What is PPC? And how can a specialist healthcare PPC agency in Birmingham enable you to compete in an ever-evolving and highly competitive market? 

Google has become the first port of call for healthcare queries. So much so, the Becker Hospital Review reports that 7% of daily searches are healthcare-related. To put things into perspective, that’s more than one billion searches for health-related questions every day.

As much as showing how health-conscious we all are, it also highlights the potential for companies working in healthcare to showcase their brand’s services and products online.

By 2025, the digital health market is expected to reach a value of $660 billion. With this in mind, there’s no time like the present to start working on your healthcare PPC strategy.  

Digital trends in healthcare and pharma marketing

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the digital healthcare and pharmaceutical industry has accelerated dramatically. According to GlobalData, 35% of pharmaceutical industry professionals believe that the Covid-19 pandemic increased the digital transformation by more than 5 years.

As a result, the annual growth rate of the digital health market industry was predicted at 9% before the pandemic. Since then, it has shifted to an impressive 33%. So, if your business isn’t changing with the times and implementing the following points, you could find it lagging behind the competition.

Social media

Whether you like it or not, social media platforms are still an abundant source of online communication.

In fact, Search Engine Watch claims 90% of 18–24-year-olds trust healthcare information they discover on social media. Looking ahead, it’s only a matter of time before more healthcare and pharma companies use social media marketing to appeal to younger audiences.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) will naturally see a large increase alongside the growing popularity of digital healthcare. Consumers begin their healthcare research through search engines like Google, so the emphasis on organic and relevant content is crucial to help secure new customers by solving popular queries.

From investigating symptoms to comparing reviews from different healthcare providers, there is a copious amount of traffic currently circulating and seeking solutions online.

PPC

We might be talking about healthcare, but we are not referring to Patient Priorities Care (PPC), although it may still apply. The PPC we are discussing is pay-per-click within digital marketing.

Due to the competitiveness and volume of healthcare queries online, pay-per-click will provide a reliable source for healthcare companies to increase their brand awareness and secure conversions.

Above all, healthcare PPC is one of the most important elements of digital marketing today. If you want to push your business forward, invest in a leading healthcare PPC agency.   

What is PPC?

PPC stands for pay-per-click. As the name suggests, the advertiser/marketer pays the publisher (i.e. Google) every time the advertisement is clicked.

The PPC model is based on keywords. When someone searches this keyword, the PPC advertisement containing the keyword will appear in one of the top searches depending on the competitiveness of the specific search and keyword.

For example, if you are a healthcare provider located in Birmingham. You will bid and purchase a keyword that relates to the product or services your business provides. You can then use the Geotargeting feature or local PPC to target potential customers in your location.

This method ensures you’re not wasting time targeting consumers who are outside of your catchment area.

The benefits of PPC for small healthcare and pharma businesses in Birmingham

PPC has many marketing benefits, especially if you’re a small healthcare business owner.  

Fast results

  • PPC guarantees faster marketing results than any other digital marketing strategy.
  • Ads will appear immediately once you have created and activated your PPC campaign. 
  • You can assess whether your website needs attention when you see website traffic performance.
  • You can begin interacting with customers on your website to improve customer service and the user experience.

Brand awareness

  • PPC will place your ad high in the SERPs so you will instantly become more visible to your consumers/patients.
  • Targeting long-tail keywords/queries will appeal to specific audiences and are less competitive with a low bidding cost.
  • Strategically place your ads through audience targeting in the Google Display Network
  • Showcase your brand as the superior option to the rest of the competition through concise authoritative content.
  • TechJury reports PPC can improve brand awareness by 80%.

Focus on your business

  • Once you launch a successful PPC campaign, you can generate automatic leads while you sleep.
  • Other digital marketing methods take months to build up interest, whereas PPC can gain traffic instantly.
  • The performance of PPC ads can inform other aspects of your marketing strategies, such as SEO through keyword analysis.  
  • PPC is not affected by search engine algorithm changes like SEO.
  • PPC Protect reports 45% of small businesses now invest in PPC.

High return on investment

How PPC can support your healthcare brand

Like most industries, there are some challenges in healthcare to consider with your PPC campaigns.

Whether you’re a dentist, beauty therapist, plastic surgeon or medical equipment supplier, the healthcare industry is seriously competitive. This means you need to execute your PPC through a clear well thought-through strategy. Things to focus on include:

  1. Target audience

Recognising your target audience and creating a healthcare PPC strategy to target them is your first step. After all, knowing your customer is key. If you’re targeting a specific audience, it’s crucial to recognise the online behaviour, such as the content they find most interesting.

Ask yourself, what are their intentions, and how can you best serve their query? Are they searching for information on symptoms, or do they desire a specific service?

Designing the content and language around your target audience is essential to convince and convert them. For example, it might be appropriate for a B2B medical supplier to use official medical terms when selling equipment. However, for ads geared towards patients, you should avoid medical terminology.  

  • Personal information

All healthcare professionals know the importance of sensitive personal information and how it must be protected. This is an important reminder that PPC campaigns must follow this procedure with all language contained.

  • Optimise landing pages

Your landing page is an essential part of any healthcare PPC campaign. This webpage must be in tune with your call to action (CTA) for this specific strategy. For example, is your user in need of treatment or information? As with your target audience, tailor your landing pages to the needs of your customer.

Landing pages can also be evaluated to test the success of your conversion rates. A/B testing different landing pages can help you improve your conversion rates. Finally, remember always to have clear CTAs and contact information.

  • Smartphone Friendly     

Over half of all website traffic is generated by mobile phones and a further 52% of PPC clicks come from smartphones. So, it pays to invest in a mobile-friendly website.

Talk to a leading healthcare PPC agency in Birmingham

In the digital healthcare sector, there is much to consider when trying to promote your brand effectively. The market is very competitive, so speaking to a specialist healthcare PPC agency can help your Birmingham businesses establish an online presence.

As a small business, PPC is an effective route to take. It will help generate traffic, increase brand awareness, and improve conversions. At Amay Digital, our certified experts specialise in healthcare PPC services.

With over 10 years of experience, we get to know the PPC requirements of your healthcare company and formulate a plan to ensure we deliver affordable and effective results.

To learn more about our leading healthcare PPC agency in Birmingham, contact our friendly team today.