Google Ads for orthodontists, aimed at booked consultations

Where orthodontic practices lose money on paid search

Relevant-looking clicks do not always become useful inquiries. Review the actual search terms, destinations, and available conversion evidence before deciding where money is being wasted.

• A treatment brand mistaken for a complete intent signal. A search mentioning Invisalign may concern a nearby provider, price research, or a comparison. Evaluate the full query and the practice’s offer rather than treating every branded search as ready to book.
• Broad matching without a clear goal. Google’s broad match can reach related searches beyond the direct meaning of a keyword. Matching, bidding, landing-page information, and conversion goals need to work together; inspect the search terms rather than assuming the traffic is relevant.
• Negatives that are missing or too broad. Exclude irrelevant intent, but check the consequences. For example, blocking “free” could exclude a relevant free-consultation search if that is the practice’s offer. Negative match rules differ from positive keywords, so a copied block list can remove useful demand.
• Geography chosen without practice evidence. Consider the actual office locations, services, and travel patterns the practice can substantiate. Do not assume an entire metro is useful, or that one fixed driving distance rules out every patient.
• A destination that does not answer the ad. An adult-aligner ad should lead to relevant information and a clear next step. Make the office and contact route easy to find rather than expecting the visitor to sort through unrelated services.
• Unclear measurement. A click on a phone number, a completed call, and a booked consultation are different events. Establish what the current setup can record before calling any of them a lead or a patient.

What we actually manage in the account

The proposal identifies the account, landing-page, and reporting work needed. These are areas to evaluate, not a promise that every practice needs the same campaign structure.

• Account structure matched to the goal. Treatment intent, office location, budget, and landing-page needs can justify separate groups or campaigns. Google’s matching and prioritization rules depend on eligibility, relevance, and Ad Rank.
• Match types chosen deliberately. Evaluate the reach of each match type alongside bidding and conversion goals. Broad matching needs appropriate controls and evidence, not a blanket assumption that it is always useful or always wasteful.
• A reviewed negative keyword list. Use actual search terms to identify irrelevant intent and check that exclusions do not conflict with the practice’s services or offer. Agree on the review scope in the engagement.
• Ad copy that describes the offer accurately. State the relevant service, location, and next step using practice-approved facts. Whether a change improves results is something to measure, not promise in advance.
• A landing page built for the ad. Relevant information, a clear office choice, and an obvious inquiry path. Website work for orthodontists can be scoped separately, and the existing free mockup offer is for a homepage design.
• Measurement defined before launch. Identify which calls, forms, and consultation outcomes can actually be recorded and tested. First-party lead dashboards are running on more than 20 of the sites we manage; that does not mean every call or appointment is automatically captured. Inquiry handling and routing is a related but distinct part of the process.

What we do not control: what a competing practice or corporate group bids, what Google charges on a given Tuesday, and whether the front desk picks up. The Google Ads hub covers the channel more broadly.

Chair time, doctor days, and when the budget should be spending

Budgets and schedules should reflect available capacity and observed demand. Paid-search settings can be changed, but a change does not guarantee an immediate volume or outcome.

• Use the practice’s calendar. Review actual inquiry patterns and appointment availability before assuming a seasonal peak. A claimed industry pattern is not a substitute for the practice’s own evidence.
• Capacity affects the decision. If an office cannot take more consultations, review spend, destinations, and the offer before buying more traffic. The practice determines its appointment availability.
• Schedule around inquiry handling. The days a doctor treats patients need not be the only days reception can book a future consultation. Consider the practice’s response arrangements and actual performance when choosing an ad schedule.
• Review the actual competitive context. Other advertisers may offer overlapping services. Use available account and market evidence rather than assuming a competitor type sets a predictable click-price floor.

Ad copy, forms, and measurement responsibilities

Agree on who approves the offer, copy, landing page, and measurement setup. Clinical statements and patient-related requirements remain with the practice and its advisers; an ads engagement is not a compliance certification.

• Copy uses approved facts. Do not invent a treatment duration, outcome, qualification, or comparison. The practice reviews those claims before an ad runs.
• Forms have a defined purpose. Confirm whether a page collects a general inquiry or sends someone to an existing practice system. Clinical intake, data handling, and any integration require their own confirmed requirements and scope.
• Audience choices need a policy check. Review the applicable Google personalized-advertising policy for the actual content and audience method. Do not assume a list is permitted simply because a previous account used it.
• Measurement has a defined scope. Document what an event means and what information the setup sends. Confirm the required handling before enabling it. Analytics and conversion work covers the broader measurement service.

Questions about the practice’s legal or privacy obligations go to its own counsel. Kelly WM’s proposal defines the website and marketing work; it does not replace that review.

What makes Kelly WM different

Kelly WM offers direct access to the person managing the work, a defined scope, and a flat management fee quoted after the consultation.

• Website work can match the campaign. When a landing page is part of the agreed scope, it is custom-coded around the relevant service and next step. How we build covers the website approach.
• You are talking to the person doing the work. Kelly WM is one operator in Orlando, working with local service businesses nationwide since 2008. Calls and texts reach whoever is in the account, because that is the same person.
• Public tools to explore. The free tools describe their own scope and limitations. A custom tool, if needed, is a separate project rather than an assumed part of ads management.
• Ownership and month-to-month work. No long-term contract, and you own the site, content, and accounts. The proposal should identify any separate software or provider terms that apply.

Organic discovery is a separate service, covered by SEO for orthodontists and local SEO for orthodontists. If the website is the bottleneck, start with website scope. The orthodontic marketing overview helps compare those choices.

How this starts, and what it costs

The engagement starts with scope, then the work and reporting agreed in the proposal.

• 1. A free consult. Your offices, where inquiries actually come from, the treatments you want more of, what a consultation is worth, and whether paid search is the right first move. If the money belongs in the website or in organic search, we say so. Book the consult, or call or text (407) 694-2055.
• 2. Prepare the account and destination. Define the structure, search intent, exclusions, approved copy, landing page, and available measurement. Test the agreed tracking rather than assuming every conversion is visible.
• 3. Review the launch evidence. Inspect the actual search terms and recorded events. Investigate irrelevant traffic or missing measurements before deciding what to exclude or expand.
• 4. Report and adjust. Explain spend, the outcomes the setup can actually measure, changes made, and remaining uncertainty. Label calls and booked consultations separately, using practice feedback only where it is available.

Kelly WM quotes a flat monthly Google Ads management fee after a free consultation. There is no published management-fee amount; the quote depends on the agreed account and work scope.

Ad spend and management are separate budget items. Ongoing work is month to month. Kelly WM’s published SEO range is $1,500 to $3,500 a month for most businesses, and $3,500 to $7,500 in competitive metros or for multi-location work. Kelly WM's published custom website build range is $3,500 to $12,000 or more, one time. The orthodontic SEO cost answer separates those services from paid media.