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Google Ads will turn 24 years old this year, and today, this marketing resource represents 80 percent of Google’s revenue, which represented 279.8 billion US dollars last year.
But the question is, do we really believe there is no partiality given to Google Ads—, Paid Search, and Pay-Per-Click (PPC)—over other types of online marketing?
We believe “Corporate Nature” must prevail here, and we think we can all agree that—even though Google may deny it—favoritism surely must be given to Paid Search over organic Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
But how does this affect you as a business owner of a plastic surgery practice or a med spa owner trying to promote your services in the most competitive era ever experienced in the United States—or anywhere else for that matter—since the beginning of cosmetic medical marketing?
The Dark Ages of Medical Marketing
If we refer to the dark ages of marketing circa 2000, it was nothing for plastic surgeons to spend $100K on Yellow Pages or the equivalent on radio spots and magazine ads. Under these scenarios, it was difficult, if not impossible, to determine if these marketing investments produced measurable results. It was all based on one’s perception. If the phone was ringing and the appointment schedule was full, the doctor was happy. If there were open spots in the schedule, the doctor was unhappy. It was all very simple, and yet we could have been off by miles and just didn’t know it.
This was especially true when you consider that most practices at that time knew nothing about customer service skills or how to handle incoming marketing calls. Leads were often lost at the beginning stage of patient interaction with the office. But since no one was tracking it, it didn’t matter.
Since tracking results was not an exact science, a practice could have had appointments being scheduled from multiple sources, and rarely, if ever, could they rely on patients remembering where they first heard about the doctor or how long ago they saw your advertising before they decided to buy.
Today, marketing is much more complicated than it was in 2000, and there are thousands more competitors in our individual marketing location demographics.
In previous blogs, we discussed the need for marketing and branding strategies and critical thinking about how you should differentiate yourself from your competitors. Many of you have listened, which is gratifying. Watching your success is the best confirmation for us as a marketing agency to validate that we guided you correctly, which is why many of you have been with us for over 15 years.
A New Marketing Era
At Plastic Surgery Studios, our marketing team are experts in Google Ads. Our PPC specialists are responsible for researching your market, designing your campaigns, strategizing with you on procedures, and tracking your results. They manage the campaigns of dozens of our clients who look to them for their input on how to make sense of Paid Search and help them understand how to leverage this resource to grow their practice and, thus, their revenue.
We believe the online presence of plastic surgery practices plays a central role in acquiring and retaining patients and non-surgical clients. There is also no doubt that both your social media and your website are still essential marketing investments.
We’ve witnessed first-hand some clients forgetting about their websites and relying only on their social media, only to find that when consumers visited their website and found a lackluster or out-of-date site, they bounced off to more current-looking and sophisticated marketing sites.
You Need to Do It All. Dipping Your Toe in the Water Will Not Cut It!
While social media and websites are essential tools, you may still need the power of Google Ads to target audiences that might not find your website. This consumer is generally hyper-focused on a specific procedure, looking for a deal, or looking for something unique, and this is where Paid Search comes in.
Six Steps to Success with Google Ads
1. Pinpoint the Right Buyers
With Google Ads, you can pinpoint the exact patient, their procedure triggers and keywords, specific locations, psychographics, and more. This type of targeting produces precision leads like no other form of marketing can provide. It ensures your advertising reaches the correct audience at the right time and increases your chances of converting those leads into patients.
By using a strategist to select the most pertinent keywords for your specific services and procedures, you essentially hedge your bets in this online game by appearing at the top of the most searched terms you are offering.
2. Successful and Affordable Advertising
For most practices, advertising is one of their most expensive recurring expenses, so it is imperative that it produces value. Spending money on brand recognition can only go so far, and getting the phone or email to “ring” is critical.
Google Ads or Paid Ads operate on a pay-per-click model, which translates to you only paying when someone clicks on your ad. This ensures your budget is being used efficiently, as you are only charged for those who engage with your office. When they engage, the responsibility shifts from your marketing agency to your office staff. The ultimate test of your practice’s ability to convert patients via phone or email will depend on how well your office staff communicates with patients.
However, on the outbound Google Ads marketing side, you have complete control over your budget and can set daily spending limits, making it flexible and within your budget. Tracking your ads and measuring your success is all data-driven, enabling you to optimize every campaign for the best results and ensure you receive the value you anticipated.
3. Securing Search Dominance
Naturally, everyone wants to be at the top, and, therefore, it is competitive. Google Ads greatly enhance your practice’s online visibility by placing your ads at the top of search results pages. This prime placement ensures that potential patients are more likely to find your practice when searching for specific procedures you offer and, equally importantly, at great prices and a sense of urgency.
To increase your search results, Google Ads offers ad assets —including location assets and callout assets —which allow you more online real estate and provide more valuable consumer information, such as unique selling language and points of differentiation.
4. The Tortoise and The Hare Strategy
We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare and how the tortoise won the race by being patient and consistent. However, with Google Ads, aesthetic medical practices can enjoy immediate results. Although we still advise patience and consistency, unlike more traditional advertising—where it can take weeks and sometimes months to pay off—Google Ads allows us to drive traffic leads almost instantaneously. The hare wins in this case!
We’ve found that with time-sensitive offers, we can capture consumers who are highly motivated by a sense of immediacy, or when we create compelling ad copy and optimize your landing pages to coincide with special promotions and events, we see significant results.
5. It’s Time to Stop Guessing
We have been puzzled for years when a practice tells us they do not track leads from their advertising or marketing spending. This has always felt like watching someone burn cash in their fireplace. Google Ads has provided a solution for these misguided souls.
We have tools and metrics to help us track the effectiveness of every one of our clients’ campaigns. We track the number of clicks, impressions, click-through rates, conversion rates, and many more key performance indicators. And then, imagine this: We go over all of this with you every month!
With this data at our disposal, we can continually refine and improve our marketing strategies, A/B test different types of creative ads, adjust bidding strategies, and target options based on performance data, allowing us to optimize your campaigns and maximize your return on investment.
6. Selecting a Google Ads Expert
While the value of Google Ads for aesthetic practices, med spas, or realistically any business is indisputable, it is equally critical to acknowledge this requires some specific expertise. This is not the time for a novice or someone new to online marketing to handle what could ultimately be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to you.
Google Ads for the Win
Google Ads should undoubtedly be part of your marketing strategy so you get the maximum benefit from all the resources at your disposal. It offers advertisers unprecedented targeting capabilities, real-time measurement, cost-effectiveness, and global reach. Google Ads has truly revolutionized the way businesses promote their products and services online, empowering advertisers to connect with their target audience in more meaningful and impactful ways.
When you’re ready to talk about Google Ads, we’re here to help educate you and walk you through the process. Your success is our success. We’d love the opportunity to help you navigate these waters.
Contact us today by calling (888) 525-6360 or by filling out the contact form below.
