ppc-healthcarePPC (Pay Per Click) can be very profitable for medical practices. Whether you are a physician or surgeon, many future patients find their doctors online. They search to see which doctors are close to them, to read online reviews, and to see what different practices offer. It can be very beneficial for your practice to be viewable in the digital world.  Google AdWords can help future patients find your practice easier, and these tips will help you keep your costs low while bringing in quality traffic.

Focus on ROI (Return on Investment)

Keywords in the medical and healthcare industry are highly competitive and can be very expensive. In fact, many doctors are hesitant to use PPC because they’re afraid they’ll be spending too much and seeing very little results. It’s important to use conversion tracking (such as call tracking) to see if your traffic is converting to customers. Also, your cost per keyword could be very high, but each new patient that’s brought in is a high return for you and your practice. You may spend $10 per click, but that future patient might become a patient for life and end up spending thousands of dollars.

Focus on Location Targeting

Most patients aren’t going to travel further than necessary to go to the doctor, so make sure your location targeting is very specific and kept in a close range. If your practice is in Dallas, Texas, you don’t want to market all of Texas. Instead, you should focus on just the area of Dallas and surrounding cities within a 15-30 mile radius. This will let you directly target people that are more likely to become future patients rather than wasting expensive clicks on patients who are hours away.

Specific Keywords

Focus on more longer-tailed keywords than shorter keywords. For example, instead of paying for keywords like “doctor,” you should bid on keywords for “doctors in Dallas” or “pediatric doctor.” Keep your keywords specific to exactly what you do; you don’t want to pay for traffic that has nothing to do with your practice. This will keep the keywords cheaper than broader keywords as well ensure quality traffic coming to your site.

AdWords Rules to Watch Out For

Lastly, Google has very specific rules when it comes to using medical terms in AdWords.  In particular, there are strict policies about keywords related to prescription drugs, clinical trials, over the counter medications, and some medical services and procedures. Most of them vary by country and by law, so make sure you read up on the policies to make sure your ad will be eligible. You can view the link below to find out more details about Google AdWords policies for your location.

Google Advertising Policies – Healthcare and Medicine