In the realm of healthcare marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising has emerged as a dynamic tool to reach prospective patients and promote services. Understanding the nuances of different PPC platforms will better inform your marketing strategy for increased effectiveness. This blog will introduce you to your many paid search options.
Our Number One PPC Pick for Medical Practices? Google Ads.
In the lane of paid search advertising for medical practices, Google Ads is the most recommended PPC platform by healthcare digital marketers. The extensive user base and the cost-efficiency of Google’s advertising platform makes it the top choice for many industries, including healthcare. But as you pursue any advertising online, know that special rules apply to those promoting health-related services.
Most patients turn to Google when they need information about health issues or are looking for medical services. Google Ads provides the opportunity to reach patients where they actively seek services, versus being in the periphery as they casually browse social media or watch videos.
What Are PPC Platforms and How Do They Work?
Millions of consumers have access to free internet tools, and the most popular platforms sell access to their audiences through their advertising channels. These major platforms have built robust self-service tools, full of customizations and helpful features for more effective campaigns.
Advertising platforms you have likely encountered are:
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Ads (Bing)
- YouTube
- Facebook (Meta)
- Instagram (Meta)
Key Components of PPC Platforms
To better illustrate how PPC platforms work, this section will outline the key components of these advertising channels.
Targeting and Reach
One of the primary benefits of PPC advertising is the ability to hand select specific demographics based on interests. This granular targeting allows you to reach the most relevant audience for your healthcare practice.
Many platforms offer advanced features like remarketing and cross-platform targeting, expanding your online visibility to potential patients across the different online spaces they visit. This approach helps boost the chances for conversion.
Ad Formats and Placement
Each PPC platform offers various ad formats and placements, giving you the flexibility to choose what works best for your healthcare practice. For instance, Google Ads provides options like text ads, display ads, and video ads, each promoting visibility in different popular spaces online.
Similarly, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer unique ad formats like carousel ads, which allow you to showcase multiple products or services in one ad. Understanding the different ad formats and placements can help you create more visually appealing and engaging ads for your audience.
Budget Management
PPC platforms also provide options for budget management, allowing you to control how much you spend on each campaign. This is particularly beneficial for healthcare practices with limited advertising budgets, as you can set a daily or monthly budget. Most PPC platforms allow you to start, pause, or stop campaigns based on your available resources, ensuring that you maintain control over your advertising spend.
Ad Formats
Each PPC platform offers various format options, such as text, image, and video ads. Additionally, some platforms have unique ad formats that cater to specific user engagement styles, such as promoted tweets on Twitter or video ads on YouTube. Experimenting with your options can help you craft more compelling ads that resonate with your target audience.
Pricing Models
Most PPC platforms operate on either a cost-per-Click (CPC) or cost-per-mille (CPM) pricing model. The choice between these models largely depends on your ad campaign goals and budget.
As mentioned before, PPC platforms also offer bidding options, where you can set the maximum amount you can afford to pay for each click. This helps avoid overspending on ads to stay within your budget.
Average Cost Per Click on Google and Meta
The figures below give a general idea of what is spent per engagement with PPC ads. Costs will vary depending on how difficult it is to compete in your specific market. Average CPC figures for the more popular platforms are:
- Google Ads – $2.32 CPC or $59.18 cost per action (CPA) in Google search results, and < $0.58 CPC in the Google display network. The most expensive keywords can be up to $50 per click.
- Facebook ads – $1.72 CPC, $18.68 cost per action (CPA), and $10 CPM.
A small business can spend – on average – between $9,000 – $10,000 per month on PPC ads. However, medical practices can still benefit from paid search on smaller budgets.
Understanding The Different Types of PPC Platforms
For healthcare marketing, search engine-based platforms are often the most effective, but sometimes marketing strategy can include a mix of several ad types. This section will further explain the appeal of each advertiser platform.
Search Engine-Based Platforms
Platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft ads offer extensive reach through their search engines. These platforms are our top picks due to the sheer volume of users actively searching for health-related information or services. This type of targeting ensures that your ads are seen by those most likely to “convert,” making it a cost-effective option for healthcare practices.
Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest offer unique targeting options based on demographics and user habits which help advertisers reach a very niche target audience. While these platforms may not be the first choice for healthcare marketing, they can complement your strategy by reaching users in a more casual, social context.
Meta
Facebook and Instagram – two social media giants – offer impactful platforms for healthcare advertising, leveraging image and video ads to draw user attention. Facebook’s robust targeting capabilities and Instagram’s high user engagement driven by visual content make them ideal for promoting certain healthcare services. Both platforms operate on a cost-per-desired-action model, allowing you to pay only when users take a specific action, like filling in a form or booking an appointment. This ensures your advertising spend is directly tied to tangible results, enhancing your return on investment.
LinkedIn’s unique selling point lies in its ability to target ads based on users’ professional information like job titles, industry, and company size. LinkedIn’s ads target is known as B2B (business to business). This feature is particularly advantageous for healthcare practices looking to reach professionals in specific industries or job titles. While most medical practices are not marketing to other businesses, some healthcare businesses are after the demographic LinkedIn holds.
Video-Based Platforms
YouTube Ads – under the umbrella of Google’s advertising services – is a platform driven by video content. Producing a video requires additional resources, and the platform may not be the best match for attracting patients actively seeking medical services. However, videos can be highly effective in addressing common patient concerns that can convince them to move ahead with services.
Summary: Understanding Healthcare Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising helps medical practices accelerate success in the market. PPC platforms offer potent tools and features to effectively connect potential patients with the healthcare services they need now. Each advertising channel provides the personalization needed to run campaigns with precision while working to stay within budget. The top PPC advertising platforms are:
- Google Ads
- Microsoft (Bing ads)
- YouTube
- Facebook (Meta)
- Instagram (Meta)
The platform recommended by most healthcare marketers is Google Ads because of user intent when it comes to search engines – patients are assumed to be highly motivated to secure medical services when actively searching online. And while Bing is another sought-after advertising platform, Google has a much larger user base. Social media advertising on Facebook and Instagram can supplement the most ambitious of healthcare marketing goals.
Every platform has its own format for ads. While Google Ads are mostly text-based, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram leverage the power of images and interactive features to engage target audiences. If you aim to build awareness of your brand and dispel common concerns about the services you provide, video ads on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram can help.
PPC platforms get revenue from advertisers through user engagement such as pay per click, pay per desired action, pay per million impressions, etc. PPC advertisers can control costs by using features that cap what can be spent on platform advertising.
Medical practices face some challenges with PPC. Some are under the impression that PPC is cost-prohibitive as it can cost thousands of dollars per month just to pay for clicks and other engagements, but also the expense of hiring someone to manage the campaigns so that they have a decent conversion rate. Another layer of difficulty is that many platforms place restrictions on healthcare advertising, Google especially. However, with the help of the right marketing agency, medical practices can find ways to make the budget work and stay within regulatory guidelines.
Digital Advertising is Complicated. Let iHealthSpot Help You Choose the Best PPC Platform
As you gather information about digital marketing, it is likely that you will get to a point where it seems too complicated to make a quick and easy decision. As a busy healthcare professional, it is likely that you don’t have time to fret over what direction to take with your digital marketing efforts. Let us guide you through the digital advertising process with the guidance of our extensive healthcare business expertise, including paid advertising online. Contact us today for more information.
