This question is especially important to ask when you’ve already narrowed down your list and the agencies under consideration have similar qualifications. That’s because, all other things being equal, your final decision may come down to what feels like the best fit, relationship-wise, after you talk to the person who would work directly with you. If you ask a small pay-per-click agency this question, the answer may be that the same people who pitched your business will also manage your campaigns. At a larger agency, the account may be handed off to someone with less seniority.

When talking to a prospective agency for your plastic surgery PPC services, they should be able to name and describe numerous metrics they use to monitor campaign performance. They include click-through rates (CTRs), cost per click, cost per conversion, ad positions and more.

Because a PPC campaign isn’t complete without a quality landing page optimization strategy, ask agencies how they collect landing page performance data and how they test the pages and adjust them to enhance conversions. Although no two agencies handle this aspect of PPC in exactly the same way, there are time-tested best practices for the creation and optimization of landing pages. They include:

• Solid connections between the copy in your PPC ads and the messaging on the corresponding landing page
• Succinct statements of your offer and how it will benefit your clients
• Clearly visible calls to action that let the user know what will happen next

The best PPC agencies recognize where budget dollars can be wasted, aware of how excluding certain search terms is just as important as using the right ones. These agencies will create and manage negative keyword lists to prevent your practice from paying for clicks that just aren’t relevant. For example, if your plastic surgery practice focuses on reconstructive surgeries, then you wouldn’t want your ads to appear when people search on aesthetic surgical procedures. That’s why, at Dagmar, we consider both relevant and irrelevant search terms when researching and creating strategies.

This is an important question to ask any PPC agency you’re considering. More than once, we’ve had a hard time getting a client’s Google Ads credentials because of ownership issues with the previous agency. So, before you begin to work with a new agency on your plastic surgery PPC campaigns, have a clear understanding of ownership terms. You’ll want to have access in a transparent way.

Although pay-per-click can and does succeed as a standalone marketing service, it can make sense to ask the digital marketing agencies you’re interviewing what other services they can provide. You may or may not need them now but, as your company grows, you’ll likely want to add additional online marketing services, ones that dovetail well with your PPC advertising. Services to ask about can include SEO for plastic surgeons, including local SEO services, content writing, social media advertising, and website design.

This is actually part one of a two-part question, with the second half focusing on whether the agency does work for any of your direct competitors. Here are issues to consider. When looking for an agency to manage your plastic surgery PPC campaign, solid industry experience can count in their favor. This shortens their learning curve and allows you to ask questions about challenges and successes of the other plastic surgery campaigns they’ve handled. As far as direct competitors go, you won’t want to sign on with an agency that manages PPC campaigns for any competitors in the same geographic market as yours. If the competitors are located in other areas, though, this additional agency experience can be beneficial for your practice.

An agency should be able to clearly and regularly provide plenty of data. After all, pay-per-click advertising is a data-driven form of online marketing. Specific metrics can include click-through rates, leads generated, impression shares, conversion rates, and more. Although these reports aren’t quick or easy to put together, you are entitled to a clear picture of how your money is being spent and how that is translating into results for your plastic surgery practice. If the report isn’t thorough or your questions aren’t being answered, it makes sense to find an agency that provides the information you want and need.

This acronym stands for “pay-per-click.” When your practice uses this type of digital advertising, you only pay when a searcher clicks on one of your plastic surgery ads. You may have heard this called by other names, such as paid search or search engine marketing (SEM). PPC can be ideal when you want to drive traffic to your site and boost awareness of your services and brand. Multiple platforms sell this kind of advertising, from search engines like Google and Bing to YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

PPC campaigns can offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Brand awareness: This is being built when users first see one of your ads (even if it doesn’t get clicks), with brand recognition continuing to grow each time an ad of yours is seen. Although there isn’t a way to measure how many people simply see your ad (without clicking on it), its presence is a way to showcase the quality of your brand. This is true with traditional marketing and advertising, as well as with your plastic surgery PPC ads.
• Accessibility: This type of digital marketing is the great equalizer because companies of nearly any size have equal access to Google Ads, and it doesn’t cost much to get started. So, an ad for your practice can appear alongside that of an international brand.
• Targeting qualified leads: PPC gives your practice the ability to specifically target people who would be more likely to see and engage with your plastic surgery ads. That’s important because, although getting traffic is one thing, having the right traffic is crucial for success. With this form of advertising, you can home in on desired audiences by their age or location, and target them by time of day, type of devices used, and so on. This is a key way in which PPC is different from plastic surgeon SEO campaigns.
• Conversions: In digital marketing, prospects are guided through a series of steps that takes them closer to your practice’s ultimate goal, perhaps a consultation. Each of these steps is called a “conversion.” Your plastic surgery ads, once clicked upon, take people to a landing page where your messaging is reinforced to keep prospects on the conversion pathway. The landing page may, for example, ask them to sign up for a company email newsletter. When someone does, that’s an example of a conversion.
• Data and insights: You can gain insights into your own audiences as well as into the strategies of your competitors. As we say at DAGMAR, you can slice, dice, test—and ultimately create a digital marketing strategy that really shines. Information that you gain about prospect behaviors can also be used in other types of marketing campaigns.

