Whilst there may be some unique PPC challenges when using paid advertising in the healthcare sector when you look more closely the demands on healthcare professionals are very similar to many other sectors.
First, let’s look at the factors to consider that are more specific to the healthcare industry if you want a successful PPC campaign. Whether you are a GP, dentist, pharmaceutical company, plastic surgeon, medical equipment supplier, osteopath or optometrist, there are a couple of points that are critical when considering paid search.
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Sensitive Information
As a healthcare professional, no one is more in tune with the sensitive information that this sector deals with each and every day. It is essential to ensure this is followed through when setting up a PPC campaign and care is taken over the wording used within paid search ads.
Use of ‘Medical Speak’
If you’re a medical equipment supplier and you are dealing in the B2B market then using medical language and technical terms may be appropriate. But if you are a GP or dental surgery then the language you use needs to be familiar to your audience and potential patients.
Competitiveness
Whilst many industries are hugely competitive when it comes to paid search, the healthcare sector comes high on that list. Google reports that one in every 20 searches performed is health-related. As with all paid advertising, PPC for healthcare providers is not all about being top of the search engines but is about driving visitors to your website and ensuring they convert to customers.
In order to get the best return on your investment, it’s essential to make sure you follow this PPC must do’s.
Know your Audience
Put yourself in your customer’s position and tailor your ads to them. Whether your business is B2C or B2B, paid search is critical to capturing your target buyers, but finding out who your audience is must come first.
Landing pages
A good landing page is indispensable in any successful PPC campaign, but with the healthcare industry and the competitiveness in the sector, you need to tick every box. Take into account what your call to action is, do patients want in-depth information on conditions, treatments, causes, symptoms etc or a brief overview. Testing the effectiveness of your landing pages will show which convert more effectively. Finally, add all your contact details and don’t be shy about your highlighting your call to action.
Be Available
Whether your call to action is a telephone call or not, by the very nature of the healthcare business, your potential customer may want to speak to someone personally. Therefore running your ads when staff are available to take calls is something to build into your paid search.
Mobile-Friendly
We all know that mobile is a primary consideration today, so mobile-friendly ad copy and landing pages is the only way forward. This is not only a good idea when dealing with the public but many medical professionals and healthcare administrators use mobile technology and tablets in the office and at home when making buying decisions.
Paid search can grow and increase the profitability of your healthcare practise or business, not just boost the number of visitors to your website. Results are transparent and can be tracked to ensure you know exactly what you are achieving from your healthcare PPC Adwords campaign.
