A law firm marketing budget should separate the agency's fee from advertising spend, website work, content, software, and internal review. Without that separation, two similar monthly prices can describe very different projects.
Start with the services you want to grow and the assets you already have. A firm with strong practice pages and a working intake process may need a different scope from one replacing its website and correcting several local profiles.
Small World Marketing publishes starting plans in CAD. This guide uses those prices to explain budgeting and comparison. The examples are calculations, not industry averages or predictions of client acquisition.
SWM's published starting plans
The following prices are listed on our pricing page in CAD, checked October 10, 2026. Confirm the current scope, currency, taxes, and agreement for your firm.
| Published plan | Starting monthly price | Listed focus | Question to settle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local | CAD 1,000 | Google Maps and local profile work | Which offices, profiles, and tasks are included? |
| Everywhere | CAD 2,000 | Website SEO, Maps, and AI search visibility | Which pages, implementation, and reporting are included? |
| Instant | CAD 1,000 | Google Ads management | How are advertising media and management billed separately? |
| Proactive Website Support | CAD 49 | Website care and support | What applies to the firm's site and what is separately scoped? |
The legal marketing proposal should describe the actual work rather than repeat a plan label. Multi-location or custom requirements need a written scope. Review performance commitments through their terms, qualifying searches, measurement, and remedy.
Advertising media needs its own budget. Do not assume the amount paid to Google is included in a management fee unless the agreement explicitly says so.
Give the budget a business objective
Define the practice areas, jurisdictions, and inquiry types before selecting channels. Record what makes a lead relevant and who handles contact. A large traffic target can reward broad informational visits that do not match the firm.
The budget should also account for implementation capacity. If the firm cannot review new legal content promptly, a large writing allocation may produce an approval backlog. If intake cannot respond to more inquiries, increasing media spend may expose that constraint.
Our law firm marketing service connects those decisions to page coverage, local visibility, intake, and reporting.
Compare five cost categories
| Category | Examples | How to compare proposals |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring agency work | SEO, profile management, paid campaign management | Named deliverables, implementation, owners, reporting |
| Advertising media | Payments to advertising platforms | Platform account control, spend limit, billing method |
| One-time project work | Website, migration, tracking setup, initial research | Milestones, acceptance, exclusions |
| Recurring operations | Hosting, software, scheduling, tracking numbers | Included versus additional subscriptions and exit terms |
| Internal contribution | Lawyer review, intake feedback, approvals | Named responsibilities and realistic availability |
An agency fee can cover some of these categories together. The proposal should state that explicitly. Count the same item once, and ask about any cost that has no owner.
Use the same period for every quote
For an annual comparison, calculate:
12 × recurring agency fee + 12 × planned media spend + one-time work + recurring operations + applicable taxes.
Apply the actual start dates and billing periods. A twelve-month illustration is useful for comparison, but it does not create a twelve-month contract or establish cancellation rights.
Here is a worked example using SWM's published Local, Starter website, and support prices. It assumes all three fit the project and are billed as listed. Taxes, custom work, and advertising media are excluded.
| Illustrative first-year item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Local program | CAD 1,000 × 12 | CAD 12,000 |
| Starter website | One-time published price | CAD 2,250 |
| Website support | CAD 49 × 12 | CAD 588 |
| Illustrative subtotal | Sum of the three items | CAD 14,838 |
Use the website cost guide to examine the build scope. The subtotal is a budgeting example, not a quote or an acquisition forecast.
Give paid search its own assumptions
If the firm considers paid search, separate media, management, landing-page work, and measurement. Document targeted services and markets, exclusions, conversion definitions, and the person permitted to approve spend changes.
For illustration only, a fictional media allowance of CAD 1,500 per month plus a CAD 1,000 management fee creates CAD 2,500 per month before taxes or separately quoted items. The media allowance is invented for arithmetic; it is not a recommendation or a Canadian legal advertising benchmark.
A provider should explain how budget changes follow evidence. Do not infer a number of consultations or clients from spend alone. The search market, landing page, relevance, and intake process all affect outcomes.
Read about our paid search service and compare the work using the law firm SEO proposal checklist.
Measure the economics with actual outcomes
Use stable definitions for inquiry, qualified inquiry, booked consultation, and retained matter. Decide which aggregate outcomes the firm can share without exposing confidential client information.
| Measure | Calculation or observation | Limitation to explain |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per inquiry | Included marketing cost ÷ inquiries | Spam and duplicates can distort it |
| Cost per qualified inquiry | Included marketing cost ÷ relevant inquiries | Qualification needs a consistent definition |
| Consultation booking rate | Booked consultations ÷ relevant inquiries | Staff availability and attribution affect the result |
| Cost per retained client | Included cost ÷ attributed new clients | Some journeys have multiple sources or missing attribution |
Use the same cost basis and period for comparisons. If there were no qualifying outcomes, report that directly rather than dividing by zero or presenting a misleading average. Include attribution limits in the report.
Buy implementation capacity, not just recommendations
Ask whether the agency writes, publishes, fixes, and tests the changes it recommends. Identify any work assigned to your internal team, lawyer reviewer, or separate developer.
A plan that includes a technical audit may still require a development budget. A content plan may require substantial firm review. A local SEO plan may need ownership recovery before profile work can proceed.
The Google Business Profile guide and legal content service explain those dependencies. The scope should account for them before they become delays.
Questions to ask before approving the budget
Is there a Canadian market average for law firm SEO?
This guide does not establish one. A defensible average needs a defined sample, services, period, currency, and methodology. Compare actual scopes and current quotes instead.
Should the firm begin with every channel?
Begin with the constraint that matters most. Repair a broken inquiry route or weak service coverage before scaling promotion. The audit should explain the recommended sequence and why it fits the firm.
How should AI visibility be priced and reported?
Specify the work and observations. Technical checks and observed AI mentions or citations are different measurements. Use our law firm AI visibility guide to compare reporting.
What should happen when scope changes?
Document the additional work, owner, price, and approval before proceeding. A new office, practice area, or website integration can change the engagement substantially.
Download the marketing budget worksheet and request a written scope from Small World Marketing.