Bidding on Symptom Keywords: Yay or Nay?
Recently, I was asked by a client why we don’t bid on “symptoms” in their Google Search Ad campaign. It’s a good question and one we get from time to time, so I thought I’d take the time to answer that question here.
Many times, when someone is searching with phrases like “cream for knee pain” or “how to get rid of a rash” it can be an indicator they are looking for a self-help solution and not necessarily ready to see a doctor. That doesn’t mean they won’t end up seeing a doctor. It just means that their search indicates they are most likely looking for a self-help solution at this time. A majority of the healthcare providers we work with have modest budgets and casting a wide net to include symptom-related keywords just isn’t an affordable option.
Someone searching with phrases like “dermatologist near me” or “knee pain doctor” is very different, however. These phrases clearly indicate that the person searching is in the market for a healthcare provider to help solve their medical issue.
According to the National Institute of Health, “a large proportion of people use the internet to search for information on medical symptoms they experience and that around one-third of the people in the United States self-diagnose using online information”.
We often get calls from prospective clients who will tell us that they have tried Google Ads in the past and “it didn’t work”. We offer a free evaluation of their existing campaigns and almost always find the same wasteful spending. It's not surprising than a good chunk of wasted spend comes from adding symptom-related search terms to the keywords they are bidding on. The conversion rates for these types of keywords are very low and they can really eat up the budget. When bidding on keywords in Google Ads, it’s important to target people who are show an intention of seeking professional advice and treatment for the best conversion rates.
If you are interested in learning more about Google Ads or would like a free evaluation of your existing campaign, give us a call today
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