Ep. 206: The Cost of Digital Marketing: What Clinics Need to Know Before They Budget
About this Episode
This week’s episode features a clip from our recent webinar, The Cost of Digital Marketing — a deep dive into what urgent care owners and operators really need to know about marketing budgets in 2026.
We’re breaking down the dollars, data, and decisions that drive real growth — not just clicks.
If you’re setting your marketing budget for 2026, this episode will help you make confident, informed decisions — and understand exactly where your money should be going.
Topics Covered
💰 Why marketing costs are rising even with AI on the scene
📈 How to budget smarter for awareness, conversion, and retention
🌐 Why your website is your digital brick-and-mortar — and what it should actually cost
🔍 How to find your ad spend “sweet spot” without wasting dollars
⚙️ The systems that separate sustainable growth from guesswork
💡 Common mistakes clinics make (and how to fix them before next year
“Brand will buy the attention, but service will earn the trust and keep them coming back.”
Nick Hoard, Patient Care Marketing Pros
00:00:04 - 00:00:09Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome back
00:00:06 - 00:00:11to Walkkins. Welcome Nick here and today
00:00:09 - 00:00:13we're bringing you another one of our
00:00:11 - 00:00:15live webinar sessions and this time it's
00:00:13 - 00:00:17the cost of digital marketing. You've
00:00:15 - 00:00:19ever been following along with us, you
00:00:17 - 00:00:21know we host these webinars to help
00:00:19 - 00:00:22urgent care leaders get more patients,
00:00:21 - 00:00:24deliver better care, and get repeat
00:00:22 - 00:00:26visits and scale their clinics. That is
00:00:24 - 00:00:28our mantra. And this one dives into the
00:00:26 - 00:00:30dollars and the cents behind that
00:00:28 - 00:00:33mission. We talk about what's really
00:00:30 - 00:00:35driving up marketing cost, why AI hasn't
00:00:33 - 00:00:37actually made things cheaper, and how to
00:00:35 - 00:00:39plan smarter for 2026. And you're going
00:00:37 - 00:00:42to hear us dig in a little bit into what
00:00:39 - 00:00:43I call the big three of marketing
00:00:42 - 00:00:46success. It's awareness, it's
00:00:43 - 00:00:48conversion, it's retention, and it's how
00:00:46 - 00:00:49each one of these affects your bottom
00:00:48 - 00:00:51line. So, if you're mapping out your
00:00:49 - 00:00:52next year's marketing budget, or you're
00:00:51 - 00:00:54just trying to make sense of where your
00:00:52 - 00:00:56ad spend is going, this is the episode
00:00:54 - 00:00:58for you. It's going to help you get
00:00:56 - 00:01:00clarity and confidence in your numbers.
00:00:58 - 00:01:01So, let's jump in the cost of digital
00:01:00 - 00:01:03marketing.
00:01:01 - 00:01:05>> So, uh if you've listened to any of our
00:01:03 - 00:01:07previous webinars or you listen to our
00:01:05 - 00:01:08podcast walk-ins, welcome. You always
00:01:07 - 00:01:11hear me say that we want to help you get
00:01:08 - 00:01:13more patients, deliver better care, get
00:01:11 - 00:01:15repeat visits, and scale your clinic. Uh
00:01:13 - 00:01:17so anytime you're going to come on to a
00:01:15 - 00:01:19webinar with us, it's our design to help
00:01:17 - 00:01:21you do these things here because you got
00:01:19 - 00:01:24in to the urgent care space not only to
00:01:21 - 00:01:25take care of people um but also to scale
00:01:24 - 00:01:28in such a way where you can get more
00:01:25 - 00:01:29freedom in your business. Okay. Um so
00:01:28 - 00:01:31you got to have more patients to do
00:01:29 - 00:01:32that. Um in order to get them to come
00:01:31 - 00:01:34back for repeat visits, you have to
00:01:32 - 00:01:36deliver really good care. And then
00:01:34 - 00:01:38ultimately the scale piece is where
00:01:36 - 00:01:39you're not doing everything by yourself.
00:01:38 - 00:01:41So we're going to spend some time today
00:01:39 - 00:01:42talking about those things. All right,
00:01:41 - 00:01:44here we go. We're going to start with
00:01:42 - 00:01:46why marketing costs are rising. I think
00:01:44 - 00:01:48it's a very good question to go okay
00:01:46 - 00:01:53well with AI and everything else that's
00:01:48 - 00:01:55going on. Um why do we not see uh why
00:01:53 - 00:01:58why do we not see prices falling? But
00:01:55 - 00:02:00this is the reality. Um you're seeing an
00:01:58 - 00:02:03increased competition for ad space for
00:02:00 - 00:02:04the first time in uh the agency since
00:02:03 - 00:02:07we've been doing urgent care. We're
00:02:04 - 00:02:10seeing where the the the level playing
00:02:07 - 00:02:12field is now causing prices to go up. It
00:02:10 - 00:02:13used to be you could write a better ad
00:02:12 - 00:02:15uh to the right person at the right time
00:02:13 - 00:02:17in the right way. And a lot of people
00:02:15 - 00:02:18have figured out how to do that. AI has
00:02:17 - 00:02:18given you good tools to be able to do
00:02:18 - 00:02:19that.
00:02:18 - 00:02:22>> Not all good tools.
00:02:19 - 00:02:25>> Well, some good tools to be able to do
00:02:22 - 00:02:28that. Um but if you have 10 urgent cares
00:02:25 - 00:02:30in the competitive space in in any given
00:02:28 - 00:02:32market, by default, the demand increases
00:02:30 - 00:02:35and so the prices increase.
00:02:32 - 00:02:36>> Um AIdriven bidding and automation fees
00:02:35 - 00:02:38is one of the biggest things that's
00:02:36 - 00:02:40causing this to happen. You would think
00:02:38 - 00:02:41that AI would drive the cost down
00:02:40 - 00:02:43because that's what they're talking
00:02:41 - 00:02:46about over and over again. But here's
00:02:43 - 00:02:48the problem. It's not it's not perfect.
00:02:46 - 00:02:50Um, and it doesn't do anything
00:02:48 - 00:02:52consistently. Uh, so one of the
00:02:50 - 00:02:54challenges with that is you get some
00:02:52 - 00:02:56good, some bad, some ugly, and then the
00:02:54 - 00:02:57prices start getting squirly. Everything
00:02:56 - 00:02:59goes up.
00:02:57 - 00:03:00>> Well, and I think I think one thing that
00:02:59 - 00:03:02people forget these platforms that you
00:03:00 - 00:03:02do like run ads on.
00:03:02 - 00:03:04>> Correct.
00:03:02 - 00:03:06>> They're designed to make money. They're
00:03:04 - 00:03:08not going to build a tool that short
00:03:06 - 00:03:09changes them. That's right.
00:03:08 - 00:03:10>> That's just not going to do it. Like
00:03:09 - 00:03:12they want to get you results because
00:03:10 - 00:03:14they want you to keep coming back, but
00:03:12 - 00:03:15they're not going to make this magic
00:03:14 - 00:03:17tool that cuts your cost in half and
00:03:15 - 00:03:19then they lose a bunch of money. That
00:03:17 - 00:03:21would never fly in any business,
00:03:19 - 00:03:24>> right? 100%. Um, another thing is
00:03:21 - 00:03:27patients are expecting more from their
00:03:24 - 00:03:29from their experience with your clinic.
