Is PPC Worth the Effort? Evaluate Whether or Not it’s a Good Advertising Choice for Your Medical Practice
Pay-per-click advertising, also known as PPC, is a wonderful way to always make sure your medical practice is noticed. It’s a great, effective and proven marketing strategy …
…except when it isn’t.
When it comes to PPC, some marketing firms may declare that “one size fits all,” but PPC isn’t always the right choice. When done well, it can be extremely beneficial at reaching your target demographic, but if you don’t factor all the variables, it can be a huge waste of money with little, if any benefit.
What is pay per click (PPC) advertising and how does it work?
Through PPC, you pay a fee every time someone clicks on your ad. You’ve seen these ads at the top of the Google search engine results page—it’s an attempt to draw people to your site through advertising in addition to letting users find it on their own by searching “organically.”
Essentially, this is how the principle of PPC works:
Let’s say you are trying to direct potential new patients to your website by advertising that you offer heart monitoring. You would bid on terms related to heart monitoring (EKG, Holter monitoring). When a user searches for those terms, your ad will appear at the top of the search engine results page. You will only have to pay for the ad if a user clicks on it.
How much do you have to pay for PPC advertising?
This depends upon a number of factors, including how many others want to purchase that keyword or phrase. You will have to bid on the keyword, and similar to an auction, the price depends upon how many others want to bid on that same word. Some keywords may only cost pennies, but others can cost upwards of $100 per click!
Ideally, you want to find a keyword that will be effective and provide a good return on your investment.
Is PPC a good choice for me?
There are a lot of good things about PPC advertising, such as:
- You have instant visibility on the search engine results page
- It allows you to easily target your desired audience
- It’s simple to track your campaign results
- You can efficiently track your goals
- It’s simple to set a budget limit
- You can effortlessly place parameters on how long you want your campaign to continue
Of course, PPC is far from perfect.
It’s very easy to get into a bidding war over certain keywords, and in many cases, these bidders have deep pockets. It’s hard for midsized medical practices to compete with major pharmaceutical companies and hospital conglomerates for prized keywords.
So is PPC worth the effort? Is it a good choice for my medical practice?
Whether or not PPC will benefit you depends upon so many factors, so it’s impossible to have one simple answer. It’s also important to realize that PPC may start out as a great option, but later it will be beneficial to move your marketing dollars elsewhere.
Your budget will also be affected by what you consider the lifetime value of a patient.
Often, medical practices underestimate this figure. For example, if a new patient sees you and pays $100 for an office visit, the value of that patient is not $100. If the patient only sees you twice a year and remains your patient for 5 years, that value increases to $1,000. This does not take into account patients who may need to see you more often due to chronic medical conditions or acute illnesses.
Overwhelmed by the subtleties of PPC advertising? We’re here to help.
We’ve worked with hundreds of medical practices of all specialties, helping them create a comprehensive marketing plan. PPC advertising alone is rarely enough to help you reach your goals. We also understand that “set it and forget it” spells doom for any strategic advertising.
Schedule an appointment to speak with one of our PPC experts. We’d love to have a chance to help you amplify your message.
Want to learn more? Check out some of our earlier blog articles:
Contact us for information on our Pay-Per-Click packages.
Since its inception in 2000, Proclaim Interactive has combined excellence in design and think-out-of- the-box digital marketing to become one of the most award-winning firms in the region. Proclaim Interactive provides website design, social media management, SEO and general marketing services designed to amplify clients’ messages. For more information call 910.795.4143.
