What is PPC advertising for Doctors?
But, just like any marketing strategy, creating a successful PPC campaign requires careful planning and execution.
The key is to create high-conversion campaigns that deliver relevant ads to the right people, at the right time and place and ultimately, conversions.
By following few best practices and leveraging the right tools and platforms, doctors can increase their online visibility and reach more potential patients than ever before.
So, if you’re looking to take your practice’s digital online marketing efforts to the next level, dive into the world of PPC ad advertising and see what it can do for you!
What is Your Game Plan For Running Paid Ads?
You can’t just jump right in and start spending money willy nilly.
You need a game plan, and this game plan is called campaign objectives
Here are the common campaign objectives for Google Ads:
The common objectives for a facebook ad campaign are:
Even though Facebook and Google present their ad campaign objectives differently, you’ll find that they’re quite alike in what they aim to achieve.
There are many campaign objectives that will not be relevant for medical practices. So it is important to get a better understanding of what exactly each campaign objective is.
What Is The Best PPC Campaign Objective For Doctors?
Choosing the right campaign objective for your medical clinic depends on your marketing budget.
For majority of the time, doctors typically are selling a particular procedure or service. It is inherintly different than running an online e-commerce store. So there are some campaign objectives that are not applicable for a medical office such as “App Installs” and “Sales”.
Lead Generation is the best campaign objective for small to medium sized medical practices.
Our experience with medical practices across the U.S. shows that focusing on lead generation campaigns allows for the creation of targeted campaigns for each specific procedure or service a doctor offers.
By optimizing these campaigns, we can achieve the most cost-effective leads when everything is set up correctly.
This method also provides the cost per lead, enabling you to easily determine the return on investment (ROI) of your ad spend.
By creating separate PPC campaigns for each specific service, like dental implants or fillers, you’re able to make the most of your money. This method allows you to carefully adjust and improve each campaign independently, focusing on what works best for each service.
Additionally, by targeting your ads to your local area, you’re reaching the people most likely to become your patients.
More Budget? Expand with Brand Awareness:
With more funds at your disposal, you can broaden your reach with brand awareness campaigns.
These campaigns allow you to promote your clinic as a whole, highlighting everything from the range of services you offer to the expertise of your staff.
This type of campaign is a good investment when you have a larger budget, as it helps to build your clinic’s reputation and recognition in the community, making you a top choice for potential patients.
The downside of a brand awareness campaign can be costly and might not lead to quick sales, making it hard to see a return on investment (ROI) right away.
Plus, with so many ads out there, it can be tough for your campaign to get noticed.
Next Steps: Launching Your PPC Campaign
Now that you’re ready to dive into PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, the next question is: do you manage the ads on your own, or do you partner with an agency? Both options have their pros and cons, and it’s important to weigh them before making a decision.
Managing Ads On Your Own vs. Working with an Agency
| Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Managing Ads On Your Own | – Full control over your budget and ad strategy – Lower upfront cost – Greater transparency on day-to-day performance | – Requires expertise in PPC and analytics – Time-consuming – Learning curve with tools like Google Ads |
| Working with an Agency | – Access to PPC experts and advanced tools – Saves time and allows you to focus on patient care – Professional reporting and insights | – Higher upfront cost due to management fees – May lose some level of hands-on control – Results depend on the quality of the agency |
If you’re a hands-on individual with experience in PPC, managing the ads yourself could work well. However, if you’re looking for a more time-efficient solution with a team that can optimize campaigns, an agency might be your best bet.
The First Step: Identifying Keywords
Whether you choose to manage the campaigns yourself or hire an agency, the first step is figuring out the keywords you want to target. Keywords are the foundation of any PPC campaign because they determine when and where your ads will appear.
Start by asking yourself a few key questions:
- What services do potential patients search for most often?
- Are there specific terms tied to your geographic area?
- Do people search for certain symptoms or conditions that lead them to your clinic?
Using tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush can help you identify relevant keywords. Focus on both short-tail keywords (e.g., “plastic surgery”) and long-tail keywords (e.g., “best tummy tuck surgeon in Miami”) to capture a broad and highly targeted audience. By nailing your keywords, you set a solid foundation for driving high-quality traffic to your clinic.