00:03:27 - 00:03:31um that digital front door, that digital
00:03:29 - 00:03:33uh brickandmortar, which is the the
00:03:31 - 00:03:37internet and your your business listing
00:03:33 - 00:03:39on the internet. It's no longer okay to
00:03:37 - 00:03:42just be available on a phone call. Okay.
00:03:39 - 00:03:45Um now they are expecting to be able to
00:03:42 - 00:03:47book online and they're being able uh
00:03:45 - 00:03:49they're they're expecting a response
00:03:47 - 00:03:50from that booking of uh here's a
00:03:49 - 00:03:52confirmation from your appointment,
00:03:50 - 00:03:54here's what to expect, upload all of
00:03:52 - 00:03:56your information. Um, not only does that
00:03:54 - 00:03:57drive up that doesn't necessarily drive
00:03:56 - 00:03:59up digital marketing cost, but it does
00:03:57 - 00:04:01drive up clinic cost uh to be able to
00:03:59 - 00:04:03have some of these tools and it's just
00:04:01 - 00:04:06an expense of doing business these days.
00:04:03 - 00:04:08Um, and of course there's always in cost
00:04:06 - 00:04:10costs involved when you do an omni
00:04:08 - 00:04:13channel approach. This is being found on
00:04:10 - 00:04:15Facebook, Google, uh, television, print
00:04:13 - 00:04:16radio, uh, you name it. All the
00:04:15 - 00:04:18different channels that make sense for
00:04:16 - 00:04:20you to advertise in, well, each one of
00:04:18 - 00:04:22those have a cost to them. So, um,
00:04:20 - 00:04:24here's the reality check. patients are
00:04:22 - 00:04:26searching 24/7. U just because your
00:04:24 - 00:04:28business operates from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00
00:04:26 - 00:04:30p.m. doesn't mean that at 10 p.m. people
00:04:28 - 00:04:32don't get sick. And this is where some
00:04:30 - 00:04:33of those online schedulers come in. So
00:04:32 - 00:04:36they can schedule for the next day when
00:04:33 - 00:04:38you're open. Um if you're not visible,
00:04:36 - 00:04:40by default, you're invisible. Right? If
00:04:38 - 00:04:43you have to click uh or scroll down a
00:04:40 - 00:04:45page to find access to your clinic, by
00:04:43 - 00:04:48default, you're not visible on the
00:04:45 - 00:04:50internet. Uh your online your online
00:04:48 - 00:04:52presence is your first impression. Okay?
00:04:50 - 00:04:54And you have to make it a good first
00:04:52 - 00:04:57impression. So, here's an example of
00:04:54 - 00:04:58what a bad first impression is. I see an
00:04:58 - 00:05:01>> Yeah.
00:04:58 - 00:05:03>> I click over uh I see your ad. I want to
00:05:01 - 00:05:05do business with you. I want I want to
00:05:03 - 00:05:07schedule in there. I click over to your
00:05:05 - 00:05:08website. And the first thing they see is
00:05:07 - 00:05:09pay your bill.
00:05:08 - 00:05:10>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:05:09 - 00:05:12>> Right. Sorry, Urgent Carriers. If you
00:05:10 - 00:05:15think I Yes. It's important that people
00:05:12 - 00:05:17pay their bills, but that can't be your
00:05:15 - 00:05:18number one call to action. A lot of you
00:05:17 - 00:05:20do that, and I think you should stop
00:05:18 - 00:05:22doing that. you should just move it to
00:05:20 - 00:05:24somewhere less obvious because you care
00:05:22 - 00:05:26more about that next patient coming in,
00:05:24 - 00:05:28not the patient that owes you money,
00:05:26 - 00:05:30right? But that's a real thing. We we
00:05:28 - 00:05:31kind of joke about it and you're
00:05:30 - 00:05:33probably saying, "Oh, does my home page
00:05:31 - 00:05:34say pay bill?" The worst part.
00:05:33 - 00:05:36>> Yeah, go check. But like check it on
00:05:34 - 00:05:37your phone because you just even more
00:05:36 - 00:05:39obvious on the phone that pay bills the
00:05:37 - 00:05:42first not even a phone number, just pay
00:05:39 - 00:05:44bill. Exactly. So, um it also lets you
00:05:42 - 00:05:46know your prior priority, which by
00:05:44 - 00:05:47default, yeah, you want to make money,
00:05:46 - 00:05:50but your priority should be to take care
00:05:47 - 00:05:51of the uh visit and lower the barrier of
00:05:50 - 00:05:53entry into your clinic, not to get their
00:05:51 - 00:05:55money right out of the gate. Um and then
00:05:53 - 00:05:57you will either rise to the level of the
00:05:55 - 00:05:57systems you have in place or you'll die
00:05:57 - 00:05:59to them.
00:05:57 - 00:06:02>> All right? So, growth requires a system
00:05:59 - 00:06:04and you can't it's not hope and a
00:06:02 - 00:06:06prayer, it's not a wish, right? Um so,
00:06:04 - 00:06:08creating systems even in your marketing
00:06:06 - 00:06:10just like you do in every other system
00:06:08 - 00:06:12in your business. Um, that's going to be
00:06:10 - 00:06:13what develops your growth. All right, so
00:06:12 - 00:06:15let's do a quick poll. Hannah's going to
00:06:13 - 00:06:17drop the poll. What's your current
00:06:15 - 00:06:19monthly marketing budget? Is it under a
00:06:17 - 00:06:23thousand? Is it between a th00and and
00:06:19 - 00:06:263,000? Are you up to 7500 or 7500 plus?
00:06:23 - 00:06:28I take two seconds. Cue your mental
00:06:26 - 00:06:30jeopardy.
00:06:28 - 00:06:31>> Michael's going to do it in real time.
00:06:30 - 00:06:32[laughter]
00:06:31 - 00:06:34>> But yeah, so we'll just give it just a
00:06:32 - 00:06:36second longer and we'll move on. And
00:06:34 - 00:06:38then the sad part is I have to tell you
00:06:36 - 00:06:40is if you're under if you have a
00:06:38 - 00:06:41marketing budget it's under a thousand
00:06:40 - 00:06:43it may just be burning dollars.
00:06:41 - 00:06:44>> Yeah. I'm just curious
00:06:43 - 00:06:46>> because it won't let you do it.
00:06:44 - 00:06:46[laughter]
00:06:46 - 00:06:47>> That's okay.
00:06:46 - 00:06:48>> Hannah took it away. So
00:06:47 - 00:06:50>> that's great.
00:06:48 - 00:06:52>> Cool. So we have a a good So thank you.
00:06:50 - 00:06:52Nobody is under a thousand that we can
00:06:52 - 00:06:55>> Hey or they didn't answer
00:06:53 - 00:06:57>> or Yeah, exactly. They didn't want to
00:06:55 - 00:07:00answer. Uh but we're seeing between that
00:06:57 - 00:07:021 to 3,000 that 3 to 7500. Like those
00:07:00 - 00:07:03are like the majority which is cool. And
00:07:02 - 00:07:05then we have somebody out there that's
00:07:03 - 00:07:08doing 7500 plus, which is awesome. Yeah.
