{"id":17565,"date":"2023-08-02T13:30:32","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T18:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thescript.zocdoc.com\/?p=17565"},"modified":"2023-11-10T10:58:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T15:58:42","slug":"primary-care-marketing-attracting-and-retaining-new-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/primary-care-marketing-attracting-and-retaining-new-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"8 SEM Tips for Primary Care Providers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns are one of the key ways healthcare businesses acquire patients. Thanks to SEM\u2019s targeting capabilities, this marketing channel can help businesses efficiently drive bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to primary care providers (PCP), search engine marketing presents some nuances that can be optimized to maximize return. Here are eight quick tips that can help primary care providers succeed in SEM \u2014 and one major consideration that will help your practice get ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Check if You Prequalify<\/h3>\n

Bid on terms that prequalify a user (e.g., \u201cprimary care physician new york city,\u201d \u201cprimary care physician that takes aetna,\u201d \u201cprimary care physician near me\u201d).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Cut out unwanted traffic by incorporating prequalifiers in your keywords. For example, a PCP practice in New York City that takes Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna can bid on keywords like \u201cpcp new york city,\u201d \u201caetna pcps,\u201d \u201cunited healthcare pcps\u201d and \u201ccigna pcps.\u201d This ensures that you\u2019re showing your ad to users who can actually convert.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>2. Stay Relevant<\/h3>\n

Make your ad copy as relevant as possible.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

If your keywords are \u201cpcps in new york city,\u201d make sure your ad copy mirrors that content. Not only does relevant copy improve your ad strength, it also leads to a higher clickthrough rate (CTR): Users will naturally click on ads they find hyperrelevant, which they\u2019re already signaling through their queries in the search bar.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Keep Up a Negative Attitude<\/h3>\n

Stay on top of your negatives.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Even if you\u2019re not using <\/span>broad match<\/span><\/a>, Google\u2019s match types can bring in some funky queries, especially considering the multitude of reasons why patients visit a PCP. Check your search query report regularly to ensure you\u2019re filtering out any queries that don\u2019t pertain to your practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, queries like \u201cwhat is an annual physical\u201d or \u201chow do you become a primary care physician\u201d are likely too high-funnel or irrelevant for your practice. You can better put your ad dollars to work by negating \u201cwhat is\u201d and \u201chow do you\u201d on <\/span>phrase match<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Know Yourself<\/h3>\n

Use your visit reasons as sitelinks (e.g., annual physical, sick visit, etc.).<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sitelinks<\/span><\/a> and other extensions improve your ad rank. They also take up more space on the search engine results page (SERP) if you\u2019re in position 1. This gives your ad more visibility and pushes your competitors down on the page. Given a good match with the end user, it could also improve your CTR.<\/span><\/p>\n

(Bonus tip: Don\u2019t make the mistake of conflating cost per click with cost per booking. <\/span>Learn more<\/span><\/a> about how to properly track patient acquisition costs in Google.)<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Find Yourself<\/h3>\n

Add location extensions.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have a Google Business Profile Manager account, you can set up <\/span>location extensions<\/span><\/a> that are affiliated with your practice locations. This enables your ad to show up in places like Google Maps, which unlocks another ad spot directed at local users.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Stay Humble<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t overestimate how many patients can be captured through SEM.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There are a finite number of reachable patients on Google and many companies are competing for the same finite pool of searches.<\/span><\/p>\n

At some point, the only way to get more is to bid more. However, the conversion rate typically remains the same or decreases as the cost per click increases. This drives up your CPA. Google also aims to get ads in front of as many searchers as possible. But as it runs out of available matches, it populates ads under increasingly irrelevant searches that don\u2019t typically translate into patient bookings, further driving up the cost of acquiring a new patient.<\/span><\/p>\n

At a certain point, spending more comes with higher marginal costs and decaying efficiency, and that to achieve significant growth, you need to explore additional sources of patients. <\/span>At Zocdoc, this is where we usually meet our clients: a complement to existing marketing efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

(<\/span>Learn how<\/span><\/a> a large primary care practice uses Zocdoc, in addition to search engine marketing, to keep up with its rapid growth.)<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Don\u2019t Forget to Call<\/h3>\n

Use call extensions.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if a prospective patient finds your business through Google, they may still want to set up an appointment \u201cthe old-fashioned way,\u201d over the phone. Luckily, you can <\/span>enable call extensions<\/span><\/a> within your campaigns, which puts a call to your practice just a click away. Be sure you\u2019ve installed the proper call-tracking, so you can tie these bookings back to your ad.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Accept a Moving Target<\/h3>\n

Play with different targeting levels.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Depending on your practice coverage, you may want to test targeting users at different demographic levels. However, the most granular targeting doesn\u2019t always mean the most efficient. Google’s <\/span>smart bidding<\/span><\/a> can learn relatively quickly where your user base is or isn\u2019t. Consider targeting by zip code, city and even designated market area (DMA); you might be surprised which level of targeting is most efficient for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

One More Urgent Matter<\/h3>\n

Both before and since the pandemic, search volume for urgent care is significantly higher than for primary care.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>May 2023 report<\/span><\/a>, we shared the top 10 reasons Zocdoc users visited urgent care:<\/span><\/p>\n