How to Set Up Google Ads for Healthcare and Medical Practices

Patients often start their search for medical services online. Enter Google Ads for doctors—an essential tool that allows medical practices to connect with new patients directly through Google’s search results.

If you have ever wondered how to harness Google PPC ads to boost appointments, improve visibility for your practice, and reach those patients seeking care, look no further. This article is your guide on all the essentials of setting up Google Ads for healthcare and ensuring you get the best results without putting your budget on life support.

Why Medical Practices Should Invest in Google Ads

PPC ads allow you to meet patients where they are—on search engines. When a patient has a health concern or needs a specialist, they often first turn to Google.

The benefits of pay-per-click are clear when you consider health-related searches totaling 70,000 every minute on Google. 

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Think of Google Ads for doctors as the spotlight that puts your practice front and center and at the top of Google page results. It enables visibility to high-intent Google search results — not just people casually browsing around but those ready to book a consultation or seek urgent care. This differs from social media, where people could be scrolling and randomly come across an ad. Online ads capture attention right at that very moment when people are looking for solutions to their health needs.

They target patients based on location, demographics, and medical needs. With geographic targeting, for example, your ads pop up for patients searching for services in your city or neighborhood until every click is more likely to be translated into an actual appointment. 

Google search drives three times more hospital site visitors than non-search traffic. This makes Google Ads for doctors a powerful tool for reaching patients actively searching for care. 

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Interest-based targeting implies that you’re focusing your advertisements on people looking up specific conditions or treatments, such as “physical therapy for knee pain” or “pediatricians near me”. That’s precision — in other words, not just casting a wide net but fishing in the right pond.

Unlike traditional advertising, Google Ads for doctors can enable you to control how much money you spend and track your return on that investment. You’ll know just how many clicks, calls, or appointments your ads are driving; with those numbers, you can optimize your campaigns on real data.

Related Content: How to Optimize Google Ads Effectively: Proven Tips and Strategies

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Google Ads for Medical Practices

Before setting up, take some time to define your goals. Do you want to increase patient appointments, promote your new service, or create brand awareness? Let these be very clear and measurable since these will drive everything, from ad copy to targeting settings.

Define Your Advertising Goals

First things first: you need to define what you want to achieve from any advertising campaign. Whether you want to drive more new appointments, promote your specialty services, or elevate general brand awareness, your objectives should be quantifiable and Objective related to the overall business goals of your practice.

For example, if your goal is to book more patients, your ad strategy will include conversion-driven approaches, which in some cases may be achieved by optimizing landing pages and CTAs.

Example Goals

Setting specific, measurable goals is key to structuring a successful Google Ads campaign. Here are some examples:

 

Goal	Strategy
Increase new patient appointments by 15% next quarter	Use high-intent keywords like ‘book doctor appointment near me’ and action-focused CTAs such as ‘Schedule an Appointment Today.’  Target local patients, and use location extensions to show proximity to potential clients.
Promote new services like telemedicine	Focus on service-specific keywords like ‘online doctor consultations’ or ‘virtual healthcare.’  Add call extensions for direct bookings, and expand your geographical reach since telemedicine eliminates location barriers.
Drive 300 visits to your landing page per month	Use broad-match keywords and ad copy that encourages clicks. Ensure your landing page is optimized with a clear CTA, guiding visitors to either book appointments or contact your practice.

 

Choose the Right Keywords

Choosing the right keywords ensures the success of any Google Ads campaign, especially in healthcare. This is because keywords control whether, when, and where your ads show up on the Google search results page. Symptoms and conditions are obvious searches for patients as they approach the moment of conversion, and targeting these high-intent keywords can boost your chances of turning clicks into patient appointments.

Tools like Google Keyword Planner enable you to find the most relevant and effective keywords that capture traffic. This way, you can choose keywords, including high search volume and competitive bids, which enable your ads to balance broad match terms — for example, “doctor near me”-and long-tail keywords-example, “best pediatric dentist in Los Angeles.” This is where, with long-tail keyword targeting, you capture more patients who have specific needs and will more likely book an appointment.

