Physical Therapy Digital Marketing | Search Ads Second After SEO First
Google search ads could be set up with location specific keywords. They could show as ads in the local search pack as well as in the Google Maps interface. So, we could get to run both search ads and Google maps ads in the same campaign.
The first step would be to ensure that a Google Business Profile account has been created with all details added to it including the correct address, opening hours, contact details, quality images, and a well written description. Once the account has been created and fully optimized, the practice would start to show up organically within the Google Maps local pack. The higher the rank, the easier it would be for potential patients to find the clinic online. Getting into the top three slots on the local map would be the best place to be in, but reaching there could take some time. Advertising the practice on Google Maps would provide a shortcut by immediately boosting it to the top of search results (marked as an ad).
Physical Therapy Digital Marketing | Setting Up the Campaign
The path to setting up a successful Google Search ad campaign would run as follows:
- Creating a new campaign on Google ads with similar keywords bunched together into ad groups and individual ads within each ad group.
- Including keywords that are relevant to local searches like physical therapy near me or physical therapy Chicago that relate to the clinic and its location.
- Creating search ads that promote physical therapy services and direct those who click on them to a targeted landing page that is conversion ready.
- Setting up Google Ads conversion tracking before launching the campaign so as to be able to accurately gauge and optimize results.
- Adding the location extension to the search campaign and linking it to the Google Business Profile account. Location extensions would display the clinics address within the search ad. This is a clickable link that would open Google Maps and display the route from the users location to the clinic, which would be especially useful for mobile searches. Local extensions would also enable the clinic location and other information to appear as an ad in Google Maps when users search for physical therapists within the Maps user interface.
- It might be a good idea to create and verify a Google Business Profile account for each clinic location. If there are multiple locations, all the location-specific Google Business Profile accounts could be linked to a single Google Ads account. Adding bid adjustments to bid higher for searches in the right locations would ensure that bids are suitably optimized.
- Linking Google Ads and Google Business Profile accounts would also show a promoted pin on the map. When the map is clicked to enlarge the area, the clinics pin would stand out and display in a different color than the standard red pin.
Physical Therapy Digital Marketing | Monitoring Campaign Results
Tracking ads performance in Google search ads would show what is working and what is not and provide a way to continually improve the campaign. There are several search metrics but here are some of the key ones to watch out for.
- Impressions: Number of times the ad has been displayed or seen.
- Clicks: Number of times the ad was clicked.
- Cost Per Click (CPC): Total ad spend divided by the number of clicks.
- Cost Per Conversion: Total ad spend divided by the number of conversions (or useful outcomes).
- Click-through Rate (CTR): Total number of clicks divided by total number of impressions.
Search ads would effectively complement the organic local SEO efforts and help further step up marketing outcomes for the clinic. If organic local SEO first and search ads second are the digital marketing channels of choice then success and growth should follow.