An Sydney-based health clinic had been running their own Google Ads campaigns in-house, but with only 2 campaigns and 7 ad groups, and most keywords set to phrase match, their ads were appearing for a wide range of irrelevant searches related to jobs, careers, salaries, videos, and general information. Brand and non-brand searches were also bundled together, which made it difficult to know how much value Google Ads was really delivering, and the clinic suspected their return on investment may have been negative. Unsure whether Google Ads was working for them, they contacted Calculate Marketing for a review of their current Google Ads campaigns.

Summary

394% more online bookings and 42% lower cost per booking in the first year.

How I helped

The search query data collected while the previous campaigns were running made it possible to separate the searches which led to online bookings from the searches which only used up budget. Since many searches had only a handful of clicks, search queries were broken into single-word themes, with data aggregated at this theme level for richer insights. Using this data, the account was completely rebuilt, with a far larger and more structured campaign strategy:

• Number of campaigns increased from 2 to 298
• Number of ad groups increased from 7 to 5,412
• 13,201 keywords
• 53 location targets

A list of 2,074 negative keywords prevented ads from appearing for irrelevant searches related to jobs, careers, videos, and general information, so that click spend was focused on people who were more likely to book an appointment. Brand and non-brand searches were separated into their own campaigns, with negative keywords used to prevent any crossover, so that the value of Google Ads in reaching new patients could be measured clearly, rather than lost in averages.

Campaign results

The more granular campaign structure meant that clicks were spread across a much wider range of keywords and ad messages, each more closely matched to the search phrase. Compared to an average month before the rebuild:

• Number of unique keywords being clicked rose from 20 to 377
• Number of unique ad messages being clicked rose from 7 to 282

In the first year of the new campaigns, this higher relevance helped to lift engagement and lower click costs:

• Click through rate (CTR) rose by 98%
• Average cost per click (CPC) fell by 40%
• Return visits from Google Ads rose by 462%
• Return visit rate from Google Ads rose by 55%

Client results

Reduced wastage from irrelevant searches and more relevant ad messages meant that in the first year:

• Online bookings from Google Ads rose by 394%
• Cost per online booking fell by 42%

With a clear picture of which searches were bringing in bookings, the clinic has since increased its Google Ads click spend by 776%, to deliver 1,233% more online bookings per month at a 34% lower cost per booking compared to before the rebuild.

The clinic has since opened 4 new locations across Australia, and continues to use Google Ads to drive awareness and bookings.

If you’re a health or medical business looking to increase online bookings and lower your cost per booking from Google Ads, get in touch today for a free analysis and review.