In today’s age, much of healthcare marketing is based on building a solid digital marketing strategy. Most, if not all, companies rely on Google ads for the healthcare sector to build their brand. For Life Science companies (LSH), Google ads are a crucial tool to use, particularly when targeting Healthcare Professionals and Patients.
The following blog will address the importance of Google ads within Healthcare marketing, the benefits of using these ad campaigns in Healthcare marketing and how to use these to ensure a successful Google ads campaign effectively.
Importance of Google Ads for Healthcare Marketing
Google Ads’ data-driven approach ensures cost-effective campaigns, encouraging growth and delivering essential health services. Integrating Google Ads in Healthcare marketing can boost your business effectively. So, make sure to take advantage of the importance of Google ads, as described below.
Reaches a Targeted Audience
Google Ads allows companies to specifically target their ads based on numerous criteria, including geographical location, search queries, and browsing behaviour. This means that for Life Science companies, you can present your brand directly to those actively searching to expand their Healthcare services or products further, ensuring brand exposure to a relevant audience.
Increase Visibility Quickly
Unlike organic search strategies, which can take time to build traction, Google Ads provides immediate visibility. By taking advantage of a paid search engine, you can ensure top placement in Google’s search results, making your main/landing page more visible to potential clients in the Healthcare industry.
To ensure that a brand is on top of the search engines, start with keyword bidding. Here, Healthcare marketers can choose specific keywords they want to target. They then bid on these keywords, essentially competing with other Healthcare ads for the opportunity to have their ads displayed when these keywords are searched.
Once users search these keywords, the corresponding ads might appear based on the bid amount, ad relevance, and other criteria. If a user clicks on the ad, the advertiser pays a fee to the search engine, a model commonly known as “pay-per-click” or PPC. These ads lead the target audience to designated landing pages on the advertiser’s website, tailored to the initial search query.
The strength of paid search lies in its ability to offer immediate brand visibility, targeted reach based on precise criteria, controlled budgeting, and measurable campaign results.
Promote Brand Differentiators
Healthcare marketers can use ad extensions and different ad formats. Brands can highlight their unique selling points, specialised services, testimonials, or industry certifications. This not only informs potential clients but also positions the brand as a leader in the Healthcare industry.
Builds Trust Through Transparency
Ad transparency is becoming increasingly important due to growing concerns over privacy, misinformation, and the overall ethics of advertising. Digital marketing efforts aim to build trust with audiences and empower users with knowledge about the content they encounter.
Therefore, transparency is vital in the Healthcare sector. By clearly mentioning accreditations, certifications, or connections in ad campaigns, Healthcare brands can quickly establish trust with potential clients.
Increasing Brand Recognition with Retargeting
Google Ads allows Healthcare advertisers to remarket their brand by enabling them to display ads to users who have previously visited their website or landing pages. This will nurture the web visitors further and generate higher conversions.
Measure and Refine for Consistent Branding
One of Google Ads’ standout features is its analytics. Healthcare brands can gain insights into which ads resonate most with their audience. LSH brands can monitor their ads’ performance and dive deep into metrics that show user behaviour and preferences. By understanding which ads have the most engagement, clicks, or conversions, these brands can identify what truly resonates with their audience.
This valuable data provides a narrative of audience preferences and behaviours. With this continuous feedback loop in place, brands can refine and adjust their ad messaging, optimising for clarity and impact.
The end result is an up-to-date communication strategy that upholds the brand’s identity and effectively reaches its target audience.
Educate Through Content Promotion
To create a successful ad campaign, an LSH enterprise can use Google Ads to promote valuable content like research studies, blogs, and whitepapers that they have done in the past.
This proactive approach of sharing knowledge elevates the brand’s visibility in search results and establishes its position as a trusted resource and thought leader among Healthcare professionals. Over time, this can foster greater trust and engagement from current and potential clients.
Control the Narrative
In a field like Healthcare, news – both positive and negative – can spread rapidly. Google Ads provides a platform to control the narrative. Healthcare advertisers should take advantage by creating a campaign to spread the word.
A timely ad campaign can spread the word if there’s a significant positive development. Moreover, if there’s misinformation, a well-placed ad can direct people to accurate resources.
How to use Google Ads in the Healthcare sector?
Google Ads is key for growing digital health brands, but using it correctly can be tricky because of Google’s strict rules for healthcare ads. Avoiding mistakes is crucial as they can be expensive and can stop the business growth. Brands need expert help to understand and follow Google’s rules and to know what to consider when starting Google Ads in healthcare. Below, we have described the vital points to consider while setting up your Google ads.
Understand the Regulations
Before launching any advertising campaign in Healthcare, it’s important to understand the advertising regulations from Google and local governing bodies.
According to Google ads, there are specific policies for the healthcare industry. The main highlighted points to keep in mind are outlined below:
- Prohibited Content
- Sale of prescription drugs.
- Unapproved pharmaceuticals and supplements.
- Products with misleading claims or that are marketed in an untruthful manner.
- Restricted Content
- Online pharmacies (must be certified by Google).
- Prescription drugs (allowed in certain countries with specific requirements).
- Over-the-counter medication (subject to local regulations).
- Pregnancy and fertility-related products and services.
- Editorial and Technical: Advertisements must meet specific quality standards and should not exploit sensitive events or topics.
- Legal Requirements: Advertisers must comply with local laws and regulations, including acquiring necessary authorisations, licenses, and approvals.
- Change History: Google keeps a log of changes to this policy, which can be referred to for updates.
Set Clear Objective
Determine what you aim to achieve with your ads. This could be:
- Raising awareness about a new medical procedure or service.
- Promoting a health-related event.
- Educating the audience about a health issue.
Conduct Thorough Keyword Research
- Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to identify what potential patients or clients are searching for.
- Be specific. Instead of broad terms like “dentist”, use “pediatric dentist in [City Name]”.
- Understand search intent. Someone searching for “symptoms of flu” might benefit from an ad about flu prevention or treatments.
Craft Relevant and Empathetic Ad Copy
Given the personal nature of health-related searches, your ad copy should:
- Address the user’s concern directly and empathetically.
- Avoid making claims that can’t be guaranteed.
- Include a clear call-to-action (CTA).
Use Ad Extensions
- Sitelink Extensions: Direct users to specific pages on your site, like “Meet Our Team” or “Services”.
- Call Extensions: Allow users to call your facility directly from the ad.
- Location Extensions: Help clients find where you are located easily.
Optimise Landing Pages
Ensure the page you’re directing traffic to:
- It is relevant to the ad.
- It is relevant to the ad.
- Loads quickly.
- Is mobile-friendly.
- Contains clear information and a CTA.
- It avoids medical jargon and communicates clearly to everyone, including the target audience.
Implement Audience Targeting
- Demographics: Target based on age, gender, parental status, etc., if relevant.
- Geotargeting: Particularly important for local Healthcare providers.
- Affinity & In-market: Target users based on their broader interests or those actively seeking specific services.
Utilise Remarketing
While it’s essential to be sensitive, remarketing can be effective for more general Healthcare services or educational content.
Monitor and Adjust
- Regularly review the performance of your ads.
- Adjust bids, refine keywords, and tweak ad copy based on what’s working best.
- Implement A/B testing to determine the most effective ads.
Stay Updated and Educate
Healthcare is a rapidly evolving field. Stay updated with the following:
- Regularly check Google’s policies for Healthcare advertising.
- Attend webinars or workshops focused on digital advertising in Healthcare.
- Ensure all team members involved in ad creation and management understand Healthcare regulations.
