Medical SEO ROI Example

If a medical practice or doctor has excellent SEO rankings, does she still needs to do online advertising?

Online advertising and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are related and similar tactics, however they overlap with each other and are different. Many online advertising experts will argue that they compliment each other. We agree.

Even with top SEO rankings for your medical practice, SEO cannot replace online advertising, specially Google adwords (if done properly). Top SEO rankings do not replace online advertising, they complement each other. In the example below, from a real customer. Location of the medical practice is suburban area outside major US city on the west coast, with medium competition. They have excellent medical SEO rankings for all of the major services. In the figure below, during the month of Dec, Jan and Feb – online advertising is active with a budget of $1000 per month (80% Google, 20% Facebook Ads) – You can see the number of “new patient” leads is 753 new leads – total of 3 months. Now compare this with March, April and May – With no online advertising is 408 new leads during the 3 month period. The difference is 345 less leads.

SEO Based Medical Marketing ROI Calculated – Example

Based on existing data, conversion rate is 34% of new inquiries are converted to patients, this means 117 new patients are lost.

If each patient’s initial visit is $312 with a lifetime value of each patient is $4000 – this means that :

Initial revenue of $36,504 is lost and lifetime value with 70% retention rate, $327,600 is lost by not running online advertising.

So conclusion is that yes, SEO is extremely important for your online success, but you should also consider online advertising, specifically, Google Ads and Facebook Ads.

Medical Marketing Conclusions

Even with top SEO rankings for your medical practice, top SEO results for you medical practice, cannot replace online advertising, specially Google adwords (if done properly). Top SEO rankings do not replace online advertising, they complement each other.

NOTE : In this example, PatientGain’s conversion tracking apps are ONLY tracking “new patient” calls and inquiries. Existing patient calls and inquiries are in a different dashboard.

How Much Do Doctors Spend On Advertising in USA?

Range is $600 per month to $15000 per month, depending on specialty and competition.

The actual advertising budget for each clinic and practice is different. Some clinics/doctors are very aggressive and spend $1000 per day (or more) and some spend $1000 a month on advertising. We also have few clinics/doctors who do not spend any money on online advertising, they doctors rely on referrals and very strong SEO rankings. This data refers to online advertising, not offline advertising spend.

Also you have to understand that every practice area is different. For example let’s review specific specialties:

Medspa and aesthetic practices

For Medical Spas and Aesthetic practices, it is highly recommended to have online advertising budget. The typical range is $3000 to $10000 per month, with average budget of $4210 per practice in USA.

Plastic surgeons

Plastic surgeons need online advertising, more than any other category. It is next to impossible to be successful without proper online advertising budget. The typical range is $5000 to $15000 per month, with average budget of $6677 per practice in USA.

Dermatology practices

The typical range is $1000 to $4000 per month, spend on average spend $1960 per month per location. However these are “average” locations with medium competition. If a dermatology is also focused on cosmetic procedures, their budgets are more like Medical Spas and aesthetic clinics.

Urgent care centers

The typical range is $1000 to $9000 per month, spend on average spend $3600 per month per location. However these are “average” locations with medium competition. There are many factors, number of exam rooms and how many providers, and fixed overhead also dictates how aggressive each owner is. Brands and chains spend more on advertising than stand alone locations. We have also noticed if the owner is a doctor/physician, vs a business person, doctor/physician owners will have a hard time understanding value of advertising. doctor/physician owners view advertising and marketing as an expense, rather than an “investment” with an ROI (Return On Investment).

Walk-in primary care practices

Walk-in Clinics – with primary care services and some “urgent care” services spend $1000 to $3400 per month, with an average monthly budget of $1900 per month.

Primary care practices

Primary care doctors spend $600 to $1300 per month, with an average monthly budget of $890 per month.

Naturopathic, wellness focused care practices

Primary care doctors spend $800 to $1900 per month, with an average monthly budget of $1230 per month.

Pediatric care practices

The typical range is $600 to $1600 per month, spend on average spend $900 per month per location.

Sexual healthcare practices – multi-focus

The typical range is $3000 to $8500 per month, spend on average spend $4200 per month per location.

Sexual healthcare practices – Erectile Dysfunction

The typical range is $4000 to $10000 per month, spend on average spend $6700 per month per location.

Fertility healthcare practices

The typical range is $3300 to $7500 per month, spend on average spend $4700 per month per location.

Dental practices – General dentists

The typical range is $750 to 1900 per month, spend on average spend $1230 per month per location.

Dental practices – Specialist dentists

The typical range is $1300 to 3210 per month, spend on average spend $2540 per month per location. These type of practices include Endodontists, dental implant focus, Invisalign focus etc.

Dental practices – Celebrity & cosmetic focus

The typical range is $8300 to $18850 per month, spend on average spend $9600 per month per location. These type of practices include dentists who do not accept insurance, and accept limited amount of patients, but each patient is treated as a “celebrity” with extreme focus on customer service, and results for each patient. Services include invisalign, porcelain veneers, whitening, bonding, laminates, implants, and orthodontics.