00:07:05 - 00:07:10>> I have a bet that ad spend is a chunk of
00:07:08 - 00:07:11that for sure. But
00:07:10 - 00:07:12>> and we want that to be.
00:07:11 - 00:07:14>> Yeah. Yeah. So, absolutely. So, that's
00:07:12 - 00:07:16super cool to see that you guys you were
00:07:14 - 00:07:17actually falling in a pretty good spot.
00:07:16 - 00:07:20If you're between that that three that
00:07:17 - 00:07:23really that 3,000 to 7500, that's a
00:07:20 - 00:07:25pretty healthy place to be. Now, one
00:07:23 - 00:07:27thing we didn't mention here, but uh if
00:07:25 - 00:07:29you are you including like internal team
00:07:27 - 00:07:32pieces of that as well? But when I when
00:07:29 - 00:07:35I do uh you know I I I look at my team
00:07:32 - 00:07:37my physical uh I hate to call it labor
00:07:35 - 00:07:39but it is the cost. You look at you look
00:07:37 - 00:07:41at the labor cost attached to it. You
00:07:39 - 00:07:44look at the the software co cost
00:07:41 - 00:07:46attached to it. Um my challenge to you
00:07:44 - 00:07:49probably uh that one person who had
00:07:46 - 00:07:51answered 7500 plus is is either a
00:07:49 - 00:07:53multilocation clinic which is awesome or
00:07:51 - 00:07:54they know to include all of those
00:07:53 - 00:07:56different things. Same with the 3 to
00:07:54 - 00:07:577500. But anyway let's keep rolling
00:07:56 - 00:07:58here. Yep.
00:07:57 - 00:08:00>> Just kidding.
00:07:58 - 00:08:01All right. So, let's go through the
00:08:00 - 00:08:04marketing mix of things. So, we're going
00:08:01 - 00:08:06to touch on some of that. So, when it
00:08:04 - 00:08:07comes to marketing mix, now we're
00:08:06 - 00:08:09talking, you know, we're we're digital
00:08:07 - 00:08:10focus. That's going to be heavy on that
00:08:09 - 00:08:12side. But, there are some things that
00:08:10 - 00:08:13break down here. So, the main pillars of
00:08:12 - 00:08:15marketing, you have the awareness, the
00:08:13 - 00:08:18conversion, the retention. So, the
00:08:15 - 00:08:19awareness side is like are you actually
00:08:18 - 00:08:22available when people are searching?
00:08:19 - 00:08:23Like, can they find you? You know, but
00:08:22 - 00:08:25when we talked about like that first
00:08:23 - 00:08:27impression online is so important like
00:08:25 - 00:08:29and like they can actually see where you
00:08:27 - 00:08:31are. Conversions where they clicked on
00:08:29 - 00:08:34something and hopefully they became an
00:08:31 - 00:08:36appointment or hopefully they walked in,
00:08:34 - 00:08:38but you didn't lose them because the
00:08:36 - 00:08:39awareness you can like, oh, I showed up
00:08:38 - 00:08:43like Nick was saying earlier, I I showed
00:08:39 - 00:08:45up in their search. Awesome. Then what?
00:08:43 - 00:08:47And so if the conversion doesn't happen,
00:08:45 - 00:08:48it doesn't matter how much effort and
00:08:47 - 00:08:50money you put into marketing if they if
00:08:48 - 00:08:52you can't get them to convert. It's a
00:08:50 - 00:08:54real problem too because uh urgent care
00:08:52 - 00:08:56like a lot of industries with urgent
00:08:54 - 00:08:59care very particularly they move to the
00:08:56 - 00:09:02next person very quickly and so if I'm
00:08:59 - 00:09:04calling and I get a busy signal or
00:09:02 - 00:09:06please hang on from the front desk and
00:09:04 - 00:09:07then it goes to like a two or three
00:09:06 - 00:09:09minute wait probably going to hang up
00:09:07 - 00:09:11and call the next one in line on on the
00:09:09 - 00:09:13search just because that's what most
00:09:11 - 00:09:15people do. They don't sadly we'll talk
00:09:13 - 00:09:17about running for in a minute but sadly
00:09:15 - 00:09:19they don't know who you are when they
00:09:17 - 00:09:20call you. I mean they don't even care.
00:09:19 - 00:09:21They're they're hoping that you say
00:09:20 - 00:09:23urgent care. They don't care what the
00:09:21 - 00:09:24brand of that is. They just care like,
00:09:23 - 00:09:26"Can you help me?"
00:09:24 - 00:09:27>> Even better if you smile.
00:09:26 - 00:09:28>> Yeah. Smile while talking on the phone
00:09:27 - 00:09:30is important.
00:09:28 - 00:09:32>> Yeah. And I got to stop here for a
00:09:30 - 00:09:34moment. This is funny that you say that.
00:09:32 - 00:09:35We We had that video going around the
00:09:34 - 00:09:37office of that comedian that goes, "Hey,
00:09:35 - 00:09:38you got $40? We'll figure this out
00:09:37 - 00:09:40together."
00:09:38 - 00:09:42>> Just a little enthusiasm goes a long
00:09:40 - 00:09:44way. Hey, we got you.
00:09:42 - 00:09:45>> Yeah. Exactly. So, anyway, so the
00:09:44 - 00:09:47conversion is super important. Got to
00:09:45 - 00:09:49recognize that. And then retention.
00:09:47 - 00:09:51Retention is one of those items that we
00:09:49 - 00:09:53quickly can forget about because like we
00:09:51 - 00:09:54already got the patient. Yeah. But
00:09:53 - 00:09:56what's going to bring them back in as a
00:09:54 - 00:09:58patient? Because if they had a great
00:09:56 - 00:09:59experience, why wouldn't they come back?
00:09:58 - 00:10:02Well, they don't come back because they
00:09:59 - 00:10:04don't remember you and they don't know
00:10:02 - 00:10:07what's going on. And so that's just that
00:10:04 - 00:10:09hard reminder like you have to be
00:10:07 - 00:10:11intentional. As Nick has said, you
00:10:09 - 00:10:12you'll fail to your systems whatever you
00:10:11 - 00:10:14build. you don't have a system for
00:10:12 - 00:10:16retention or bringing those patients
00:10:14 - 00:10:17back in, they're just not going to.
00:10:16 - 00:10:19You're going to hope that they come back
00:10:17 - 00:10:21in, which doesn't work.
