Healthcare marketing that patients can trust
Patients pick a dentist, clinic or med spa the way they pick anything important: they check reviews, look for someone who clearly treats their problem, and want booking to be easy. Healthcare adds one more job: handling their information carefully.
Practices where trust decides the booking
Dental offices
New-patient pages, insurance and payment info, emergency appointments and a clear "book a cleaning" path.
Clinics & chiropractors
Condition and treatment pages written in plain English, practitioner bios, hours and what to expect on a first visit.
Med spas & aesthetics
Treatment menus with price ranges, practitioner credentials, real (consented) results and consultation booking.
Answer these before they ask
Most phone calls to a practice are questions the website could have answered. Answering them online turns browsers into bookings and frees up your front desk.
| Patient question | Where the answer goes |
|---|---|
| Do you take my insurance? Do you offer payment plans? | A short insurance and payment section, linked from every service page |
| Do you treat my problem? | One page per main treatment or condition, reviewed by your clinicians |
| Who will I see, and are they qualified? | Practitioner bios with credentials and real photos |
| What does it cost? | Price ranges where you can give them, especially for self-pay and cosmetic services |
| Can I get in soon? | Online booking or a request form, plus same-day or emergency info if you offer it |
| What happens at the first visit? | A "first visit" page: forms, parking, how long it takes |
Forms, tracking and patient information
This is where healthcare marketing differs from every other industry. I'm not a lawyer or a HIPAA compliance officer, so use this as background for a conversation with yours.
What the rules say (US)
In 2022 the HHS Office for Civil Rights published guidance on tracking technologies (like analytics and ad pixels) used by HIPAA-covered entities. In June 2024 a federal court in Texas, in AHA v. Becerra, vacated part of that guidance, the part dealing with tracking on public, unauthenticated webpages. HHS withdrew its appeal in August 2024.
The guidance on authenticated pages, like patient portals, was not vacated, and HIPAA itself still applies.
What I do on healthcare sites
- No ad pixels on patient portals, intake forms or anything behind a login
- Contact forms that ask only for name, phone and preferred time, with no symptoms or medical history
- Booking handled by your practice software, linked rather than copied into the site
- Analytics set up with your compliance contact's approval
Advertising a practice within platform rules
- Google restricts health targetingHealth is a sensitive category in Google's personalized advertising policy. You can't build ad audiences from people's health conditions, and some health services (like online pharmacies, telemedicine with prescriptions and addiction treatment) need certification, for example through LegitScript, before advertising.
- Keep ads about services, not the viewer's condition"Same-week dental cleanings in Oakwood" works better and is safer than wording that implies you know something about the person seeing the ad.
- Before-and-after content needs consent and careFor med spas and cosmetic dentistry, use only images patients have agreed to in writing, keep them unedited, and follow your professional board's advertising rules.
- Start with your Google profile and reviewsFor most local practices, appearing in the map results with recent reviews brings more new patients than ads. See Google Business Profile.
Google's rules: Health in personalized advertising and the Healthcare and medicines policy in Google's Advertising Policies Help.
Audit first, then a fixed proposal
Practices vary a lot, from a one-chair med spa to a multi-provider clinic. So I start with a free audit rather than a template.
Audit video
A 5–10 minute recording reviewing your website, Google profile, reviews and any ads, with what's likely costing you new patients.
Call
We talk through your services, capacity, booking system and who handles compliance on your side.
Proposal
A fixed price and scope. A small practice website starts at $397; larger sites are quoted after the audit.
Build & review
You and your clinicians approve every page before it goes live, especially treatment descriptions.
Healthcare marketing questions
Can I use the Facebook pixel or Google Analytics on my practice website?
It depends on where and how. Since the June 2024 court ruling, HHS guidance on public, unauthenticated pages is narrower, but tracking on patient portals and anything handling patient information still raises HIPAA questions. Keep trackers off forms and logged-in pages, and decide the setup with your compliance officer.
Is my contact form HIPAA compliant?
A form that only asks for name, phone number and a preferred appointment time collects far less risk than one asking about symptoms. For anything clinical, use your practice management or patient portal software, ideally under a business associate agreement. Your compliance contact should make the final call.
Can I advertise my clinic on Google and Facebook?
Yes, but health is a sensitive category. Google doesn't allow targeting based on health conditions, and some services need certification first. Ads should promote your services and location, not imply anything about the viewer's health.
Can I show before-and-after photos?
Only with written patient consent, without misleading edits, and within your professional board's rules. Some ad platforms add their own limits on before-and-after images, so check before using them in ads.
What is in the free marketing audit?
A 5–10 minute screen-recorded video reviewing your website, Google Business Profile and any ads, showing what is likely costing you new patients and what I would fix first. It is free and you keep it whether or not you hire me.
Related pages
Get a free marketing audit
A short video showing what is costing you clients online, and what to fix first. Free, no obligation.