Build Effective Healthcare Advertising Campaigns That Will Drive More Patients

Andrea OzelloAuthor: Andrea Ozello
Updated on 05/25/2023

Companies in every industry can benefit from the flexibility and complete targeting that pay-per-click services can provide, and that is no different for those who are in the medical field and healthcare sector.

From text ads to video and everything in-between, there are various ways a PPC campaign can help bring your business the increase of potential patients you’re looking for. Below we share our guide on how to make the most of these PPC campaigns to help you in your paid marketing efforts. However, if you are looking for services to help you run or manage your campaigns, please feel free to reach out to us via the form at right.

“John Sammon at Sixth City Marketing is the “go to guy” for SEO and PPC! John’s always been available when I have had healthcare marketing questions and he provides good insight on areas I may not have considered. I don’t ever fill out these, but John Sammon is just that good!” – Michael Buser, Teleradiology Consultants, LLC

What Is Pay-Per-Click?

Pay-per-click, also known as PPC, is a type of digital advertising conducted through select platforms to run online ads on search engines, social media, websites, apps, and more. In this digital marketing model, the advertiser is charged every time a user clicks on the ad. With PPC, you have exclusive targeting tools available that allow you to direct your ads to a specific audience. Different types of targeting include location, demographic, language, search intent, etc.

When executed properly, paid advertising methods are a very effective form of marketing. If not, you can lose money and generate poor-quality leads. To prevent this from happening, take a look at the following tips for building an effective PPC campaign for your healthcare business.

Best Paid Channels for Medical Centers and Healthcare Providers

With PPC marketing for healthcare, advertisers have the ability to reach thousands of potential patients on a variety of channels, such as:

  • Google – As the most popular search engine, millions of users open Google every day to research their next potential practitioner, nearby urgent care centers, and assorted healthcare providers. Having ads on Google will put you front and center in the eyes of your potential new clients.
  • Bing – Internet users over the age of 55 have been identified to be the top group of Bing searchers, meaning it is a great outlet for running specific campaigns to target that unique group.
  • Facebook – Just as people use search engines, they are also turning to social media sites such as Facebook to interact with their trusted peers. Displaying ads as they check in on loved ones is a great way to get your brand noticed.
  • YouTube – With testimonials from current patients, stories on how your care helped a family in need, and even behind-the-scenes looks at your facility, video can be a great way to advertise your company online.

Helpful Pay-Per-Click Tips for Healthcare Companies

If you’re looking to attract more patients through paid healthcare advertising, you’ll want to start by developing an effective PPC strategy. Here are a few of our essential tips:

Set Your Budget

First off, you’ll want to set a budget for your PPC campaigns. Healthcare PPC is budget-friendly, giving you complete control on how much or how little you choose to spend. When determining a monthly budget, consider competitors and the top keywords you want to target. You will only be paying when a user clicks on your ad.

PPC platforms vary, but there is usually an option to set a daily budget. Be careful when choosing this, as many of these platforms may go over or under the daily spend budget.

Choose the Right Keywords

Many healthcare businesses use general, overused keywords that end up devouring their PPC budget. If you want your campaigns to perform, you want to use relevant and specific keywords associated with your specific healthcare field. Think about what your potential patients are going to search for. Some possible examples could include:

General

  • “healthcare professionals near me”
  • “healthcare services [city or state]”

Doctors’ office

  • Doctor’s office near me
  • Find doctor’s office [city or state]

Eye care specialist

  • Eye care specialist near [city]
  • Eye care practices near me
  • Eye care services

You can use your knowledge of the healthcare industry along with keyword research to find the best-suited keywords for your campaigns. In contrast, don’t forget to take advantage of negative keywords by excluding any terms that are irrelevant to what you offer or want to target (such as job-related searches).

Narrow Down Your Audience

When it comes to paid healthcare advertising, understanding the search intent of the user allows you to reach your prequalified audience. Is the patient in need of emergency services? Are they looking for a healthcare specialist in a certain area? Narrowing down your audience as much as possible will boost the number of high-quality searches and conversions for your practice.

In PPC campaigns, targeting can be adjusted by geographic location, interest and intent, age, income, language, and more.

Use Captivating Ad Copy

Once a user searches for one of your targeted keywords, compelling, relevant ad copy is what will determine whether or not they decide to click. Writing fresh, attention-grabbing headlines and descriptions is essential to the success of your healthcare ads.

Create Landing Pages Unique to Your Healthcare Business

If a user decides to click on your ad, don’t just send them to your website’s homepage. Instead, send them to a highly targeted landing page that is specifically curated to align with your ad. Make sure to use clear messaging and calls to action so that your target audience is more likely to convert.

