How Much Should a Medical Practice Spend on Google Ads?
Budgeting guidance for medical practices considering Google Ads, including benchmarks by specialty and market competitiveness.
“How much should we spend on Google Ads?”
It’s the first question every medical practice asks when considering paid search advertising. And it’s a fair question—you need to know if the investment makes sense before committing budget.
The honest answer: it depends. But that’s not helpful, so let’s break down what actually determines your Google Ads budget and give you real benchmarks to work with.
How Google Ads Pricing Works
Before talking budgets, you need to understand how Google Ads charges you.
The Auction Model
Google Ads operates as an auction. When someone searches “dermatologist near me,” Google runs an instant auction among advertisers targeting that keyword. Winners get their ads shown. You only pay when someone clicks.
What determines who wins:
- Your bid: The maximum you’re willing to pay per click
- Quality Score: Google’s rating of your ad relevance and landing page quality
- Expected impact: Google’s prediction of how likely your ad is to be clicked
Higher bids help, but so does having relevant, high-quality ads. A well-optimized campaign can outperform bigger spenders.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
You pay per click, not per impression. If 100 people see your ad but only 5 click, you pay for 5 clicks.
CPC varies wildly based on:
- Keyword competition: More advertisers = higher prices
- Geographic location: Urban markets cost more than rural
- Industry: Healthcare keywords are expensive
- Time of day: Peak hours often cost more
Daily vs. Monthly Budgets
You set a daily budget. Google may spend up to 2x your daily budget on high-traffic days, but won’t exceed your monthly limit (daily budget × 30.4 days).
Example: $50/day budget = up to $1,520/month maximum spend
Healthcare Keyword Costs: What to Expect
Healthcare is one of the more expensive industries for Google Ads. Here’s why and what typical costs look like.
Why Healthcare Keywords Are Expensive
High patient lifetime value: A new patient might be worth $2,000-$10,000+ over their relationship with your practice. Advertisers can afford to pay more per click.
Local competition: Multiple practices compete for the same local patients.
Commercial intent: People searching for doctors are ready to act, making clicks valuable.
Typical CPC Ranges by Specialty
These are rough benchmarks—your actual costs will vary by market:
| Specialty | Typical CPC Range |
|---|---|
| Primary Care | $3-8 |
| Dermatology | $5-15 |
| Dentistry | $4-12 |
| Orthopedics | $6-15 |
| Plastic Surgery | $8-25 |
| LASIK/Refractive | $15-50+ |
| Fertility | $10-30 |
| Pain Management | $8-20 |
| Cardiology | $5-12 |
| Nephrology | $4-10 |
| Optometry | $3-8 |
| Ophthalmology | $5-15 |
Note: Elective procedures (LASIK, cosmetic, fertility) typically have higher CPCs because patient lifetime values are higher and competition is fierce.
Learn more about healthcare PPC
Calculating Your Target Budget
Rather than picking an arbitrary number, calculate what makes sense for your practice.
Step 1: Determine Patient Lifetime Value
How much is a new patient worth to your practice over their entire relationship?
Calculation:
- Average revenue per visit × visits per year × years as patient
- Include referrals they might generate
Examples:
- Primary care patient: $200/visit × 2 visits/year × 10 years = $4,000
- LASIK patient: $4,500 procedure + potential enhancements = $5,000+
- Dermatology patient: $150/visit × 3 visits/year × 5 years = $2,250
Step 2: Set Target Cost Per Acquisition
How much can you afford to spend to acquire a new patient?
General rule: 10-20% of patient lifetime value is a reasonable acquisition cost.
Examples:
- $4,000 lifetime value → $400-800 acceptable acquisition cost
- $5,000 lifetime value → $500-1,000 acceptable acquisition cost
- $2,250 lifetime value → $225-450 acceptable acquisition cost
Step 3: Estimate Conversion Rate
What percentage of website visitors become patients?
Typical healthcare conversion rates:
- Website visit to form submission/call: 3-8%
- Form submission/call to appointment: 50-70%
- Appointment to becoming patient: 80-95%
Overall: ~2-5% of clicks may become patients (varies significantly)
Step 4: Calculate Required Clicks
If you need 10 new patients and 3% of clicks convert:
- 10 patients ÷ 0.03 = 333 clicks needed
Step 5: Calculate Budget
If CPC averages $8 and you need 333 clicks:
- 333 clicks × $8 = $2,664/month
The formula:
Monthly Budget = (Target New Patients ÷ Conversion Rate) × Average CPC
Recommended Starting Budgets
Based on our experience with medical practices, here are realistic starting points:
Minimum Viable Budget: $1,500/month
At this level, you can:
- Test keyword performance
- Gather initial data
- Generate some leads
- Learn what works
Limitations: May not generate enough volume for statistical significance. Some competitive markets may struggle.
Recommended Starting Budget: $2,500-4,000/month
At this level, you can:
- Run campaigns with meaningful volume
- Test multiple ad groups and keywords
- Optimize based on real data
- Generate consistent lead flow
Best for: Most medical practices in moderate-competition markets.
Competitive Market Budget: $5,000-10,000+/month
At this level, you can:
- Compete aggressively for top positions
- Dominate local search results
- Test extensively and optimize rapidly
- Handle high-volume lead generation
Best for: Competitive markets, elective procedures, practices ready to scale.
