Campaign Type
First, you need to choose the correct campaign type for dentists. Starting with a leads goal, and Search Network is the right call here. The Search Network will help you find customers looking for dental services.
Proper Tracking
You need a way to track whether your ads are working or not. In this case, we can use website visits, phone calls, or both. We suggest you use both (as long as you take appointments on your website, otherwise chose phone calls only).
The url you enter in the above image should be the thank you page after someone schedules an appointment. That way Google can properly track if someone scheduled an appointment vs only visiting your schedule appointment page.
The phone number you enter should be the number that is listed on your Google My Business listing. For more information on how to properly setup your Google My Business account, please CLICK HERE.
Location Targeting
Next, you need to set the proper targeting. We suggest you target an area that is within 15 miles of your dental office.
For example, if your office is in San Diego, CA, you will probably need to narrow down your targeting. Using Radius search will help with that. All you have to do is type in the address of your office, and set the distance you would like Google to pull searches of.
Budget and Bidding
Budget in Google Ads is set based on the average you want to spend each day. Some days you might spend less than your daily budget, and on others you might spend up to twice as much. But for the month, you won’t pay more than your daily budget times the average number of days in a month.
To start out, we suggest at least $40/day. You can then monitor your account to see how much it is costing you to get a click, and a conversion. Then access if your budget needs to be increased or decreased. It really comes down to how much you are willing to spend to gain a lead.
For bidding, choose conversions. This will help you get the most conversions for your budget.
Ad Extensions
Ad Extensions typically get up to 15% higher clickthrough rate by showing additional information on your ads. They make your ads appear larger and stand out more to a potential lead. Below is an example of three ad extensions.
Ad Groups
An ad group contains one or more ads that share similar targets. You can use ad groups to organize your ads by a common theme. For example, try separating ad groups into the different product or service types you offer.
There should be no more than 20-25 keywords per ad group and 2-3 ads per ad group.
Ads need to rotate out every 60-90 days to stay fresh, unless a certain ad continues to produce consistent leads at a low cost per lead.
Keyword Research
Selecting the right keywords for your campaign can help you attract the right customers and increase your conversions. Your keywords should match the search terms your potential customers would use to find your dental office.
You can use the Google Ads Keyword Planner to discover new keywords, research existing keywords (including how often certain words are searched), and get bid estimates. You can also check out our article on the highest performing keywords for dental offices by CLICKING HERE.
Negative keywords
Negative keywords allow you to exclude search terms from your campaigns so you can focus on the keywords that matter to your potential customers. Better keyword targeting can put your ad in front of interested users and increase your conversions exponentially. Below is an example of a negative keyword list for a dental office.
Ad Copy Example
Below is an example of an ad from a dental office that receives well above average conversions (Replace YOUR LOCATION with the location of your dental office).
