Google Ads · Healthcare Google Ads for healthcare practices.
Google Ads built around new patients, bookings and appointment availability, with AHPRA advertising requirements in mind.
Google Ads built around new patients, bookings and appointment availability, with AHPRA advertising requirements in mind.
Google Ads puts your clinic in front of people who are already looking for a service.
But healthcare advertising isn't the same as advertising a plumber or an ecommerce store.
There are AHPRA advertising requirements, Google's healthcare policies, restrictions around certain services and treatments, and rules around claims, testimonials and promotions. On top of that, a good healthcare campaign needs to account for location, appointment availability, referral patterns, booking processes and the value of different types of patients.
We manage Google Ads with all of that in mind.
For clinics and practices across Australia that want more relevant enquiries, without treating healthcare advertising like generic lead generation.
A well-run healthcare campaign should do more than generate clicks.
It should put the right service in front of people in the right area, send them to an appropriate page, make it easy to call or book, and give the practice a reliable view of what those enquiries are costing.
That means looking at more than keywords and cost per click.
We consider:
The aim is to get more from the people already searching for your services, rather than to spend more on Google.
Different healthcare businesses have different search behaviour, commercial considerations and compliance requirements.
Physiotherapy, chiropractic, podiatry, osteopathy and occupational therapy are regulated health professions, while other allied health services have different regulatory arrangements.
Campaigns need to reflect the services you want to grow, the areas you serve and the appointment capacity you have available.
Mental health searches are often more considered and personal than ordinary local-service searches.
The advertising needs to be appropriate to the service and the way people search, while the landing page should give prospective patients enough information and confidence to take the next step.
An emergency dental search has very different intent from someone researching orthodontics, implants or aligners.
Urgent treatment, general dentistry and higher-value elective procedures should not necessarily be approached as one campaign.
Cosmetic healthcare advertising carries additional requirements around claims, imagery, testimonials and the way procedures and outcomes are represented.
We take those requirements into account when planning campaigns, ad copy and landing pages.
Specialist practices often operate within a referral-led model, but patients still search for practitioners, procedures and conditions before deciding where to book.
Google Ads can support that existing referral demand as well as generate direct enquiries where appropriate.
NDIS search behaviour can involve participants, families, support coordinators and other decision-makers.
Campaign structure and conversion tracking need to account for those different audiences rather than treating every enquiry as equivalent.
For most healthcare practices, location matters.
People generally want a provider they can realistically travel to, particularly for services requiring regular appointments.
We structure campaigns around the areas your practice serves, rather than an entire city.
When someone searches “physio near me” or “dentist in [suburb]”, Google often gives the local map results as much room as the ads.
Your Business Profile stays with the practice. What matters for the ads is that the profile and the campaigns agree on location, hours, phone number and booking link, so patients land at the right clinic.
For many practices, a click isn't the conversion.
The important action is a booked appointment, phone enquiry or other real patient enquiry.
Where technically possible, we track those actions, so campaign decisions are based on what happens after the click as well as inside Google Ads.
Healthcare advertising needs to be approached differently from ordinary Google Ads.
We build campaigns with the relevant AHPRA advertising requirements and Google's healthcare policies in mind. AHPRA requirements apply to registered health professions; for other services, the relevant industry and Google policies apply.
That includes considering:
Healthcare advertising restrictions apply to the way patient testimonials, reviews and treatment experiences are used.
Claims about treatments, outcomes or benefits need to be supportable and appropriately presented.
Discounts, incentives and other offers need clear and appropriate terms.
Advertising shouldn't create unrealistic expectations about outcomes.
Terms such as “specialist” have specific requirements.
Advertising shouldn't encourage unnecessary or inappropriate treatment.
Google has additional policies covering medicines, treatments and certain healthcare services.
Compliance isn't something to check after a campaign has been written. It needs to be considered when deciding what to advertise in the first place.
You remain responsible for your practice's advertising and regulatory obligations. Where something is unclear or potentially sensitive, we raise it with you before it goes live.
Sources: AHPRA advertising guidelines ↗ · Google's healthcare and medicines policy ↗
Performance Max can be useful for some local practices, particularly where there is enough conversion data and a clear understanding of what constitutes a valuable enquiry.
It isn't automatically the right campaign type for every healthcare business.
For practices with limited search volume, high-value treatments or a small geographic catchment, a carefully structured Search campaign may provide a clearer picture of where enquiries are coming from.
We choose campaign types based on the practice, its services, conversion data and objectives, rather than putting every account into the same structure.
Healthcare marketing often involves several channels working at the same time. That can make attribution difficult.
For example, an account might send traffic to landing pages managed by an SEO team. The Google Ads account reports one level of conversion activity, while organic reporting appears to attribute substantially more enquiries to SEO.
Once the traffic goes to the practice's main website and conversion tracking is corrected, it becomes possible to see what Google Ads is generating.
If calls, forms and bookings aren't being measured, it's difficult to know whether an advertising account is working.
That's why tracking and reporting are part of the work from the start.
We work with healthcare businesses where there is a clear service to promote, a defined geographic market and a patient enquiry or booking process that can be measured.
This can include:
They're considered when deciding what to advertise and how the ads and landing pages are worded, alongside Google's healthcare policies.
That doesn't replace your own professional and regulatory responsibilities. If an ad, claim or service is potentially sensitive, we'll raise it with you rather than making assumptions.
AHPRA's advertising guidelines restrict testimonials about clinical care, and that can include reviews quoted in an ad. How reviews are used is checked with you before anything goes live.
Yes.
Multi-location practices can be structured around individual clinics, geographic areas and service offerings, with location-specific landing pages and conversion tracking where appropriate.
ReadEvery platform claims the same saleOne Google Ads sale, reported as four organic ones, and the reports that decide where a clinic's budget goes.Read the post
Nothing changes in your account without your say. You get the findings, and you decide what happens next.
Platapode specialises in Google Ads.
Based in Sydney, NSW, working with businesses across Australia and overseas.
