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Great Google Ads Hack Can Save Dentists Thousands!!!

There aren’t too many blogs that will save you thousands of dollars – but this just might be one of them. Learn below how your dental practice can save thousands of dollars in Google Ads spend with one quick easy hack.

Most Dentists Waste Money With Google AdWords

Dentist Wast Money With Google Ads

The truth is the Google Ads platform is a phenomenal way to find new dental patients when Google ads are working correctly. Unfortunately, it can also be very easy to waste money with Google ads.

Here’s how to do Dental Google Ads right…

Step One The dentist needs to show the right, relevant Google Ad to the right dental patient. If not, your dentist office will waste money.

Step Two The Dentist Google Ad needs to distinguish itself from other Google ads and search listings on the search results page. The Google Ad needs to be clickable! If the ads are not clickable, costs will go up and the dental office will waste their money!

Step Three The dental landing page needs to get the prospective dental patient to either fill out a form or call the dental practice. If neither happens, the dental practice will waste their money.

Negative Keywords Can Help Dentists Save Money

Remember step one above? “The dentist needs to show the right, relevant Google Ad to the right dental patient.”

The worst thing to happen is when the wrong people see and click your dental Google ad. One bad click could cost you $10-$30+. Over time bad clicks can suck up your ad budget and prevent you from getting good clicks from great “in-market” dental patients.

Here are some keyword clicks a dentist in Miami surely would not want.

“How Much Does A Miami Dentist make?”

“Miami Dentist Arrested”

“Miami Dentist School”

By simply adding negative keyword terms like “how much”, “arrested” and “school”, a good Google Ads manager could have prevented Google ads from showing for the search queries above. Many of the negative keywords above are common and predictable. Here’s a list of negative keywords for dentists.

How To Avoid Competitor Keyword Clicks

Dentist Competitors

The same negative keyword principle applies if a dental office wants to avoid expensive clicks based on competitor keyword searches.

Let’s say your dental practice is called Big Smiles R’ Us. You probably don’t want people clicking on your Google ad for Springfield Smiles, Smileworld, Springfield Dental Spa etc. In order to make sure you don’t pay for expensive Google ad clicks when someone is simply trying to search for their own dentist, you must add those competitor names as keywords.

If you have an unlimited budget, an amazing website, amazing reviews and an amazing dental office, there is an argument that it might be worth it to pay for a Google ad click when Suzy Smith searches for your competitor, if you think she will be so amazed by your dental practice that she will leave her dentist.

However, you should know Suzy probably didn’t click your ad on purpose and actually thought she was clicking on her own dentist’s website. More often than not she will be gone from your dental landing page within 3 seconds and you will be out $10-$30!

FREE DENTAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK!

OK SO HERE’S THE GREAT GOOGLE ADS NEGATIVE KEYWORD HACK ALREADY!

Finding all of your competitors and adding them to your Google AdWords account can be time-consuming. Here’s a quick and easy way to find dentists near you and add them as negative keywords to your Google AdWords accounts.

Step One

Download the Chrome extension called Leads Extractor from the Google Chrome Store. This should take about 5 seconds. Chrome extensions are safe and easy to use. Plus, when you are done they are easy to remove.

You can find the Chrome Extension here.

Step Two

Go to Google Maps and search for dentist in your area.

Step Three

Use the Leads Extractor extension to collect the first set of local dentists.

Step Four

Click the next arrow below the listing to see the next twenty listings.

Step Five

Collect those dentist listing with the Leads Extractor extension.

Step Six

Repeat steps above.

Step Seven

Copy the collected dentist competitor names.

Step Eight

Paste the dentist competitor names into your AdWords negative keywords

Here’s a quick video we made to help you understand the process of collecting competitor dentist names from YouTube.

Dentist AdWords Pro Tip – You should also find and add dentist names (ex. Dr. Howard Farran) to your AdWords negative keyword list. A great place to find actual dentist names is right at the ADA website.

For instance, here’s a list of Miami dentist names… https://findadentist.ada.org/search-results?address=miami

Here are some other dental marketing articles that might interest you.

2019 Dental Logo Design Ideas & Best Practices

LocalMed – Dentist Appointment Online Scheduling

Questions You Must Ask A Dental SEO Expert!

Dental Implant Marketing In 2019

ConversionSmiles is a dental marketing company.

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Does Google AdWords For Dentists Work in 2019?

[With the emergence of Facebook ads, does Google AdWords for dentists still work in 2019? The answer is YES and Google ads might actually be working better than they have in many years. Learn strategies to grow your practice with Google AdWords for Dentists in this article…]

Why Google AdWords For Dentists Will Probably Always Work

Always is a long time but you should expect running dentist Google ads will work for a very, very long time.

Let’s look at Facebook ads for dentists. Facebook is a great platform for educating patients and promoting procedures. Facebook allows you to find specific audiences and let them know your dental practice exists. With Facebook, you can educate patients about dental procedures and let them know how you can help them look or feel better. That’s fantastic and smart dentists should be using Facebook Ads to some extent.

