‘How much should we spend on Google Ads?’ is one of the first questions practice owners ask, and one of the hardest to answer with a single number. Spend too little and the campaign never gathers enough data to work. Spend too much and you fill your books faster than you can staff them, or waste money on searches that were never going to book.
The good news is that a sensible budget isn’t a guess. It’s a calculation, and you can do most of it yourself.
Start with capacity, not the budget
Before thinking about dollars, work out how many new patients you actually want and can handle each month. A physio clinic with two new practitioners starting needs very different numbers to a busy GP clinic that only wants to fill a few gaps. Be specific about which services you want to grow, because some are far more valuable to your practice than others.
Know what a new patient is worth
Next, estimate the value of a new patient over time, not just their first visit. A dental patient who comes back for regular check-ups is worth far more than the first appointment fee. This number tells you how much you can sensibly spend to win a patient while still making the maths work.
Work backwards to a budget
Here’s the basic sum, using made-up numbers purely to show how it works:
- You want 20 new patients a month from Google Ads.
- Roughly half of the people who enquire end up booking, so you need about 40 enquiries.
- Around one in ten people who click your ad make an enquiry, so you need about 400 clicks.
- If a click costs $4 on average, that’s around $1,600 a month in ad spend.
Your real numbers will be different. Click costs vary a lot by service and suburb, and conversion rates depend heavily on your landing pages and how quickly your team responds. But the structure holds, and it turns a vague question into one you can answer.
Give the campaign enough to learn
A campaign needs a steady flow of clicks to show which searches and ads work. Spreading a small budget across every service and suburb usually means none of them gets enough data. If budget is tight, focus it: one or two of your most valuable services, in the area closest to your practice. Expand once those are working.
Separate ad spend from management fees
When comparing agencies, make sure you know how much of your budget actually goes to Google and how much goes to management. Both are legitimate costs, but they’re not the same thing. You should also own your Google Ads account, so your data and history stay with your practice if you ever change providers.
Budget for the whole journey
Ads only bring people to your website. If the landing page is slow, unclear or makes booking hard, you’re paying for clicks that go nowhere. Part of any sensible Google Ads plan is making sure the page each ad points to is built to convert, with clear information and an easy way to call or book.
Stay within the rules
Google has its own healthcare advertising policies, including restrictions on prescription medicines and some treatments. Your ads also count as advertising under the AHPRA guidelines, so they can’t include testimonials, unrealistic claims or urgency that encourages unnecessary treatment. Compliant ads can still be persuasive. They just persuade with clear, accurate information.
Review after 60 to 90 days
The first couple of months are about learning. After that, look at what each enquiry and each new patient is costing you, compare it with what a patient is worth and adjust. Some practices find they can comfortably spend more. Others find a smaller, sharper campaign does the job.
The short version
- Decide how many new patients you want, for which services.
- Work out what a new patient is worth to your practice.
- Work backwards through conversion rates and click costs to a monthly spend.
- Focus the budget so the campaign can learn.
- Track enquiries and bookings, then adjust.
Want real numbers for your practice? Our free practice growth audit includes a starting budget based on actual search volumes and costs in your area. You can also read more about our Google Ads management for clinics.