Healthcare organizations need to be visible when patients are looking for care. Paid advertising provides that visibility, getting your practice, hospital, or clinic in front of patients at the very moment they need you. The challenge is to choose the appropriate format of ad for your goals.
Healthcare PPC works on various platforms and ads. Some formats attract high-intent searchers ready to book appointments. Others create awareness among patients who aren’t actively seeking treatment yet. Understanding which format serves which purpose means the difference between your campaigns making qualified appointments as opposed to spending your budget on irrelevant clicks.
This guide walks through 10 types of PPC ads that have been proven to work in healthcare marketing. Each format has a specific focus on patient behaviors and campaign objectives.
Search ads are displayed at the top of the results of searches that occur when patients enter queries on search engines. They go off based on keyword matches that are related to specific services or conditions.
A cardiology practice may focus on “cardiologist near me” or “heart specialist consultation.” When someone searches these terms, the ad for the practice will appear above organic results. The searcher is already seeking care and will make this format very effective for appointment generation.
Search ads are best when focusing on treatment-specific or symptom-based keywords. They are capturing patients at the final stage of their healthcare journey.
Display ads use pictures or graphics to be displayed across websites in ad networks. These ads are seen by patients who are not actively seeking healthcare but match your target demographics.
A women’s health clinic may place banner ads on parenting websites or health information portals. The goal is brand awareness and not immediate conversion. Display ads are used to support retargeting campaigns and re-engage website visitors who didn’t book on their first visit.
Use display ads to stay visible throughout a longer patient decision cycle (especially for elective procedures or non-urgent care).
Video ads are played on YouTube and social media. They can enable healthcare providers to explain complex procedures, share patient testimonials, or demonstrate facility capabilities.
A 60-second video about joint replacement recovery could be made by an orthopedic surgeon. Video humanizes your practice and builds trust before your patients visit your website. These advertisements are good for patient education and services where someone needs a lot of thinking before booking.
Video content works best when it answers some of the most common concerns or questions patients have about specific treatments.
Local Service Ads Put your practice at the top of search results with a badge for “Google Guaranteed.” These ads are displayed for service-based searches in your geographical location.
A dental practice gets calls directly from the ad listing. Google vets providers before allowing them to sell in this format. Patients see your practice name, reviews, hours, and contact information without having to click through to a website.
This format is suitable for practices that are around local patient acquisition and are willing to go through Google’s verification process. You pay for each lead (not per click).
Social platforms provide for exact targeting by demographics and interests. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn ads reach certain types of people by using criteria such as age, location, interests, and behaviors of the audience.
A pediatric practice serves the parents of young children within a 15-mile radius. Social ads do a great job of reaching those patients who are not actively looking but fit your ideal patient profile. They’re good for preventative care, wellness services, and creating awareness among specific demographics.
These advertisements are best used with strong visuals and value propositions that can be targeted to the platform’s audience.
Remarketing ads are used to target individuals who visited your website but did not schedule an appointment. These ads track you across the web and keep your practice in their sights as they visit other websites.
Someone researches knee replacement on your site, but doesn’t book. Over the course of the next weeks, they are exposed to your display ads as they read news websites or watch videos. Remarketing addresses the fact that most healthcare decisions entail more touchpoints before conversion.
This format needs enough website traffic to create effective audience lists. It works best for higher consideration services with longer decision cycles.
Call-only ads result on devices with mobile computing with a single action: tap to dial your practice. No website visit occurs. You can see the advertisement showing your phone number, location, and a short description.
An urgent care center is a call-only ad to get people who need immediate help. These ads remove the friction for the mobile searchers who prefer contacting via phone rather than form fills. They’re especially effective in situations of urgent or time-sensitive healthcare needs.
Use call-only ads if phone consultations or immediate scheduling are your main conversions, especially for evening and weekends, when engagement in digital activity falls off.
Shopping ads are displayed in search results with product images, prices, and descriptions. While traditionally e-commerce was the focus, healthcare providers selling products can use this format.