Tips for Selecting Keywords

 

Strategy	Description
Target High-Intent Keywords	Focus on keywords like ‘urgent care near me’ or ‘pediatrician in [your city]’ that signal immediate needs.  These attract users actively seeking services, making them more likely to convert into appointments.
Balance Broad and Long-Tail Keywords	Combine broad keywords like ‘dermatologist’ for wider reach with long-tail keywords like ‘best dermatologist for acne in Los Angeles’ to target specific patient needs, ensuring both reach and relevance.
Use Negative Keywords	Negative keywords help filter out irrelevant searches.  For example, adding ‘free’ as a negative keyword prevents your ad from showing in searches for free consultations, focusing your budget on relevant clicks.
Leverage Google Keyword Planner	Google Keyword Planner helps identify relevant search terms used by future patients.  It provides insights on keyword volumes, competitiveness, and bid estimates to prioritize effective keywords for your campaign.

 

These strategies and tools align your keyword choices with patient search behavior, thus making your Google Ads campaigns more efficient, possibly leading to more patient appointments.

 

Keyword Type	Example	Purpose
High-Intent	“urgent care near me”	Target users ready to book an appointment
Long-Tail	“best pediatric dentist NYC”	Captures specific patient needs and local searches
Negative	“free consultation”	Avoids clicks from users looking for unpaid services

 

Create Compelling Ad Copy

Consider your ad copy as the triage nurse of your practice — it’s the first point of contact; make sure it leaves an impression! In healthcare, clarity is paramount. Prospective patients need to know, within a millisecond, what their service offerings are and why they should care about you. Take this opportunity to craft appropriate strong calls to action that will inspire potential patients to take that next step.

 

Ad Copy Tips	Explanation
Assure the Searcher Quickly	Your ad copy must immediately convey that your practice is the solution they need, whether for urgent care, telemedicine, or specialized treatments.
Reflect Search Terms	Include actual search terms and keywords patients are likely to use. This keeps your ad relevant and better aligned with search queries.
Appeal to Wants & Needs	Address patients’ desire for control, convenience, cost savings, and peace of mind. Highlight quick appointments, affordability, and specialized care.
Features & Benefits	Promote features like “Telemedicine Appointments” but focus on benefits such as convenience or expert care, showing patients what they gain by choosing you.
Follow Google’s Rules	Adhere to Google’s character limits and avoid making unrealistic claims or promises. Ensure compliance with formatting, like avoiding excessive punctuation.
Test Variations	Continuously test different headlines and descriptions. Adjust based on performance data to optimize for what resonates best with your audience.

 

Set Your Budget and Bidding Strategy

When you set a Google Ads budget, you’re trying to balance your marketing goals and your budget. You want to make sure that, without overspending, you don’t burn through your dollars too fast; don’t make the budget too low because this will reduce the campaign’s effectiveness. Set it conservatively, monitor the performance closely, and adjust when needed for spending optimization and outcomes.

Following are some common bidding strategies for a healthcare campaign.

• Cost-Per-Click (CPC): This is when you pay every time your ad is clicked. This model often will work best for website traffic and awareness creation campaigns, as you will never pay for impressions, just high-value clicks.
• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): With CPA, you pay ONLY when there is a conversion; that is when someone books an appointment. It is usually better for practices seeking direct and measurable actions, such as setting consultations or signups for service.
• Automated Bidding: Automated bidding involves several automated bidding strategies offered by Google, all of which adjust your bid in real time to help you achieve the most conversions on budget. This will save tons of time and optimize the campaign even if one is just starting with Google Ads for doctors,  or has no time to make manual bid adjustments.

