Google Ads and Meta Ads for private healthcare
Private healthcare is where I've worked most recently, in-house. I know how patients search, how long they take to decide, and the advertising rules that apply. I track from first click to booked appointment.
Who I work with
- Private clinics and assessment services
- Mental health and therapy providers
- Physiotherapy and wellbeing clinics
- Health technology companies
- Dentists (see the dental page)
What's different about healthcare ads
- Restrictions on targeting. Google doesn't allow remarketing or personalised audiences based on health conditions, and Meta limits health-related targeting and data. Campaigns have to rely on search intent, good creative and clean, compliant tracking.
- Longer decisions. People research for weeks before booking an assessment or treatment. Content, reviews and clear pricing make a big difference.
- Booked patients, not form fills. I connect ads to your booking system or CRM, using offline conversions and call tracking, so you can see which campaigns produce patients.
- Careful claims. Ads and pages must follow the UK advertising code (CAP Code) on health claims. I write with that in mind, and your clinical team should sign off claims.
Experience
In-house in private healthcare, I ran Google Ads and Meta Ads across adult and child ADHD, autism and anxiety services. That included a paid search relaunch with service-specific landing pages and Salesforce-linked measurement, and Meta campaigns that generated 1,158 webinar registrations at £1.07 each. I also led growth for a healthcare software company, generating over £73k of qualified pipeline from £6.6k of ad spend.
Common questions
Can I advertise private medical services on Google?
Yes, most private healthcare services can advertise on Google and Meta, but there are rules. Prescription-only medicines can't be advertised to the public, some services need certification, and health-based remarketing isn't allowed. I'll check what applies to you.
How do you track patients without breaking privacy rules?
By tracking the booking or enquiry event, not health information, and by keeping sensitive details out of ad platforms. Offline conversions use the minimum data needed, sent securely.
How quickly will I see results?
Enquiries can start in the first week, but most accounts need four to eight weeks for the platforms to learn and for me to cut wasted spend. By about three months you should have a clear picture of cost per lead and where to scale. Anyone who promises instant results is guessing.
What if you don't think ads will work for my business?
Then I'll tell you, and I won't take you on. If the audit shows that your budget, margins or search demand won't support profitable advertising, you'll get an honest explanation and, where I can, suggestions for what to fix first. I'd rather lose a client than take money for something I don't believe will work.
Find out where your ad spend is leaking
Get a free, no-obligation audit of your Google, Microsoft or Meta Ads. You'll get a written report and a call to walk through it. Use it with me or without me.