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Give Your Practice a Digital Boost with Google AdWords

It’s time to face the music – your patient base is consistently turning to the internet to research healthcare options to help them make decisions, including eye care providers. That means your digital presence is more important than ever — and we’re not just talking about having a Facebook page. Having a consistent and coherent online presence across all digital platforms will help you succeed when it comes to attracting, converting and maintaining a strong patient base. But even with a strong digital presence, how will patients find you among the vast sea of ophthalmologists? It’s easy to get lost in the clutter!

Thankfully, with Google AdWords, you can take control over who can see your content and when they can see it. This digital advertising platform makes it easy – and relatively inexpensive – to shoot your site to the top of the search rankings, driving traffic to both your website and social media platforms. Google AdWords uses a pay-per-click model, which means that you set the budget and monetary limits you’re willing to spend while simultaneously controlling the desired audience, location and search terms you deem relevant to your practice. 

While there are a ton of resources available to help you be successful with this tool, here are a few tips to get you started: 

You have limited copy space, so say it well.

With a limit of two headlines at 30 characters each, a description of 80 characters and the website URL for your ad copy, there isn’t a lot to work with. Make what you say count! As a rule of thumb, make sure you use relevant industry keywords throughout your copy. Not sure which keywords to use? The Google AdWords Keyword Tool can help! Your headline should be designed to attract your reader’s attention, whereas the description copy should focus on the services you provide. At the end of the ad, make sure to include a strong call-to-action to drive them to your website. 

Use customization to your advantage. 

The great thing about Google Adwords is how customizable it is! From how you structure your campaigns to the exact zip code you want to target, the options are endless. So don’t paint with a broad brush! Explore all available options to ensure your ads are specifically targeted to your desired audience. 

You’re nothing without a good website.

So someone clicked on your ad? Great! But are they interested in what comes next? Every quality lead to your website should be greeted by content that is relevant to your call-to-action and includes your contact information. Make sure this website is visually appealing, relevant and to the point. You don’t want to spend money driving someone to your website only to have them leave because your landing page isn’t relevant!

Practice makes progress.

 The most important thing to remember when using Google AdWords is that you can change whatever you want, whenever you want. You are 100% in control of these ads – you can pause, stop, start and change keywords, locations and more with the click of a button. Is a keyword you thought would work not driving much traffic? Consider adding some new ones to the mix! Want to increase your daily spend? Easily update your budget! Monitor, track and iterate to be successful!