00:10:19 - 00:10:24>> All right. So, common mistakes that we
00:10:21 - 00:10:26see um inside of this thing. So,
00:10:24 - 00:10:28overspending on ads where you're just
00:10:26 - 00:10:32kind of spray and prey situation. And
00:10:28 - 00:10:34that's real. Uh the platforms are one of
00:10:32 - 00:10:35those items where they want you to spend
00:10:34 - 00:10:37the dollars, right? And so, they're
00:10:35 - 00:10:39going to make wild suggestions
00:10:37 - 00:10:41sometimes, but no, it's real. Like if
00:10:39 - 00:10:43you're not like focused on the right
00:10:41 - 00:10:45targeting or if your radiuses are too
00:10:43 - 00:10:47broad, you're not you're just going to
00:10:45 - 00:10:49Yeah, you'll get clicks or you'll get
00:10:47 - 00:10:50impressions, but they're not actually
00:10:49 - 00:10:52doing anything. They're just costing you
00:10:50 - 00:10:54dollars. We've seen it time and time
00:10:52 - 00:10:56again when we get to audit an ads
00:10:54 - 00:10:58account and their conversions are like
00:10:56 - 00:11:00in the 30 to $40. They don't know like
00:10:58 - 00:11:02most of the time they don't know, but
00:11:00 - 00:11:04their conversions are 30 40 plus. Uh and
00:11:02 - 00:11:06they have like a healthy ad spend
00:11:04 - 00:11:07budget, but it's like I don't see
00:11:06 - 00:11:10anything from it. It's like well here's
00:11:07 - 00:11:11why. like you're blowing money on these
00:11:10 - 00:11:13things that you don't even have a
00:11:11 - 00:11:15service for or you're getting a ton of
00:11:13 - 00:11:16clicks that's like 20 miles away.
00:11:15 - 00:11:17They're not going to come. They're going
00:11:16 - 00:11:19to click say, "Oh, that's too far."
00:11:17 - 00:11:21They're going to move on. So, there's
00:11:19 - 00:11:23like a common thing right there. Just to
00:11:21 - 00:11:24kind of dig into that just a little bit.
00:11:23 - 00:11:27Next is like the underspending on
00:11:24 - 00:11:28retention. So, there's a really good
00:11:27 - 00:11:30chance that most of you guys don't do
00:11:28 - 00:11:34any type of retention beyond like a
00:11:30 - 00:11:36simple one followup, which is really
00:11:34 - 00:11:36>> replace the word with retention with
00:11:36 - 00:11:38repeat.
00:11:36 - 00:11:39>> Yeah. repeat visitors. We could we say
00:11:38 - 00:11:41retention in our world, but repeat
00:11:39 - 00:11:43visitors for you guys, repeat patients.
00:11:41 - 00:11:45>> Um you may not have a system. You may
00:11:43 - 00:11:48say, "Well, they'll get sick again.
00:11:45 - 00:11:49They'll come find me." Like maybe. Um
00:11:48 - 00:11:51and then if you have something running
00:11:49 - 00:11:52that's like an actual special of some
00:11:51 - 00:11:54sort like sports physicals or
00:11:52 - 00:11:56immigration, like they use items that
00:11:54 - 00:11:59maybe seasonal, how do you reach your
00:11:56 - 00:12:01existing population that actually had a
00:11:59 - 00:12:03good experience with you? Like what does
00:12:01 - 00:12:05that look like? You may not have one. Uh
00:12:03 - 00:12:07visibility. So, just this is a real
00:12:05 - 00:12:09thing uh in the urgent care space where
00:12:07 - 00:12:11your hours change seasonally. We
00:12:09 - 00:12:13recognize that and when summer's coming
00:12:11 - 00:12:15up, you reduce your hours because just
00:12:13 - 00:12:16the demand isn't quite there unless
00:12:15 - 00:12:20you're like a vacation destination
00:12:16 - 00:12:23vacation city. Um and so it actually
00:12:20 - 00:12:25creates confusion on the web. So, when I
00:12:23 - 00:12:28go to look on the your business profile
00:12:25 - 00:12:31and it says you're open from 8 to 8, but
00:12:28 - 00:12:32your website says 8 to 6. Uh, but then I
00:12:31 - 00:12:35saw something on social media. It said 8
00:12:32 - 00:12:36to2 because the last time you updated it
00:12:35 - 00:12:38was like four months ago, which was
00:12:36 - 00:12:40summer. And then all of a sudden there's
00:12:38 - 00:12:43confusion that just hurts you because if
00:12:40 - 00:12:45you confuse your potential patient,
00:12:43 - 00:12:45they're not going to convert. There's
00:12:45 - 00:12:47just not.
00:12:45 - 00:12:49>> Well, it's going to be kind of annoying,
00:12:47 - 00:12:51but like with the with the hours and and
00:12:49 - 00:12:52the times when our clients when our
00:12:51 - 00:12:54urgent carers reach out to us and say,
00:12:52 - 00:12:56"Hey, our hours need to be updated."
00:12:54 - 00:12:57there's like 30 touch points that we
00:12:56 - 00:12:59have to go to and make sure that it's
00:12:57 - 00:13:00updated on all the multiple landing
00:12:59 - 00:13:02pages we use, the website, the Google
00:13:00 - 00:13:04business profile, all the things. So,
00:13:02 - 00:13:06make sure that you uh one one of the
00:13:04 - 00:13:08things I want to say for for local uh
00:13:06 - 00:13:10visibility or inconsistent here
00:13:08 - 00:13:12>> is [clears throat] a good spreadsheet of
00:13:10 - 00:13:14all the areas where that information is
00:13:12 - 00:13:15sourced would be a good thing to keep on
00:13:15 - 00:13:19>> easy. Yeah, keep it easy and easy access
00:13:17 - 00:13:21that you have to go find one central
00:13:19 - 00:13:23place recommended. Other thing too that
00:13:21 - 00:13:26uh we see a lot of clinics suffer on
00:13:23 - 00:13:27where they have re like urgent carers
00:13:26 - 00:13:28don't have a problem getting reviews
00:13:27 - 00:13:29like it you guys are pretty good at
00:13:28 - 00:13:29getting it.
00:13:29 - 00:13:31>> Yeah. Well done.
00:13:29 - 00:13:32>> Yeah. Like just answer
00:13:31 - 00:13:33>> probably without breaking.
00:13:32 - 00:13:34>> The other side of it is are you
00:13:33 - 00:13:36answering the reviews? Are you
00:13:34 - 00:13:38consistently answering the reviews? Are
00:13:36 - 00:13:39you only answering the good ones and you
00:13:38 - 00:13:41ignore the bad ones? That's a visibility
00:13:39 - 00:13:43issue, right? Because if I see that you
00:13:41 - 00:13:44were only answering the had a great time
00:13:43 - 00:13:47and then one said this was terrible and
00:13:44 - 00:13:49you don't say anything to them that kind
00:13:47 - 00:13:51of builds up a wall as a potential
00:13:49 - 00:13:52patient like well maybe they don't care
00:13:51 - 00:13:53that much right
00:13:52 - 00:13:54>> so it's just something to keep in the
00:13:53 - 00:13:57back of your mind. Uh next chasing
00:13:54 - 00:14:00trends over strategy. This is real
00:13:57 - 00:14:02because AI is that trend that you there
00:14:00 - 00:14:04every day there's a new AI tool that
00:14:02 - 00:14:06could solve all your problems and then
00:14:04 - 00:14:07you spend time and money in it and then
00:14:06 - 00:14:09you find out three months later it
00:14:07 - 00:14:11didn't solve anything and another one
00:14:09 - 00:14:14comes out the same time. Uh the most you
00:14:11 - 00:14:15know what I heard once was uh you know
00:14:14 - 00:14:17this is a great new idea until the next
00:14:15 - 00:14:18new idea comes and so that one's not
00:14:17 - 00:14:21that great anymore. Hear it all the
00:14:18 - 00:14:23time. And then also finally are you
00:14:21 - 00:14:24measuring any of this? You know are you
00:14:23 - 00:14:25actually making money with your
00:14:24 - 00:14:27marketing or not? That that's our
00:14:25 - 00:14:29viewpoint. If you're not making money
00:14:27 - 00:14:32with us, then why use us? Like, that's
00:14:29 - 00:14:36just very simple, right? Where if I
00:14:32 - 00:14:38spend $1,000, but I only got $800 worth
00:14:36 - 00:14:40of patients. That's not good enough. Why
00:14:38 - 00:14:42would I keep spending my dollars, right?
