO Cost and Return Profile

SEO investment is typically a monthly retainer covering technical optimization, content production, link building, and local citation management. The cost does not scale directly with lead volume, which is part of its long-term appeal. Industry benchmarks suggest that organic search often produces a lower cost-per-case than paid channels once a firm reaches page-one rankings — but that efficiency takes time to materialize.

The ROI curve is back-loaded. Months one through three are largely infrastructure work. Months four through six bring early ranking movement. Month nine and beyond is where many firms report meaningful organic lead flow. Firms evaluating SEO against PPC on a 90-day window will almost always undervalue it.

PPC Cost and Return Profile

PPC is front-loaded on results but linearly expensive. You can set a daily budget and know exactly what you are spending. In competitive markets, however, that budget needs to be substantial to generate meaningful volume. Firms in large metros running competitive practice area terms should discuss realistic budget expectations with any agency before starting — campaigns that are underfunded relative to market competition often produce poor results and skew perceptions of the channel's viability.

Cost-per-click in legal varies widely by practice area and geography. Personal injury and mass tort terms in major cities are consistently among the most expensive in any vertical. These figures shift with market conditions and competitor activity — any agency quoting precise CPCs without current market data is guessing.

LSA Cost and Return Profile

LSAs charge per lead, which simplifies budgeting. The lead cost varies by practice area and location. The verification requirement creates a floor of credibility that filters out some competitors. Many firms find LSAs particularly effective for high-intent, near-term searches ("attorney near me," "emergency DUI lawyer") because the placement is prominent and the lead intent is high.

Dispute credits are available for leads that do not meet your criteria — understanding Google's dispute process before launching is worth the time.

The right channel mix depends on where your firm is today, not where you want it to be. Here are the scenarios we see most often.

Scenario A: New Firm or New Market Entry

If your firm has low domain authority, minimal content, and needs cases now, SEO alone is not the right short-term answer. PPC or LSAs fill the gap while SEO builds. Starting SEO simultaneously means that by month six or nine, you have organic momentum and can reduce paid spend if desired.

Scenario B: Established Firm With Existing Web Presence

If your site already has some history, existing content, and a few inbound links, SEO has more to build on. The timeline compresses. In this scenario, investing in organic search services for law firms alongside a modest LSA budget often produces a better blended cost-per-case than running heavy PPC alone.

Scenario C: High-Volume, Competitive Practice Area (PI, Mass Tort, Criminal Defense)

These verticals have aggressive competitors, expensive paid clicks, and high case values. Firms here often need all three channels working together. PPC for immediate volume, LSAs for high-intent local capture, and SEO for long-term dominance and reduced dependency on paid traffic over a 24–36 month horizon.

Scenario D: Niche or Specialty Practice

Firms in less contested niches (estate planning, immigration, business law in smaller markets) often find SEO delivers faster results because competition for rankings is lower. PPC budgets can be modest. LSAs may or may not be available for the specific practice area in your geography — availability varies.

Scenario E: Firm With a Budget Cap and a Decision to Make

If budget is genuinely constrained, the question becomes: what produces the most durable return? A firm spending $3,000/month on PPC with no SEO investment has the same visibility on day 1,080 as it did on day one — only it has spent significantly more to maintain that position. A firm that allocated a portion of that budget to SEO over the same period has built an asset. Neither answer is always right; it depends on your case pipeline and cash flow reality.

The table below summarizes the key dimensions for evaluating each channel. These represent general patterns — your specific market and practice area will affect actual figures.

• Time to first lead — SEO: Typically 4–9 months | PPC: 24–72 hours | LSAs: 1–5 business days (after verification)
• Cost structure — SEO: Monthly retainer (does not scale with lead volume) | PPC: Cost-per-click (scales with volume and competition) | LSAs: Cost-per-lead (varies by practice area and market)
• Residual value — SEO: High (rankings persist beyond active spend) | PPC: None (traffic stops when budget stops) | LSAs: None (same as PPC)
• Trust signals — SEO: Editorial authority, reviews, third-party links | PPC: Ad label visible to users | LSAs: Google Screened badge
• Competitive pressure — SEO: Rankings shift gradually | PPC: Competitors can outbid you immediately | LSAs: Lead volume affected by competitor activity and review count
• Best for — SEO: Long-term growth, content authority, multi-practice visibility | PPC: Immediate volume, campaign-specific targeting, testing | LSAs: High-intent local leads, verification-based trust
• Primary risk — SEO: Algorithm changes, slow ramp | PPC: Click fraud, budget drain, no asset built | LSAs: Lead quality variation, limited dispute process

No channel is universally superior. The firms with the most consistent lead flow across economic cycles tend to have SEO as their foundation, with paid channels as tactical amplifiers — not the other way around.

These are the questions we hear most often from attorneys evaluating channel decisions.

"SEO takes too long. I need cases now."

This is a legitimate operational concern, not a reason to avoid SEO. The answer is to run PPC or LSAs to cover immediate pipeline while building organic authority in parallel. Treating SEO as an either/or decision against paid channels is a false constraint — and one that leaves firms permanently dependent on paid traffic costs.

"I tried SEO before and it didn't work."

This usually means one of three things: the work was low-quality, the timeline expectations were unrealistic, or the firm stopped before results materialized. SEO failure is almost always attributable to a specific cause — thin content, no link building, ignoring local signals, or waiting only 60–90 days. If you have had a poor experience, it is worth understanding why before writing off the channel.

"PPC gives me control over my spend."

Yes, and that is genuinely valuable for budget management. The counterpoint is that control over spend is not the same as efficiency. A predictable spend that produces cases at an unsustainable cost-per-acquisition is still a problem. The goal is not just budget control — it is cost-per-case relative to case value.

"LSAs seem like the simplest option."

They are operationally simpler than managing a full PPC account. But lead quality varies, volume is not designed to, and the channel is entirely within Google's control to modify or discontinue. Firms that have built strong organic presence are less exposed to that platform risk. LSAs work best as a complement, not a replacement for search authority.

"Our competitors are running ads so we have to also."

What your competitors are doing is relevant context, not a strategy. The better question is: where do your competitors have weaknesses in organic search that you could own? In many markets, firms that invest in a long-term SEO strategy for their practice while competitors chase paid clicks find themselves in a significantly stronger position 18–24 months later.