To talk about how PPC ads can help you to meet your business goals, please get in touch.

Yes. Although the bulk of them are text ads—such as Google Ads—there are additional kinds, such as:

• Retargeting ads: This type of ad may be shown to someone if they’ve already participated in some form of engagement with your practice, perhaps downloading an informational sheet. Or, this ad could be shown to someone who has searched on topics that are related to your services.
• Display ads: These graphic/visual ads can be placed on the tops, footers, and sides of web pages.
• Call-only ads: These ads are only displayed on devices where a call can be completed. When someone clicks on one of these ads, a phone call is started. This is in contrast to PPC ads where the prospect is taken to a landing page.

Yes, you can. There can definitely be a learning curve, though, if you don’t already have enough experience to make money from your PPC campaign. To educate yourself, there are how-to articles and videos that can be found through a Google search to guide you from the setup stage to bidding strategies and more. So, the real question isn’t whether or not you can do your own PPC campaigns. Rather, it’s how much time you would need to devote to optimize your return on investment, and whether that’s doable and worth it to you.

Typically, the amount needed for the most favorable returns is not insignificant. It takes time to set up the campaign, conduct keyword research, create ads and landing pages, monitor and adjust campaigns, and more. Dialing in bids to balance costs and performance takes time, but is necessary. When bids are too low, your practice will get fewer impression shares than you should. Too high? Money is wasted.

We’ve had multiple long-term customers who originally did their own PPC management. After recognizing how their time could be better spent on their own businesses, they contacted us to take over their campaign management.

Plus, search engines are constantly evolving, and so are their PPC programs. Taking the time to keep up with innovations is crucial and can make a big difference in your plastic surgery PPC campaigns.

Dagmar Marketing can manage your campaigns from start to finish. So, if you’ve already done PPC advertising in-house or would like to talk about what it takes to get started, we’d love to hear from you.

PPC is an efficient method of plastic surgery lead generation and, when done right, it’s affordable. So, although it may not be for every business, it’s often worth the investment. Our team can review your situation and your budget estimate to let you know if PPC is or isn’t the right option for your practice. Contact us for a free consultation.

In reality, PPC works best when integrated with other marketing campaigns and can help them to become more successful. So, yes!

Here are several factors to consider when choosing a PPC agency:

• Technical expertise: Although PPC is a mixture of art and science, it’s largely a science-based activity. So, choose an agency with deep technical skills, one that keeps up with the evolving nature of PPC. Also make sure that the agency is highly skilled in ad and landing page creation.
• Reputation: Ask for references and check out online reviews. What have you learned?
• Customization: Each element of a PPC campaign must be customized to the business being advertised. What works for one plastic surgery practice, for example, may not work for another, because each one is unique.
• Results: The most compelling factor: the positive results that online marketing agencies obtain for their clients! This is especially true if the results presented are from your own industry. So ask about results and, if you don’t get the information you need, move on to another agency.
• Customer service: Get contact information for the person who would be your direct contact and ask how available they would be for you. Find out how and when reports will be provided, and in what format. What will they include? Paid search campaigns are complex and it’s important that you receive comprehensive information about the performance of yours. Don’t settle for just part of the story.
• Contracts: Many reputable PPC agencies operate on a monthly contract, while others will want a longer one. A longer one isn’t necessarily a red flag, but that favors the agency more so than your plastic surgery practice. Be clear about what contract you would be asked to sign and whether those terms are acceptable to you.

Results can come quickly, sometimes in just a few weeks. As DAGMAR collects data from a campaign, it’s carefully analyzed to find ways to continue to improve upon those results. We’ll share what we learn with you, and we’re available to discuss your progress at any time.

If you mean the cost to sign up, it’s free. The only time your practice would pay is when someone clicks on an ad or triggers a phone call. The cost will vary, based upon your ad’s relevance, the amount of competition for the targeted keywords, and the number of clicks received. Keywords come in a range of costs, with some having a good value and others being so expensive that they’re not worth including in your plastic surgery ad campaigns.

If you’re new to paid search and would like to know more about how costs are determined, please give us a call.

Paid media can be defined as marketing content that you pay to have appear somewhere, which means outside of your own blog or website. This includes online ads, including content on Twitter and LinkedIn that’s designated as “sponsored” or “promoted.” There are two other types of media to consider—earned and owned—and each plays a role when marketing for plastic surgery practices.

“Owned media” is content where you have complete control, such as what you post on your blog and website. Meanwhile, “earned media” is when a media source mentions your company or a customer leaves an online review. Earned media is not paid for; it happens organically. These three types of media demonstrate how flexible, efficient, and cost effective your digital marketing can be, with a variety of options available to your practice.