How Frequently Does A Dental Google Ads Campaign Need Maintenance?

Understanding the level of input required for effective PPC ads.

Here at Dental Media our PPC team looks after hundreds of Google Ads campaigns for dentists across the UK. Quite a lot of the approaches we get for this service arise when dentists try to run DIY campaigns but find them overwhelming and loss-making. They know that PPC (Google Ads) can deliver good returns but eventually realise that it isn’t really sensible to do it ‘DIY’ and it’s at this point that they seek help.

So why is it difficult to run DIY Google Ads successfully?

To try to understand this better, I thought it would be useful to show the main elements of dental PPC campaigns our team maintains and how frequently they do this.

How often do we maintain dental Google Ads campaigns?

There is no precise answer for this as it depends on the scope and maturity of the campaign. However, to give an idea, for new PPC campaigns for dentists we will make updates daily for the first couple of weeks and then typically twice a week once the campaign settles in. This can range from 30 minutes per intervention to an hour or more depending on the work required.

It should also be noted that campaigns may undergo quite significant changes even when mature and then the intervention will increase until those changes have settled and been validated.

Why aren’t Google Ads “fire and forget”?

This is another great question and to be fair, Google has tried to “dumb down” the set up to some extent to give DIYers a fighting chance. There is also something called “Smart Campaigns” where Google uses “smart” technology to automate parts of the set-up. However, these types of campaigns are generally considered to be sub-optimal compared to professionally managed ones and it’s quite easy to drain budget as a result.

What you could potentially lose each month from a poorly optimised DIY campaign could well fund the services of a professional and the returns on your investment will likely be better too.

It’s very important to understand that Google Ads are essentially a large auction but it’s not just a case of who bids most gets the best returns. A properly configured and well-managed campaign can still perform much better than a poor campaign with a big budget. It’s a highly competitive field and you can be sure that other dentists in your area are running ads and using marketing professionals to manage them too.

In a nutshell, PPC campaigns are complex beasts with many variables and not something you can learn or manage without significant time and experience.

Integration with reporting and understanding the data

The well-known saying “you can’t manage what you can’t measure” is very apt here. To check the ROI from any marketing campaign, including ads, you need to integrate with your website and, preferably Google Analytics as well. “Conversions” need to be set up, potentially ‘phone call tracking and other elements too in order to see just how your ads are performing. You also need appropriate expertise for this and the subsequent interpretation of the data.

Which elements of a Google Ads campaign need regular management?

Again this isn’t absolute and there is a very large array of variables which need regular checks. However this list may serve to illustrate the degree of weekly input needed to manage and maintain ad campaigns effectively. Here are some of the main elements we look at:

• Ad content – Google shows how effective your ads are i.e. which ones are performing best. They also grade your ads (poor, average, good, excellent) so that you can see what needs to be improved. It makes sense to run all of your ads as good or excellent if possible. Small changes can deliver worthwhile returns.
• Bid strategy – there are different bid strategies you can use for your campaigns, ranging from maximising clicks to focusing on conversions. Each of those strategies has associated permutations which you can select depending on the maturity of the campaign. For example, you may start a new campaign with a focus on clicks to gain some data and initial conversions and then switch the strategy as soon as the ads algorithm has sufficient data to optimise on. A lot of experience is needed to get this right and getting it wrong can mean low quality enquiries and wasted budget.
• Keywords – at initial set-up various keywords will have been selected for each campaign but these will need to be carefully managed and updated over time. You will need to analyse which keywords are performing best and which aren’t performing and potentially wasting budget and then take action accordingly.
• Negative keywords – in the ads admin console you can see the search terms which resulted in clicks on your ads. Some of these clicks will be undesirable and you need to update negative keyword lists accordingly.
• Budget – Google will make recommendations about your budget (often encouraging you to increase it!) but you need to evaluate if this is worthwhile and likely to result in better returns.
• Conversions and clicks – you need to check the level of conversions (enquiries) and clicks and if these are at the level and cost expected. This is key to understanding how the campaign is performing and the types of changes which may be required.
• Google’s recommendations and insights – Google offers a huge amount of advice about what to adjust in you campaigns but not all of it is good advice! Some cynics might suggest that some of the recommendations are designed to make you spend more and so you need to be careful before simply implementing them. This really isn’t for the inexperienced.
• Competitor analysis – Google also offers some auction insights which give an idea of how your campaigns are performing versus those of your competitors. How you react to those insights is very much dependent on your objectives and budget but also your skill and experience in knowing what to do. For example, ads for some treatments e.g. implants and Invisalign are extremely competitive in some areas and Google’s insights might make you think that advertising is pointless without a large click budget. However this isn’t always the case and advertising may still be worthwhile if you know what to do.

There are numerous other trends and metrics to be evaluated but the list above will hopefully provide some insight into the regular work of a PPC specialist.

Summary

Google Ads (PPC) can provide great returns but your campaigns need to be set up properly and then maintained diligently to get the best results. DIY is possible but experience suggests that many DIYers end up disappointed and wasting budget. What you save by using a dental PPC professional will typically be a lot more than you can waste on budgets for poor campaigns and the returns will typically be much better too.

If you’ve tried your own DIY Google Ads and been disappointed or just considering it for the first time, please get in touch with the PPC team at Dental Media on 01332 672548 for more advice.