What Makes a Google Ads Campaign Successful?
Launching a Google Ads campaign shouldn’t feel like a trust fall into the unknown. We get it; the world of online advertising can seem like a complex labyrinth. But you aren’t alone. Fuel Medical is here to give you a peek behind the curtain to learn what goes into creating and running successful ads on Google. This Ask Fuel First article answers the following question about Google Ads: What makes a Google Ads campaign successful?
Three Components of a Campaign
While there are several components that make up a Google Ad campaign, they can be broken down into three main categories:
- Targeting tells Google which searches you want your ads to display for and which searches you don’t want.
- Ads are what people see in their search results.
- Landing pages are where the user goes when they click on the ad.
The key to any successful marketing campaign is to deliver the right message to the right people at the right time.
Targeting the Right People at the Right Time
With Google Ads, you can cut through the noise of the internet and help patients connect with your services. People typically turn to Google when they want answers or solutions, and ads allow us to narrow down targeting to the exact phase a potential patient is on their journey.
Through a mix of keywords, negative keywords and location targeting, our team can set your ad to display only for people in your market actively searching for your services at the exact moment they are seeking help. There’s no better time to show an ad for your services than when a prospective patient searches for those services.
For commonly advertised services, our team developed keyword lists based on trends and patterns we’ve seen working with other practices like yours. We then refine this list based on your market.
For more niche services, we’ll ask you about the patient journey (e.g., What is a patient’s chief complaint when they come in for this service? Have they usually heard of the service/condition before, or do you usually have to tell them what it is?). We’ll take the information you provide and research keywords and search trends in your market to compile a list from scratch.
After a campaign has launched, we monitor it for any changes in search behavior and refine the keyword and negative keyword lists as needed.
Delivering the Right Message
When people search on Google, they are asking a question. For example, a prospective audiology patient might search for “hearing loss symptoms.” While they are directly asking Google, “What are the symptoms of hearing loss?” this search likely represents a larger implied question: “Do I (or does a loved one) have hearing loss?”
For a prospective patient to click on your ad and schedule an appointment, they need to feel like you will answer their questions. For example, if the searcher is looking for the symptoms of hearing loss and your ad is about hearing aids, your ad likely won’t be clicked on.
Similarly, if the ad is about hearing loss, but the landing page is all about hearing aids, the prospective patient is likely going to navigate back to the search results page without taking action. On the other hand, if the page talks about the symptoms of hearing loss or how to find out if you have hearing loss, the user is likely to engage with the page.
At Fuel Medical, we design our ads and landing pages with these commonly searched and implied questions in mind and work to display only the most relevant information to potential patients. From there, we can lead the potential patient to the next step—scheduling an appointment.
Turning a Click into a New Patient
A landing page does more than just answer the searcher’s question; if the landing page stops there, the searcher will likely go back to Google with their next question. They may ask “Where can I …?”or search for “Treatments for …”
To drive new patient leads, we structure our landing pages to do the following:
- Position an appointment as either the next step or as the best way to get answers.
- Make it easy to contact your office.
- Enable click-to-call on all phone numbers.
- Include contact forms for people visiting your landing page after hours.
- Link out to online scheduling software when possible.
- Earn trust. Due to the rise in internet scams, people hesitate to give their contact information out online. When we showcase your reviews, testimonials, awards, providers’ credentials or other things that set you apart from your competition, we signal to patients that they can trust you with their information and their health.
Mastering the art of Google Ads isn’t about blind leaps of faith. It’s about navigating the online landscape with purpose. By focusing on targeting, messaging and conversion, you can turn clicks into appointments. Growing your business with Google Ads takes intentional strategies—strategies that Fuel Medical can guide you through. Our digital team provides SEM services to help you identify advertising opportunities in your market and build campaigns that convert online users into patients.
Considering an SEM campaign? Talk with your regional team to get started.