00:14:40 - 00:14:44I'll just eventually run out of dollars.
00:14:42 - 00:14:45So, it's just that clear, obvious like,
00:14:44 - 00:14:47how are you tracking that? How are you
00:14:45 - 00:14:49connecting the dots? Are you confident
00:14:47 - 00:14:51in it? And I know sometimes it's hard.
00:14:49 - 00:14:53It's sometimes super hard to connect
00:14:51 - 00:14:55every single dot very cleanly. But, you
00:14:53 - 00:14:57know, when you look at trending data
00:14:55 - 00:14:58year-over-year and and just look at
00:14:57 - 00:15:00things overall, you say, "Okay, I can
00:14:58 - 00:15:01see where things have improved or
00:15:00 - 00:15:04haven't improved, and you can make
00:15:01 - 00:15:06better decisions off of that." So, all
00:15:04 - 00:15:09right. So, comes right into this
00:15:06 - 00:15:10question right here. Uh, which marketing
00:15:09 - 00:15:13area do you feel your clinic
00:15:10 - 00:15:14underinvests in? So, we talked about the
00:15:13 - 00:15:17visibility side, the conversion side,
00:15:14 - 00:15:19and the retention side. My my guess is
00:15:17 - 00:15:21retention. That's my guess, but I don't
00:15:19 - 00:15:23know. So, we'll get
00:15:21 - 00:15:24>> for us, even though we're not an urgent
00:15:23 - 00:15:27care, I'll tell you that retention and
00:15:24 - 00:15:29follow-up is the area that we could do
00:15:27 - 00:15:31better in focusing real dollars, real
00:15:29 - 00:15:33effort, real energy. Um,
00:15:31 - 00:15:36>> there's always money left on the table.
00:15:33 - 00:15:39>> Uh, for you, I it it could be SEO and
00:15:36 - 00:15:42visibility and and a lot of the times,
00:15:39 - 00:15:43uh, especially recently, people are more
00:15:42 - 00:15:45focused on ads and conversion, which is
00:15:43 - 00:15:47amazing. The challenge with SEO and
00:15:45 - 00:15:49visibility is the volatility, right? Um,
00:15:47 - 00:15:51and yeah, we're with you. Thank you for
00:15:49 - 00:15:52answering that. Uh, 100% on the
00:15:51 - 00:15:54retention and followup. So,
00:15:52 - 00:15:55>> yeah, exactly. So, that's totally
00:15:54 - 00:15:56expected. Um, because you just don't
00:15:55 - 00:15:58think about it, right? Because you're
00:15:56 - 00:15:59like, well, they moved on as a patient.
00:15:58 - 00:16:00If they want me, they'll come back to
00:15:59 - 00:16:01me. And that's just
00:16:00 - 00:16:05>> that's just not reality.
00:16:01 - 00:16:06>> It's just not I wish it I wish it was.
00:16:05 - 00:16:08>> But anyway, so we're going to move over
00:16:06 - 00:16:09to the breakdown of what we're doing.
00:16:08 - 00:16:11>> So, let's take a look at this when and
00:16:09 - 00:16:12again, we're not going to teach you
00:16:11 - 00:16:13about SEO today. What we're going to do
00:16:12 - 00:16:16is we're going to talk about the cost
00:16:13 - 00:16:18and some expectations on financials. Um,
00:16:16 - 00:16:20so let me set some ground rules for this
00:16:18 - 00:16:22real quick. We are not talking about
00:16:20 - 00:16:23what it cost for us to do things for
00:16:22 - 00:16:26you. I'm not here to sell you anything
00:16:23 - 00:16:27today. Uh, we want to make sure that
00:16:26 - 00:16:29we're giving you real world examples of
00:16:27 - 00:16:30what we see, whether you're doing it
00:16:29 - 00:16:33in-house, whether you have somebody else
00:16:30 - 00:16:35doing it. Um, and the reason why is we
00:16:33 - 00:16:38see people that are way overspending in
00:16:35 - 00:16:40areas and severely under spending in
00:16:38 - 00:16:42others. I'll give you a great example of
00:16:40 - 00:16:43this slide here. This is one that we see
00:16:42 - 00:16:46people
00:16:43 - 00:16:48way under spend in. All right. So SEO
00:16:46 - 00:16:50improves your clinics online visibility.
00:16:48 - 00:16:52I like to say it this way. Search engine
00:16:50 - 00:16:54optimization simply put is the art of
00:16:52 - 00:16:56getting found on the internet. That's
00:16:54 - 00:17:00it. That's the search engine is Google
00:16:56 - 00:17:01or being or now chat GPT has its own
00:17:00 - 00:17:01thing.
00:17:01 - 00:17:04>> Yeah. Right.
00:17:01 - 00:17:06>> And you get all these uh sold on these
00:17:04 - 00:17:09things of well let me fix your AEO which
00:17:06 - 00:17:10is the answer engine optimization.
00:17:09 - 00:17:12>> Nobody has the answer to. nobody has the
00:17:10 - 00:17:15answer to. And then when you dig a
00:17:12 - 00:17:17deeper, you realize that as it sits
00:17:15 - 00:17:19right now, your SEO techniques work with
00:17:17 - 00:17:20AEO because they haven't defined
00:17:19 - 00:17:21everything yet.
00:17:20 - 00:17:23>> Correct. So, let's let's look at the
00:17:21 - 00:17:24cost real quick and and and to help you
00:17:23 - 00:17:26understand why things cost what they
00:17:24 - 00:17:29cost. All right. So, first of all, if
00:17:26 - 00:17:33you're paying less I'm going to say less
00:17:29 - 00:17:34than seven $750 a month or budgeted less
00:17:33 - 00:17:37than that a month, here's the problem
00:17:34 - 00:17:40with that. Simply just not going to
00:17:37 - 00:17:42work. And but but Nick, this isn't an ad
00:17:40 - 00:17:45I place. No, I get that. Um what I am
00:17:42 - 00:17:48talking about is there are physical
00:17:45 - 00:17:49dollars that are attached to softwares.
00:17:48 - 00:17:52There are physical dollars that are
00:17:49 - 00:17:54attached to link building.
00:17:52 - 00:17:57>> Um that and and a a backlink to your
00:17:54 - 00:17:59website has so much positive authority,
00:17:57 - 00:18:01but they can cost anywhere between $300
00:17:59 - 00:18:04and $1,000 just for one.
00:18:01 - 00:18:05>> And that that will expire.
00:18:04 - 00:18:08>> Yeah. And it'll go away, right?
