Digital marketing for doctors, dentists and clinics.

The problem nobody warns clinics about

Many clinics have already had an ad account restricted, or an agency that kept getting ads rejected without explaining why. Healthcare is a sensitive category on every major platform, and the rules are stricter than almost any other sector.

The three that catch clinics out:

• Personal attributes. Meta forbids copy implying you know something about the person — their weight, their skin, their condition, their age. "Struggling with back pain?" reads as caring; it reads to Meta as a personal-attribute violation.
• Before-and-after imagery. Prohibited outright on Meta, and enforced automatically. This is the single most common reason aesthetics and dental accounts get restricted.
• Unsupported claims. The ASA in the UK and the FTC in the US both act on treatment claims that cannot be substantiated. "Pain free", "permanent results", "guaranteed" are all trouble.

None of this means clinics cannot advertise well. It means the creative has to be built differently from the start — which is cheaper than getting an account back.

What actually works for clinics

Local search first

Someone searching dentist near me or physio in [town] has immediate intent, and the map pack takes most of those clicks. For most clinics this is the highest-return work there is, and it is not restricted the way paid social is.

• Google Business Profile optimised properly — correct primary category, every treatment listed as a service, real photos, opening hours that match reality
• A review request process your front desk can actually follow after each appointment
• A page per treatment and a page per location you genuinely serve
• Consistent name, address and phone across every directory

Google Ads for high-intent treatment terms

• Tight ad groups per treatment, so the ad matches what was searched
• Emergency and same-day terms separated out, with their own schedule and budget
• Call tracking, because most clinic enquiries arrive by phone and otherwise never appear in the data
• Negative keywords for jobs, courses, NHS, free, symptoms, how to and every treatment you do not offer

Meta Ads for elective treatments

Paid social earns its place where people need persuading rather than finding — implants, orthodontics, aesthetics, sports rehab packages. Creative that passes review and still performs:

• The clinician on camera explaining what the treatment involves
• The room, the equipment, the aftercare — it reduces anxiety, which is the real barrier
• Reviews in the patient’s own words, with their permission
• Price transparency and finance options, stated plainly

Booking, not enquiring

The gap between an enquiry and a booked appointment is where most clinic marketing leaks. A campaign that produces fifty enquiries and twelve bookings is worse than one producing twenty enquiries and sixteen bookings. So the landing page carries an online booking option, the phone number is tappable on mobile, and the conversion event tracked is a booking, not a form view.

Two guides go deeper on this: medical SEO leads, on counting enquiries instead of rankings, and SEO tools for medical practices, on what is worth paying for. The search side itself is on the healthcare SEO services page.

What clinics typically spend

USD figures are approximate conversions. Cosmetic and dental are among the most expensive keyword sets in either market — but a single implant case or course of treatment is worth enough that the maths usually still works. Check yours on the budget page.

Data, kept at arm’s length

Enquiries go to your inbox and your practice systems. I never handle patient data, and nothing on your site should collect clinical detail through a marketing form. In the US that keeps the arrangement clear of HIPAA; in the UK your practice remains the sole data controller under UK GDPR. If a form needs to ask anything clinical, that belongs in your own booking system, not in an ad platform.