Pay Per Click 101

Whether you’re just learning about marketing or have been running your marketing for a while, pay-per-click can be a tricky area to explore. However, with online marketing flourishing more than ever before, it is essential to be aware of this medium and how you can use it to your advantage.

What is Pay Per Click?

Commonly referred to as PPC, pay-per-click is an internet marketing model. It requires the marketer or advertiser to pay a small fee every time a user clicks an ad link. Many platforms offer PPC advertising; the largest is Google. However, Yelp, Bing, and even Facebook are other platforms to consider as highly effective mediums within the medical field.

Earning visits to your website through organic search or SEO can take time to build. Moreover, SEO is an indirect form of marketing – meaning you wait for patients to come to you instead of direct marketing, which is a method of approaching patients directly. By opting for pay-per-click, you have more control over a direct marketing approach by targeting the demographics of your potential patients.

Each platform offered for Pay Per Click advertising will be a little different. Typically, a user interface can set up ads with budgets, time limits, and targeted audiences. Many of the PPC platforms can be overwhelming initially, and changes are constantly made. Therefore, it is always recommended to allow a 3rd party marketing agency to manage your campaigns. However, if you are feeling a bit ambitious, numerous searches on the internet can inform you how to set up an account appropriately.

Does PPC affect SEO?

Indirectly Pay Per Click is not set up to offer you higher search ranking results. Google and other platforms would find themselves in court battles over such a targeted incentive. However, indirectly, your organic search will be affected because you are receiving more traffic. We have seen organic search results increase 100% to over 5000% when PPC is deployed. In general, the cost-benefit and conversion rates are far more incredible when you compare PPC effects.

Average Conversion Rates for Pay Per Click

WordStream has offered our community some benchmarks per industry when it comes to pay per click averages on Google for 2021. Below are the average rates and average conversions rates for dental and medical Pay Per Click in 2021:

1. Average Cost Per Click: between $3.97 - $3.63
2. Average Click-Through Rate: between $5.94 – 6.11%
3. Average Cost Per Lead: between $26.05 – $42.95
4. Average Conversion Rate: between 10.39% - 19.15%

What insights do average rates offer? First, statistical analysis rates offer us a benchmark for the kind of return we might find. For example, if we spend $1000/mo on Google ads and see on average 250 clicks, we can conclude between ~10.39% - 19.15% conversions or between 25-47 new patients converted due to PPC. We can also see we are spending on average $0.03 more than the benchmark of $3.97 and may consider targeting less costly keywords, or altering the campaign to maximize our PPC's optimization.

If you are ready to set up your Pay Per Click campaign, consider visiting Medical Marketing Guru. Not only will we help clarify any concerns that you may have, but we will also help create a marketing plan for your practice.