00:18:05 - 00:18:10>> It will go away. Now, it'll obviously
00:18:08 - 00:18:11it'll help you rank, but it'll go away.
00:18:10 - 00:18:13There's softwares that help you
00:18:11 - 00:18:15distribute your online listing all over
00:18:13 - 00:18:17the internet, and that's one of the
00:18:15 - 00:18:18things the 30 plus touch points that we
00:18:17 - 00:18:19talked about when you need to update
00:18:18 - 00:18:21your hours.
00:18:19 - 00:18:24>> The the the point is is the physical
00:18:21 - 00:18:26cost are way more than $99 a month. So,
00:18:24 - 00:18:28when you see like a $99 a month SEO
00:18:26 - 00:18:30agency or something like that, I'm just
00:18:28 - 00:18:32going to tell you buyer beware because
00:18:30 - 00:18:33there's no physical dollar amount way
00:18:32 - 00:18:35that they could execute.
00:18:33 - 00:18:37>> Yeah. Because we've even tried ourselves
00:18:35 - 00:18:38like some of these like things where
00:18:37 - 00:18:41it's $99
00:18:38 - 00:18:44>> $99 a month, $250 a month and and what
00:18:41 - 00:18:45it ends up being is usually a listings
00:18:44 - 00:18:45correction.
00:18:45 - 00:18:47>> Correct.
00:18:45 - 00:18:50>> Or they go into your business profile
00:18:47 - 00:18:52and just get it to 100% completion and
00:18:50 - 00:18:53you'll fill a boost off of it for a
00:18:52 - 00:18:53month.
00:18:53 - 00:18:55>> Correct.
00:18:53 - 00:18:57>> And then after that it'll start to fall
00:18:55 - 00:18:58again. uh and they can't do much more
00:18:57 - 00:19:01than that and they'll say we've done all
00:18:58 - 00:19:02these things like no you know but it's
00:19:01 - 00:19:03just real like we've been doing this for
00:19:02 - 00:19:06quite a long time and we see the cost
00:19:03 - 00:19:07and we're not even considered like the
00:19:06 - 00:19:09highend cost people per se because like
00:19:07 - 00:19:10this one to 4,000 we're like right smack
00:19:09 - 00:19:11in the middle of that
00:19:10 - 00:19:13>> correct
00:19:11 - 00:19:15>> and so like it's just a real thing like
00:19:13 - 00:19:17there's just layers to it. We have
00:19:15 - 00:19:18layers of people on our team that work
00:19:17 - 00:19:20on these items not just like one person
00:19:18 - 00:19:22that does everything. So, and another
00:19:20 - 00:19:24thing that's going to be driving cost
00:19:22 - 00:19:27are are are they spending money on the
00:19:24 - 00:19:31areas that need to be spent in. So, if
00:19:27 - 00:19:34if you are investing uh
00:19:31 - 00:19:35in a entire city, for example, we're
00:19:34 - 00:19:37here in Birmingham. So, if you're trying
00:19:35 - 00:19:40to find a 25 mile radius, but you can
00:19:37 - 00:19:42only serve 3 to 5 miles, you see a lot
00:19:40 - 00:19:43of people overspending trying to reach
00:19:42 - 00:19:44areas that they're never going to serve
00:19:43 - 00:19:46in the first place. So, these are the
00:19:44 - 00:19:47kind of fluctuations I'm talking What I
00:19:46 - 00:19:50say and the last point there before we
00:19:47 - 00:19:54move to the next slide is most of these
00:19:50 - 00:19:55online $50 and $100, $300 a month ones,
00:19:54 - 00:19:58they don't know how an urgent care
00:19:55 - 00:20:00works. And so they assume you want to
00:19:58 - 00:20:01rank for the whole city when you only
00:20:00 - 00:20:03want to rank three to five models. And
00:20:01 - 00:20:06so most of them don't understand that
00:20:03 - 00:20:07and they just don't. And it makes sense
00:20:06 - 00:20:10why they wouldn't because it's such a
00:20:07 - 00:20:11weird model that it's so tight and
00:20:10 - 00:20:13because like your search volumes all
00:20:11 - 00:20:16things make a lot of sense. So I just
00:20:13 - 00:20:18they just apply just a general practice
00:20:16 - 00:20:19to it and it usually doesn't work out.
00:20:19 - 00:20:21>> awesome. Moving on. All right. So talk
00:20:20 - 00:20:23about website development. This is my
00:20:21 - 00:20:26piece. I've been doing web stuff. I
00:20:23 - 00:20:28built my first WordPress website back in
00:20:26 - 00:20:31like 2011 2012 back when WordPress was a
00:20:28 - 00:20:33baby. Like 10% of websites now it's like
00:20:31 - 00:20:3450. So this conversation will be around
00:20:33 - 00:20:36WordPress because that's what we do. I
00:20:34 - 00:20:38don't know how much a web flow or
00:20:36 - 00:20:40Squarespace what people charge for that
00:20:38 - 00:20:42these days or Wix and all the things but
00:20:40 - 00:20:44for WordPress which is kind of the gold
00:20:42 - 00:20:48standard for SEO practices that's why we
00:20:44 - 00:20:51do it um the development cost is all
00:20:48 - 00:20:54over the place and there's reasons for
00:20:51 - 00:20:56this uh some of it is just some people
00:20:54 - 00:20:57are just going to charge more for no no
00:20:56 - 00:20:59reason at all they're just going to
00:20:57 - 00:21:01naturally charge more because they just
00:20:59 - 00:21:03have a higher price entry u and then the
00:21:01 - 00:21:05other side is if you go if you go
00:21:03 - 00:21:07overseas and you it done. You can get a
00:21:05 - 00:21:11web you can get a a goodlook WordPress
00:21:07 - 00:21:13website done overseas for like probably
00:21:11 - 00:21:15$1,000. But here's what you get when you
00:21:13 - 00:21:18actually do that because I've seen a lot
00:21:15 - 00:21:20of them. Um, one is probably they bought
00:21:18 - 00:21:21something pre-done like a template and
00:21:20 - 00:21:23then they plugged in some stuff and they
00:21:21 - 00:21:26forgot to remove stuff. There's actually
00:21:23 - 00:21:27we we had a client he gave us this you
00:21:26 - 00:21:29know a bring a host your site his
00:21:27 - 00:21:31WordPress on the surface like this site
00:21:29 - 00:21:32looks pretty good and you know he he
00:21:31 - 00:21:36liked all things and you dug a little
00:21:32 - 00:21:39deeper like this is a dental theme and
00:21:36 - 00:21:42then you start finding dental pages that
00:21:39 - 00:21:43were just baked
00:21:42 - 00:21:46in and then all of a sudden you have an
00:21:43 - 00:21:47urgent care site that has dental on it.