 

Budgeting Tips	Explanation
Optimized Targeting	Refine location, demographic, and interest-based targeting to ensure your ads reach the most relevant audience.
Precise Goals and Strategy	Define clear campaign objectives such as increasing appointments or promoting new services to create a focused budget and ad strategy.
Ad Copy and Extensions	Develop engaging ad copy that resonates with your target audience and leverage ad extensions to boost traffic and engagement.
Keyword Relevance & Quality Score	Use relevant keywords and maintain a high-quality score to make your ads more effective and cost-efficient.
Conversion Tracking & Data Analysis	Track important conversions like appointments and inquiries. Use this data to adjust your budget for higher-value actions.
Continuous Monitoring & Optimization	Regularly monitor your ad performance and adjust bids, targeting, and ad copy to optimize for maximum efficiency.

 

Campaign Budgets and Daily Spends

The account level budget sets a total spend limit across all your campaigns. When this is reached, your ads will stop running, regardless of what date range has been specified for that campaign. You can also use average daily budgets for your campaigns to manage spending within a certain period.

Example

Set an account budget of $1,000 for April, and your campaigns reach that amount on Day 25 of the month. All ads will stop running. To spread your spend across the entire month, you could apply daily budgets. For example: give Campaign 1 $750 and Campaign 2 $250. Divide each by 30 days:

• Campaign 1: $750 ÷ 30 = $25/day 
• Campaign 2: $250÷ 30 = $8.33/day 

This way, you will evenly spread your budget throughout the month.

Set Up Targeting Options

With targeting options that work like a precision-guided scalpel, Google advertising helps you reach the exact patients you’re looking for. For each type of Google Ads, it’s important to customize them.

Healthcare Targeting Options

• Geographic Targeting: Target locals by selecting a city, region, or even a custom radius around your clinic.
• Demographic targeting: This allows fine-tuning by age, gender, or household income. Such options prove to be very helpful, especially to those practices that specialize in services such as pediatric or geriatric care.
• Interest-Based Targeting: This is used to reach individuals with specific health interests or searching for certain conditions.

Monitor and Optimize Your Campaigns

Just like your patients require regular check-ups, online ads need regular monitoring and optimization to stay effective. Without such adjustments, your campaigns could lose efficiency or opportunities, and sometimes even risk overspending. Here is how you can track down main metrics and probably strategize to help you optimize for success:

Key Metrics to Track for Optimization

• CTR Click-Through Rate

CTR is the ratio of clicks to impressions that tells you how well your ad is resonating with users. A good CTR informs you that your ad is creating curiosity. To improve:

 

A/B Test Ad Variants	Experiment with different headlines, CTAs, or descriptions to identify which version garners more clicks.
Refine Keyword Targeting	Ensure your keywords align with patient search intent and are highly relevant to the healthcare services you are promoting.
Ad Copy Improvement	Revise ad messaging to focus on patient needs or clearly state a value proposition, such as “Book an Appointment Today,” to drive more engagement and conversions.

 

• Conversion Rate

This is the number of clicks that turn into an appointment or inquiry. Conversion rate is one good way you know your landing page and CTA are working as best as possible to convert your traffic into a patient. The average conversion rate for healthcare ads is 6.96%, while CTRs for Google Ads increased 5% in 2024, showing that ads are getting increasingly effective by capturing user interest. Tips to improve:

 

Optimization Strategy	Explanation
Optimize Landing Pages	Ensure landing pages are user-friendly, fast-loading, and mobile-optimized for a better user experience.
A/B Test Variant CTAs	Test different CTAs to find which drives the most conversions and encourages patients to take action.
Target High-Intent Keywords	Focus on high-intent keywords like “urgent care near me” or “physician appointments” to capture leads ready to convert.

 

• CPC – Cost-Per-Click

CPC measures how much you pay every time someone clicks on your ad. Keeping the CPC in check ensures that you are not overspending on low-quality clicks. Refined bidding strategy:

 

Optimization Strategy	Explanation
Establish a Clear Budget	Continuously adjust daily and total account budgets based on campaign performance.
Automated Bidding	Use automated bidding algorithms like Target CPA and Maximize Conversions for efficient results.
Bid Monitoring and Modification	Regularly review your CPC to reallocate bids to high-performing keywords and reduce spend on underperforming ones.
A/B Test Regularly	Test different ad variations (headlines, images, CTAs) to find what resonates best with your audience.
Optimize Targeting	Reassess geographic, demographic, and keyword targeting to focus on the most relevant patient groups.
Reassign Budget	Reallocate the budget to campaigns or ad groups that are delivering better performance to maximize conversions.

