How to Measure ROI From Google Local Services Ads for a Personal Injury Firm

A PI firm spending $18,000 per month on Google Local Services Ads tracked 94 leads in Q1. Their Google dashboard showed a $191 cost per lead. What it didn't show: only 7 of those leads became signed cases — a true cost per case of $2,571. Nobody had calculated that number until the quarterly budget review.

That gap between cost per lead and cost per case is why LSA measurement is harder than Google makes it look. This guide walks through exactly how to calculate LSA cost per case, which data sources you need, where attribution breaks down, and how to use that number to make smarter budget decisions.

Why LSA Measurement Is Harder Than Google Makes It Look

Google's LSA dashboard gives you lead count, cost per lead, and total spend. Those numbers are real — and incomplete. Cost per lead is not cost per case. For a PI firm, cost per case is the only metric that tells you whether a channel earns its budget.

The spread between the two numbers can be dramatic. A firm spending $15,000 per month on LSAs might get 80 leads at a $187.50 cost per lead — but only 6 become signed cases, making the true cost per case $2,500. That's the number your managing partner wants. It's also the number Google doesn't provide.

The Data You Need to Measure LSA ROI Accurately

Accurate LSA ROI requires connecting three data sources that most firms keep in separate systems. Here's what you need and where to find it.

1. LSA Spend Data (From Google)

Your Google LSA dashboard gives you total monthly spend, total credited leads, and average cost per lead. Export this monthly. Store it in a consistent format, and make sure your date range matches the intake and case data you'll join it to.

2. Lead Attribution Data (From Your Intake System)

Every LSA lead needs a source tag at intake — consistently, for every call. If your intake team isn't recording “LSA” as the lead source in your CRM or case management system, you can't close the attribution loop. LeadDocket lets you set source codes that flow through to every subsequent record tied to that lead. That consistency is non-negotiable.

3. Case Outcome Data (From Your Case Management System)

This is what turns a lead count into a cost per case. Pull signed cases where the lead source is tagged as LSA, then divide your total LSA spend by that number.

Use a 90-day rolling window — not a calendar month. The lag between an LSA inquiry and a signed case runs 2–4 weeks for standard PI matters and longer for mass tort or catastrophic injury. A single-month snapshot understates conversion and makes the channel look worse than it is.

How to Calculate LSA Cost Per Case

Once your data is connected, the formula is simple:

• Total LSA spend (rolling 90 days): e.g., $45,000
• Signed cases attributed to LSA (same period): e.g., 18
• LSA cost per case: $45,000 ÷ 18 = $2,500

Now compare that to your other channels. If your digital aggregator is producing cases at $1,800 and LSA is running at $2,500, you have a real number to bring to your budget conversation. That comparison is impossible when you're only looking at cost per lead.

Three LSA Metrics Beyond Cost Per Lead

Connect LSA to your intake and case management systems and you unlock three additional metrics worth tracking every month.

LSA-to-Intake Conversion Rate

What percentage of LSA leads clear the initial intake screen? A rate below 30% often signals a practice area mismatch. Google's LSA algorithm isn't always precise — callers come through for workers' comp, criminal defense, or family law even on PI-configured accounts. Track this monthly and dispute credits for leads that clearly fall outside your case criteria.

Rejection Rate

Of leads that enter intake, what percentage gets rejected — by your team or by the prospect? A rejection rate above 25% is worth investigating. The Google Guarantee badge generates curiosity calls. Not every caller is a ready-to-sign PI claimant.

Case Value Distribution

Not every signed case carries the same settlement value. If LSA consistently delivers soft-tissue matters while your referral network delivers catastrophic injury, cost per case alone tells an incomplete story. A $2,500 cost per case producing $75,000 average settlements beats a $1,500 cost per case producing $22,000 settlements. Track expected case value by channel alongside cost per case.

How to Use LSA Dispute Credits to Improve Your Numbers

Google lets you dispute LSA leads that don't meet your targeting criteria — wrong service area, wrong practice area, no contact made, or repeat callers. Most PI firms leave credits on the table because the dispute process isn't built into anyone's workflow.

Build a monthly LSA audit into your intake reporting. Flag every clearly mismatched lead during the review window. Submit disputes within Google's 30-day cutoff. Firms that do this consistently reduce their effective cost per lead by 10–20% — which flows directly into a lower cost per case.

Comparing LSA to Other Channels: The Right Framework

LSA should never be evaluated in isolation. It's one position in your vendor portfolio, and its performance only means something relative to your other spend. Three comparisons give you an honest view:

• Cost per signed case by channel: LSA vs. digital aggregators vs. SEO vs. TV vs. referral. The single most important cross-channel comparison.
• Case quality score by channel: If you can score cases by severity or expected settlement range, layer that on top of cost per case for a complete picture.
• Lead-to-case conversion rate by channel: LSA leads convert at a different rate than pay-per-click or aggregator leads. Knowing the rate tells you whether intake capacity is being allocated efficiently.

More than 80% of PI firms running LSA make budget decisions from the Google dashboard alone — cost per lead, lead count, total spend. They're optimizing for the wrong metric. Firms that track cost per case by channel can confidently scale winners and cut underperformers.

The Spreadsheet Problem at Scale

You can build this LSA tracking framework in a spreadsheet. For a firm with one or two active channels, that's a reasonable start. But most firms running LSA are also running Google Ads, Facebook, TV, aggregators, and referrals simultaneously. Reconciling spend data against intake records against case outcomes across six channels — manually, monthly — runs 10–15 hours and delivers a report that's already four weeks stale.

A revenue intelligence platform automates that reconciliation. LSA spend, intake data, and case outcomes connect in a single view, updated continuously. The 15-hour reporting exercise becomes a 15-minute review. Cost per case by channel is available when you need it — not just at month-end.

What to Do With Your LSA ROI Data

Once you have a reliable cost per case for LSA, you have three levers:

• Adjust your bid strategy: If cost per case exceeds your target, reduce your daily budget or tighten your service area until the number improves.
• Improve intake handling: If conversion is low, the problem may be response time or script. LSA leads are time-sensitive — a response under 5 minutes significantly improves your close rate.
• Reallocate budget: If LSA cost per case is consistently above your portfolio average, cut the spend and move it to channels where your data shows better economics.

Measuring LSA ROI correctly isn't about reading Google's dashboard. It's about connecting Google's spend data to your intake records and your signed case outcomes. That connection is the foundation of every informed budget decision your firm makes about this channel.

RevenueScale's multi-channel attribution dashboard connects your spend data to case outcomes across LSA and every other channel you run — so every budget decision is backed by cost per case data.