00:21:46 - 00:21:48Anyway, so things you got to look out
00:21:47 - 00:21:50for. So the development piece like three
00:21:48 - 00:21:52three to 12,000 give you a perspective
00:21:50 - 00:21:53if you are not a client you're coming to
00:21:52 - 00:21:56us you want us to build your website we
00:21:53 - 00:21:58charge $5,000 to build your website uh
00:21:56 - 00:21:59and then there may be some additional
00:21:58 - 00:22:00cost that there's some custom
00:21:59 - 00:22:02functionality that goes into it but if
00:22:00 - 00:22:04you're looking for a pure marketing site
00:22:02 - 00:22:07that 3 to2 is real but we've also seen
00:22:04 - 00:22:08like a $100,000 website quote before
00:22:07 - 00:22:09which
00:22:08 - 00:22:11>> not too not too long ago
00:22:09 - 00:22:14>> not too long ago we didn't quote that
00:22:11 - 00:22:15and that quote was built on the idea
00:22:14 - 00:22:17like there was probably about four or
00:22:15 - 00:22:19500 pages to be built because it was
00:22:17 - 00:22:20like tons of locations and all these
00:22:19 - 00:22:22different things and there's layers to
00:22:20 - 00:22:24that. So that's where that kind of falls
00:22:22 - 00:22:27into place there. That's why that's so
00:22:24 - 00:22:29broad. Uh but you know what it matters
00:22:27 - 00:22:31though is the design represents your
00:22:29 - 00:22:33brand, the services are being
00:22:31 - 00:22:36represented, the call to actions are
00:22:33 - 00:22:38well defined and it looks great on your
00:22:36 - 00:22:41phone. Like that's where it matters. And
00:22:38 - 00:22:43so focusing more on that and not just
00:22:41 - 00:22:46the price per se because as we know when
00:22:43 - 00:22:47once you build your website, you
00:22:46 - 00:22:50probably don't want to rebuild it for
00:22:47 - 00:22:51another three years or or I've seen
00:22:50 - 00:22:54older ones for sure, but three years
00:22:51 - 00:22:56three three to four years now is fine
00:22:54 - 00:22:57for a renewal. Um I wouldn't go much
00:22:56 - 00:22:59further than that and I don't think you
00:22:57 - 00:23:01benefit from a year or two later you
00:22:59 - 00:23:02rebuild the whole site again. I don't
00:23:01 - 00:23:04think there's a benefit there.
00:23:02 - 00:23:06>> Let me spend one minute here and and
00:23:04 - 00:23:08let's look at the thought process behind
00:23:06 - 00:23:11this. Your website is your digital brick
00:23:08 - 00:23:15and mortar. Okay? Think about what it
00:23:11 - 00:23:17costs to rent your building.
00:23:15 - 00:23:20Think about what it costs to do the
00:23:17 - 00:23:22buildout in your building.
00:23:20 - 00:23:24Think about the length of the term that
00:23:22 - 00:23:27you have in that building.
00:23:24 - 00:23:29>> Okay? This is your building in a digital
00:23:27 - 00:23:31version on the internet where people are
00:23:29 - 00:23:33going to walk in and experience your
00:23:31 - 00:23:35brand. They're going to get the very
00:23:33 - 00:23:37best of you on there. And so if you're
00:23:35 - 00:23:38out, again, I'm gonna go back to it. If
00:23:37 - 00:23:40you're out looking for the cheapest
00:23:38 - 00:23:42thing,
00:23:40 - 00:23:43that's probably not going to serve you
00:23:42 - 00:23:46well. Okay? If you're looking for one of
00:23:43 - 00:23:49those Wix or Squarespace $25 a month
00:23:46 - 00:23:52builders, it's going to be okay, right?
00:23:49 - 00:23:53Just like an okay urgent care location,
00:23:52 - 00:23:55it's not going to be real inspiring and
00:23:53 - 00:23:57all that kind of stuff. And then also,
00:23:55 - 00:23:58you can get the Picasso of the internet,
00:23:57 - 00:24:01too, right? And you're just going to
00:23:58 - 00:24:04spend $100,000 on an overbloated mess of
00:24:01 - 00:24:06a website or could, right? Um, so unless
00:24:04 - 00:24:08you're doing custom dev, just think
00:24:06 - 00:24:11about what you're trying to accomplish
00:24:08 - 00:24:14with your website. You're trying to get
00:24:11 - 00:24:16people to understand what you do on the
00:24:14 - 00:24:18internet and turn into a patient. And
00:24:16 - 00:24:20that's the investment just like your
00:24:18 - 00:24:22building is designed to serve the people
00:24:20 - 00:24:23that converted.
00:24:22 - 00:24:24>> Okay, let's keep going.
00:24:23 - 00:24:25>> Yeah, we'll keep moving straight
00:24:24 - 00:24:28through. Ad side.
00:24:25 - 00:24:30>> So digital advertisement, Google Meta,
00:24:28 - 00:24:33um, they're essential for reaching
00:24:30 - 00:24:35people. Google Ads is it it we've we've
00:24:33 - 00:24:38asked this probably a dozen times on
00:24:35 - 00:24:40interviews on our on our podcast where
00:24:38 - 00:24:40we've talked to the marketing
00:24:40 - 00:24:42>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:40 - 00:24:43>> the marketing director of an urgent care
00:24:42 - 00:24:45or the owner of an urgent care
00:24:43 - 00:24:45>> and they are super consistent with this
00:24:45 - 00:24:48answer.
00:24:45 - 00:24:49>> The answer is always here. Well, let me
00:24:48 - 00:24:52give you the question. The question is,
00:24:49 - 00:24:53if I only had one tool that I could use
00:24:52 - 00:24:56to get patients coming through the door,
00:24:53 - 00:24:58which one would it be? 100% of the Well,
00:24:56 - 00:25:00no, no. One person gave me uh
00:24:58 - 00:25:02Grassroots. Yeah. and then backed out of
00:25:00 - 00:25:03that and said, "Nah, never mind. Google
00:25:02 - 00:25:06ads." [laughter]
00:25:03 - 00:25:08>> So, paid ads is gonna be the number one
00:25:06 - 00:25:10way to do it, right? Um, here's the
00:25:08 - 00:25:13cost. It depends on how many locations
00:25:10 - 00:25:14you have, how how how big the market is,
00:25:13 - 00:25:16>> competition, all the things,
00:25:14 - 00:25:18>> all of the things that go into that.
00:25:16 - 00:25:22Here's what we found where a single
00:25:18 - 00:25:24location with a moderate level of of
00:25:22 - 00:25:27competition can be successful with a
00:25:24 - 00:25:29$1,500 budget. We used to say $1,000
00:25:27 - 00:25:31budget. Yeah, we're moving to that 1500
00:25:29 - 00:25:34now. It's just real.
00:25:31 - 00:25:35>> It it it it's real. And it's also, this
00:25:34 - 00:25:38is important, too. It is a starting
00:25:35 - 00:25:40place. Yeah. Right. This is to take you
00:25:38 - 00:25:42from 15 patients today. This will take
00:25:40 - 00:25:44you to that 23 to 25 patients per day so
00:25:42 - 00:25:45that you can break even. Then you're
00:25:44 - 00:25:47going to have to punch through that
00:25:45 - 00:25:51barrier once you start making money and
00:25:47 - 00:25:53up it and to 2500 3,000 plus. Right. Um
00:25:51 - 00:25:54but Google ads, there are some markets
00:25:53 - 00:25:56that we have. We have one that spends
00:25:54 - 00:25:58what 15 to 20,000 a month.
00:25:56 - 00:25:59>> Yeah. on Google ads. They're in a highly
00:25:58 - 00:26:00competitive market
00:25:59 - 00:26:01>> against our recommendation.
