According to a survey from Doctor.com, 61.4% of healthcare consumers go online to find a new provider and nearly 83% of these consumers will use Google for those searches. Because PPC ads tend to float to the top of Google search results, gaining this placement can help patients find your orthopedic practice more quickly and ahead of your competitors in the healthcare industry.
What Is PPC Advertising, And Why Should Orthopedic Surgeons and Ortho Practices Care
For practices in a competitive environment, PPC orthopedic advertising plays an important role in patient recruitment, brand recognition and the promotion of new providers and services.
PPC (pay-per-click) means you place a Google ad, and pay a set amount every time a Google user clicks it. Some keywords are priced higher for clicks, so if you pursue placement for valuable keywords, the ad campaign can end up being very expensive, but also could give your practice a much-needed competitive edge.
How Do You Advertise Orthopedic Practices with PPC Ads?
Healthcare professionals in your field rely on orthopedic PPC advertising to increase patient acquisition – and revenue. That is because when patients start searching for orthopedic services, such as hip or knee replacements, PPC Google ads help ensure that your practice appears prominently at the top of search results, making it easier for patients to find you – and overlook your competitors.
It all starts with the self-serve Google Ads platform – free to set up and use to create your campaigns. Just like surgery, PPC ad placement requires some prep work. Some things to consider when planning an orthopedic ad campaign, include:
- What keywords should you be using?
- Which audience are you targeting?
- What headlines and ad copy will work best?
- What does the landing page for your campaign look like?
- How much do you plan to budget for the campaigns?
Bear in mind that Google considers the quality of ads when choosing which to run.
Pay-Per-Click Budgeting Basics
Budgeting can be tricky for orthopedic PPC advertising since Google uses a unique bidding structure. That means you must competitively bid for better ad placement.
PPC can be expensive, so whether it is worth tapping into or not all depends on the profitability of what you want to advertise. Some orthopedic practices will need to make room in their budget for PPC in highly competitive markets.
Cost aside, a major benefit of paid ad campaigns is that their results are measurable. That is because with PPC for orthopedic surgeons, you can compare the cost of the campaigns to the revenue they generated from new patient appointments and procedures as a result of those mighty clicks.
What Are PPC Keywords?
Google Ads assigns a value to keywords depending on their popularity (also referred to as “competition level”). It takes some tactical research to know which keywords are worth your while within your local market.
As far as keywords and determining your audience for orthopedic PPC advertising are concerned, that depends upon the surgeries and services you wish to promote. Nobody knows and understands your patients better than you do. When crafting ads, think about demographics and the search terms that your potential patients would likely use, such as “orthopedic surgery” or “rotary cuff repair.”
Also keep in mind that you want the campaigns directed at your local market. When not locally targeted, campaigns can generate clicks from patients all over the state or country, and that wastes money.
What Happens After the Click? – Minding the Patient Journey
Equally important, make sure that when potential patients do click, they land on a page with relevant content that speaks to your brand and makes it easy for them to schedule that appointment. Having strong website content can also work in tandem with your PPC advertising by boosting search engine optimization (SEO).
While PPC or Google Ads are forms of paid search, SEO is organic (unpaid) and takes time to build up. However, having SEO content on your website will ensure lasting visibility in searches long after you turn off your PPC campaigns.
Finally, don’t forget about mobile optimization. Even patients who drive past your practice daily will frequently choose a provider found in an online search on their mobile devices. Make sure your orthopedic PPC advertising plan includes ads that are designed to be mobile friendly to increase website traffic.
2 PPC Advertising Examples to Inspire Your Campaigns
The following are good examples of orthopedic PPC ads because they pack a lot of information, including practice location and targeted service offerings, into a tight space. By explaining their offerings to potential customers, these ads help grab the reader’s attention and encourage potential customers to click.
What Are Alternatives to Google Ads?
Considering that 60% of patients trust their doctor’s posts over other sources on social media, having a strong and active social media presence is important for your overall orthopedic marketing strategy. Many healthcare organizations in general find Facebook ads to be more cost effective than Google Ads.
Facebook has a user-friendly advertising platform built into your business profile where you can build an audience as broadly or specifically as you need. Some orthopedic surgeons and practices may find they get better results and affordability from Facebook ads.
You can also work to show up in organic search results through Search Engine Optimization (or SEO). By writing SEO optimized content you can help your practice show up in local search results.
Summary: Orthopedic PPC Advertising
Orthopedic PPC advertising is just one facet of a multi-pronged approach to marketing your surgical practice. Your competitors are likely not relying on any one single approach, and neither should you. Adding PPC as part of a holistic marketing program will provide speedy, measurable results. Metrics from those campaigns will then inform future marketing strategies, including content and budget.
iHealthspot Can Help
We can help you reach the people who are actively searching for your orthopedic surgical services with a customized PPC ad campaign. We create tailored ad campaigns for both search (Google) and social media and will assist you in choosing the right platform for your practices.
If you would like to build and strengthen patient relationships through a strong overall social media presence, our digital marketing experts can help with that too. Plus, with our listing management services, you can be certain that your online listings on directories such as Google, Healthgrades, Vitals, Foursquare, WebMD, Apple Maps and Bing are updated with your latest information.
Our all-inclusive marketing packages include:
- PPP ad campaign development
- Detailed marketing strategy
- A dedicated account manager
- Monthly analytic reports
- Consultative marketing support
Contact us to get started on your personalized orthopedic marketing plan, including PPC, today.