A dermatology practice retailing medical-grade skincare products displays Shopping ads when patients are looking for specific treatments or ingredients. Pharmacies that sell consumer health products over the counter also profit from this format. The presentational visuals and transparent prices increase click-through rates for product-focused searches.
This format will require a feed from the product, and work is only where you have tangible things to sell in addition to the clinical services.
Performance Max campaigns use automation to show ads in the entirety of Google’s inventory: Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and Discover. The system optimizes placements depending on your conversion goals.
A multi-specialty clinic offers conversion data (appointments, form fills, calls), and Google’s algorithm determines the placement of ads. This format relies more on manual management while requiring enough volume of conversions to make the automation sufficiently trained.
Performance Max suites established practices with consistent appointment flow and clear conversion tracking already in place.
Microsoft Advertising reaches the Bing search network, which serves billions of searches every week. While smaller than Google, it has lower competition and cost per click rates.
A medical practice is targeting the same keywords on Bing as it is on Google, but often in a better position at a lower cost. The audience skews older, which is a boon to practices that serve senior populations. Medicare-oriented services benefit especially from Bing’s demographic profile.
Microsoft offers the ability to import directly from Google Ads and shorten setup time. Use this platform to cast a wider net outside of Google without having to rebuild campaigns from scratch.
Most healthcare organizations don’t rely upon one type of ad. Search advertising is for high-intent patients. Display ads and social ads create awareness. Remarketing conversions of people who need more than one exposure before booking.
Your budget, specialty, and patient demographics will dictate which formats are worth investing in. Call-only and local service ads are given priority in emergency services. Elective procedures thrive on video and display formats that accommodate longer decision processes. Specialty practices that serve specific, defined populations targeted social media advertising.
Professional healthcare PPC services create campaigns with a mix of multiple formats depending on your specific goals for patient acquisition and compliance requirements. The right mix provides qualified appointments within the context of healthcare advertising rules and patient trust.
What is the most effective PPC Ad Type for Healthcare Providers?
Search ads usually have the best conversion rates for healthcare practices because they are targeting patients actively seeking specific services or treatments. However, effectiveness is dependent on your goals – urgent care will benefit from call-only advertising, whereas elective procedures may require display remarketing to support longer decision cycles.
How much should healthcare organizations spend on PPC advertising?
Healthcare PPC budgets are also varied according to specialty, competition, and geography. Small practices sometimes begin with $2000-$5000 per month, and competitive specialties in large markets can need $15,000-$25,000 to have meaningful patient volume. Cost per click ranges from $2 to over $50, depending on keywords and specialty.
Can healthcare providers leverage social media advertising to acquire patients?
Yes, social media ads are effective for healthcare use to target specific demographics, promote wellness services, or raise brand awareness. However, they’re subject to platform-specific healthcare advertising policies and generally have lower immediate conversion rates than search ads. They are good at reaching out to those patients who fit your ideal profile but aren’t actively searching for you yet.
What are the compliance issues of healthcare PPC campaigns?
Healthcare ads must adhere to HIPAA privacy regulations, platform-specific medical advertising regulations, and prescription drug advertising rules. For some healthcare categories, Google requires certification. Ads cannot make unrealistic claims for treatment, create a sense of undue urgency, or guarantee an outcome. Working with experienced digital marketing in healthcare is key to ensuring that campaigns comply with regulations.
Do I need different landing pages for each type of PPC ad?
Yes, good PPC campaigns will require landing pages that match the message and intent of each ad. A search ad for “emergency dental care” should go to an emergency services page, not your home page. Landing Page Relevance Impacts Your Quality Score, Which Affects Ad Costs and Position. Each type of ad and set of keywords usually requires its own separate landing page.
C – 81C, Sector – 8, Noida 201301, India
1025 Beamon Drive, Franklin 37064 Tennessee, USA
Sveavagen 34 111 34 Stockholm, Sweden
Copyright ©MDA. All rights reserved.