00:26:00 - 00:26:03>> They're [laughter] in a they want to
00:26:01 - 00:26:04spend it. They just got it. They got it
00:26:03 - 00:26:04earmarked and that's what they want to
00:26:04 - 00:26:08>> Well, and I think it should be noted
00:26:05 - 00:26:11here that uh just so you guys know for a
00:26:08 - 00:26:13single location Google ads uh urgent
00:26:11 - 00:26:16care, sorry, single location urgent care
00:26:13 - 00:26:18is running Google ads. You're we're
00:26:16 - 00:26:19finding that at the moment, now this can
00:26:18 - 00:26:24change, but at the moment here in
00:26:19 - 00:26:26October 2025, that an around 8,000 a
00:26:24 - 00:26:29month in ad spend, you have diminishing
00:26:26 - 00:26:31returns where the platform will spend
00:26:29 - 00:26:32it, but the cost for the conversion just
00:26:31 - 00:26:34goes up.
00:26:32 - 00:26:36>> That's it. And and that's pretty we
00:26:34 - 00:26:38found that because we have a handful of
00:26:36 - 00:26:39clients that have broken that. And then
00:26:38 - 00:26:41we just saw like yes, they're getting
00:26:39 - 00:26:44more conversions, but the cost of the
00:26:41 - 00:26:45conversions starting to rise um versus
00:26:44 - 00:26:47the ones that are in that three to three
00:26:45 - 00:26:49to five. If I was going to pick a sweet
00:26:47 - 00:26:51spot, probably about 5,000 is a sweet
00:26:49 - 00:26:54spot for a location. Not required, just
00:26:51 - 00:26:55a sweet spot. Um and it makes a really
00:26:54 - 00:26:58because like you said, we have a couple
00:26:55 - 00:27:00that are in the 10 to 12,000 plus or
00:26:58 - 00:27:0220,000. It just burns dollars. It really
00:27:00 - 00:27:03does. Um and it's like I said, it still
00:27:02 - 00:27:06brings in more patients. He's still
00:27:03 - 00:27:08making money off of the patients, but uh
00:27:06 - 00:27:09it's just not as healthy as you'd want
00:27:08 - 00:27:10it to be.
00:27:09 - 00:27:13>> Last point on this and then we'll start
00:27:10 - 00:27:15moving on is you want to look at a cost
00:27:13 - 00:27:19per conversion on Google. Uh somewhere
00:27:15 - 00:27:21between 12 to $15 per conversion.
00:27:19 - 00:27:24>> And so if you think about it, at $15 per
00:27:21 - 00:27:27conversion with a $1,500 budget, that's
00:27:24 - 00:27:29100 conversions. at 70% of those being
00:27:27 - 00:27:30patient bookings, which has been the the
00:27:29 - 00:27:32number that we've seen over and over
00:27:30 - 00:27:34again, that's going to get you about 70
00:27:32 - 00:27:36new patients. So, if you think about
00:27:34 - 00:27:39that, that's going to be roughly 18 to
00:27:36 - 00:27:4120, maybe even $22 cost per acquisition
00:27:39 - 00:27:43on that patient, right?
00:27:41 - 00:27:45>> So, why do I tell you this?
00:27:43 - 00:27:46>> Once you start getting somewhere
00:27:45 - 00:27:49between, well, I'll just say it this
00:27:46 - 00:27:51way. Once you get to $15 per conversion,
00:27:49 - 00:27:53at that point, you should consider
00:27:51 - 00:27:55increasing your budgets for for more
00:27:53 - 00:27:57patients. Not focused on lowering your
00:27:55 - 00:27:59cost per conversion, Google's not going
00:27:57 - 00:28:01to allow it, right? So, Google is only
00:27:59 - 00:28:03going to let you get by with so much
00:28:01 - 00:28:04before they start just increasing the
00:28:03 - 00:28:06price. Let's take a quick minute on
00:28:04 - 00:28:08Facebook ads. Used to be not my top
00:28:06 - 00:28:10recommendation. still probably not my
00:28:08 - 00:28:12top recommendation, but I am seeing some
00:28:10 - 00:28:14of the work that we're doing with
00:28:12 - 00:28:16multiple urgent cares that we work with
00:28:14 - 00:28:19where we're starting to see people
00:28:16 - 00:28:21converting on Facebook and and I I think
00:28:19 - 00:28:24that's twofold. We have a higher quality
00:28:21 - 00:28:26team than we've had ever before um that
00:28:24 - 00:28:29are really good in the meta space. Two,
00:28:26 - 00:28:32uh their algorithm has gotten really
00:28:29 - 00:28:34really good at finding exactly who needs
00:28:32 - 00:28:36your services based on intent and search
00:28:34 - 00:28:37volume. Now, do I think it needs to be
00:28:36 - 00:28:39the vast majority of your budget? Now,
00:28:37 - 00:28:40it probably needs to be the third or
00:28:39 - 00:28:43fourth thing that you roll out. Okay?
00:28:40 - 00:28:44Honestly speaking, but when you have
00:28:43 - 00:28:46budgets that you have good healthy
00:28:44 - 00:28:47budgets that you can work with in the
00:28:46 - 00:28:49marketing,
00:28:47 - 00:28:51>> uh I would highly consider Facebook,
00:28:49 - 00:28:52Instagram or Meta, if you will, as part
00:28:51 - 00:28:56of your mix and I don't think you need
00:28:52 - 00:28:57any more than five 500 to a,000. When
00:28:56 - 00:28:58you start getting into the multiple
00:28:57 - 00:29:00locations is where you see these bigger
00:28:58 - 00:29:01budgets. Again, the factors that
00:29:00 - 00:29:03influence it are the target audience,
00:29:01 - 00:29:05the competition, the ad quality and
00:29:03 - 00:29:08relevance platform. All of this will be
00:29:05 - 00:29:09in detail on how we do this in another
00:29:08 - 00:29:11webinar. For now, we're just talking
00:29:09 - 00:29:12cost. All right. If you found this
00:29:11 - 00:29:14helpful, you can watch the full session
00:29:12 - 00:29:16or you can grab our free 2026 marketing
00:29:14 - 00:29:18budget planner. It's in our show notes
00:29:16 - 00:29:21and it's a practical tool. We want you
00:29:18 - 00:29:22to be able to use it to plan smarter, to
00:29:21 - 00:29:25measure better, and to make sure your
00:29:22 - 00:29:27marketing spin actually deliver results.
00:29:25 - 00:29:28Mark your calendar though for the next
00:29:27 - 00:29:30live webinar. It's going to be on
00:29:28 - 00:29:33Thursday, November 20th. We're going to
00:29:30 - 00:29:35be tackling value versus vanity metrics.
00:29:33 - 00:29:37It's how to stop chasing empty numbers
00:29:35 - 00:29:39and start tracking the data that
00:29:37 - 00:29:41actually leads to patient work. You can
00:29:39 - 00:29:43register using the link below in the
00:29:41 - 00:29:44show notes. As always, I want to thank
00:29:43 - 00:29:46you for being a Watkins welcome
00:29:44 - 00:29:48listener. We love you as a listener.
00:29:46 - 00:29:50Thank you so much. Uh if you love us,
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