Cosmetic surgery PPC: skyrocketing leads through Google

Intrigued by cosmetic surgery PPC? Here are some tips for making sure your Google Ads drive the right results and generate revenue for your practice.

Weeks. Months. Sometimes years. Seeking to improve your organic Google ranking through SEO is a marketing essential. But getting results can take a lot of time, diligence and expertise.

With PPC, the right efforts yield far quicker results in terms of healthcare lead generation. When you know what keywords to target and create a smart process for turning clicks into customers, you can drive a huge increase in revenue for your practice.

It pays – literally – to make sure your PPC strategy is scalpel-sharp. Here are some tips.

3.5x ROI for KP Surgical

One quick thing before we get started. We are paid media experts – and cosmetic surgery PPC is an area we specialise in. But don’t just take our word for it. Within 3 months of working with KP Surgical we generated 3.5x ROI on their ad spend. Ask for a free proposal and we’ll lay out how we could do the same for you. If we like the sound of your business we might even offer to cover your ad spend.

Adbetter has effectively managed our paid media strategy, identifying key areas for focus and streamlining our efforts. Their development of a full-funnel paid ads user journey has enhanced our lead generation process, resulting in increasingly cost-effective leads that have already begun to deliver a strong ROI. It’s been invaluable having a team that aligns so well with our objectives and delivers measurable results.

Steve Whitehouse, Patient Facilitator, KP Surgical

Specific Ad campaigns for specific goals

It’s best to create separate cosmetic surgery PPC campaigns for each of the procedures that you want to promote. These ads should drive traffic through to individual landing pages that are highly relevant to each ad – and nothing else.

Done correctly this will improve your quality score. That’s a measure of how relevant your landing pages are to the ads and keywords you are receiving traffic from. The better your quality score, the less you are likely to pay when bidding for keywords – helping to preserve your ad budget.

Google rewards relevancy.

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Find intent with the right search terms

Why are you interested in cosmetic surgery PPC? If your aim is to use plastic surgery PPC to drive revenue for your practice, you have to think carefully about search intent. Specifically, how different search terms suggest different levels of readiness to commit to a surgical procedure.

Making the decision to have cosmetic surgery requires a lot of thought. A lot of research.

Someone at the start of that research journey might search for a ‘boob job’. Whereas someone closer to making the decision to have surgery may search for ‘breast augmentation’. Likewise with ‘tummy tuck’ v ‘abdominoplasty’.

The use of technical terms suggests someone with more buying intent than someone using more colloquial search terms.

What’s your sphere of influence?

How far are your prospective patients willing to travel for one of your procedures? The answer to this question should be reflected in your location targeting.

Google gives you lots of control over where your ad is served. For instance, you can set your ad to display within a 5km radius of your surgery. You can target specific towns or cities. Or you can target the whole of the UK.

If you offer relatively common, low-risk procedures, there may be little point in displaying your ad far and wide. However, if you offer niche procedures or are a renowned specialist for certain treatments, you may be able to convert clicks from further afield.

PPC Ad Regulations for Cosmetic Surgery:

As you most likely already know, there’s a dizzying array of rules and regulations when it comes to promoting cosmetic procedures. It’s no different when it comes to cosmetic surgery PPC.

Here are some of the main things to be aware of.

Want new patients? Have patience.

“Half price if you order before midnight!,” “Available until Monday only!, ” “Last minute spaces available!” Creating a sense of urgency is a time-tested marketing tactic. But you cannot be seen to be rushing your audience into a decision.

Any promotions must be given a timeframe that’s long enough for your audience to weigh up the risks and make a balanced decision.

Don’t play on insecurities

It’s reasonable to assume that some of the people searching for your services are doing so because they feel negatively about a certain part of their body. But under no circumstances should your ad be perceived to be exploiting people’s insecurities or reinforcing negative stereotypes about body image.

That means avoiding the implication that there’s a certain body type that your audience should aspire to.

Your language should be crystal clear

When it comes to the promotion of cosmetic procedures, clarity of language is a big thing for the Advertising Standards Authority.

You must use language that’s appropriate of a clinician – rather than slang and colloquial terms. And pay due deference to the fact that there are risks associated with the procedure that you are promoting.

You should also avoid making any false or unrealistic claims that are impossible to prove – such as “this procedure will take 15 years off”.

>> Ad regulations for medical aesthetic clinics

Landing page best practice

It might sound obvious. But when you are running a pay per click campaign, you need to think carefully about what actually happens when someone clicks.

So many businesses rush to get their campaign out into the world, without considering their post-click journey. Then they’re surprised when their campaign isn’t instantly filling their appointment book.