 

Best Practices for Google Ads in Healthcare

The following discusses the best strategies that will make your online ads campaign effective, and compliant, and build trust with potential patients:

1. Follow Advertising Regulations

Healthcare ads must strictly follow Google’s policies to avoid misleading claims, such as promising guaranteed outcomes or a “100% cure.” Non-compliance may lead to ad disapproval, account suspension, or permanent bans. Therefore, all claims must be factually correct and concise to stay compliant.

Other key considerations include HIPAA compliance, ensuring that ads cannot be matched with personally identifiable information or sensitive targeting parameters. Instead, focus on promoting your services with general, informative language, and avoid mentioning specific patient cases that could risk a privacy breach.

2. Use Ad Extensions for Better Engagement

Ad extensions also grant a serious facelift to your ads and add functionality to make it easier for patients to contact your practice. Here are a few of the most useful extensions available to health providers:

 

Extension Type	Explanation
Sitelinks Extension	• Promote several links pointing to different web pages. • Highlight major services like telemedicine or urgent care. • Enhance user experience by making it easier for patients to find information.
Review Extensions	• Highlight positive feedback or third-party reviews. • Build credibility and trust with potential patients. • Provide social proof to encourage appointment bookings.
Call Extensions	• Enable patients to call directly from the ad. • Easier for mobile users to schedule appointments. • Increases conversion rates in healthcare services.
Structured Snippet Extensions	• Showcase specific services like “Pediatric Care” or “Mental Health Services.” • Quickly communicate what the practice specializes in. • Help patients choose the right care provider.
Location Extensions	• Display the practice’s physical address with a Google Maps link. • Easier for local patients to find your clinic. • Improve foot traffic and appointment bookings.
Callout Extensions	• Highlight key features like “Board-Certified Physicians.” • Briefly communicate unique aspects of the practice. • Stand out with concise messaging.
App Extensions	• Advertise your practice’s app directly in the ad. • Enable users to download or open the app with one click. • Useful for practices offering scheduling or telemedicine via apps.
Price Extensions	• Display a list of services and their prices. • Provide transparency on treatment costs. • Helps patients make informed decisions based on pricing.

 

3. Optimize for Mobile

With 53% of users abandoning mobile sites, if they take longer than three seconds to load, you will want to ensure your ads and landing pages are fully optimized for mobile users. This goes beyond making sure your website is mobile-responsive. Here are a few key tips:

• Speed Means Everything: When it comes to healthcare, there’s no more impatient audience than mobile users. Ensuring your landing pages are fast prevents potential bounces of patients from occurring.
• Mobile-specific ad formats: Think about click-to-call ads targeted directly to mobile users, making it as seamless as possible for them to reach you with one click. That can be very effective for urgent care facilities or practices offering same-day appointments.

44% of patients who search for hospitals on mobile devices end up scheduling appointments. Optimizing your ads for mobile can directly impact your ability to convert searches into new patient bookings. 

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4. Prioritize Patient-Centric Messaging

The messages in healthcare advertisements should implicitly aim at patient needs, be it flexible appointments with compassionate care or expertise. Phrases that should address common concerns may be, “Appointments available quickly” or “Relieve your chronic back pain today.”

It is about building trust; ad extensions show positive reviews and testimonials from satisfied patients to highlight credibility and foster confidence.

 87% of consumers are concerned about medical misinformation online. Building trust through clear, honest messaging in your online ads can set your practice apart. 

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Including testimonials in your ad copy or landing page, can significantly affect the feelings potential patients have toward your practice. 

