The $200 Click: Fix PI Intake First
PI firms paying $200 per click go hunting for cheaper leads. The leak is after the click. Fix intake conversion before buying more traffic.
$200 per click for a personal injury keyword.
A firm owner posted that number on r/LawFirm. Stuck at $40k a month for two quarters, half the margin going to Google, billboard firms outbidding them on every term.
The instinct is to go find a cheaper channel. Spanish PPC, cold outreach, local events, anything with a lower CPL.
Cheaper leads do not fix this. At $200 a click you are not buying leads, you are buying attempts, and an attempt only pays if somebody works it.
Look at what happens after the click:
- How fast does the first call go out
- Who runs intake at 6pm on a Friday
- Signed cases per 100 leads, this month, not last year
- What percentage of leads never get a second touch
Most firms at that ceiling cannot answer the last one. Not because they are careless. Because the person who would track it is the same person doing intake, records, and calendaring.
A $200 click that dies in a voicemail costs exactly what a $200 click that signs costs.
Fix conversion first. Then go buy more clicks.
If nobody owns the follow-up, that is a staffing gap, not a marketing one. Counterbench Paralegal Teams run intake and records for PI firms on a monthly retainer. To see whether your team is already over capacity, run the free Paralegal Capacity Calculator.