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Over the past two years, the National Association for Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) have cracked down on advertising practices, such as kickbacks for treatment referrals and the promotion of paid online ads through Facebook and Google Adwords. These practices have given unqualified centers with high advertising budgets an unfair advantage and raised questions about the true quality of care these centers provide. Although the new regulations are meant to weed out unqualified treatment centers, they are not the only ones being affected. Legitimate treatment centers who do not adjust their marketing and advertising strategy will likely also experience a drop in client census.
Mainstream marketing strategies such as Google AdWords, television advertisements, and other tools are effective ways to draw patients to your center for treatment. A well-rounded web marketing strategy for your center may include:
Google AdWords
Google AdWords remains the king of online advertising. You can choose two ways to advertise through Google: all-text search ads that appear at the top of search results or picture display ads that appear on hundreds of thousands of websites and phone apps.
Each type of ad can be carefully targeted. You can make sure that only people in your service area see your ads, serve ads to users of a certain age or gender, or pick keywords or phrases that may be of interest to your audience. You can even choose what type of websites, such as news or sports sites, that serve your ads. These features are excellent, especially if your facility serves a certain demographic.
Another benefit of Google Adwords is that you only pay for the ads that are clicked on. This feature allows you to carefully control your budget. You can allocate a particular amount of money per day to spread your ad spend throughout the month. You can even target certain hours of the day that you feel are going to provide you the best return on your investment.
AdWords has specific regulations for addiction treatment centers. These rules, developed with help from the NAATP, ensure that only verified treatment centers can advertise.
To get certified, you have to submit a lengthy application. It take approximately 8 hours to complete and costs anywhere from $700 to $1000, depending on the size of your facility.
Once you submit the application, it will take a few months to be reviewed. If approved, you can begin advertising with Adwords. The certification fee per facility ranges from $1400 to $2000 each year.
Search Engine Optimization
In addition to AdWords, you can also optimize your organic (not paid) Google search results. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of tailoring your web content to perform well in web searches. To do this, you need quality content that uses keywords that your audience may search for. Blogging about industry relevant topics is one of the best ways to do this. Optimal SEO results can be difficult to achieve on your own, but you can find SEO professionals to assist you with this process.
Google’s data shows that more users click on organic search results than the search ads at the top of the page. In fact, some users may never see search ads or display ads due to ad blockers. By performing well in organic search, you are more likely to draw the attention of potential patients.
Create Web Content
The key to success for SEO and AdWords is great web content. Great content performs better in search and draws your patients in by sharing with them your unique services. Your website should help you develop trust with prospective patients. The more a patient can get to know your center online, the more likely they are to choose your care.
Datapro has proven experience in revenue cycle optimization. Contact our team today for third-party billing support that will help you increase your revenue.
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