The effectiveness of Google Ads for your dental practice can begin to show within a few weeks. But for the most consistent and solid results, it might take a couple of months.

Setting up the campaign and launching the ads usually takes about one to two weeks. During this phase, you might notice some traffic and initial inquiries, although these early results may not be fully optimised.

After the setup, there's a learning phase that lasts about two to four weeks, where Google Ads starts to figure out which keywords and ad placements are most effective. This allows the algorithms to adjust and optimise the delivery of your ads based on initial data.

Once past the learning phase, there's an optimisation period. This is where adjustments are made to keywords, bids, and targeting strategies to refine the campaign’s performance. By the end of the second month, you should see more consistent and higher quality results.

Well for starters, dental pay-per-click tends to be more localised. Since dental clinics serve people in their immediate area, the ads might try harder to capture the attention of potential patients nearby with search terms like "dentist near me”. General PPC may target a much broader area, even nationwide, depending on the business.

Secondly, the keywords used in dental PPC are often very specific and tied to high-value treatments, such as "dental implants," "teeth whitening," or "emergency dentist." These keywords are not only competitive. They can also be quite costly due to the high potential profit from attracting new patients.

Lastly, there's an additional layer of complexity with dental PPC due to regulatory compliance. Dental ads need to meet specific healthcare advertising standards, which can limit what you say or how you say it, especially for sensitive offerings like cosmetic procedures. This isn't typically as much of a concern for general PPC campaigns, which can be a bit more straightforward in their messaging.

Google recently introduced Local Services Ads (LSAs) for dentists, a pay-per-lead advertising model. Unlike the traditional pay-per-click ads, dentists only pay when they receive a qualified lead, such as a phone call from a prospective patient. These ads appear at the very top of search results, above even PPC ads.

One of the standout features of LSAs is the Google Screened badge. This tells prospective patients Google has done the necessary background checks on your dental clinic, including insurance and licensing. Additionally, these ads incorporate your customer reviews, further establishing trust and credibility with prospective patients.

Since LSAs for dentists are a newer offering, early adoption could provide a competitive edge. It’s an effective way to increase patient inquiries without needing to overspend on unqualified leads.

The cost of dental pay-per-click really depends on a few key factors, such as where your practice is located, which keywords you're trying to rank for, and how extensive your ad campaigns are.

If you're in a bustling city, you might find that PPC costs are a bit steeper due to more dentists vying for attention in the same space. Also, Keywords related to high-value treatments like "dental implants" or "cosmetic dentistry" tend to be more expensive than general terms like "dentist near me.”.

Google does give a nod to ads that perform well by charging less per click for those that get a lot of engagement and clicks. This is something to consider when crafting your ads.