Frequently Asked Questions About Healthcare PPC Campaigns

We want you to have a better knowledge of PPC, here are some of the top frequently asked questions about the PPC industry and its relation to the healthcare/medical field.

Do I set my own budget

Yes. With PPC, you are completely in control over your budget. The amount you choose to allocate to your campaigns is up to you. Depending on performance and results, our team will recommend increasing budgets or pulling back on specific underperforming campaigns or ad groups.

Can I advertise on both search engines and social media?

Of course! Pay-per-click advertising on search engines is an excellent way to generate leads for your office or practice. As for social media platforms, advertising there allows you to reach your target audience in a different capacity, highlighting your practice from a different, perhaps more visual, perspective.

What are some of the ways you manage campaigns?

Our team has a specific approach for managing healthcare/medical PPC campaigns. We have various typical tasks we apply to make sure your campaign is running effectively. We monitor the search queries that produce clicks, keep an eye on the daily and monthly budgets, add negative keywords, bid up on top-performing terms, and adjust targeting as we see fit.

Can I advertise to a specific audience or group of people?

Yes! One of the biggest advantages of paid advertising is the exclusive targeting capabilities. With specific PPC platforms, you can aim ads to a specific group of users, also known as remarketing. You can target groups based on age, income, interests, location, and more. With these unique targeting tools, you’ll be able to attract more qualified patients.

How will you keep in contact on the progress of my campaign?

Don’t hesitate to email or call us at any time with questions or concerns about your campaign’s progress. You’ll also always be working with a dedicated account manager and PPC strategist, who you will meet with on a monthly basis at a minimum. In addition, our team will send you a monthly summary of your campaign, broken down by key metrics such as form submissions, phone calls, cost per click, and more.

Our PPC Approach for the Healthcare Industry

Digital advertising in healthcare can be complicated, but we are here to help. When you decide to partner with our medical PPC experts, you will receive our utmost care and attention to your campaigns through the following approaches:

Competitor Analysis

One of the first things we do when you team up with our PPC agency is take a close look at your competition, either local or national depending on your business, and assess what parts of our strategy will be pertinent in getting you leads.

Keyword Research

We will work closely with you and anyone else on your team to create a list of terms you’d like to target based on various factors such as search volume, competitiveness, price per click, and more.

Unique Landing Pages

Since we also have design experts on our staff, we are able to design landing pages that can accompany your ads. These pages will reflect your brand but also encompass design-for-conversion tactics that many websites neglect.

Competitive Copy

On both your ads that display to users and your landing pages that we send them to, we craft copy that will push users to click on your ads and ultimately convert.

Detail Planning

From ensuring that your ads only run during the most optimal times to making sure that your monthly budget is met and managed, we do a great deal of planning to help your campaign be on schedule and succeed.

Tailored Management

Since every campaign we run is different, whether in terms of its ad type, the company’s goals, or other factors, we have a set of different management tasks that we perform that will keep your campaigns in the best shape.

Dedicated Support

In addition to being in contact with our in-house PPC team, you will also have an account manager working closely with you for all communications. Building strong client relationships is a key goal at our agency.

Telehealth’s Unique Advantage for PPC

With the digital world soaring as more and more people turn to virtual check-ups or initial appointments, your website could benefit from unique campaigns targeting these terms that promote your telehealth abilities.

Why You Should Choose Sixth City Marketing for Your Healthcare PPC Campaign

Sixth City Marketing is a national PPC agency, with offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Houston, and Chicago, but we would be happy to assist your business no matter where you are located. We have decades of experience in running paid campaigns for healthcare practices and medical offices that have both national and hyper-local focuses.

And since opening our doors in 2010, we have helped businesses in a large variety of industries. So no matter your niche in the healthcare sector, we can help you get more leads online through our paid marketing efforts.

We’d be happy to help the following healthcare-related companies and professionals:

  • Caregivers
  • Doctors of all specialties
  • Healthcare providers and more
“We called on Sixth City as well as a number of other company’s to make a proposal for a new look, and a better run WordPress website for the Lake County Health District. They were low pressure, more problem solving, and step up where we needed, but also let us do things that we needed. In the end our new look is a very functional well branded site, and they were professional, knowledgeable, and precise with their help in our website build. We went through all of our own content, and up our game as well. So we are pretty pleased with the result.” – Lake County Health District

Contact Our Team to Start Your Healthcare PPC Campaign

When it comes to healthcare and medical PPC services, Sixth City Marketing is the best choice for driving qualified leads.Use the form on this page or utilize our chat box below to start a conversation on how our PPC services can help you reach new patients and ultimately grow your practice.

Our Partners & Awards