The rise of photo sharing apps like Instagram and Snapchat means the desire to look good has never been stronger especially among millenials who are heavy users of these apps. While the 20-34 year olds may be masters at Snapchat an increasing number of Gen Xers in the 35-45 age range are heavy users as well.
These demographics are prime targets for your plastic surgery practice so if you’re not doing all that you can to bring these types of patients into your practice then here are some areas to focus on. This article is going to focus on what I consider the most powerful strategy.
Google AdWords
Let’s be honest. Google is amazing. You don’t even need to go to google.com to search for anything you can just type it into Google Chrome’s web browser and the answer is at your fingertips.
Similarly if you’re searching for information about a specific procedure or doctor who offers that practice it’s safe to say Google is your first stop.
There are a lot of ways to interact with potential clients on Google and they’re all important in their own way. Did you know 98% of sales come from the top two links on Ads, Map Pack and Organic Rankings?
There’s a huge value to being one of the top listings on Google. If you’re like most plastic surgeons then you’ve probably spent thousands on a beautiful website and some sort’ve SEO package but are you confident you’re getting your money’s worth? Do you know how many leads you’re getting from your website showing up in Organic rankings each month? If you aren’t on Page 1 or 2 of Google and you also don’t know how may leads you’re getting then you are wasting money and opportunity.
Have you ever wondered why Ads show up at the very top of Google? It’s because Google wants to provide their users with the best experience and so when someone searches a term Google will show them the best ad to match that term. This is the power of Google Ads and should absolutely be a huge part of your marketing strategy.
The competition is intense for Google Ads but the good news is most people are terrible at it. Why is that good news? Because that means more opportunity for you.
Some of the more common mistakes I see in Google Ad campaigns are:
- Showing ads to people outside your target audience
- Showing ads 24/7 365
- Not using sitelink extensions
- Stuffing tons of keywords into one Ad Group
- Poor ad copy
Some of these are rather technical but if your marketing agency has not explained them or shown you real life examples of how they’re managing your campaign chances are you’re getting taken for a ride. My experience has shown me nearly every Plastic Surgeon has been burned from faulty ad campaigns at some point.
Additionally, if you’re not presented with reports showing how your ads perform versus the competition and what search terms are showing up and which ads are scoring better then again you’re missing the benefit of all this data.
Our clients know exactly how many leads are from these ads so they can make better decisions as well as help staff understand how to approach these leads.
Why Google AdWords
The number one complaint I hear from plastic surgeons across the country is that leads they normally get are very poor. They’re tire kickers. Nobody wants the price shopper, they want the person who’s ready to book a consultation and procedure in the same day. These people are out there but they are not the majority.
However, the most power part of a properly executed AdWords strategy is you can hand select which leads come to you. Don’t want the price shoppers? Ignore or discount bids for things like ‘cost’, ‘affordable’, ‘pricing’. Without fail the number one search term related to plastic surgery is always about cost so if those leads are consistently not converting then don’t waste the dollars marketing to them.
A good ad campaign (and ad campaign manager) will utilize what I call the KCQs.
Keyword Management – proper research of high converting keywords in your niche/geographical region.
Cost Per Click – From experience and Google’s algorithm knowing exactly how much you’re willing to pay per click is crucial.
Quality Score – Google’s secret sauce for rewarding good ads. Keep an eye out for another post on the quality score.
Google Ads are so powerful because you control the where, when, what and how potential clients first come into contact with your business. The best part? People searching the terms you chose are looking for YOU and not the other way around.
There is a lot more nuance to running successful ads like what devices to bid more for (mobile) and how to optimize campaigns so if you’d like to learn more fill out the form with your information or just email me mike@unlimitedgrowthsystems and we can chat for 15 minutes about how our strategy works for the top 1% of plastic surgeons.