Marketing for medical practices can be complex. It can also be different from traditional advertising. Digital ads for medical practices rarely center on low prices and seasonal sales. You can’t expect to create demand for knee replacement surgery with an exciting ad campaign.
But digital ads, like Google Ads, are actually perfect for doctors and dentists. Digital ads for medical practices reach the right people. The value to the practice of a new patient is high enough to ensure a good ROI. And most people now use Google to search for medical and health care information — before they consult a professional.
Digital ads put you in control
Running an ad on TV may make you feel like you’re using the Rolls Royce of advertising, but your colonoscopy ads will reach far more people who don’t want or need a colonoscopy than people who do. No matter how you set it up, most of the people who see your ad will not want your services. Even something as general as an ad for your dental practice, which serves children to seniors for general dentistry, will be seen most by people who already have a dentist and/or are not in the market for a dentist for some other reason.
Google Ads are cost-per-click ads that show up for people who are specifically looking for the goods and services mentioned in the ads. Your ads for mammograms are seen by people searching Google for mammograms. Not the much larger audience of people who don’t want or need a mammogram. And since you only pay when people click through to see your web page, you don’t pay for all those other people.
This is the huge difference between broadcast ads and digital ads, and it makes a huge difference in ROI for medical practices.
Digital ads provide data
When you put up a billboard offering “Compassionate care for the whole family,” you hope people will see it. You may ask your patients where they found you, and some may remember the billboard, but the truth is, you don’t know how the billboard performs. You probably use that billboard as part of an overall marketing mix, and you can’t tell how it works on its own or in conjunction with your other ad efforts.
When you run digital ads, you can see exactly how they perform:
- where they show on the search results page
- what the click-through rate is for each ad
- how much each ad costs you
- what the conversion rate is at your website
… and much more.
By using this data to tweak your ads, you can then make sure that you pay the least possible for the best possible results. Reducing the cost of your ads and increasing their effectiveness is part of your ongoing Google Ads management.
Digital ads capture attention
You can place banner ads at specific websites, such as a local newspaper website or a popular blog related to your area of specialization. But some 40% of consumers use ad blockers and many more just ignore ads that are not directly relevant to their current needs… just as so many of us ignore traditional print and broadcast ads.
People who are looking for a solution to a health problem, whether that’s a need for a new dentist or a painful shoulder, search online. They look first for information about the problem, and then for solutions. Your well-targeted ads will catch their attention — not because of clever headlines or branding, but because they offer a solution to the problem.
Your ads can be very specific, reaching out at no extra cost to people with many different specific needs. You’re not likely to create multiple TV ads speaking to people with painful shoulders, necks, heads, arms, and backs, even though you can help each one of those people. The cost would be prohibitive. With Google Ads, you can offer separate, specific ads to each of those people without increasing your cost. So a person with a sore shoulder will be looking for help for that sore shoulder, and will see your ad about sore shoulders. There’s no reason to ignore that ad.
At this point, digital ads make a lot more sense than traditional ads. Fewer and fewer people see print and broadcast ads. Fewer trust them. Yet they still cost more than digital ads.
Learn more about digital ads with our free e-book, or call Rosie at 479.966.9761 to get started right away. We can help you configure digital ads for your medical practice that will provide a good return on your investment.
Leave a Reply