Pay-per-click, or PPC, advertising is one of the most effective forms of online marketing — if it’s done properly. Instead of reaching broad audiences, PPC ads only reach the people who are in the market for your products and services at the exact moment they see your ad.
This accurately describes anyone searching for a rehab center, which is why it makes sense for your center’s marketing strategy.
Like other marketing strategies, though, PPC ads can’t be implemented haphazardly. Sure, there’s room for improvement along the way, but you need to have a well-crafted plan in place before you even create your first ad. Otherwise, you could spend a lot of money and time placing ads that don’t result in new clients.
Get great results from your PPC campaign on day one by following these best practices for PPC for rehab centers.
You don’t have much space to convince prospects, which is why you can’t afford to fill your ad with bland, generic copy or content riddled with typos. Ensure a good response rate and more clients by writing compelling copy before your ad even appears online.
Tell prospects exactly what you’re offering and make sure it mirrors precisely what they want from a site like yours. Edit and proofread to eliminate redundant text or spelling errors, and double-check the URL and landing page to ensure both are working properly.
It makes sense to distinguish your company from the competition, but not when it comes to your PPC campaign. You want potential clients to see your ad before they see a rival facility’s ad, but there may be a reason their ads are outranking yours.
Perhaps their keywords are more precise, or they have a more effective landing page. Maybe their calls to action are more powerful. Try to find out what your competitors are doing, and then piggyback on that so you can get better results with every subsequent campaign.
You get what you pay for, and ad placement is no exception. PPC is a good investment in the long run because you get more for each dollar spent, but you still need to invest the right amount of money to get this return. Once you’ve chosen your PPC search term, be prepared to bid high for a better placement.
Broad terms such as “rehab centers” and “substance abuse recovery” will consistently command top dollar, but you can balance out these high bids by also bidding on long-tail keywords that include location, areas of expertise and approaches to treatment.
The point of placing an ad on a search engine or another website is to convince people to visit your site. What will make them do that? It’s not enough just to post an ad and entice potential customers with a great offer.
You have to tell them how to take advantage of it.
Make sure your ad includes a call to action that entices people to click. While you could use a basic CTA such as “Click here,” aim for one that reflects their desires such as “Begin a life in recovery now.” Regardless of approach, the important thing is to tell viewers what to do next.
Pay-per-click ads can generate a lot of new business — but they also come with a strict set of rules. Some sites remarket to past visitors, which essentially means placing their ads wherever prospects may go online.
Google allows remarketing in most industries, but never for content that relates to substance abuse. In fact, you run the risk of being banned from future advertising if you try it on their platform. And even if you’re not banned, prospects may see the practice as intrusive and insensitive. Use PPC to market to potential clients in search engines, but never try to reach them on other sites.
PPC offers a cost-effective, flexible way to promote your rehab center, but it takes some time and experience to create a strong campaign. Put these best practices for PPC for rehab centers in place from the start, and you’ll have a much easier time getting the results you want.