Pediatric Healthcare

Challenge

New patient growth at the various locations of our client’s pediatric practice had been uneven for the last five years. Some locations were more profitable than others. Some locations had capacity for more growth while others were maxed out with no available provider appointment slots. The company needed to maximize new patient potential without adding more labor in the short term — and they needed a strategic marketing plan.

Solution

Pineapple Digital worked with the company’s executive team to analyze the market, define metrics and objectives, and create specific goals. We launched a strategic digital marketing plan in March 2022 designed to attract new patients in specific geographic areas and grow target clinic locations. For media execution, we chose Google Search Results Ads, Social Media Display Ads, and SEO optimization of the existing website. Our brand development team created new messaging, imagery, and website copy.

Google Search Results Ads: The Google ads targeted women aged 21 – 45 in households earning over $80,000. Google keyword phrases for ad buys were researched to drive the most qualified patient traffic. We wrote compelling ad campaign text to filter web traffic for those most likely to want a new pediatrician, with links to a landing page that included calls-to-action welcoming new patients.

Social Media Display Ads: Facebook and Instagram were used, targeting specific zip codes and higher household incomes. Our brand division designed creative display ads to be relevant to young women aged 21 – 45 with catchy headlines and friendly phrasing. The ads were differentiated from other healthcare practices using close up photography of kids interacting with their parents (not doctors) in fun and loving ways. Links from the ads directed traffic to a new landing page using calls-to-action welcoming new patients.

SEO: The existing website was optimized for keyword phrases that parents use when searching for a new pediatric provider, such as “pediatrician in Portland”, “pediatric clinic in Beaverton”, “pediatric behavioral health”, or clinic names of competitors. Website pages and navigation were reordered to help drive new patients to a new landing page with clear calls to action for new patient conversion. The current site was better optimized for a mobile experience.

The team monitored ad results and SEO metrics throughout the year, focusing on cost per impression, cost per click, new patient conversions, and cost per conversion. We tracked new patient volumes by location to check results by region. By adjusting variables in the ad campaigns and continual testing, the team achieved improved return on investment by driving down costs per new patient and increasing overall results.

Results

Through the end of 2022, the organization saw an 8% increase in new patient volume growth over the 2021 experience, far exceeding the estimated 2% market growth. Targeted locations for extra campaign spending experienced more than 20% growth with pediatricians commenting, “I don’t know what you did, but it’s amazing.”

Google Ad Metrics

Google ads from March ‘22 to December ‘22 experienced 3,670 links to the website at a click-through-rate of 4.67% of people viewing those ads. The new patient conversion rate from those who clicked an ad and visited the website was 8.74%, exceeding industry average. Total new patients specifically from the Google campaign were 321.