Google Ads for physicians: what results can you expect?

TOM RICHARDS
January 21, 2025

When it comes to Google Ads for physicians, the commercial possibilities are tantalising. You’d be hard pressed to find a more accountable and cost-effective form of advertising.

Wild guess: you’re reading this article because you want to know if Google Ads are worth it for physicians. Do they work? Can they help you grow your business? How much ROI are you likely to generate? What are the risks?

Emphatically, Google Ads can generate huge returns for physicians. They are one of the best forms of lead generation for healthcare brands. But there are certain obstacles.

Let us give you the headline points of the business case for Google Ads. That way you can figure out if it will help you build towards the bulging appointment book you deserve. Or whether the challenges are too much for you to take on.

Let’s go.

One quick thing, before we start…

They say health is wealth. For your business, that’s literal. You need your ad campaigns to get results – and the good news is that Google Ads for the health and beauty sector is an area we excel in. In fact we generated over £1m in revenue for Snatch & Glow. And drove a 157% increase in leads for UK Vein Clinic. Book a discovery call and find out what we could do for you. We will even cover your ad spend.

“The digital strategy the Adbetter team created for us immediately started paying for itself several times over in just the first month, by delivering significant new customer revenue. It also has allowed us to open up our customer base to new audiences that I never thought would be our target audience.”

– Kiana Djazeb, Director & Founder, Snatch & Glow

What are Google Ads and how do they work?

Good SEO can get you far. But you will never outrank the ads at the top of Google’s search results. With Google Ads you can skip straight to the top of the search rankings for queries related to your practice.

And because you only pay if someone clicks, it’s one of the most accountable forms of marketing on the planet – with the potential to drive major ROI.

(Quick sidenote in the interests of thoroughness. The Google Ads platform isn’t just about search. It also encompasses display ads and video ads, which are served across YouTube and a dizzying number of websites and mobile apps. For now, we’ll stay focused on search. That’s where the juiciest opportunities are for physicians.)

Google Ads for physicians: the opportunities and the business case

Here are five reasons why investing in Google Ads for physicians can make good business sense.

1. Capture audience intention

The prosperity of your business relies on a steady stream of new leads. People need to know who you are. People need to know you exist. One of the reasons Google Ads is such a powerful tool is it enables you to get your brand in front of people at the precise moment they are searching for the kind of healthcare services and treatments that you provide.

2. Capture audience curiosity

What do people do when they are worried about a particular ailment? That’s right. They Google it. Google Ads enables you to capture people while they’re curious – educating them about ailments that you can help treat.

3. Capture audience location

Day in, day out, people in your region are searching for healthcare services and treatments that you offer. That’s low hanging fruit that you could easily gobble up.

But without the right Google Ads setup, you are missing those leads. Worse, they could be going to your competitors instead.

4. It’s (relatively) low maintenance. And (incredibly) accountable.

Set up your ads correctly and they will drive high quality leads to your website while you get on with running your business. And because you only pay when people actually click your ad, it’s an incredibly accountable form of marketing.

5. You get to see exactly how your ads are performing

When you run campaigns on Google Ads, you get instant feedback on how your ads are performing. Interpret that data correctly and you can incrementally improve the performance of your ads over time – helping to make sure your ad spend is as efficient as possible.

Google Ads for physicians: the challenges and the business case against

In the interests of balance, it’s important to say that there are challenges associated with being a physician and running Google ad campaigns.

Here are five things to consider.

1. The regulatory environment is harsh

A harsh regulatory environment is a good thing. It prevents unqualified snake oil types hawking their products and services to an innocent public. Yet there’s no doubt that the regulations around Google Ads for physicians are strict and ever evolving.

You need to be vigilant. You don’t want your ads to end up in the regulatory equivalent of ICU.

2. It takes time

Working towards the big results with Google Ads takes time. And as a physician, it’s fair to say that spare time isn’t a commodity you’re abundantly blessed with.

3. It takes tenacity

No overstatement: Google Ads for physicians can drive millions of pounds in revenue. But to get those really big rewards, you have to check the vital signs regularly – diving into the performance data and constantly adjusting. Constantly iterating.

4. It takes technical expertise

Google Ads gives you a good overview of how your campaigns are performing. But you don’t get the full picture. To really capitalise on the potential of Google Ads, you need to have full visibility into the actions your leads are taking further down the sales funnel.

You need to know what happens after they click your ad. That’s where you unlock the potential for serious revenue generation. But setting up that kind of audience tracking requires technical expertise.

5. Your audience is discerning

People are far more discerning when it comes to making choices about their health. If your branding and messaging isn’t right, they will go elsewhere – regardless of how good your services are.

No risk, just revenue

So there you have it. The opportunities for physicians and healthcare businesses are huge. But there are real challenges too.

So let us help.

We are a specialist pay per click agency. We know the tactics that drive revenue for healthcare brands. We know how to get results. And we can take care of everything for you.

Best of all? There’s a good chance we will be able to cover your ad spend. So there’s no risk on your side, just revenue.

Sounds good? Here’s the next step.

Find out how we could make Google Ads work for your business and transform your ROI. Book a discovery call.

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ABOUT TOM RICHARDS

As the founder of Adbetter, Tom has spent over 8 years of his career mastering PPC lead generation, focusing on leveraging platforms like Google & Facebook ads to their fullest potential. Staying agency-side throughout has allowed him to keep right on the cutting edge of digital strategy, and to personally manage in excess of £10 million client ad budget.

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