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Did you know that Google Ads can gather over 180 million impressions per month? A lot of healthcare marketers use Google advertising as a digital marketing tool, enabling them to reach a wider audience and promote their medical services more effectively.
However, like any marketing platform, Google Ads has its own set of challenges that need to be addressed to maximize its potential in the healthcare industry.
In this article, we will explore five key challenges in utilizing Google Ads healthcare. Learn how to overcome and have a successful Google Ads campaign! Keep reading below.
Challenge #1: Restrictions on Product and Services Promotion
Image Source: Google Ads Help
Healthcare advertisers frequently experience difficulty when running Google ad campaigns to market their products and services. When advertising through this platform, advertisers must abide by certain restrictions and guidelines regarding any medical services or offerings that they provide.
If you’re trying to promote medicine, pharmaceuticals, or any healthcare-related products on your landing pages, you need to check the restrictions from Google advertising policies to prevent them from being banned.
How to Resolve:
To fix this, you must finish the certification process by proving that you adhere to Google’s policies and that you have provided the required paperwork and information.
Additionally, search engines like Google usually require healthcare advertising companies to provide accurate and verifiable information about the efficacy, safety, or benefits of your products or services. Make sure that any claims you make are supported by scientific evidence or recognized certifications.
[Read More: Why Hospitals Need Online Medical Advertisement (And Why You Need It, Too)]
Challenge #2: Sensitive Health Issues Are Prohibited
Image Source: Wordstream
People today are searching actively for topics pertaining to mental and reproductive health conditions. Healthcare businesses related to such conditions must take extra caution with their paid search marketing or any marketing content related to those conditions.
How to Resolve:
To achieve a successful ad campaign, you have to revise the message or the content of your ad copy and align it with the policies related to sensitive health conditions. You have to remove any explicit or sensitive language that violates Google’s healthcare ads guidelines. Focus on highlighting the general benefits or features of your healthcare services without mentioning specific sensitive health issues.
Another resolution is creating educational content related to healthcare topics that are not deemed sensitive. Instead of directly advertising your services regarding mental and reproductive health, you can instead share informative blog posts, articles, or videos that provide valuable information about these topics. This approach allows you to engage with your audience and establish your expertise without running afoul of the sensitive health issues policy.
Challenge #3: High Competition in Healthcare Marketing
Image Source: Wordstream
Google Ads competition among healthcare-related advertisers can be fierce, as many healthcare advertisers now focus on increasing their marketing budget for paid advertising and consulting with digital marketing experts in order to convert more patients. If you want to keep up with the game, here are some of our recommended solutions for you.
How to Resolve:
First is to conduct thorough market research to understand your competitors, their offerings, and their advertising strategies. You need to identify their strengths and weaknesses, target audience, and content. All of this information will help you differentiate your current marketing strategy and create a unique value proposition for your brand.
Speaking of creating a unique proposition, ask your team this question: What sets our healthcare brand apart from competitors?
Highlight your unique selling points, such as specialized expertise, advanced technologies, exceptional patient care, or convenient locations. You have to clearly communicate the benefits and advantages of choosing your medical services over others.
Lastly, refine your target audience. You can do this by sorting them based on demographics, interests, medical conditions, or geographic location. This way, you can tailor your messaging and ad campaigns to better convey and relate to the needs and preferences of your target audience, making your ads more effective and compelling.
Read More: The Pro’s Guide to Creating Healthcare Ads that Convert
Challenge #4: Retargeting is Not an Option
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Retargeting, also known as remarketing, is a digital marketing strategy that involves targeting users who have previously interacted with your website, app, or other digital properties. It aims to reconnect with potential customers who have shown interest in your brand or products but have yet to convert.
Simply put, retargeting occurs when you click an advertisement, allowing the business to show it repeatedly. Hospitals, healthcare facilities, and medical practices cannot use display advertising (ads that appear on other websites) for retargeting potential patients because Google wants to protect any possible patient privacy concerns.
How to Resolve:
Take advantage of Google’s targeting options to reach the right audience for your healthcare services. You may pause, resume, or remove your retargeting ads.
Not all healthcare brands are banned from retargeting, as long as you’re not targeting medically-sensitive audiences with your ads.
Challenge #5: Be Mindful of Negative Keywords
Image Source: Karooya
The last challenge is using keywords that are misleading or deceptive. In healthcare and medicine, you have to remember that everything you post and write on your landing page and blog pages should be factually accurate.
The use of keywords that suggest false claims or promises, such as “miracle cure,” “guaranteed results,” or “instant weight loss”, is not allowed in Google ads for healthcare.
How to Resolve:
If your keywords are in direct violation of Google Ads policies, the best approach is to modify or remove them from your campaigns. Replace these keywords with alternative, compliant terms that still effectively convey the message of your ads without promising anything to your audience.
Boost Your Healthcare Google Ads Today
Google Ads increases your chances of acquiring more patients and growing your business, but it also poses unique challenges that must be met head-on.
By understanding and addressing these obstacles directly, you can improve the efficiency of your Google Ads campaigns more successfully. What other challenges have you faced when managing your Google Ads campaigns? Let us know in the comments and we’re happy to help you!
We got you! Our team at Digitalis Medical can ultimately drive more patient engagement, conversions, and growth in the highly competitive healthcare industry by helping you create healthcare ads targeted specifically to your medical services. Schedule a virtual meeting with us today.
