Google Ads has emerged as a powerful tool for attracting new patients and expanding your practice.
However, harnessing the full potential of Google Ads is not a given; it requires a strategic approach and a keen eye for detail. Sadly, many healthcare providers unwittingly stumble into common pitfalls that hinder their efforts to gain new patients.
To help you avoid these, we’ll shed light on these mistakes and offer insights on how to sidestep them to achieve greater success in patient acquisition through your healthcare practice Google Ads.
1. Neglecting Keyword Research
One of the most fundamental errors in Google Ads is neglecting proper keyword research. Without a clear understanding of the keywords your potential patients are using, your ads may not reach the right audience.
Invest time in thorough keyword research to identify relevant terms that potential patients are likely to search for.
2. Overlooking Negative Keywords
While focusing on the keywords you want to target, don’t forget about negative keywords. These are terms you don’t want your ads to show for.
For instance, if you’re a paediatric dentist, you might want to exclude terms like “adult dentist” to avoid wasting your budget on irrelevant clicks.
3. Ignoring Ad Extensions
Ad extensions are a powerful feature in Google Ads that can provide additional information to potential patients and make your ads more compelling.
They include site links, callout extensions, and location extensions. Ignoring these extensions means missing out on opportunities to enhance the visibility and appeal of your ads.
4. Using a One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Not tailoring your ads to different patient segments can lead to inefficiencies. Customise your ad copy and targeting for specific services or patient groups to maximise relevance and appeal.
5. Failing to Track Conversions
If you’re not tracking conversions, you won’t know which ads or keywords are driving patient bookings. To avoid this, implement conversion tracking to gain insights into the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
6. Not Monitoring and Adjusting Regularly
Google Ads require ongoing attention and adjustment. Set aside time to monitor your campaigns, analyse data, and make necessary changes. A “set it and forget it” approach can result in wasted budget and missed opportunities.
7. Neglecting Mobile Optimisation
In an increasingly mobile-centric world, neglecting mobile optimisation is a grave mistake. Across all your campaigns, therefore, make sure your ads and landing pages are mobile-friendly to capture patients on various devices.
8. Ignoring Ad Quality Score
Google assigns a quality score to your ads based on factors like click-through rate (CTR), ad relevance, and landing page experience. A higher quality score can lead to lower costs and better ad placement. Regularly assess and work to improve your ad quality score.
9. Underutilising Ad Extensions
Ad extensions allow you to provide additional information to potential patients, such as phone numbers, site links, and reviews. Under-utilising these extensions can lead to less-engaging ads and missed opportunities to connect with patients.
10. Neglecting Landing Page Quality
Your Google Ads can be impeccable, but if they lead to a poorly designed or irrelevant landing page, you risk losing potential patients.
That’s why it’s crucial to ensure that your landing pages are user-friendly, mobile-responsive, and provide the information patients are looking for.
Common Landing Page Mistakes
While creating and managing effective online advertising campaigns is essential for healthcare practices, it’s equally important to pay attention to the landing pages where your ads direct potential patients. The landing page experience plays a critical role in converting ad clicks into appointments or inquiries. Here are some common landing page mistakes healthcare practices should avoid:
Irrelevant Content:
Mistake: One of the most significant mistakes is having a landing page that doesn’t align with the ad’s message or the user’s intent. For example, if your ad promotes a specific service, the landing page should provide detailed information about that service.
Solution: Ensure that the content on your landing page is directly related to the ad’s messaging and offers the information patients are looking for. A consistent message from ad to landing page is key to a successful conversion.
Complex Navigation:
Mistake: Some landing pages for healthcare practices include complex navigation menus, distracting links, or too many options, which can confuse visitors and divert them from the intended action.
Solution: Keep your landing pages simple and focused. Remove unnecessary navigation menus and links that don’t support the primary goal of the page. Make it easy for visitors to take the desired action, whether it’s scheduling an appointment or requesting more information.
Lack of a Clear Call to Action (CTA):
Mistake: Failing to include a clear and compelling call to action on your landing page can lead to missed opportunities. Visitors may not know what action to take next.
Solution: Place a prominent CTA button on your landing page, such as “Schedule an Appointment,” “Request a Consultation,” or “Contact Us.” Use persuasive language that encourages visitors to take that specific action.
Long Load Times:
Mistake: Slow-loading landing pages can frustrate visitors, leading to high bounce rates and reduced conversions. Many patients won’t wait for a page to load; they’ll simply move on.
Solution: Optimise your landing page for fast loading times. Compress images, minimise scripts, and use efficient coding practices to ensure a smooth user experience.
Insufficient Mobile Optimisation:
Mistake: Neglecting mobile optimisation is a common error. With a growing number of users accessing healthcare information on smartphones, it’s crucial that your landing pages are mobile-responsive.
Solution: Design your landing pages to be mobile-friendly, ensuring that they display correctly on various screen sizes and that forms are easy to fill out on mobile devices.
Unclear Value Proposition:
Mistake: If your landing page doesn’t clearly communicate the value of your services or what sets your practice apart, potential patients may lose interest.
Solution: Highlight your practice’s unique selling points, such as exceptional patient care, state-of-the-art facilities, or highly trained staff. Clearly convey the benefits of choosing your practice for their healthcare needs.
Lack of Trust Signals:
Mistake: Trust is essential in healthcare. If your landing page lacks trust signals, such as testimonials, accreditations, or recognisable logos, visitors may hesitate to take action.
Solution: Incorporate trust-building elements on your landing page to reassure potential patients. Showcase positive patient reviews, display relevant certifications, and include logos of professional affiliations or partnerships.
Failure to Test and Iterate:
Mistake: Not testing and refining your landing pages is a missed opportunity for improvement. Without data-driven insights, you may not know what’s working and what isn’t.
Solution: Implement A/B testing to compare different landing page elements, such as headlines, images, or CTAs. Use analytics to track user behavior and make data-informed adjustments to improve conversion rates over time.
The effectiveness of your online advertising campaigns in healthcare depends significantly on the quality and relevance of your landing pages. Avoiding these common mistakes and implementing best practices can help you create landing pages that engage visitors, drive conversions, and ultimately contribute to the growth of your healthcare practice.
Optimise Your Google Ads Strategy for Increased Conversions
Avoiding these common Google Ads mistakes is the first step toward gaining more patients effectively. However, optimising your Google Ads strategy can be complex and time-consuming.
That’s where our experts in Google Ads and healthcare digital marketing can help you. Don’t let common mistakes hinder your patient acquisition efforts; contact our team at practiceedge today to enhance your healthcare marketing and grow your practice.
