How Much Does Personal Injury Lead Generation Actually Cost?

I had a conversation with a PI lawyer last week who was paying $800 per lead through Google Ads. He was frustrated, questioning whether digital marketing even worked for personal injury firms.

Then I asked him the real question: "How many of those leads turn into signed cases?"

Silence.

He didn't know. He was tracking cost per lead but had no idea what his actual cost per signed case was. And that's the problem with most personal injury firms trying to crack the lead generation code.

You can't manage what you don't measure. If you're only looking at cost per lead, you're missing the entire picture. Some firms pay $110 per lead and make a fortune. Others pay $300 per lead and go broke.

The difference? They're tracking the wrong metrics.

Key Takeaways

Before we dive deep, here's what you need to know about personal injury lead generation costs:

Cost Per Lead Varies Wildly Based on Your Approach

• •Meta ads (Facebook/Instagram): $20-$110 per qualified lead in Australia
• •Google Ads: $300-$800 per lead, especially for competitive terms
• •Buying leads from aggregators: $100-$500+ per lead depending on exclusivity and quality

Cost Per Signed Case Is What Actually Matters

• •Expect to pay $230-$500 per signed case with a systematic approach
• •Some firms see costs as high as $1,000 per signed case, particularly when starting out
• •The key is conversion rate from lead to signed case, not just lead volume

Different Strategies Suit Different Firms

• •SEO offers best long-term ROI but takes 18 months to 3 years to see meaningful results
• •Timeline heavily depends on whether you're a new firm or have an established brand
• •PPC (Google Ads) provides immediate results but requires higher budgets
• •Meta ads can deliver qualified leads at lower costs but requires proper nurturing systems
• •Buying leads is fastest but often delivers the lowest quality prospects

The Real Problem: Everyone's Asking The Wrong Questions

Most personal injury firms approach lead generation backwards. They ask "How much does a lead cost?" when they should be asking "How much does a signed case cost?"

Here's why this matters. Let's say you're comparing two marketing channels:

Channel A delivers leads at $50 each, but only 2% convert to signed cases. That's $2,500 per signed case.

Channel B delivers leads at $400 each, but 25% convert to signed cases. That's $1,600 per signed case.

Which one would you choose? Most firms pick Channel A because they're fixated on the wrong number.

The obsession with cheap leads has created an entire industry of lead aggregators who sell low-quality prospects to multiple firms. You end up in bidding wars with three other lawyers, all competing for the same person who probably isn't even serious about hiring representation.

I've seen firms burn through $20,000 in a month chasing $100 leads that never convert. Meanwhile, their competitor spends the same amount on higher-quality leads and signs 15 cases.

Understanding The True Cost Of Personal Injury Leads

Let's break down what you'll actually pay across different channels, based on real data from Australian PI firms we work with.

Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram)

Meta advertising has become one of the most cost-effective channels for personal injury lead generation, but it requires a different approach than traditional legal marketing.

What You'll Pay: In the Australian market, we're seeing qualified personal injury leads coming in anywhere from $20 to $110. That's significantly lower than Google Ads, but there's a catch.

Meta leads require more nurturing. These people weren't actively searching for a lawyer — they saw your ad while scrolling through their feed. Your intake process needs to be built for this reality.

Google Ads

Google Ads remains the most expensive channel for personal injury lead generation, but also delivers the highest-intent prospects.

What You'll Pay: Expect $300-$800 per lead for competitive keywords in major Australian cities. "Personal injury lawyer Sydney" can cost $200+ per click, meaning you might need 3-4 clicks just to generate one lead.

The advantage is intent. Someone searching "personal injury lawyer near me" is actively looking for representation. Your conversion rates from lead to signed case should be significantly higher.

The Conversion Rate Factor

Here's where most firms get it wrong. They compare cost per lead without accounting for conversion rates.

A $600 Google Ads lead that converts at 30% costs $2,000 per signed case.

A $60 Meta lead that converts at 5% costs $1,200 per signed case.

Both are profitable if your average case value is $30,000+. But the firm tracking only cost per lead would think Google Ads is 10x more expensive, when it's actually only 67% more expensive per signed case.

The Hidden Costs Most Firms Ignore

Cost per lead doesn't capture the full picture. Here are the hidden costs eating into your marketing ROI:

Intake Team Time

Every lead requires time from your intake team. If you're generating 100 leads per month and your intake team spends 20 minutes per lead, that's 33 hours of labour just processing leads — before any follow-up.

Low-quality lead sources might cost less upfront but consume disproportionate intake time chasing unqualified prospects.

Opportunity Cost

Time spent on garbage leads is time not spent on warm referrals or quality prospects. If your intake team is drowning in low-quality purchased leads, they might be slow to respond to a genuine referral — and lose that case to a competitor.

Follow-Up Systems

Meta leads especially require systematic follow-up. If you're not calling within 5 minutes and following up 6-8 times, you're leaving money on the table.

Building these systems costs money — whether that's technology, training, or additional staff.

What You Should Actually Track

Stop obsessing over cost per lead. Start tracking these metrics instead:

Cost Per Signed Case

Total marketing spend divided by signed cases from that channel. This is the number that actually matters.

Lead to Consultation Rate

What percentage of leads become phone consultations? This tells you about lead quality and intake effectiveness.

Consultation to Retainer Rate

What percentage of consultations become signed clients? This tells you about your sales process and case selection criteria.

Average Case Value by Channel

Do Google Ads leads produce higher-value cases than Meta leads? This affects whether a more expensive acquisition cost is actually more profitable.

Time to Conversion

How long from first contact to signed retainer? Faster conversion typically means higher intent leads.

Building a Profitable Lead Generation System

Here's what actually works for personal injury firms generating consistent, profitable growth:

Start With Your Numbers

Before spending a dollar on marketing, know your:

• •Average case value
• •Target profit margin
• •Maximum acceptable cost per signed case
• •Current conversion rates

Choose Channels Based on Capacity

If you can handle 50 leads per month, don't run campaigns designed to generate 200. You'll waste money on leads that never get called.

Build Your Intake Before Scaling Ads

The best marketing in the world fails if your intake process is broken. Get your response time under 5 minutes, build systematic follow-up, and train your team before scaling ad spend.

Test and Measure Religiously

Run small tests across channels. Track everything. Double down on what works. Kill what doesn't.

The Bottom Line

Personal injury lead generation costs vary wildly — from $20 to $800+ per lead depending on your channel and approach. But cost per lead is the wrong metric to optimise for.

Focus on cost per signed case. Build systems that convert leads efficiently. Track everything so you know what's actually working.

Want help building a lead generation system that actually works for your firm? Get in touch for a strategy session.