You know content marketing and social media are excellent strategies that help boost your private practice’s ranking. The only problem? They take time to show results, and you need to bring in some new patients ASAP.
You’re tempted to try Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, hoping it will score some qualified leads that you quickly turn into customers. But the internet is full of stories about how difficult it is to set up a campaign (and how easy it is to lose your money). So, understandably, you’re on the fence about it.
Well, it's time to get off that fence! We’re here to teach you the PPC basics that can boost your private practice’s ranking.
Related: Are Your Facebook Ads Performing the Way You Think?
First things first: before you dive in head first and launch your campaign, make sure you understand how Pay-Per-Click advertising works. Do some research on your competition and see how they're using PPC to improve their rankings. Make a list of relevant keywords, then type those keywords into Google and examine the PPC ads that show up on the results page. To hone in on the main phrases you want to rank for continue to narrow down your list based on your findings.
To create a successful PPC campaign you also need to understand how the bidding system works. Now that you've researched and determined the best keywords for your advertising efforts, you have to bid on them. Keep in mind the more search volume the terms have the higher the bids will go. So try to look primarily for long-tail keywords (specific, more detailed key phrases) that aren’t as popular, but still get plenty of clicks.
Now, when a searcher uses one of your long-tail keywords the ad network looks at the bids and determines whether your ad will show up on the search results page (SERP). Note: being the highest bidder doesn’t necessarily mean your ad will show every time someone searches for your keywords. Other factors, such as the quality score of your ad play an essential role in this equation, too.
Remember, you need to determine the best keywords to boost your private practice ranking. Use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner to help identify the phrases with low competition but a high search volume.
When setting your campaign, focus on “exact match” options rather than “broad match” -- the latter gives the network too much freedom on when to show your ads. If want Google to have some (but not total) liberty, “modified broad match” might be a good fit for you. You also need to pay attention to the locations where your ads will be shown. Geo-target your campaign, so potential patients from your local area see your ads, and not everybody on the internet.
Small business owners are often reluctant to try PPC because it's easy to spend a lot of money with not much to show for it. That’s true; if you’re not careful, you can see your marketing budget go down the drain faster than you can say “conversion.” Don’t invest your entire budget before you get the hang of PPC. Instead, set a sum you're comfortable spending - you can always increase your budget later if you're getting your money's worth.
Pay-Per-Click is a marvelous opportunity to generate qualified leads and grow your patient-base. However, you must be smart and careful to see significant results. Follow the tips above to learn the basics of PPC and help boost your private practice ranking. And if you need a helping hand, don’t be afraid to reach out to Ironmark.