Google Ads · Healthcare Google Ads for healthcare practices.
AHPRA-aware Google Ads built around new patients, bookings and what can be measured.
AHPRA-aware Google Ads built around new patients, bookings and what can be measured.
Google Ads can be particularly effective for healthcare practices because it puts your clinic in front of people who are already looking for a service.
But healthcare advertising isn't the same as advertising a plumber or an e-commerce store.
There are AHPRA advertising requirements, Google's healthcare policies, restrictions around certain services and treatments, and rules around claims, testimonials and promotions. On top of that, a good healthcare campaign needs to account for location, appointment availability, referral patterns, booking processes and the value of different types of patients.
We manage Google Ads with all of that in mind.
For clinics and practices across Australia that want more relevant enquiries — without treating healthcare advertising like generic lead generation.
A well-run healthcare campaign should do more than generate clicks.
It should put the right service in front of people in the right area, send them to an appropriate page, make it easy to call or book, and give the practice a reliable view of what those enquiries are actually costing.
That means looking at more than keywords and cost per click.
We consider:
The objective isn't simply to spend more on Google. It's to make the existing search demand around your practice work harder.
Different healthcare businesses have different search behaviour, commercial considerations and compliance requirements.
Physiotherapy, chiropractic, podiatry, osteopathy and occupational therapy are regulated health professions, while other allied health services have different regulatory arrangements.
Campaigns need to reflect the services you actually want to grow, the areas you serve and the appointment capacity you have available.
Mental health searches are often more considered and personal than ordinary local-service searches.
The advertising needs to be appropriate to the service and the way people search, while the landing page should give prospective patients enough information and confidence to take the next step.
An emergency dental search has very different intent from someone researching orthodontics, implants or aligners.
Urgent treatment, general dentistry and higher-value elective procedures should not necessarily be approached as one campaign.
Cosmetic healthcare advertising carries additional requirements around claims, imagery, testimonials and the way procedures and outcomes are represented.
We take those requirements into account when planning campaigns, ad copy and landing pages.
Specialist practices often operate within a referral-led model, but patients still search for practitioners, procedures and conditions before deciding where to book.
Google Ads can support that existing referral demand as well as generate direct enquiries where appropriate.
NDIS search behaviour can involve participants, families, support coordinators and other decision-makers.
Campaign structure and conversion tracking need to account for those different audiences rather than treating every enquiry as equivalent.
For most healthcare practices, location matters.
People generally want a provider they can realistically travel to, particularly for services requiring regular appointments.
We structure campaigns around the areas your practice actually serves rather than simply targeting an entire city.
For local healthcare practices, the Google Business Profile can be an important asset alongside Google Ads.
When someone searches for something like “physio near me” or “dentist in [suburb]”, Google doesn't always show a traditional list of text search ads at the top. Depending on the search, location and available results, it may instead give significant prominence to local results and Business Profiles, including the local map results.
That means your practice can be competing for visibility in two closely connected parts of Google's results:
The paid text results that appear for relevant searches.
The Business Profiles Google selects for local searches.
A well-maintained Business Profile gives Google accurate information about your practice, including its location, opening hours, phone number, website and booking options. It also gives prospective patients another way to assess the practice before deciding whether to call or book.
For practices with multiple locations, each clinic needs to be managed accurately so patients are directed to the right practice and contact details.
For local campaigns, we therefore look at Google Ads and the Business Profile together rather than treating them as completely separate channels.
Performance Max can also use your Business Profile as a local asset, helping Google connect advertising activity with your physical locations and local presence where eligible.
The important point is that Google Ads does not give you a guaranteed position in the local listings. The Business Profile still needs to be accurate, complete and genuinely relevant to the searches and locations you're targeting.
Google reviews are an important part of how prospective patients assess a practice.
However, there is an important distinction between reviews that appear independently on a platform and testimonials or patient experiences that a practice uses in its own advertising.
That distinction is considered when planning healthcare campaigns.
For practices that rely heavily on local search, that connection between paid search, Maps and the Business Profile is worth getting right.
For many practices, a click isn't the conversion.
The important action is a booked appointment, phone enquiry or other genuine patient enquiry.
Where technically possible, we track those actions so campaign decisions are based on what happens after the click — not just what happens inside Google Ads.
Healthcare advertising needs to be approached differently from ordinary Google Ads.
We build campaigns with the relevant AHPRA advertising requirements and Google's healthcare policies in mind. AHPRA requirements apply to registered health professions; for other services, the relevant industry and Google policies apply.
That includes considering:
Healthcare advertising restrictions apply to the way patient testimonials, reviews and treatment experiences are used.
Claims about treatments, outcomes or benefits need to be supportable and appropriately presented.
Discounts, incentives and other offers need clear and appropriate terms.
Advertising shouldn't create unrealistic expectations about outcomes.
Terms such as “specialist” have specific requirements.
Advertising shouldn't encourage unnecessary or inappropriate treatment.
Google has additional policies covering medicines, treatments and certain healthcare services.
Compliance isn't something to check after a campaign has been written. It needs to be considered when deciding what to advertise in the first place.
You remain responsible for your practice's advertising and regulatory obligations. Where something is unclear or potentially sensitive, we raise it with you before it goes live.
Sources: AHPRA advertising guidelines ↗ · Google's healthcare and medicines policy ↗
Performance Max can be useful for some local practices, particularly where there is enough conversion data and a clear understanding of what constitutes a valuable enquiry.
It isn't automatically the right campaign type for every healthcare business.
For practices with limited search volume, high-value treatments or a small geographic catchment, a carefully structured Search campaign may provide a clearer picture of where enquiries are coming from.
We choose campaign types based on the practice, its services, conversion data and objectives — rather than putting every account into the same structure.
Healthcare marketing often involves several channels working at the same time. That can make attribution difficult.
For example, we've seen accounts where Google Ads sent traffic to landing pages managed by an SEO team. The Google Ads account reported one level of conversion activity, while organic reporting appeared to attribute substantially more enquiries to SEO.
Once the traffic was sent to the practice's main website and conversion tracking was corrected, it became possible to see what Google Ads was actually generating.
The lesson is straightforward: if calls, forms and bookings aren't being tracked properly, it's difficult to know whether an advertising account is working.
That's why tracking and reporting are part of the work, not an afterthought.
We work with healthcare businesses where there is a clear service to promote, a defined geographic market and a patient enquiry or booking process that can be measured.
This can include:
We plan and write campaigns with the relevant AHPRA advertising requirements and Google's healthcare policies in mind.
That doesn't replace your own professional and regulatory responsibilities. If an ad, claim or service is potentially sensitive, we'll raise it with you rather than making assumptions.
There is an important distinction between reviews that appear independently on platforms such as Google and testimonials or patient experiences that a practice actively uses in its own advertising.
Healthcare advertising requirements need to be considered before using reviews, testimonials or patient stories as marketing material.
Yes.
Multi-location practices can be structured around individual clinics, geographic areas and service offerings, with location-specific landing pages and conversion tracking where appropriate.
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Platapode specialises in Google Ads.
Based in Sydney, NSW, Australia, working with businesses worldwide.
