Google Ads for mental health clinics
Policy-compliant PPC for clinics and group practices that want more booked intakes, not more clicks.
People looking for mental health care usually start with a Google search. If your clinic is not visible at that moment, the next practice on the page gets the call. We build Google Ads campaigns around how mental health searches, policies, and intake processes actually work.
The problem
Mental health is a restricted category in Google Ads. A campaign that works for a dentist or a law firm can break policy rules, waste budget, or put patient privacy at risk when it is copied over to a therapy practice.
Google’s personalized advertising policy restricts targeting people based on health conditions. Remarketing lists and audiences built around mental health can get ads limited or disapproved.
Standard pixels and conversion tags on intake forms can send sensitive information to ad platforms. That creates HIPAA risk for the practice.
Broad keywords bring in people looking for free services, crisis lines, jobs, or insurance plans you don’t accept.
Clicks and form fills look good in a report. Booked, insurance-verified intakes are what pay the bills.
Our approach
Every part of the account is set up for how mental health clients search and how your intake team works.
We build separate campaigns and ad groups for each service you offer, so budget goes where you have capacity. Every account gets its own negative keyword list to block free-service, job, school, and out-of-network searches.
Mental health ads need to be clear and calm. We describe your services, availability, insurance and private-pay options, and telehealth coverage in plain language, within Google’s healthcare advertising policies.
We recommend or build focused landing pages for each service, with a short intake form, clear insurance information, and a visible phone number. If your site runs on WordPress, we can build them for you.
We track calls, form submissions, and booked appointments without sending protected health information to Google. No health details in URLs or form event data.
We review search terms every week and compare leads against what your intake team reports. When a campaign brings in the wrong payer mix, we adjust targeting, keywords, and ad copy.
Who we work with
We work with mental health providers across the United States, from single-location practices to multi-state telehealth groups.
Google requires LegitScript certification before you can advertise addiction or substance use treatment in the United States. We will tell you up front whether you need it.
Results
Massachusetts · Jan 1 to Mar 13, 2026
91
Conversions
$60.04
Cost / conversion
$5.46K
Ad spend
Search campaigns focused on high-intent therapy searches, with tight negative keywords and conversion tracking on calls and forms.
California · Jun 1 to Aug 7, 2026
53
Calls + form leads
$55.51
Cost / conversion
$2.94K
Ad spend
A new Search campaign for psychiatric care, built around medication management and evaluation searches in the practice’s service area.
How it works
01
We review your current account, or your market if you are new to Google Ads, and show you where budget is being lost.
02
We agree on services, locations, and a starting budget, then build campaigns, tracking, and landing page recommendations.
03
We review search terms, bids, and lead quality every week during the first months.
04
You get a weekly report on spend, calls, form leads, and cost per lead, plus a monthly review call.
Pricing
Your management fee is based on your monthly ad budget. Your ad spend is paid directly to Google, so you always own your account and your data.
FAQ
It depends on your location, services, and how many new clients you can take. Psychiatry and specialty services such as TMS usually cost more per click than general therapy searches. We recommend a starting budget after reviewing your market, and we would rather start small and scale than waste money in the first month.
In most cases, no. Google restricts personalized advertising based on health conditions, including mental health. We build campaigns around search intent instead, which is where most mental health leads come from anyway.
It can be set up in a privacy-conscious way, but not every default setup is. We avoid sending any health information to Google and track conversions using non-identifying events. Your practice should still review its own HIPAA obligations with a qualified advisor.
Ads can start showing within a few days of launch. Most practices see steady lead flow within the first month, and cost per lead usually improves over the first two to three months as we refine keywords and targeting.
Yes. We write ads and use keywords that attract private-pay clients and reduce inquiries from people looking for in-network providers.
Yes. The account is yours. We work inside it as a manager, and you keep all campaign history and data.
If you already run Google Ads, we will review your account and show you where budget is going to searches that don’t turn into clients. If you are just starting, we will review your market and give you a realistic budget and lead estimate.
