Performance Marketing for Clinics
Google Search, Performance Max, YouTube, Meta and TikTok ads for clinics. The platforms' AI finds the patients; we control what it learns from, so it finds the right ones.
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Each platform does a different job
Paid channels are not interchangeable. A patient typing "kidney stone pain clinic" into Google at 11pm is in a different place from someone scrolling Instagram on the MRT.
Good clinic advertising starts by matching each platform to the stage the patient is at. Search catches demand that already exists. Video and social build familiarity and create demand among people who are not searching yet.
The takeaway
Most clinics need Google Search first, then add other channels once tracking is sound and they know what a booked consultation costs on Search.
What each platform is good for, and where it falls short
Every platform below can work for a clinic. Which ones earn a place in your budget depends on your treatments, your patients and how urgent their need is.
Google Search
Catches patients already searching for a condition, a treatment or a clinic near them. Suits urgent, specific and high-value treatments where patients compare options.
What we do: We build campaigns around high-intent treatment and condition terms. Weak where few people search, such as a procedure the public has not heard of, and costs rise sharply on competitive terms.
Performance Max
One campaign across Search, YouTube, Display, Maps and Gmail, with Google's AI deciding where the budget goes. Good at finding extra enquiries once conversion data is reliable.
What we do: We run it alongside Search, not instead of it, with controlled assets, search themes and exclusions. It reports less on where ads ran and can drift toward cheap placements without guardrails.
YouTube
Good for explaining a procedure or introducing a doctor in their own words, building familiarity before patients need you. Demand Gen campaigns extend the same idea.
What we do: It rarely drives bookings directly, so we judge it on how it lifts branded search and enquiries over time, not on clicks.
Meta Ads
Facebook and Instagram suit elective and lifestyle-adjacent services, local awareness and reaching adult children who book care for their parents.
What we do: Weak for urgent conditions, and targeting on health topics is limited. We write ad text that describes the service, never one that implies the reader has a condition.
TikTok Ads
Reaches younger audiences with short, practitioner-led explainers, where the service is eligible to advertise.
What we do: TikTok restricts many medical and cosmetic categories, and eligibility can vary by market and account. We confirm what is allowed before any production spend. Weak for older patients.
AI finds the patients. We control what it learns from.
Performance Max, Smart Bidding and Meta Advantage+ decide who sees your ads, where and at what price. They are only as good as their inputs.
Feed them every form fill and they find more form fills. Feed them booked consultations and they find patients. Left alone, they chase cheap clicks. These are the inputs we control.
- The goal it optimises for. Qualified enquiries and booked consultations, sent back through enhanced conversions and the Meta Conversions API, so the AI learns what a real patient looks like.
- Where it's allowed to go. Negative keywords, brand and placement exclusions, locations, schedules and budget caps, plus search themes and audience signals for Performance Max.
- What it's allowed to say. Every headline, image and video is written within HCSA rules, so any combination is compliant. Auto-generated text and auto-applied recommendations stay off.
- The data it sees. First-party audience lists only with patient consent under the PDPA. No health information goes into ad platforms.
- Checking its work. A weekly review of search terms, placements and asset performance, removing what doesn't belong.
The takeaway
Conversion feedback uses hashed contact details with consent, and the event describes a booking, never a diagnosis or treatment.
Search and Performance Max do different jobs
Clinics often ask whether to switch to Performance Max. For most, the answer is to run both, with each doing what it is good at.
Two sets of rules on every ad
Every platform has its own healthcare policies, on top of the Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations. Platform rules change often, so we check current policy for your specific services before planning a campaign.
The HCSA rules prohibit inducements such as free consultations, discounts and packages, as well as superlatives and outcome promises. We write ads that describe the service and the next step instead.
- Google. Restricts some healthcare and medicines ads. Certain categories need advertiser certification or are limited by country, and wording alone can get an ad disapproved.
- Meta. Limits targeting on health topics and does not allow ad text that implies you know someone's personal attributes.
- TikTok. Restricts or prohibits many medical and cosmetic procedure categories, with eligibility that can depend on the market and the account.
The takeaway
Platform approval does not mean HCSA compliance. An ad can pass review and still contain a testimonial, an inducement or an outcome promise. We check both.
Budgets set from bookings, results measured the same way
Monthly budgets range from about S$2k for a single clinic's local campaigns to S$30k+ for multi-location groups. The right figure comes from what a new patient is worth to you.
Start from cost per booking
We work backwards from what a new patient is worth and what you can pay for a booked consultation. The budget follows from how many bookings you want and your team can handle.
Fund Search properly first
Cover your most valuable treatments on Search before spreading money across five platforms. Thin budgets split across many campaigns give automated bidding too little to learn from.
