We scaled a law practice's lead flow 3.5×
How we grew Marlstone's Google Ads from launch to more than three-and-a-half times the quarterly leads at its peak — while cutting cost per lead by nearly two-thirds — on a flat fee.
The partner
Marlstone is a U.S. legal practice. Legal is a high-value, high-competition category — a single signed case can be worth a great deal, so every qualified inquiry matters and the cost per lead has to stay disciplined against expensive clicks. The account needed to scale qualified inquiry volume without letting the cost per lead climb with the competition.
Goals
- Scale qualified inquiries in a fiercely competitive category.
- Keep the cost per lead disciplined against costly legal clicks.
- Capture high-intent legal search across practice areas.
- Expand reach beyond pure search once tracking proved out.
- Measure every call and form, so bidding optimizes to real inquiries.
Strategy
We paired high-intent Search to capture people actively looking for legal help with Performance Max to expand reach once tracking proved which inquiries were real — then pushed relentlessly on efficiency so the cost per lead fell as volume grew.
- 01
Captured high-intent legal search
A tightly-controlled Search build on the queries that carry genuine case intent, with negatives holding spend on real commercial demand.
- 02
Fixed the measurement
Every call and form was tracked so bidding optimized toward real inquiries instead of raw clicks.
- 03
Expanded reach with Performance Max
Once tracking proved out, Performance Max opened new volume across Google's inventory without loosening the intent that kept the account efficient.
- 04
Drove cost per lead down
Query control, negatives and bid management pulled the cost per lead down even as spend and volume rose — the core of the result.
- 05
Optimized weekly
A weekly loop on bids, budgets and search terms compounded the gains toward a peak quarter of leads.
Results
From the launch quarter to its peak, quarterly leads grew more than three-and-a-half fold, while cost per lead fell by nearly two-thirds — more inquiries, each one cheaper.
The team
A senior-run Google Ads pod: strategy & account lead and a PPC specialist on daily optimization — the same people, on a flat monthly fee.
Metrics shown as relative growth. Absolute account figures are kept confidential.
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