How to use Google Ads to get more patients
Laura Moxham, director of boutique agency YBA PPC, shares the secrets to getting new patients on tap each month.
Think about it. Sally, who lives in Birmingham, wants to have laser hair removal done with a local, reputable clinic. Where does she go to find this? She turns to Google of course. She gets her phone or laptop out and types in “laser hair removal treatment Birmingham”, then hits go. Now, if your clinic is based in Birmingham and offers laser hair removal and is not right at the top of Google then, sadly, she won’t be calling you to book her treatment. Sally will be calling your competitor up the road.
If you’re looking to get new patient enquiries, Google reigns supreme. Advertising at the top of Google is where your potential new patients hang out. Unlike other advertising such as radio, newspapers, local leaflet drops, or Facebook, Google Ads allows you to display your advert to prospects looking for exactly what you offer, when they need it and where they need it.
Done correctly, Google Ads provides aesthetics clinics across the country with a steady flow of new patient enquiries from people looking for the treatments they offer in their local area.
This guide explains what Google Ads is and how clinics are using it to receive regular new patient enquiries to grow their business.
WHAT IS GOOGLE ADS?
To create and publish search ads on Google Ads, you will need a Google Ads account (no surprises there). Advertisers then bid on keywords or phrases that they want their ads to show up for when someone searches. Ads with the highest bids and best solution for the searcher show while the others remain hidden.
For example, a clinic offering lip fillers in Liverpool might advertise when someone searches “lip dermal fillers clinic Liverpool”.
At the top of the list are the Google Ads – these are the ones with the green text box saying ‘ad’ in it to the left. There’s usually three to four at the top, then when you scroll right to the bottom of the page, there may be three or four more there too. Underneath the ads is the map which provides a listing of the clinics in the area. This is a free listing, but you need to register to appear. If you don’t currently have this listing, get your laptop out now and do so at google.com/business/. Once you’ve registered you’ll have a postcard sent to you to verify the address. Under this map section you have the ‘organic’ listings of all relevant websites for this search. This is governed by how relevant the content on your website is to that search. This is called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation.) It takes time and experience invested in your website to do this. However, Google often changes the algorithms, so your rank could easily change.
If your business has many local competitors, ranking number one may be a challenge. Instead, companies can control their presence by paying to show up first in the search ads. It gives you control – where you want your ad to appear, what you want your ad to say,and which page on your website you want to take visitors to.
Based on factors like intent, location, past browsing history and preferences, Google shows the ads that best match the intent of the searcher. In essence, Google does its best to answer the question: what is this person searching for?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Cutting Google Ads down to its basics is a 4-step process:
1. Kick Ass Keywords You select keywords so that when people type those in, your ad shows. Choose the right keywords and your campaign should bring in new patient enquiries. Pick the wrong keywords and you’ll either be completely ignored or, worse, your campaign will be an expensive flop. We need focused keywords when people are turning to Google with buyer intent, for example, ‘laser hair removal Birmingham’.
2. Compelling Ad Copy OK, so now we want to present them an ad that is relevant to what they’re searching for and has ad copy that is compelling and attractive to make people want to click on it. The key here is to make it relevant to the keyword (e.g. have the keyword in the headline) and make your ad more compelling than your competitors, so they click on your ad as opposed to any other. Also, have an offer or strong call to action, for example “call today”.
Relevant Landing Page Take them to a page on your website that is specific to their search and encourages them to call your clinic to talk to you and, if they are confident, to book an appointment. Don’t take people to your home page. Take people to a page that is highly relevant to what they’ve just typed in and are looking for. For example if they type in ‘laser hair removal’ you’d want to take them to a page that talks about laser hair removal. Let people know they’re in the right place and have a very clear path of what you want them to do i.e. call for a free consultation or pop in your details to get a call back, etc.
4. Conversion Tracking and Optimisations Here’s the game changer. Whatever action you want people to do to engage with you – call your clinic or fill out an enquiry form – this is tracked as an action in your Google Ads account. From here you can see which of your ad spends is generating you the enquiries and which isn’t. You then make the necessary daily changes (optimisations) so your campaigns achieve you more enquiries. You want to spend less money on the ad campaigns that aren’t achieving the enquiries and more on the ones that do. Google Ads gives you the control to do this. This tracking is called ‘conversion tracking’.
So as you can now see, Google Ads gives you the ability to propel your business onto the front page of Google’s search results. That’s huge for your visibility, and for attracting potential patients. AM
We are ofering a free 20-minute strategy session for Aesthetics Medicine readers with Laura Moxham, MD of YBA PPC. Simply email team@ybappc.co.uk quoting ‘Aesthetics Magazine Sept ’19.
Laura Moxham is an expert in internet marketing for Google Ads and PPC. She is the managing director of boutique agency YBA PPC, which is recognised as being in the top 3% agencies within Europe and has been shortlisted for ‘Best for Growing Businesses Online’ category due to its high-calibre results from Google Ads.
