Google AdWords' role in hospital marketing

[Christopher Boyer]

As this blog has discussed before, in the Ecology of Online Marketing™, there are three main focus areas that every hospital or practice website should address:

1. SEO (which includes your website, andsearch-engine optimization techniques to help make your hospital website found, etc.)
2. SEM (including Google AdWords and any other opportunity to promote your hospital website through banner ads, paid profiles, etc.)
3. SMO (including a rigorous and professional approach to promoting your hospital through social media/web 2.0 sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube)

While each holds an independent and important role in a comprehensive online marketing strategy, the use of SEM - or more specifically, Google AdWords - is often overlooked. When done wrong, Google AdWords can be very expensive (and frankly, not very effective). Yet, when done right, this form of online advertising can often become a critical part of your overall hospital online marketing strategy.

For an in-depth overview of what Google AdWords is, I would strongly suggest reading this insightful article entitled "The Secret of Googlenomics" by Wired Magazine. What follows in this blog post are important tips you can use to ensure your Google AdWords campaign is effective:

Step 1: Be specific with your keywords
Let's face it - buying generic keywords like "orthopedics" or "cardiac surgery" is not the best tactic. Not only will these keywords be very expensive to bid on, you really won't be attracting the right type of web-searchers. People typing "orthopedics" into Google are more than likely investigating general information about orthopedics. However, if they are typing "orthopedics chicago" (or something even more exact) the web user is not shopping for health services. Us Google's free tool to help you determine the right keywords for your campaign.

Step 2: Make your ad text relevant
Part of Google's formula for AdWord purchases includes the relevance of the text in the ad with the keywords. Use "keyword insertion" to include your keywords into the title text of the ad. Be as descriptive as possible with the ad, and include some sort of call to action. And remember, people searching online rarely respond to phone numbers in online ads.

Step 3: Use a specific URL to track conversions
When a web user clicks on your ad link, set up a specific URL that directs them to a page. Use Google Analytics to track the successes of your customized destination URLs.

Step 4: Send them to a relevant landing page
Another way to increase conversions (and surprisingly, also lower the cost for the bid of the ad) is to create a landing page that is very relevant and related to the Google AdWord. Make sure this landing page is SEO'd well (obviously, against the keywords you are purchasing), and make sure that it contains all the basics required for a good webpage (see the post "The Who's, Why's and What's of a Hospital Webpage"). Make sure when patients get to your pages, they have a call to action (online screening, physician referral line, etc.) - and make sure that is measurable, too!

Step 5: Manage your campaign
Not only should you set up daily thresh-holds of how much you are willing to spend, use the Google AdWord dashboard and Google Analytics to manage the campaign. Remember - this is a campaign, and works best over a period of time. Consider A-B testing, to determine the best ads that drive conversions. In the very least, dedicate time weekly (better, daily) to manage the campaign, and change your ads based on conversions.

Following these five steps will give you a good start at learning how best to build your Google AdWords campaign. Of course, it's always best to initially work with someone that has had previous experience at building a campaign. If done successfully, your AdWord campaign will have incredible results. Remember these benefits:

• Paid SEM ads are not volatile to search engine algorithm changes or Website re-indexing
• It’s easier to obtain high positions in paid ads
• You can achieve high placement for hundreds or thousands of keywords, which is very hard to do in natural listings
• Paid ads allow you to control more ad real-estate
• Paid search helps you cover different consumers' search patterns
• Paid ads give flexibility, allowing you to quickly increase or decrease traffic and expenses as needed
• It’s easy to determine your ROI

Please share your thoughts and experiences with your own hospital Google AdWord campaigns below, and as always, feel free to follow me on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/chrisboyer or follow this blog's YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/HospOnlineMktgEdu.