“The best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of Google.” – Anonymous
Thinking about launching a Google advertising campaign for your medical spa?
We love that idea!
Here’s why:
To put it plainly, if you want to capture your target audience where they are searching online, Google is the way to go.
We are very excited for you to experience the power of Google advertising!
However, there are a few things you should know before you get started.
Today, we will cover what Google advertising is, how it works (including the algorithm and cost), and what you can do to make your medical spa campaign successful.
Read on to get the scoop!
What Is Google Advertising?
Let’s take an example from everyday life.
Have you ever talked about something with a family member or a friend–say, the college your sister is attending or the product your mom uses–only to see that very thing pop-up in an advertisement the next day on a website you visit?
Spooky, right?
It’s likely that you were being targeted by a Google display ad using a tool called “remarketing,” where Google places ads on websites throughout your search experience based on your interests and the websites you visit.
As a medical spa looking to start Google advertising, you will have access to tools like this.
There are two kinds of Google advertisements.
The first are the Google display ads we mentioned above, which look like the LastPass ad displayed here:
Source: BuzzFeed
These can be identified by the grey “ADVERTISEMENT” text that hovers over the top.
The second are the Google search ads, which display at the top of the Google results page as you can see below:
Source: Google
You can identify a Google search ad by the little, green “Ad” box that appears next to the URL below the page title.
If you click on one of these ads, the business who runs them will be charged, which is why we marketers call Google advertising “pay-per-click” or “PPC.”
Everything below the paid advertisements is what we call “organic” results.
At Beacon, we recommend that our medical spa clients use a strategic mix of paid ads and tactics to achieve rank organically.
There are a couple more things you should know about the two different kinds of Google advertisements.
Whereas Google search ads are composed of just three pieces, a headline, a URL, and a description, Google display ads offer more flexibility.
Google display ads can come in sixteen different combinations of logos, graphics, headlines, and descriptions!
How Does Google Advertising Work?
To be effective in Google advertising for your medical spa, you will want a solid understanding of the Google advertising algorithm, bidding structure, and cost.
All of this is managed through a program called Google AdWords, which you will want to create an account with when you are ready to get started.
The Google Advertising Algorithm
Google is pretty magical.
It’s amazing–all that happens in the split second it takes to perform a search.
From the Google advertising perspective, in that split second, Google takes an inventory of all the ad accounts that contain the keywords or phrase used in the search.
Perhaps your medical spa is trying to rank for “botox near me.”
When someone searches “Where can I get botox in my location?” your ad account will be included in Google’s inventory.
How do you tell Google what keywords and phrases you would like to rank for?
You bid a monetary amount that you would be willing to pay if someone clicked on your ad (remember, it is pay-per-click after all!).
For this reason, many marketers call this the Google AdWords “auction.”
The winner of the auction is determined by two factors:
- The maximum bid you have set for your keyword
- The quality score of your advertisement
Take special note of that last point.
As a company that wants to make money like everybody else, Google values delivering a quality search experience to its users, which includes your advertisements!
Happy Google users = more market share = more money for Google.
This is an important thing to remember as you write your ads.
The quality score of your advertisement is itself determined by two factors:
- Past performance of your ad, ad group, and your account in general
- The relevance of your chosen keyword, ad (title, URL, and description), and landing page to the search and to each other
Two terms that you may not have heard before are “ad group” and “landing page.”
An ad group is the group of keywords you are trying to rank your ad for.
Your landing page is whatever page you link your ad to, which is the page users “land” on after they click, get it?
The ad you write and the landing page you point people to should both use your chosen keyword and stay focused on the topic at hand.
These factors come together in the following equation that determines your ad’s final rank on the results page:
CPC Bid x Quality Score = Ad Rank
On the Google display ad side, this auction looks just a little different.
With display ads, maximum bids are set on ad groups, not keywords.
Additionally, you can bid on impressions rather than clicks, which are the number of times your ad was delivered.
This is called “cost-per-impression” or “CPM” bidding.
Remember: “As a company that wants to make money like everybody else, Google values delivering a quality search experience to its users, which includes your advertisements! Happy Google users = more market share = more money for Google. This is an important thing to remember as you write your ads.”
How Much Google Advertising Will Cost Your Medical Spa
As mentioned, you will be charged every time someone clicks on one of your medical spa’s Google advertisements.
The equation to determine the cost-per-click (CPC) is as follows:
Next Highest Ad Rank / Quality Score + $0.01 = CPC*
If you did well in algebra in school, you will realize that the higher the quality score of your ad is, the lower your cost will be.
This reinforces Google’s commitment to quality.
Note: The cost-per-click will never go above your maximum set bid.
Can Google Advertising Grow My Medical Spa?
Google advertising can absolutely grow your medical spa!
But it is not a guarantee, unfortunately.
This is because factors like the competition in the medical spa industry in your area can significantly affect your Google ads’ performance.
Some industries and locations have more competition than others.
For example, at Beacon headquarters in Anchorage, the cost-per-click in the legal industry has been as much as $50!
Without high profit margins, it is unwise to spend this much on every click through your Google ad, especially when you consider that the click is just a lead, and not a customer (yet).
When you look at some of the top keywords in the nation for the medical spa industry, here is what you find:
| Keyword | Average Monthly Searches | Competition | Page Bid (Low Range) | Page Bid (High Range) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| laser hair removal | 201,000 | High | $3.17 | $18.75 |
| microdermabrasion | 110,000 | High | $1.11 | $5.70 |
| botox | 110,000 | Medium | $2.75 | $6.12 |
Source: Google AdWords Keyword Planner (at the date of this blog post)
Please note that these results will likely be different in your specific location.
The bid numbers are all a little high, indicating to us that the medical spa industry is pretty competitive, with a lot of adoption of Google advertising in the community.
How do we know this aside from the “high” and “medium” markers on these results?
We look at industry benchmarks!
Source: WordStream (at the date of this blog post)
Taking a look at the “Health & Medical” industry in general, we can see that the actual cost-per-click is $2.62 on average, which is lower than the low bid range on our numbers.
Don’t let the fact that the medical spa industry is slightly competitive discourage you.
Creating quality, relevant ads goes a long way!
Our Google team at Beacon is regularly able to achieve below-average cost-per-click for our clients, saving them lots of money.
Want to know how we do it?
- For every service we want to advertise, we use a budget of at least $300 per month, usually more. This translates to our minimum recommended cost-per-click budget on each keyword in 1-3 ad groups.
- We always find some way to niche (differentiate) the services we are advertising for nuanced keywords that are low competition, but capture the internet users who search them. For example, we market for a holistic dentist at Beacon headquarters in Anchorage. When we create her Google ads, we do not target “family dentistry,” but rather, “holistic dentistry,” because this keyword is lower competition and an easier capture. We have seen incredible results for this client!
- Our team makes it a priority to create quality, relevant ads and landing pages. There are few things better for boosting the success of your Google advertising campaign than this. Write clear, concise, compelling ads that point people to the pages that they would expect with the right keywords.
Do you feel ready to launch your first Google advertising campaign for your medical spa?
We hope that this article can be a go-to resource for you as you get started!
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If you feel like this is a little too much or you don’t have the time to tackle Google advertising for your medical spa, we’d love to offer our Google advertising services to you.
Our team is Google Partner certified and we daily study the ins and outs of Google advertising to achieve the best possible results for our clients.
Please reach out to President Adrienne Wilkerson or Vice President Jennifer Christensen to schedule a free consultation!
Happy marketing!