Test new channels separately
A small, separate test budget lets you try a new channel without disrupting what already works. Nor is there any point paying for enquiries your front desk cannot answer the same day.
Measure bookings, not clicks
Enquiries from forms, WhatsApp and calls are tagged by campaign, filtered for real patients, then tracked to booked consultations. Every form captures gclid, fbclid and UTMs.
Reaching patients before they search
Meta and TikTok create demand among people who are not searching yet, based on broad audiences and the creative itself. That suits elective services more than urgent ones.
Because health targeting is limited, the creative does the work. Wording matters: "Struggling with your bladder?" is likely to be rejected, while "Bladder problems: what a urology assessment involves" is not.
- Practitioner-led explainers rather than offers or promotions
- Ad text that describes the assessment, not the reader's symptoms
- Traffic sent to a page or WhatsApp flow that answers the next question
The takeaway
We add Meta and TikTok once Search tracking is sound, so you can compare the cost of a booked consultation across channels.
Every retainer delivers
- Google Search campaigns on high-intent treatment and condition terms
- Performance Max campaigns with controlled assets, search themes and exclusions
- YouTube and Demand Gen video campaigns
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram) campaigns
- TikTok Ads for services and audiences where it fits
- Conversion tracking: GA4, Google Ads enhanced conversions and Meta Conversions API
- Landing pages built for enquiries
- Monthly cost-per-enquiry and cost-per-booking reporting
Diagnose · Prescribe · Treat · Monitor
Diagnose
Audit spend, search terms, tracking gaps and rejected ads.
Prescribe
Campaign structure, conversion signals and guardrails around your key treatments.
Treat
Launch and optimise weekly. Daily in the first month.
Monitor
Report on enquiries and bookings, not clicks.
Three things that set us apart
AI-enabled agency
Part of the Claude Partner Network. We use AI in our own analysis and reporting, and know where platform AI needs a human hand.
Rules-first copy
No inducements, superlatives or outcome promises, so ads meet HCSA rules and get approved.
Attribution built in
Every form captures gclid, fbclid and UTMs. You see which campaign drove which enquiry.
How performance differs by specialty
Patients search differently for each specialty, so the work changes too. A few examples:
Urology
Kidney stone and urinary symptom searches are often urgent, so tightly themed Search campaigns with call extensions and extended-hours scheduling usually suit better than Performance Max's broad reach. Ad copy describes the assessment, not the patient's symptoms, to stay within Meta and Google personal-attribute rules.
Aesthetic Clinics
Aesthetic treatments are heavily searched and heavily policed: platform rules on cosmetic procedures, and HCSA limits on before/after images and promotions. We lean on Search for named treatments and use Meta and TikTok for practitioner explainers, only where the specific treatment is eligible to advertise.
Orthopaedic Surgery
Patients search by symptom and injury (knee pain, ACL tear, frozen shoulder), so Search campaigns are built around conditions rather than procedure names. YouTube explainers from the surgeon help patients who are weeks away from deciding on surgery.
GP & Family Clinics
GP searches are local and immediate, so budget goes to Search and Maps within a tight radius, scheduled around opening hours. Meta works for reminders about vaccinations and health screenings, worded as information rather than offers.
Specialists
Care
Common questions about Performance
Should my clinic use Performance Max?+
Often, yes, alongside Search rather than instead of it. It reaches patients across Google's channels, but only works well with reliable conversion data and firm guardrails. Without them it tends to spend on low-quality placements and chase cheap form fills.
Google, Meta or TikTok: where should we start?+
Usually Google Search, because it catches patients already looking for your treatments. Meta and TikTok create demand among people who aren't searching yet, which suits elective services more than urgent ones. We add them once Search tracking is sound.
Can clinics advertise on TikTok?+
Some services can. TikTok restricts many medical and cosmetic categories, and eligibility can vary by market and account. We check your specific services against current policy before planning a campaign or spending on production.
What's a typical monthly ad budget?+
From about S$2k for a single clinic's local campaigns to S$30k+ for multi-location groups. We recommend a figure based on your target cost per booked consultation and how many new patients your team can handle.
Can clinic ads say 'free consultation' or run promotions?+
Not for licensed clinics. The HCSA advertising rules prohibit inducements such as free consultations, discounts and packages, as well as superlatives and outcome promises. We write ads that describe the service and the next step instead.
Do you send patient data to Google or Meta?+
No health information. For conversion tracking we send hashed contact details for consenting enquirers and a booking event, never a diagnosis or treatment. Audience lists are only used where patients have consented under the PDPA.
Free consult.
No commitment.
30 minutes. We'll review where your clinic currently is, and what we'd do first.
No contracts. No hard sell. Just honest advice from healthcare marketing specialists.