Most defense firm owners read a marketing proposal the way a client reads a plea offer for the first time. They look for the number at the bottom and skim everything above it. That is understandable, but the monthly price tells you very little on its own. Two proposals at the same price can describe very different amounts of work, and one of them may leave you owning nothing when the contract ends.
This guide walks through a marketing proposal section by section, the way you would read a contract from opposing counsel. It covers what each part should say, what to ask when it is vague and which terms deserve a second look before you sign. It does not recommend a budget figure, because the right amount depends on your market and your charges.
Before you sign any marketing proposal
- Ask for a written list of the work included each month
- Confirm in writing that you own the website, content and accounts
- Find the minimum term and what ending the contract early costs
- Ask which reports you will receive and how often
- Check whether ad spend is included in the fee or billed separately
- Ask who at the agency will actually do the work
Start with the scope of work
The scope is the heart of the proposal. A useful scope says what will be delivered and roughly when. “Ongoing SEO optimization” says nothing. “Two new charge pages per month, a monthly review of your Google Business Profile and a technical audit in the first sixty days” says something you can check.
If the scope is vague, ask the provider to rewrite it with specific deliverables. A careful agency will not mind. Some flexibility is normal, since SEO priorities shift as results come in, but you should be able to look at the scope at the end of any month and know whether the agency did what it promised.
Watch for proposals that describe activity without saying what it produces. Phrases like “content strategy” or “authority building” can mean real work or almost none. Ask what you will see as a result of each line.
Separate the fee from the ad budget
If a proposal includes paid search, check whether the monthly figure covers the agency’s management fee only or also the money spent on ads. These are different things. The ad budget goes to Google or another platform. The management fee pays the agency to run the campaigns.
Ask the agency to show both numbers separately and to confirm that the ad accounts are in your firm’s name. When the ad account belongs to the agency, you may lose your campaign history if you leave. If you are weighing how to fund paid ads while organic search builds, this guide to budgeting for the months before SEO starts paying off explains how to plan that bridge and set a limit on it.
Confirm who owns what
Ownership terms are where defense firms most often get hurt. Read the proposal and the contract for answers to these questions. Who owns the website design and code? Who owns the written content? Whose name is on the domain registration, the Google Business Profile, Google Analytics and Google Search Console?
The safest arrangement is simple. Your firm owns the domain, the accounts and the content, and the agency receives access as a user. If the agency builds your site on a platform it controls, ask what happens to the site if you cancel. Some agencies license the site to you only while the contract is active. That may be acceptable, but you should know it before you sign, not when you try to leave.
Read the term and exit clauses closely
Many marketing contracts have a minimum term. Some renew automatically. Find the length of the initial term, the notice period for cancellation and any fee for ending early. Note whether the contract renews for another full term or moves to month to month.
A longer term is not always a bad sign. SEO takes time, and an agency investing heavily in the first months has a reason to want commitment. The problem is a long term paired with a vague scope, since that leaves you paying for months with no clear way to judge the work.
Check the termination clause for what the agency must hand over when the contract ends. That list should include logins, content files and any data it collected for you.
Ask what the reports will show
A proposal should say what reporting you will get and how often. Monthly reports are common. What matters is whether those reports connect to your business. A chart of rankings for a dozen phrases tells you something. A report showing calls, form submissions and the pages that produced them tells you more.
Ask the agency to include, at minimum, organic search traffic to your charge pages, calls and direction requests from your Google Business Profile and form submissions by source. Ask how they will help you connect those leads to signed cases. You will need to record the source of each new client on your side, since no agency can see inside your case management system.
If you want to go further with measurement, the guides on legal marketing analytics explain how to read search data and connect it to intake without a full time analyst.
Check the ethics and advertising language
Your firm is responsible for its advertising, even when an agency writes it. Read any sample copy in the proposal with your state’s advertising rules in mind. Look for promises of results, claims of being the best or a specialist where your state limits that word, and testimonials used without the required disclaimers.
Ask the agency how it handles attorney review. A good answer is that nothing goes live on your site or profiles until a lawyer at the firm approves it. Check your state bar’s advertising rules before approving anything, and keep a record of what you approved and when.
Questions about marketing proposals
Should I get more than one proposal?
Yes. Comparing two or three proposals makes vague scopes easier to spot, since a specific proposal shows what a vague one is leaving out.
Is a guaranteed ranking a good sign?
No. Google controls its results and no agency can promise a position. Treat a ranking guarantee as a reason to ask harder questions.
What if the agency will not put ownership terms in writing?
Treat that as a serious concern. Ownership of your domain, accounts and content should be clear in the contract before any work begins.
Can I negotiate the minimum term?
Often you can. Ask whether a shorter first term is possible, or whether the agency will allow cancellation if agreed deliverables are not met.
This guide is part of SBD Marketing’s coverage of law firm marketing budgets. SBD Marketing works only with criminal defense law firms.
SBD Marketing · info@sbdmarketing.agency · Book a call: sbdmarketing.agency/scheduling · Serving criminal defense law firms across the USA · sbdmarketing.agency
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