FREE DENTAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK!

However, there are still relatively few people who go to Facebook to search for dental practices or specific dental procedures. Some people might ask Facebook friends for recommendations but in those cases, the dental practices are not able to provide their unique selling proposition (USP).

Instead, Google is still the “go to” place when someone wants to find a new dentist or wants help with a specific dental problem. Google truly is the new phone book and will be for a long, long time. When a prospective dental patient decides they need help with a dental procedure, they immediately jump on Google and type in keywords to find a solution to their problem. For some interesting examples of what people type into Google related to dentists check out this list… dental keywords for Adwords

Why Google AdWords For Dentists Is Better Than Ever – More Prominent Ads

Believe it or not, the cost per click of Google ads is actually going down. Maybe not for dental Google ads and maybe not for Google ads in your area but overall Google is seeing a decline in the cost per Google ad click. “The cost per click (CPC) declined 29%, slightly more than the third quarter of 2018.” – MediaPost.com

Yet, this year even with pay per click prices declining, Google’s paid-click growth rose to more than 66% year-over-year. What’s up with that? Simple. Google is making search ads more clickable and more prominent so although individual ad click prices might be declining overall volume is increasing.


In the past, some folks had gone “ad blind” and trained themselves to only focus on organic searches and ignore Google ads. These days Google is making ads much more prominent. Above, is a screenshot of a real search on a Google Pixel XL phone. As you can see all of the phone’s real estate is taken up by dentist ads. That’s pretty hard to ignore if you are someone looking for a new dentist. In fact, the first three listings are Google ads so even as you scroll down you see yet another Google ad.

Google AdWords For Dentists Is Better Because Google Ads Are Bigger

With new expanded search ads, Google ads are getting bigger. According to iProspect, “Both Text Ad descriptions can now have up to 90 characters each. Previously, advertisers only had one description line (80 characters); this new update doubles the previous description space plus adds an additional 10 characters per description. So, what does this all mean? You now have a 93% increase in character count (from 140 to 270)!”

Bigger ads are a big deal for dental advertisers! Bigger Google ads are more clickable and help dentists deliver more effective marketing messages. Imagine back in the day if you could get a bigger newspaper ad, bigger phonebook ad or longer TV ad at the same price. Well, that is pretty much what is going on here. But the difference is you may be paying less for your larger dentist Google ad than the dentist with the tiny Google ads. You just have to do it right! Take a look at the Google ad above from Aspen Dental that has a whopping 13 lines!

PRO TIP: By leveraging Google extensions, Google advertisers can make Google ads even bigger.

Google AdWords For Dentists Is Better Because Of Better Conversion Rate Optimization Techniques

Google ads have always been a pretty effective way of getting keyword clicks. The problem is many dentists have sent valuable AdWords traffic to pages that are not effective at converting the ‘ad clicker’ into an actual patient. In fact, many dentists have sent traffic to crappy web pages or phones that are not answered. That has to stop if you want to be successful with AdWords for dentists.

These days dental website designers have become much savvier at creating relevant landing pages that actually motivate folks to fill out a form or actually make a call to the dental practice. In the world of dental Google ads, conversions are king.

Conversion rates will climb even more as online dental appointment scheduling like LocalMed becomes more commonplace. Something like LocalMed allows a prospective dental patient to go from Google Ad click to a new dental patient appointment in less than 3 minutes. (To learn more about LocalMed and dental appointment scheduling check out this article LocalMed Online Scheduling.

If your dental practice can convert Google ads to new customers at a high rate, you probably always be a good candidate for Google Ads!

More Dental Marketing Articles That Might Interest You

Facebook Ads For Dentists – Why FB Ads Matter In 2019!

Google AdWords Call Only Ads – All You Need To Know

Why Your Dentist AdWords Manager Should Know SEO

11 Top Tips For Google AdWords For Dentists – 2019

One Silly Thing That Helps Increase Dentist Google Ads CTR!

ConversionSmiles is a Dental Marketing Company

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CallRail – Call Recording For Dental Marketing

[Every successful dental marketing campaign should include call recording & call tracking from CallRail or another call tracking service.  Today, we explore how CallRail call tracking can help dentists improve ROI of dental marketing campaigns]

 What Is CallRail? 

CallRail provides call analytics to more than 100,000 companies (including lots of dental practices) and marketing agencies worldwide. CallRail’s call recording & tracking software helps data-driven marketers and business owners optimize the performance of their online and offline advertising campaigns, increase sales effectiveness (case acceptance), and improve customer (patient) retention.

How Does CallRail Work?

CallRail provides a tracking phone number that forwards to your dental office main phone number. Your patients dial the new tracking number, CallRail forwards the call, and your front office answers your main phone as they usually do. CallRail creates statistics that you can check online in real-time.