Choosing Profitable PPC Keywords for Medical Clinics
Once you know what you want your ad campaign to do, it’s time for the second step: finding the right keywords.
It’s actually incredibly easy to choose profitable keywords for your healthcare PPC campaigns.
Step 1: Pick the Medical Service You'd like to Sell
Identifying a service to promote starts by evaluating which of your services are most in demand or profitable. Think about what your clinic specializes in or what services you’d like to grow. This might be a popular service like routine check-ups, or a niche service that sets your clinic apart.
Step 2: Think Like a Patient
For the services you’ve chosen, consider what terms or phrases patients might use when searching online. For example, if you’ve chosen to promote your pediatric care, potential patients might search for “best child doctor near me” or “pediatrician in [your town].” Try to use these phrases as your keywords.
Step 3: Use Keyword Tools
Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find related keywords for your chosen services. This tool shows you how often people search for those terms. For instance, if you’re a plastic surgeon promoting liposuction, the tool might show that people often search for “fat removal surgery” as well. It can suggest this alternate phrase, helping you capture a larger audience.
How To Use Google Keyword Planner
Learning to use Google’s Keyword Planner can take some time and research. Check out this tutorial video to help you get started.
After deciding on the service and pinpointing the keywords you want to target, it’s time for the next step in making your ad: creating a compelling copy.
Creating a Landing Page Optimized for Selling Your Service
Creating a high-conversion PPC campaign is easier said than done. The key lies in creating compelling ad copy that not only captures the attention of potential patients but also persuades them to take action.
What makes an ad copy compelling?
A compelling landing page for doctors is one that’s easy to look at, focuses only on one service they provide, and covers these important points:
- Keyword Use: Incorporate relevant and localized keywords to attract your target audience. For instance, “pediatric dentist in [Your City]”.
- Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Clearly state what differentiates your practice from others, like unique treatments, advanced technology, or superior patient care.
- Call-to-Action (CTA): Encourage potential patients to take immediate action, such as booking an appointment or calling for a consultation.
- Special Offers or Discounts: If applicable, mention any promotions, discounts, or free consultations to entice potential patients.
- Patient Testimonials: If space allows, including positive reviews or testimonials can build trust and credibility.
- Location and Contact Information: Ensure you include your practice’s location and contact information for easy accessibility.
Example of a Great Landing Page That Sells
Why does this rhinoplasty landing page excel in effectiveness? It primarily boils down to these key aspects:
- An Offer: It offers a free consultation. This is a great way to draw patients in.
- Focused: The page only talks about one service, the nose job. This keeps it simple and easy to understand.
- Clear and Short: The page uses simple, short sentences, which means anyone can quickly get the main points.
- Proof in Pictures: It shows ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures. This helps people see the kind of results they can expect.
- Location Info: The page tells you where the doctor’s office is. This helps people plan their visit.
- Call to Action: It has a Call to Action (CTA), like a “Get Instant Quote” button. This is a way to get contact information from people who might become patients.
Each of these points helps make the page really good at selling the service and getting potential patients interested.
Implement Conversion Tracking (Very Important)
What are PPC Conversions?
Why Do We Need to Track Conversions?
Tracking conversions is like your navigation system in the world of online advertising. It helps you understand which ads and keywords are effective and which ones aren’t.
By keeping an eye on conversions, you can identify what’s driving patients to take action, which can then guide your decision-making.
Do we need to put more money into certain campaigns? Or maybe pull back on others? Conversion tracking helps answer these questions.
Plus, it gives us insights into our return on investment (ROI), showing us whether our advertising dollars are well-spent.
How to Track Conversions?
To track conversions, you need to set up a conversion tracking tool. If you’re using Google Ads, they have a built-in feature for this. Here’s a simplified process:
- First, you’ll create a conversion action in your Google Ads account. This tells Google what actions (like booking an appointment or filling out a contact form) count as conversions for you.
- Next, you’ll install a piece of code, called a “tag”, on your website. This tag allows Google to record when an action has been completed.
