Post by Jessica Price – Paid Traffic Team Leader
Google Ads is Google’s paid advertising platform that allows your practice to appear at the top of search results when people search for terms like “chiropractor near me” or “back pain relief.” Unlike organic search results, these ads give you immediate visibility and can be a game-changer for attracting new patients to your chiropractic practice when done right.
Whether you’ve been running your own Google Ads campaigns or you’re just getting started, these seven common mistakes could be the reason you’re not seeing the return on investment you expected. The good news? Once you know what to look for, these issues are entirely fixable.
1. Casting Too Wide a Net with Broad Match Keywords
One of the biggest budget drains we see is chiropractors using broad match keywords that trigger their ads for irrelevant searches. When you use broad match, your ads can appear for search queries that are only loosely related to chiropractic care. This means you might be paying for clicks from people searching for massage therapy, physical therapy, or even unrelated health topics.
Those clicks add up quickly, and they’re costing you money without bringing in qualified leads. The solution is getting more specific with your keyword targeting to ensure your ads show up for people who are genuinely looking for chiropractic services in your area.
2. Generic Ads That Fail to Connect
Many chiropractors write ads that sound like they could be for any healthcare provider. Vague messaging like “Quality Care” or “Professional Service” doesn’t tell potential patients why they should choose you over the competition. Google’s own research confirms that “text ads perform best when they are relevant to what people are searching for and provide a clear value proposition.”
Instead of generic messaging, your ads should speak directly to the specific problems your ideal patients are trying to solve. An ad that says “Find Relief from Chronic Back Pain Today” is far more compelling than one that simply says “Chiropractic Services Available.”
3. Weak Calls-to-Action That Don’t Inspire Action
If your ad doesn’t clearly tell people what to do next, you’re missing out on conversions. Generic phrases like “Learn More” or “Click Here” don’t create any sense of urgency or importance. They’re passive, and in today’s fast-paced digital world, passive doesn’t convert.
Stronger calls-to-action like “Call Now for Immediate Pain Relief” or “Book Your Consultation Today” make it crystal clear what the next step is and encourage users to act immediately rather than continuing to browse other options.
4. Attracting the Wrong Patients Without Negative Keywords
Here’s a simple but often overlooked strategy that can save you significant money: negative keywords. Without them, your ads might show up for searches that include terms like “cheap,” “free,” or “DIY,” attracting users who aren’t interested in paying for professional chiropractic care.
By adding negative keywords to your campaigns, you can filter out irrelevant traffic and ensure your ads only reach people who are actually looking to invest in their health with professional chiropractic treatment.
5. Landing Pages That Break the Promise
This is a conversion killer that we see all too often. Someone clicks on your ad because it promises relief for their specific condition, but then they land on a generic homepage that doesn’t mention their problem at all. It’s like advertising a sale on winter coats and then directing customers to the general clothing section- it creates confusion and frustration.
When your ad promises something specific, like back pain relief or headache treatment, make sure you’re sending people to a landing page that delivers exactly what was promised. This consistency between your ad and landing page is crucial for converting clicks into appointments.
6. Missing Opportunities with Ad Extensions
Google Ads offers several extensions that can make your ads more prominent and useful- location information, phone numbers, additional links to specific services, and more. These extensions not only make your ad take up more space on the search results page, but they also give potential patients more reasons to choose you.
If you’re not using these extensions, you’re essentially leaving money on the table. They’re free to add and can significantly improve your ad’s visibility and click-through rates.
7. Running Blind Without Conversion Tracking
This might be the most critical mistake of all. If you’re not tracking conversions- whether that’s phone calls, form submissions, or appointment bookings- you’re essentially running your campaigns blind. Without conversion data, you have no way of knowing which ads are actually bringing in new patients and which are just burning through your budget.
More importantly, Google’s algorithm relies on conversion data to optimize your campaigns. When you don’t track conversions, Google can’t learn what actions matter most to your practice, which means it can’t effectively optimize your ad spend to drive more of those valuable actions.
Why These Mistakes Are So Common (And Costly)
These mistakes happen because Google Ads can seem straightforward on the surface, but there’s actually a lot of strategy and nuance involved in running effective campaigns. The platform is constantly evolving, and what worked a year ago might not be the best approach today.
For busy chiropractors who are focused on patient care, staying on top of all these details while also running a practice can be overwhelming. That’s why many successful practices choose to work with specialists who understand both the technical aspects of Google Ads and the unique challenges of marketing chiropractic services.
Ready to Stop Wasting Your Ad Budget?
If you’re frustrated with your Google Ads results or you’re not sure whether your campaigns are optimized for success, you don’t have to figure it out alone. At Perfect Patients, we’ve helped hundreds of chiropractors optimize their Google Ads campaigns to drive more qualified leads and better ROI.
We understand the unique challenges of marketing chiropractic services, and we know how to create campaigns that attract the right patients to your practice. If you’re ready to see better results from your advertising investment, let’s talk about how we can help you avoid these costly mistakes and start attracting more new patients.
Ready to optimize your Google Ads campaigns? Contact Perfect Patients today to learn how we can help you attract more qualified leads and grow your practice.
BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL