Saving Healthcare Digital Marketing Budget With Google’s Location Extensions

Growing up poor in Scotland, Andrew Carnegie’s frugal Mom was quoted as saying “Mind the pennies and the pounds will follow”.  Often the key to a well-run search campaign is not about driving more users to a landing page or web site; it is about saving money. Filtering out traffic that won’t convert to a lead, and minding the pennies is essential. Eliminating wasted visits is a key digital marketing optimization effort, and utilizing Google’s “locations extensions” will improve your paid search efforts, here’s how:

Utilize Location Extensions

Once a business has claimed Google My Business, location extensions can be enabled in Google search ads.  The location extension is simply one line of text in the search ad that shows your business address (no surprise) in the ad itself.  Location extensions save money because the consumer can quickly see where your office is located and  just as quickly decide if your location makes sense for an in-person consult.   Without a location extension, the user might love the value proposition in your search ad and click the ad only to find upon web site arrival that the office is just too far away.  This click and bail out scenario just cost the search campaign approximately $12!  If only 2 people a day can be filtered out using a well-executed location in ads, over the course of a year the search ad campaign saves almost $9,000.    Location matters to all customers, especially in a Patient-Doctor relationship where multiple office visits are often required.  Utilizing location extensions will help filter out unwanted users, and the future patients who will visit your practice.

Google Search Ad Examples:

In the two ad examples above, the top ad advertiser is potentially wasting very expensive clicks ($12+ each), because the user cannot determine office location without clicking (at a cost to advertiser).  The second ad utilizes a location extension and filters out visitors who may not want to travel to East Setauket Long Island NY – this second campaign is saving search dollars while the first ad is not optimized. 

Location Extensions – Targeting Commuters

An additional benefit of location extensions allows for less risky geo expansion, and penetration into more dense populations that can yield great patient volume.  This effect is especially true in areas where patients commute from home to work.  An ad with a location extension might very well appeal to a potential patient who is working in Manhattan, but living in Long Island.  Without the location extension clearly showing the address, the campaign budgets could get blown by users who only live in Manhattan.  Whereas a clearly displayed office address functions as a much needed filter in this scenario.   Following this type of geo expansion strategy relies on heavily location extensions.

Optimizing through saving is a key tactic to a well-run search campaign!  If you don’t have a Google My Business profile claimed (a must-have), you should do so right away and make sure location extensions are enabled in your search ads.  If you mind the pennies, the pounds will follow!