CallRail doesn’t require special equipment or any special training and it can be paid for on a monthly basis without a large upfront investment.  At the time of this writing, (11/20/18) dental offices can get started with CallRail for as little as $30 per month.

Some CallRail Features

  • Real-Time Call Analytics
  • Call Recording
  • Local & Toll-Free Numbers
  • SMS for Business
  • Google Analytics Integration
  • Custom Call Routing
  • Google Ads Integration
  • Keyword Call Tracking
  • Conversation Intelligence
  • Email Notifications
  • WordPress Plugin
  • Advanced ReportingAPI & Webhooks

How Does CallRail Help Dentists Manage Their Dental Office?

The best dentists should be spending most of their time helping dental patients in the chair and do not have the time or opportunity to effectively manage the front desk patient experience.

Call Rail helps dentist fully understand call traffic that is occurring while they are helping dental patients.  Dentists can easily see how many calls are coming in, where the calls are coming from and how long the average call is lasting.  If you are a dentist and you see the average call is 22 seconds you have a problem!

How Does CallRail Improve Dental Patient Experience?

Better Training For Dental Office Front Desks

By listening to dental patient calls, dentists are able to hear real dental patient questions. As the same questions keep coming up the dentist or dental office manager can supply the front desk staff with better answers to those questions.

Often times, there is a genuine disconnect between what staff thinks the dental practice can do and what the dentist is actually able/willing to do.   This disconnect is nobody’s fault but the only way the dentist can fix it is to know the problem actually exist by listening to actual dental patient calls.

Front Desk Staff Accountability 

We are all better versions of ourselves when we are accountable.  Front desk employees are so busy that sometimes they can feel too busy for those super important new dental patient calls.

When your front desk knows you will be listening to patient calls,  they will be more likely to give answers they know you want them to give rather than answers they want to give.

A new dental appointment can feel like a new problem for some folks answering the phone on a busy day.  It is the job of the dentist and dental office manager to help the front desk understand a new dental appointment is a new opportunity.   Call recordings can eliminate unwanted problems like dental patients being “brushed off” when their call or request is inconvenient.

Review Call Recordings

Dentists Should Review Calls Regularly On Their Own 

By reviewing dental patient call recordings, dentists can benefit from new insights on how they can better help new and existing dental patients.  Many patients might be calling asking about dental procedures your practice does not offer or insurance your practice doesn’t work with.

For the front desk employee, those calls are an easy “No!” – for the dentist those calls might offer an opportunity to expand the dental practice.

Dentists Should Review Calls With Staff 

Dentists need to be very careful to not put staff ‘on the spot’ but dentists should occasionally listen to calls in a fun and positive way.  Look for opportunities to give positive feedback for all the stuff your staff is doing right.  Try to take the blame for stuff that isn’t going so right.

Dentists should focus on opportunities for improvement and use the recordings for teaching moments that will help make sure everyone is on the same page.

How Does Call Rail Improve Google Ads And Other Dental Digital Marketing?

Dentists routinely spend $5 -$15 for Google ad clicks that end in phone calls that go to voicemail or get shut down immediately by front desk staff that don’t know better. (or sometimes do!)

CallRail can quickly expose issues with inbound call handling that expose the need for improved training, process or more manpower.

Or, a dentist might decide Google advertising just can’t be adequately dealt with at their dental practice.  (If so, they can just let those in-market dental patient leads go to their competitor!)

Call Rail can also help dental offices see when peak calling happens so they can staff the phone properly and show when missed calls are occurring.

CallRail Makes Sure Dental Marketing Agencies Are Accountable

Dental marketing agencies love to tell dentists they are making the phone ring.  With CallRail, dentists can get real intelligence about the calls and decide if the calls are worth the high cost of dentist Google ads campaigns.

If dentists find most calls coming from Google ads are nonsense, it might be time to find a new dental marketing agency.

Links To Other Call Monitoring / Call Recording / Call Tracking Services

DialogTech – “Powered by AI, DialogTech attributes calls from your marketing and analyzes the conversations to measure caller intent, lead quality, and conversions.”

CallTrackingMetrics – “Call Tracking & Reporting, Track Online/Offline Campaigns, Keyword Level Attribution, Unlimited Users, Call Recordings, IVR/Auto Attendant, Conversation Analytics, Phone, Email, & Chat Support,Integrates with Google & Bing”

 Convirza – “The World’s First Call Tracking & Marketing Optimization Platform
Call tracking with built-in marketing automation and actionable results. ”

You might also be interested in some of our previous dental marketing articles……

LocalMed – Dentist Appointment Online Scheduling

2019 Dental Marketing Company List – Everything You Need To Grow!

Facebook Marketing for Dentists 

CallPop Dental Marketing Software

Weave Patient Communication Software 

Dental SEO Services Tips

ConversionSmiles is a dental marketing agency.