The Marketing Agency for Law Firms Chasing Commercial Work
Commercial clients don’t pick a firm from a Google search at midnight. We put your practice in front of the owners, directors and in-house counsel who instruct lawyers, before the matter lands.
Why commercial firms struggle to grow past their partners’ networks
Search brings the wrong matters
Broad legal keywords attract free-advice seekers, consumer matters you don’t take and people comparing hourly rates. Every one of them costs a lawyer’s time to screen.
Business development depends on billable people
Partners are expected to win work while billing full time. When a big matter takes over, the networking stops, and new instructions slow down a few months later.
The client only needs you sometimes
A business might need a lawyer twice a year. If you’re not front of mind on that day, they call whoever their accountant mentions.
Every practice area sells to a different person
A firm-wide “experienced, trusted, results-driven” campaign speaks to nobody. A marketing agency for law firms should split the budget by practice area, because the buyer, the trigger and the timing all change.
HR managers & business owners
Triggered by a dismissal, a dispute or a policy they know is out of date. They want someone who answers the phone quickly and explains the risk in plain English.
Directors & in-house counsel
Supplier agreements, terms of trade and shareholder arrangements. In-house teams brief out what they don’t have capacity or depth for, and keep using firms that make their lives easier.
Landlords, tenants & developers
Leases, acquisitions and development work with fixed deadlines. They value turnaround and knowing how the deal actually works.
Owners planning an exit
A long, high-trust decision, usually made alongside their accountant and business broker. Being known by those advisers matters as much as being known by the owner.
Directors & credit managers
Unpaid invoices and contract disputes. They’re weighing cost against the amount at stake, so clear fee structures win the first call.
From free-advice seekers to qualified B2B meetings
Aussie-Link is an established Sydney visa services firm. Its B2B relationships had started to run dry after government compliance changes, so it began running Google Ads. Time-wasters, free-advice seekers and unqualified leads made up most of what came in.
What we did: we researched which industries need visa services as a required fit with a justifiable cost, and landed on recruitment firms. Then we researched those decision makers’ problems and desired outcomes, built ad creative around them, targeted recruitment firm decision makers with 3rd party audience data and synced every new lead to consultants’ mobile phones for instant contact.
“ALVI+AD advised us, after researching our business and learning more about our key services, to target the recruitment industry. We agreed, they conducted research, created ad creatives and published ad campaigns and we’re seeing excellent results with multiple key b2b enquiries come inbound in the first 2 weeks!”
Hana K, Founder & Operator, Aussie-Link Visa Services
Which industries need your practice the most?
The same research question works for a commercial firm. An employment practice might find that multi-site hospitality or labour hire businesses face constant workplace issues. A property team might find that commercial landlords with several tenancies are the best fit.
We test those hypotheses with your partners first, then build a campaign around the one with the clearest need and the best matter value.
How a cold director becomes an instructing client
Commercial legal work is bought on trust, so the campaign earns attention first and asks for a meeting second.
3rd party B2B data targets directors, HR leads and in-house counsel in the industries you’ve chosen, on Meta, with ads built around a problem they recognise.
A short partner video, a plain-English checklist or a briefing on an issue in their industry. It shows how you think without giving away the advice.
A focused landing page with one action, such as a 20-minute call with the relevant partner. The form collects the matter type and industry so it routes to the right lawyer.
Every contact goes into your CRM with an email sequence and regular updates, so when the next matter comes up, your firm is the one they think of.
What your ads will and won’t say
Legal advertising in Australia is governed by your professional conduct rules. We write every campaign to sit comfortably inside them, and nothing goes live until a lawyer at your firm has signed it off.
Specific and factual
Anything that could mislead
Questions from commercial law firms
What partners usually ask before a strategy call.
What should a marketing agency for law firms do differently?
Start with the matters you want more of, not the firm’s logo. That means one campaign per practice area, targeting the people who instruct that kind of work, with creative built around their actual problems and a landing page that books a call with the right lawyer. Success is measured in qualified consultations and new instructions, not website traffic.
How do we stop getting free-advice enquiries?
Go to the buyer instead of waiting for them to search. Broad search terms attract people looking for free answers. Targeting business decision makers with 3rd party data, being clear about how fees work and asking qualifying questions on the form all reduce it. Aussie-Link Visa Services had the same problem with Google Ads before switching to targeted B2B campaigns.
Can you target in-house counsel and HR managers?
Yes. We use 3rd party B2B data to build audiences by job role, industry and company, such as general counsel, HR managers and company directors, and run your ads to those audiences on Meta. It’s the same decision-maker targeting we use across our B2B marketing work.
Is legal advertising allowed to use client results or testimonials?
It depends on your state and practice area. The general rule is that legal advertising can’t be false, misleading or deceptive, so a past result can’t be presented as what a new client will get, and some states restrict advertising for particular areas such as personal injury. Where a testimonial or past matter is used, we present it as a past matter, and a lawyer at your firm approves every ad and page before it runs. If you’re unsure, check with your law society first.
Do you do SEO for law firms?
We run SEO and Google Ads for clients where search intent is strong. For commercial firms, broad legal search terms are expensive and attract the wrong matters, so we usually lead with targeted paid social to decision makers and use search for specific, high-value practice area terms.
Do you also work with family law practices?
Yes, but it’s a different campaign. Family law enquiries come from individuals, often at a difficult time, so the targeting, tone and intake are different. See our page on family lawyer marketing.
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