- Finally, you can start monitoring your conversions directly within your Google Ads account. Over time, this data will give you a solid understanding of how well your ads are performing and where to adjust your efforts.
Drive traffic to high-converting pages
After launching several PPC campaigns for your medical practice, it’s essential to see which ones are attracting more patients – these are our most successful campaigns.
For these high-performing campaigns, we should allocate more of our advertising budget.
Conversely, the campaigns that aren’t drawing in as many patients should receive a smaller portion of our budget.
Once multiple campaigns have been in play, we’ll begin to understand the cost associated with acquiring each new patient, also known as a “lead”.
The campaigns that are the most effective will be those with the lowest cost per lead.
Therefore, it makes sense to direct more of our advertising budget towards the campaigns that are bringing in patients most cost-effectively.
Test Different Ad Formats
Are you a doctor looking to attract more patients to your practice?
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be a great way to connect with potential patients online.
But with so many different ad formats available, how do you know which one will work best for your practice?
The key is to test, test, and test some more.
By trying out different ad campaigns and tracking your results, you can find the perfect combination that will help you achieve high conversion rates and bring in more patients than ever before.
We’ll give you all the tips and tricks you need to create a winning PPC campaign that’s tailored specifically to the needs of your medical practice.
Leveraging Ad Extensions
Ad extensions are additional pieces of information that can be added to your Google Ads. They not only enhance the visibility of your ads but also provide extra reasons for people to choose your services. Utilizing ad extensions can significantly increase your conversion rate by making your ads more attractive and informative.
Here are the different types of ad extensions:
- Sitelink Extensions: These allow you to add additional links to your ads, leading users directly to specific pages on your site such as ‘Contact Us’, ‘Our Services’, or ‘Book an Appointment’. This makes it easier for potential patients to navigate to relevant information.
- Call Extensions: By using call extensions, you can add a phone number or call button to your ads. This can significantly improve conversion rates by making it simple for potential patients to contact your practice directly from the search results.
- Location Extensions: These show your practice’s address, a “Call” button, and a link to your business details page, which can include your hours, photos, and directions. This makes it easier for patients to find and visit your practice.
- Callout Extensions: Callout extensions allow you to add additional descriptive text to your ad to showcase specific aspects of your service. For instance, you can highlight ’24/7 Service’, ‘Experienced Staff’, or ‘Free Consultation’.
- Structured Snippet Extensions: These allow you to highlight specific aspects of your services. For example, a medical practice might highlight ‘Services: Physical Exams, Vaccinations, Health Screenings’.
Geotargeting Your Campaigns
Geotargeting is a powerful tool in PPC advertising, enabling you to specify the geographical areas where your ads will be shown. This can significantly increase your conversions, particularly for a local business like a medical practice.
With geotargeting, you can focus your advertising on areas where your potential patients are located. This might include the city or town where your practice is based, or perhaps a wider radius if you serve a larger area. For instance, if your medical practice is in Boston, you can target your ads to users within Boston and its surrounding areas.
Monitor Competitors
As a medical professional, running a successful practice goes beyond providing quality care. One key aspect to monitor is your competition. With the rise of digital marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has become a popular way to draw in potential patients. It’s essential to know what your competition is doing and how you can stand out from the crowd.
Manage Negative Keyword List
In optimizing your PPC campaigns, negative keywords – the terms you don’t want triggering your ads – are incredibly useful. Start by identifying irrelevant search terms for your medical practice.
For instance, if you specialize in pediatrics, words like “veterinarian” or “adult doctor” might be irrelevant. Adding such terms as negative keywords ensures your ads don’t appear for those who aren’t your target audience, thus saving your budget for more relevant clicks.
FAQ's
Yes, doctors should be aware of and comply with regulations and guidelines set forth by relevant authorities, such as medical boards and advertising standards organizations. Ensure your ads and landing pages adhere to legal and ethical standards, provide accurate information, and avoid making false claims or guarantees. It’s advisable to consult with legal professionals or marketing experts familiar with healthcare industry advertising regulations.