The anatomy of a good landing page

As we mentioned before, each of your plastic surgery PPC ads should link to a specific landing page. Landing page design is a specialist subject in its own right. But here’s a brief rundown of some key considerations.

• Design and copywriting. Your landing page should feel like a continuation of the ad your visitor clicked. Your design should be optimised for mobile and feature a compelling proposition above the fold.
• Create a closed journey. Single-mindedness is a strength when it comes to landing pages. Limit navigation options and stay focused on one clear call to action.
• Utilise social proof and trust signals. Testimonials from previous patients will go a long way to helping build credibility and trust in your company. If applicable, utilise trust signals such as industry accreditations, qualifications or awards.
• Gather data. The main aim of a landing page is to gather information on your lead. Create a form that allows you to start the marketing conversation. More on this shortly.
• Remember your GDPR obligations. For your forms that means having a tick box that gets people to actively opt in to your comms. Be clear about who will be contacting your lead and how they will be contacted. You must also provide a link to your privacy policy.

Show some compassion

Who needs anaesthesia if all you do is talk about yourself? Never forget that there’s a real person at the end of your message. Speak to them directly. Think about their doubts and fears. Their ambitions and desires. Address your reader directly with “you” focused messaging.

Stay aware of the fact that many people are rather guarded about their health and appearance. The issues your reader is seeking to address may be a source of very personal negative emotions such as fear or embarrassment. You should respect that. When all is said and done, good marketing is about human connection.

Before and after photography

Before and after shots: the quintessential marketing tool for promoting cosmetic treatments. But be careful. While Google allows them to be used on landing pages associated with a cosmetic surgery PPC campaign, there are certain rules that you must oblige.

Firstly – and it should go without saying – you cannot edit the image in a way that alters or enhances the part of the patient’s body that has been worked on. For example: in an after shot showcasing an abdominoplasty, you cannot digitally manipulate the tummy area.

You should also make every effort to use the same photographic process for both the before shot and the after shot. That means shooting from the same distance. Using the same camera settings. Making sure the lighting in the room is the same.

Get it right and you will have a catalogue of photography that neatly and effectively shows the results you have achieved for patients. And, as the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. Find out more about clinical photography for aesthetic professionals.

Showcase your credentials

People place a huge amount of trust in cosmetic surgeons. Your patient is putting their welfare in your hands. So it’s a good idea to be clear about your credentials. Your qualifications, certifications, awards or membership of relevant industry bodies should be clearly signposted.

Just don’t overdo it.

The Advertising Standards Authority has rules on the way certain words can be used. 

For example, to use the word “qualified” your surgeons must be on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council (GMC) in respect of a relevant surgical speciality, or have been practising cosmetic surgery independently before 1 April 2002, and should hold a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST) in plastic surgery or an equivalent qualification. 

Meanwhile, in order to be “experienced”, a surgeon must have practised their surgical speciality for at least six years.

You can read more about the rules from the ASA on the usage of specific words here.

Gathering data and retargeting

The main aim of your landing page is to gather information about your lead. And the more information you can gather, the better. Ask careful, non-intrusive questions about the procedure that your visitor wants – or the outcome they are looking for.

This will arm your marketing or sales team with invaluable insight on your leads. That’s especially important with cosmetic surgery PPC for Google, where normal PPC retargeting is prohibited. 

So gather data – and be sure to follow up with an email or telephone call. Learn more about Google remarketing and if it is possible for healthcare brands.

Know your numbers

Success with PPC isn’t just about publishing an ad and winning a few leads. Using PPC in a way that can make a more tangible, transformative difference to your business requires a strategy.

• You need to think about how long it takes to perform the surgical procedures you are promoting.
• You need to think about profit margins.
• You need to think about the operational capacity of your practice.
• You need to track the conversion rates of your campaigns and measure how long it takes on average to convert leads to sales.

You like to get clinical. We do too.

You have a surgical eye for detail. We bring an equal meticulousness to cosmetic surgery PPC.

You see it takes an expert to help you calculate where the opportunities are and balance the potential for profit with the keywords you are bidding for.

We specialise in bringing a truly holistic view to cosmetic surgery PPC, tracking the first click and carefully measuring all post-click behaviour. Then we continually optimise your campaign for success – working to skyrocket revenue for your business while making sure your ad spend is as efficient and hard-working as possible.

Sounds good? Ask for a free proposal. 

We will lay out what you can expect within three months of working with us. No strings, no expectations. 

We may even offer to cover your ad spend. That’s how confident we are in our results. Get in touch. 

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