Budget by Practice Size
| Practice Size | Suggested Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Solo practice | $1,500-3,000/month | Focus on high-intent keywords |
| Small group (2-5 providers) | $2,500-5,000/month | Broader keyword coverage |
| Medium group (6-15 providers) | $5,000-10,000/month | Multiple service lines |
| Large group (15+) | $10,000+/month | Comprehensive campaigns |
Signs Your Budget Is Too Low
Insufficient budget creates problems:
Not Enough Data
If you’re getting only 10-20 clicks per week, you can’t draw meaningful conclusions about what’s working. You need volume to optimize.
Ads Stop Mid-Day
If your budget runs out by 2 PM, you’re missing afternoon and evening searchers. Consider increasing budget or narrowing targeting.
Can’t Test Effectively
A/B testing ads requires statistical significance. With tiny budgets, tests take forever to reach conclusions.
High-Value Keywords Priced Out
If competitors bid $15/click and you can only afford $5, you’ll never appear for valuable keywords.
Lead Flow Is Inconsistent
Small budgets often produce feast-or-famine lead flow. One week you get 10 inquiries, next week you get 1.
Signs You Should Increase Budget
Positive indicators that justify spending more:
Strong ROI
If you’re spending $3,000/month and generating $15,000 in patient revenue, spending more likely generates more returns.
High-Quality Leads
If leads are converting to patients at a good rate, more leads = more patients.
Losing Impression Share to Budget
Google shows “Lost Impression Share (Budget)“—the percentage of times your ad didn’t show due to budget. High percentages indicate opportunity.
Competitors Are Outbidding You
If you’re rarely in top positions despite good Quality Scores, you may be underbidding the market.
Capacity to Handle More Patients
No point generating leads you can’t serve. But if you have capacity, marketing should fill it.
Optimizing Before Increasing Budget
Before spending more, make sure you’re spending efficiently:
Improve Quality Scores
Higher Quality Scores = lower CPCs. Focus on:
- Ad relevance to keywords
- Landing page quality and relevance
- Expected click-through rate
Refine Keyword Targeting
Cut keywords that get clicks but don’t convert. Focus budget on proven performers.
Add Negative Keywords
Prevent ads from showing for irrelevant searches. “Medical assistant jobs” shouldn’t trigger your ads for “medical practice.”
Improve Landing Pages
Better landing pages = higher conversion rates = more patients per dollar spent.
Optimize Ad Copy
Better ads = higher click-through rates = better Quality Scores = lower CPCs.
Check Geographic Targeting
Are you advertising in areas you can actually serve? Tighten geography if needed.
Learn more about medical practice SEO
ROI Calculation Example
Let’s work through a realistic example:
Practice: Dermatology clinic Patient lifetime value: $2,500 Target acquisition cost: $300 (12% of LTV)
Campaign Performance:
- Monthly budget: $3,000
- Average CPC: $10
- Clicks: 300
- Website conversion rate: 5%
- Leads generated: 15
- Lead-to-patient rate: 60%
- New patients: 9
Results:
- Cost per lead: $200
- Cost per patient: $333
- Revenue from new patients: $22,500 (first year)
- ROI: 650% ($22,500 ÷ $3,000 - 1)
Even with above-target acquisition cost ($333 vs. $300 target), the campaign is highly profitable.
Common Budgeting Mistakes
Starting Too Small
$500/month sounds safe, but it’s often too little to learn anything meaningful. You’ll spend money without gaining insights.
No Tracking in Place
If you can’t track which leads came from Google Ads and which became patients, you can’t calculate ROI. Install tracking before spending.
Ignoring Lifetime Value
Focusing only on cost-per-click or cost-per-lead misses the point. What matters is cost-per-patient relative to patient value.
Set-and-Forget Budgeting
Budgets should evolve. Increase when campaigns perform well. Decrease or reallocate when they don’t. Review monthly.
Seasonal Blindness
Healthcare has seasonal patterns. Budget needs may vary throughout the year. Plan for flu season, allergy season, back-to-school, etc.
Working With Limited Budgets
If you can’t afford recommended budgets, maximize what you have:
Focus Geographically
Advertise only in your immediate area. A 5-mile radius costs less than 20 miles.
Target High-Intent Keywords Only
“Book dermatologist appointment” converts better than “skin rash pictures.” Focus on patients ready to act.
Use Ad Scheduling
Run ads only during hours your office can answer calls. Nights and weekends may waste budget.
Single Service Focus
Rather than spreading budget across all services, focus on your highest-value offering.
Combine With SEO
PPC provides immediate results. SEO provides long-term organic visibility. Both together stretch your overall marketing budget further.
Questions to Ask Before Setting Budget
- What’s a new patient worth to us over their lifetime?
- How many new patients do we want per month?
- What are competitors in our market spending?
- What’s our current capacity to handle new patients?
- Do we have tracking in place to measure ROI?
- Who will manage the campaigns (in-house or agency)?
- What’s our risk tolerance for testing?
- How quickly do we need results?
Ready to Plan Your Google Ads Budget?
At MedTech Consulting, we help medical practices develop Google Ads strategies aligned with their goals and budgets. We’ll analyze your market, recommend realistic budgets, and manage campaigns for maximum ROI.
Contact us for a free PPC consultation.
Related reading: Healthcare PPC Services | Medical Practice Marketing | Medical Practice SEO
