What could go wrong if you do Google Ads yourself for your medical practice

Google is the number one search engine in the United States. And getting to the top of the search results is the ideal goal for many businesses. Creating blog content is the best long-term method to get there. However, there’s another way for medical practices looking to rise quickly while waiting for SEO to work: Google Ads.

Google Ads support your long-term marketing strategy. You can work on a shoestring budget and still get some results. At the same time, the interface makes it easy to set up and start running ads. 

All you need is the content and graphics, right?

Not quite.

If an ad campaign isn’t structured correctly, and if its content doesn’t resonate, you could be throwing money into a black hole.

When you’re working on Google Ads yourself, it’s possible for several things to go wrong. Knowing the common pitfalls can help you determine whether you can run ads yourself or whether it’s better to outsource. 

Before we dig into the details of self-managing Google Ads, we must review some key terms. Advertising is its own language, and Google Ads has its own vocabulary. So, let’s cover some of the basic terms you’ll need to know whether you manage your ads or not:

It’s often tempting to set up ads yourself. After all, you don’t have to bill yourself for your time. But if you don’t know the ins and outs of Google Ads, it’s easy to make costly mistakes. Here are our top 9:

Google Ads uses a bidding process for ad placement, and because of this it’s possible to outbid yourself and end up paying more. But how does this happen?

Many businesses choose to run different ad groups at one time. For example, they may be highlighting different services or promotions. However, if they use the same keyword in multiple ad groups, the cost may differ. A single keyword may have a different quality score and bid price depending on the context of the ad. 

In some cases, the keyword will have the same score in both ad groups, but each will have a different bid. When this happens, Google will choose the higher bid for your overall campaign.

Keyword research is critical when it comes to Google Ads. Using broad search terms or failing to screen unwanted keywords can result in unfortunate placements. For example, if someone searches “bad healthcare,” it will not help your practice if your ad appears.

Be as specific as possible when selecting your keywords — or your ad might end up in the wrong place.

The last thing you want is for your website to be associated with negative keywords. This includes things like “worst doctor” or “bad doctor reviews.” Carefully curate and exclude all the potential negative keywords from your ad campaign.

Another common issue is being found for the wrong keywords. Vague or broad keywords tend to be the root of the problem. For instance, the keywords for your “telehealth” campaign should be more specific than “online video.” Not only does this keyword not address what your ideal patient is searching for, but it’s a waste of money. 

There are several reasons you might overspend on Google Ads. Choosing broad keywords is easily the most common and the most difficult to remedy on your own. But not knowing a reasonable budget, failing to optimize your campaigns, and not refreshing your ads periodically can all contribute to paying more for less.

You can add supplemental links to your main ad. It’s not mandatory to use all of them, but they do help. These ad extensions offer additional actions your patients can take besides visiting your landing page. Instead, they can call you, read about your services, view your location, and more. 

One of the worst things you can do is send potential patients to a generic homepage, even if you have an amazing medical practice site. Your homepage often has a mix of messages, but it’s likely you’ll want individuals to take a specific action when they reach your site. You may want them to read a blog post, download a checklist, or sign up for a webinar. These clear, specific calls to action usually do better with a specific page. 

Create a page that caters to your ad content, often called a landing page. For instance, a podiatrist practice may have multiple ads focusing on different services. But someone clicking on an ad for diabetic neuropathy will expect to head to a page with content dedicated to the topic — not your catch-all homepage. 

Healthcare providers and their staff aren’t often copywriters, graphic designers, or videographers. But these are skills you will need to create effective ads. Many underestimate how long it will take them to complete the creative component of their ads — time that could be spent on treating patients. 

Google Ads gives you the option to auto-apply recommendations from the platform. This may seem like an easier way to manage your campaigns, but it isn’t perfect. Manually reviewing the recommendations and applying the relevant ones tends to be more beneficial in the long run. Even if it takes more time. 

The same is true for using smart bidding, a way to automate your bids and ensure you get a better placement. The problem here is that you may end up spending more than you’d like. 

In short, some aspects of Google Ads are better completed manually. 

What happens if your CPM is going out of control? If no one is scheduling a call? Or if Google decides to ban your Google Ads account due to a slip-up in the algorithm? Even worse, sometimes you can have a significant amount of data but not know how to apply it. 

You need to understand the various terms specific to advertising to gauge success and pinpoint errors. And it takes time to learn. If you do it all on your own, you’ll likely spend hours or days searching for solutions or definitions without knowing what will work. 

So, if there are so many potential mistakes, why do medical practices still attempt to manage Google Ads on their own?

Usually, they assume that Google Ads are simple and it’s cheaper than hiring someone. As a result, medical practices may run a Google Ads campaign, but not optimize it. Poorly prepared ads often don’t do well, making it seem like ads don’t work. Healthcare professionals and office managers then believe they’ve thrown a lot of money at nothing.

But Google Ads can be an opportunity for medical practices to attract patients. And it doesn’t have to break your budget. 

For medical practitioners hoping to reduce their time spent on advertising and stretch their dollars further, there are some alternatives to managing Google Ads on your own. Spending on these solutions often appears unnecessary at first glance. However, investing in professionals who can effectively manage your ads and attract more patients can easily increase your revenue. 

But who should you hire?

There are usually 3 options:

Despite the learning curve, it is possible to run a successful campaign. But you’ll likely need help as your practice grows. As a healthcare professional, patients are your priority. Your staff quickly becomes busy with immediate tasks, such as patient questions, prior authorizations, and other important tasks.

Eventually, the best way to get Google Ads to work and work well, without eating up your time is to outsource to someone who really knows advertising and digital marketing. 
To know what you should look for when outsourcing or sticking to creating an advertising and digital marketing strategy yourself, check out our in-depth medical practice growth guide.