Podiatrists – Foot and Ankle Doctors and Surgeons

The typical range is $800 to 2200 per month, spend on average spend $1655 per month per location.

Orthopedic Surgeons

The typical range is $800 to 1900 per month, spend on average spend $1380 per month per location.

Women’s Health and OB/GYN

The typical range is $500 to 2700 per month, spend on average spend $1600 per month per location.

Medical Fat loss / Physician Supervised Weight Loss Practices

The typical range is $2100 to 8700 per month, spend on average spend $4300 per month per location.

Integrative practices – Serving multiple focus areas

The typical range is $1200 to 3210 per month, spend on average spend $2341 per month per location. These type of practices include multiple focused areas, like heart health, general wellness, diabetic patients, mind – brain wellness, pain management, hormonal imbalance and many other areas. These type of practices have to compete with traditional non-integrative practices, so conversion cost per patient is higher than traditional primary care practices.

Sleep clinics and TMJ clinics

The typical range is $500 to 1580 per month, spend on average spend $940 per month per location.

Pain clinics – Chiropractors

The typical range is $1200 to 2200 per month, spend on average spend $1400 per month per location.

Pain clinics – Spine focused – minimally invasive pain management and regenerative medicine

The typical range is $1500 to 3000 per month, spend on average spend $1900 per month per location.

Physical therapy care practices

Physical therapy clinics have expanded into many areas and they offer services overlapping with other practices also. For example here is list of services for physical therapy practice : post-surgery rehabilitation, senior rehabilitation programs, work injury rehabilitation, back stabilization, balance training, functional capacity evaluations, neurological rehabilitation, orthopedic rehabilitation, pain management, physical therapy, wellness & weight loss program, vestibular sports medicine, graston technique, fitness program – So this can be quite large. Most clinics like these spend $1200 to $3400 per month, with an average monthly budget of $1900 per month, per location.

Data from 2018 to 2020. Also note that brands spend much more than non-brand focused medical practices, they also have more patients and perceived medical care provided is of higher value to patients, as evidenced by reviews received by the medical practices. The data is here for your guidelines and not guaranteed to generate same or similar results.

8 Important elements of your medical website:

1) It must be mobile optimized – Beyond mobile friendly.

2) It must be optimized for conversion.

3) Content must be fresh, relevant, non-plagiarized.

4) SEO Optimized for Google search engine.

5) Based on WordPress (or other proven platforms).

6) Secure and HIPAA Compliant.

7) Should promote and build your brand.

8) Must be pretty, attractive and branded with your own brand.

3 Key Elements of Facebook Marketing For Physicians

It is easy to be confused by how and when to use Facebook platform for medical marketing. There are 3 key areas for Facebook marketing.

No 1. Facebook Posting

Facebook posting allows you to engage with patients who like your Business Page. We have seen very good results for physicians and medical practices who provide useful information about their services. Facebook Posts are designed for engagement and it takes a significant amount of time and money to develop a healthy following using Facebook Posts for doctors.

No 2. Facebook Apps

Facebook apps appear at the left column of your Facebook Business Page. They allow you to engage with patients who visit your Business Page. In a way, Facebook Business Page is evolving to be a simple website for your medical practice. So each tab or the app can be used to capture leads, book appointments, show your promotions to your patients. We have seen very good results for physicians and medical practices who provide HIPAA compliant apps on Facebook Business Page.

No 3. Facebook Advertising

Facebook Advertising costs extra, and this is how Facebook as a company makes money. Just like Google advertising, Facebook advertising can be very effective to attract new patients to your practice. We have seen very good results for physicians and medical practices who advertise their services.

8 Reasons Why Content Is Important.

Your Content Is the Single Most Important Factor in Your Online Success.

1. Content defines your brand.
2. Content expresses who you are, how you conduct your business.
3. Content is read by the Search Engines - and this results in GOOD or POOR rankings - You should NEVER copy content from another site. Checking ideas from other websites is OK, but copying content is like shooting yourself in the foot.
4. Content can make your marketing flourish.
5. Content can make your advertising irresistible.
6. Social media loves GOOD content.
7. Email marketing with good quality content will give you higher open-rates.
8. Best of all - Patients LOVE Useful content.

PatientGain.com is a proven healthcare marketing solution, includes apps, websites, SEO, HIPAA compliance and account management.

The GOLD service from PatientGain is used by telemedicine physicians, dentists, surgeons, pediatrics, medical spas, pain management, functional medicine, primary & urgent care, cardiologists, podiatrists, addiction medicine, regenerative, wellness, therapy, OBGYN, integrative medicine, dentists, dermatologists, IVF & reproductive, pharma, bio-tech & many other medical practices.

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