As more and more patients turn to the internet to find healthcare, paid search engine marketing, or SEM, campaigns are one of the most effective ways medical practices can capture new patients.
There are a few major mistakes most healthcare marketers make when approaching SEM. You can read more about some of these mistakes, and how to address them, in our whitepaper “What Healthcare Businesses Get Wrong About Google.”
Along with addressing big mistakes, many businesses don’t pay attention to small details in their campaigns that can greatly impact their success. Running successful search campaigns is a specialized skill.
You don’t want to underestimate the impact of pulling the right levers. Here are some potential boosts to take advantage of.
- Incorporate every feature (i.e., extensions and images) into campaigns. Google ranks ads higher when they are more detailed.
- Google Ads’ Auction Insights shows which competitors are bidding on similar keywords. Take inspiration from other players’ ads to refine your own.
- Google Ads provides a search query report, which shows terms your ads are ranking on. Check this report and fine-tune any ads appearing in irrelevant searches.
- Give Google several headlines and descriptions to use for ads so the search engine can serve customized ads to searchers. Assess which are performing well in Google Ads’ asset reports and adjust accordingly.
- Make sure paid ad copy strongly reflects the messaging that appears on your website. Google ranks ads higher the closer they resemble the landing page.
- Thoughtfully design your post-click landing page to showcase your brand and to further encourage users to book.
- Consider how different keywords reflect patients’ needs and adjust your ad copy and landing pages accordingly. For example, a patient searching for “ENT near me” is more likely to want to book now, whereas someone searching “What does an ENT do” might be more in a research phase.
These are a few great starting points for healthcare marketers. It’s crucial to have a team member dedicated to continuously refining small details in your campaigns to maximize your success. Getting your business in front of the right audience can help you not only meet, but exceed, your patient acquisition goals.