Advertising on Google: Challenges for the Healthcare Industry

According to Google’s 2021 data, 27% of website traffic comes from paid search and advertisers are expected to spend nearly one hundred billion dollars annually on paid advertising by 2024.

With over 7,000,000 advertisers worldwide using it to raise awareness of their business, drive sales through their e-commerce or get business leads, Google Ads has undoubtedly become an indispensable source of traffic for many (especially in sensitive or highly competitive industries).

Google Ads is undoubtedly the fastest way for a brand to increase its search engine visibility. However, advertising on Google can be quite challenging for healthcare companies.

Not only from the point of view of the investment required for Google Ads campaigns, since the healthcare sector is one of the sectors with the highest average acquisition costs (*), but also and above all because of a whole series of restrictions that Google imposes on companies that want to promote certain products or use certain health-related terms in their ads.

(*) The average cost per conversion in the health sector is estimated at $68.94 on the Google Search Network and $101.50 on the Display Network.

Let’s look at some of the key challenges for pharmaceutical, veterinary, or medical and health information sites that want to advertise on Google Ads, and the best practices to follow to ensure a successful paid advertising campaign.

Some services and products cannot be advertised

The first challenge for those in the healthcare niche is that some products and services cannot be advertised at all, while in other cases the audience that can be reached is limited.

Depending on the products and services being advertised, Google Ads campaigns (display or search) may only be available in certain countries.

Learn more about Google’s healthcare and medical advertising policies.

 Ad and landing page content

In order for ads to be accepted and run, anyone advertising with Google Ads in the Healthcare sector must include certain phrases in the ad copy or on the landing page to which traffic is sent.

For example, if testimonials or before and after pictures are shown, it is important to use phrases such as “results vary and are not guaranteed”.

It will also be important that the ad text matches the content of the landing page, otherwise the Google Ads algorithm will detect this inconsistency and block the ads (with the risk of even banning the account).

No retargeting

This is undoubtedly a major challenge for healthcare advertisers, as retargeting is probably the most effective way to keep leads in the sales funnel.

One of the limitations of Google Ads for healthcare advertisers is that retargeting lists to re-engage with potential patients is not allowed (this does not apply to all types of healthcare ads, but it is something to keep in mind).

This is one of the reasons why it is important to have a landing page designed for conversion, so that people who visit the landing page after clicking on the ad can be easily converted into leads (e.g. after simply filling out a form or using a call CTA).

Know your audience

 Because of the limitations mentioned above, it is critical for healthcare advertisers to know their buyer persona or target audience.

It will also be critical to keep in mind that there will most likely be different audiences that will need to be targeted in different ways.

For example, if our ads are targeting medical professionals, the keywords chosen for the campaign, as well as the copy for the ads and landing pages, should use a tone of voice and lexicon that is used by professionals looking for the service or product being promoted.

 Find a digital partner who can help! 

At Global, we have more than 20 years of experience in healthcare marketing, including website design focused on healthcare communications and management of paid advertising campaigns in Google Ads.

We can help you plan and manage your paid Google Ads campaigns so that they are as optimized as possible and allow you to stay ahead of your competition, getting more leads and traffic at the best CPC.