Saturday, January 24, 2009

Is Chiropractic Marketing with Pay-Per-Click a Waste?

By Matthew Loop DC

Whenever I have a chiropractor approach me and speak about how pay per click advertising on Google and Yahoo is the best thing since sliced bread, I sit back and smile. When chiropractic practices or other small business newbies first break into internet marketing, usually these paid mediums are the first types of marketing exploited since they appear to be quick, simple, and promising in returns. Quite honestly, there excitement is only natural, as it feels like a big accomplishment to begin to market on the internet. Now, it is possible to run highly profitable Google Adwords campaigns, however, the hard reality is most spend thousands upon thousands in hard knocks with nothing to show.

In the realm of chiropractic marketing, Im sometimes called the expert, sometimes referred to as the YouTube chiropractor, or innovator of social networking and video marketing. I like all these terms, and I use my expertise to teach other chiropractors how to utilize free marketing to bring new patients through their doors and excess money into their pockets. But first, let me confess something---

I confess that I once spent upwards of $10,000 dollars on a huge pay per click advertising campaign. Well, I was getting about 15 new patients a month, but my little experiment with pay per click taught me that it takes a lot of time and a huge amount of money to find success through this medium. Thank goodness I had some money to burn to learn the valuable lessons that I learned, but if you dont have that kind of money, then I suggest staying away from pay per click and learn from my mistakes.

Now, how do you get enough of a return on your money to make your marketing lucrative in this financial crisis? Im no martyr, but my struggles have taught me valuable lessons about using free mediums online for whopping chiropractic advertising success. Imagine beginning a huge internet marketing campaign for your chiropractic practice that is completely free! You heard me---- FREE! When you use the free resources provided by web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, youre telling the world about your chiropractic practice, and theres no cost upfront. That means nothing to lose.

What better way is there to meet people with similar interests from your community and share your insights about the chiropractic field and so much more? The highly targeted friends that you make on these social media sharing sites will all become potential patients as you share your abilities and successfully brand yourself in your community. Pretty soon, your chiropractic message will reach thousands of people, and continue to spread 24/7.

Get ready because video marketing is going to take over popular search engines like Yahoo and Google in 2009, so you better prepare for it. Today, more than half of the online content is video, and its always going to have a stronghold on the internet due to the interest that it excites. Imagine people being able to see a video of you giving a tour through your office! No chiropractic method has proved to be as powerful as video to get new patients into your office.

Listen, no one can stop you from using pay per click, but keep track of how much youre spending per day and put a limit on it. If you specify that you only want to spend $20 a day, then Google will adjust how its putting your videos out. I was trapped paying $130 a day when I was using pay per click, and thats because I didnt think to set a cut-off.

PPC is by no means worthless, but there is an appropriate time and a place to use it. Whether you can get 40 new patients a month out like some chiropractors claim is up in the air. Make sure you are willing to pay $1-5 dollars per click, too. Depending on your area, this may very well be more or sometimes less costly. It is also best to put a specific condition in the headline like "back pain." Many times I see chiropractors use their personal or practice name which is a bad idea. Put your ego aside and focus on the patient and what condition they are seeking relief from. This will assure you a higher return on your investment and better response.

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