How Much Should a Dental Practice Spend on Google Ads?
There is no single right budget for every practice, but there is a right way to work yours out. Here is the method, using real search data.
"How much should I spend on Google Ads?" is the question I get asked more than any other. There is no single right answer, but there is a right way to work it out.
Your budget depends on the auction you are in
Google Ads is not a price list. It is a live auction that runs every time someone searches. Two things decide what you end up paying.
How many practices are bidding against you. In a big city you might have eight or ten other practices bidding on the same keywords. In a small town, maybe two. More bidders chasing the same searches pushes up the price of every click, the same way a crowded room pushes up the price at a property auction.
How much of the market you want. Two practices in the same market can sensibly run very different budgets. One wants to show up first for every relevant search. The other is happy to pick up what is left over for less. Neither is wrong.
So before asking what to spend, ask how many practices you are up against and how much of that market you want.
How to estimate a number
Start with search volume for your area. Open Google's Keyword Planner and pull the monthly searches for the terms that matter to you, such as "dentist near me", "emergency dentist" and "new patient dentist", in your suburb or city.
Then apply two numbers:
- Click-through rate. A well-targeted dental search campaign should get at least 5%, which is about 1 in 20 people who see your ad clicking it.
- Cost per click. Dental keywords typically sit around $8 to $10.
The formula is search volume, times 5%, times your cost per click.
Say your core terms add up to 2,000 searches a month. At a 5% click-through rate that is 100 clicks. At $9 a click, that is $900 a month to show up meaningfully for those searches.
That figure comes from what people actually search for where you practice and what it costs to win those clicks.
Spend smarter before you spend more
When results are weak, the instinct is to raise the budget. Most of the time that is not the fix. The problem is usually what the money is being spent on.
Take dental implants. Most people don't wake up knowing they need one. They find out when their dentist tells them. So someone typing "dental implants cost" into Google is often curious or price-shopping five clinics, not a diagnosed patient ready to book. Pour budget into broad searches like that and you get clicks, leads and a front desk full of people who were never candidates.
Compare that with "emergency dentist" plus a suburb, "dentist accepting new patients" or "book dentist appointment today". Those people have an immediate need and are ready to act.
So before increasing the budget, look at where it is going. Pull it back from research-stage searches that attract browsers and point it at the high-intent terms that attract people ready to sit in your chair. Same money, very different patients.
One catch
The right budget and the right keywords still won't help if Google can't tell a lead from a booked patient. That is the next thing to fix, and I cover it in how to get Google Ads to find real patients.
If you want me to work out the right number for your practice, book a strategy call.