Laura Moxham, director of boutique agency YBA PPC, shares the secrets to getting new patients on tap each month.
Think about it. Sally, who lives in Birmingham, wants to have laser hair removal done with a local, reputable clinic. Where does she go to find this? She turns to Google of course. She gets her phone or laptop out and types in “laser hair removal treatment Birmingham”, then hits go. Now, if your clinic is based in Birmingham and offers laser hair removal and is not right at the top of Google then, sadly, she won’t be calling you to book her treatment. Sally will be calling your competitor up the road.
If you’re looking to get new patient enquiries, Google reigns supreme. Advertising at the top of Google is where your potential new patients hang out. Unlike other advertising such as radio, newspapers, local leaflet drops, or Facebook, Google Ads allows you to display your advert to prospects looking for exactly what you offer, when they need it and where they need it.
Done correctly, Google Ads provides aesthetics clinics across the country with a steady flow of new patient enquiries from people looking for the treatments they offer in their local area.
This guide explains what Google Ads is and how clinics are using it to receive regular new patient enquiries to grow their business.
WHAT IS GOOGLE ADS?
To create and publish search ads on Google Ads, you will need a Google Ads account (no surprises there). Advertisers then bid on keywords or phrases that they want their ads to show up for when someone searches. Ads with the highest bids and best solution for the searcher show while the others remain hidden.
For example, a clinic offering lip fillers in Liverpool might advertise when someone searches “lip dermal fillers clinic Liverpool”.
At the top of the list are the Google Ads – these are the ones with the green text box saying ‘ad’ in it to the left. There’s usually three to four at the top, then when you scroll right to the bottom of the page, there may be three or four more there too. Underneath the ads is the map which provides a listing of the clinics in the area. This is a free listing, but you need to register to appear. If you don’t currently have this listing, get your laptop out now and do so at google.com/business/. Once you’ve registered you’ll have a postcard sent to you to verify the address. Under this map section you have the ‘organic’ listings of all relevant websites for this search. This is governed by how relevant the content on your website is to that search. This is called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation.) It takes time and experience invested in your website to do this. However, Google often changes the algorithms, so your rank could easily change.
If your business has many local competitors, ranking number one may be a challenge. Instead, companies can control their presence by paying to show up first in the search ads. It gives you control – where you want your ad to appear, what you want your ad to say,and which page on your website you want to take visitors to.
Based on factors like intent, location, past browsing history and preferences, Google shows the ads that best match the intent of the searcher. In essence, Google does its best to answer the question: what is this person searching for?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Cutting Google Ads down to its basics is a 4-step process:
1. Kick Ass Keywords You select keywords so that when people type those in, your ad shows. Choose the right keywords and your campaign should bring in new patient enquiries. Pick the wrong keywords and you’ll either be completely ignored or, worse, your campaign will be an expensive flop. We need focused keywords when people are turning to Google with buyer intent, for example, ‘laser hair removal Birmingham’.
2. Compelling Ad Copy OK, so now we want to present them an ad that is relevant to what they’re searching for and has ad copy that is compelling and attractive to make people want to click on it. The key here is to make it relevant to the keyword (e.g. have the keyword in the headline) and make your ad more compelling than your competitors, so they click on your ad as opposed to any other. Also, have an offer or strong call to action, for example “call today”.
Relevant Landing Page Take them to a page on your website that is specific to their search and encourages them to call your clinic to talk to you and, if they are confident, to book an appointment. Don’t take people to your home page. Take people to a page that is highly relevant to what they’ve just typed in and are looking for. For example if they type in ‘laser hair removal’ you’d want to take them to a page that talks about laser hair removal. Let people know they’re in the right place and have a very clear path of what you want them to do i.e. call for a free consultation or pop in your details to get a call back, etc.
4. Conversion Tracking and Optimisations Here’s the game changer. Whatever action you want people to do to engage with you – call your clinic or fill out an enquiry form – this is tracked as an action in your Google Ads account. From here you can see which of your ad spends is generating you the enquiries and which isn’t. You then make the necessary daily changes (optimisations) so your campaigns achieve you more enquiries. You want to spend less money on the ad campaigns that aren’t achieving the enquiries and more on the ones that do. Google Ads gives you the control to do this. This tracking is called ‘conversion tracking’.
So as you can now see, Google Ads gives you the ability to propel your business onto the front page of Google’s search results. That’s huge for your visibility, and for attracting potential patients. AM
We are ofering a free 20-minute strategy session for Aesthetics Medicine readers with Laura Moxham, MD of YBA PPC. Simply email team@ybappc.co.uk quoting ‘Aesthetics Magazine Sept ’19.
Laura Moxham is an expert in internet marketing for Google Ads and PPC. She is the managing director of boutique agency YBA PPC, which is recognised as being in the top 3% agencies within Europe and has been shortlisted for ‘Best for Growing Businesses Online’ category due to its high-calibre results from Google Ads.