If you follow these best practices, you ensure that your Google Ads campaigns will not only be effective but also compliant and attuned to patient needs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Running Google Ads for Medical Practices

Even the most seasoned marketers can make mistakes with Google advertising. Here’s what to avoid, so your campaigns stay on track:

Targeting Too Broad an Audience

The flagrant mistakes in health professional advertising include casting the net too wide. As great as it may sound, reaching the most people will be a complete waste of ad spend. Every business wants to reach a large audience, but for this, you should focus on specific geographic areas where your practice operates and patient demographics matching your services. 

For example, if you run a pediatric clinic, it makes more sense to target parents in your area than anyone else. Research has proven that in healthcare, local targeting is effective, and location-specific terms drive far better click-through rates. This way, your ads will reach people likely to convert to patients.

Neglecting Mobile Optimization

A poorly optimized mobile advertising platform promotes bounce rates, whereby potential patients don’t get an opportunity to learn more about your services before leaving your site. Google studies reveal that a mere one-second delay in mobile load time can reduce conversions by up to 20%. To avoid falling into this trap:

• Ensure that your landing pages are mobile-responsive to fit in content and images within a small screen.
• Compress pictures to raise loading speed, and lessen unnecessary scripts.
• Run mobile-specific ad formats, such as call-only ads, that let patients contact your practice with a single tap.

Not Tracking Conversions Properly

Conversion tracking is essential not only in measuring your ad campaigns’ success but also in refining your approach. If you’re further into your marketing journey, not considering appointment bookings, form submissions, or phone calls as conversions — you’re about to lose big when it comes to valuable data. 

It’s now time to fire up conversion tracking:

• Tag key actions such as an appointment click or a contact form submission using Google Tag Manager.
• By regularly checking your conversion data, you’ll know which keywords and ad copy result in the most bookings. You also run A/B tests on different keyword variations and other ad copies to refine your campaigns, hence enabling you to focus on those combinations that provide the best results.
• Then, adjust your bids and targeting to focus on what works for your practice, based on emerging conversion trends.

Running Non-Compliant Ads

Google has strict policies around online advertising in healthcare, and quite rightly so. For example, Google enforces that medical ads should be informative rather than promotional and should not mislead users regarding the benefits of a treatment. Again, HIPAA compliance is supposed to guarantee patient privacy, especially in copy that can border on sensitive topics. To avoid compliance problems:

• Instead, use adjectives that emphasize fact and precision when describing your services: “Expert care for chronic back pain” instead of “Guaranteed relief.
• Keep checking the Google policies on medical advertising from time to time to stay updated in case there are any changes.
• Work with an experienced professional or a specialized agency that respects the details of healthcare regulations.

Overlooking Ad Extensions

Not using ad extensions will only diminish their potential. In addition, the ad extensions, like the CTA buttons, site links, and location extensions, can make your ads more visible and give more ways for a patient to interact with your practice.

According to Google research, ads with extensions have often seen click-through rate lifts of 10-15%, adding significant value to driving more patient engagement.

Google Ads Help

Avoiding these seven common mistakes puts you in a better position to run far more efficient and effective Google Ads campaigns. They not only keep you compliant with regulations but drive real results for your practice. Remember: precision, compliance, and continuous optimization are key.

Attract Clients with Google Ads Through NinjaPromo

Running effective campaigns takes time, precision, and an in-depth understanding of the peculiarities that make healthcare marketing so unique. Our crew covers everything, from deep keyword research to compelling ad copy, in full observance of the strict compliance requirements.

Why use NinjaPromo for your Google Ads?

• Customized Campaigns: Whether you’re looking to drive leads in healthcare or increase brand visibility, our team develops campaigns that align with your business objectives​.
• Expert PPC Management: We bring a strong focus on maximizing ROI. With expertise in various industries, including healthcare, we ensure that each dollar spent is optimized to reach the right audience at the right time​.
• Data-Driven Approach: We pride ourselves on continuously monitoring and optimizing campaigns. We use performance data to refine ad strategies, adjust keyword targeting, and ensure the highest possible return on investment​.

70% of healthcare companies outsource content development, recognizing the value of expert support. Ready to see what a truly talented Google Ads agency can do for your practice? Click below to schedule your free consultation with our healthcare PPC specialists today!