First define what losing money means
Compare the agreed acquisition cost with the contribution from customers whose enquiries you can connect to the campaign. State whether cost includes only media or also management, creative and software fees. Revenue is not profit, and a treatment’s advertised price is not its contribution.
Separate a disappointing result from missing measurement. When bookings or customers cannot be linked back to enquiries, report that gap. Do not turn an incomplete report into a claim of either success or failure.
Check whether the searches match the service
Review the actual search terms, locations and enquiries. Look for research-only searches, training enquiries, employment interest, unrelated services or locations the clinic does not serve. Decide exclusions from the account evidence rather than applying a generic keyword list.
A narrow service scope makes relevance easier to judge. Do not expand geography or budget while the clinic cannot assess enquiry quality or handle the existing demand.
Check the destination and response process
The page should answer the visitor’s question, explain the actual service and provide a usable next step on mobile. Include verifiable practitioner information and accurate contact details. Test form validation without sending notifications before arranging any end-to-end test.
Then inspect response ownership, missed calls and booking availability. A good advertising click cannot fix an unanswered enquiry. Use actual timestamps and outcome records to find delays; do not assume an arbitrary response-time target guarantees conversion.
Remove noisy actions from commercial reporting
A phone-link click, page visit, form receipt, qualified enquiry and booked consultation are different events. Keep useful diagnostic events, but choose bidding and reporting actions deliberately. Exclude explicit internal tests, duplicates and supplier solicitations from commercial lead totals.
Follow a dated enquiry cohort. Link each genuine enquiry to any booked call and subsequent customer record. Count a person once at each defined stage, and distinguish cancellations and unknown outcomes. An imported contact is not automatically a new enquiry.
Google explains conversion tracking and enhanced conversions for leads. Any implementation needs the appropriate consent, account configuration and data handling. Do not send patient health information or invent offline outcomes.
Check the economics before scaling
Illustration only: £1,200 in media spend and 12 unique valid enquiries equals £100 per enquiry. If four become customers, media cost per customer is £300. If the customer outcome is unverified, that final calculation is unavailable. These are example numbers, not ClinicGrower results or a forecast.
Use a consistent observation window and account for enquiries still in progress. Compare acquisition cost with a justified contribution figure. Do not assume future repeat purchases or lifetime value without evidence.
Review policy before changing messages or audiences
Google’s healthcare advertising and personalised advertising policies can restrict the treatment, wording or audience. A remarketing audience is not automatically appropriate simply because someone visited a treatment page. Review the permitted approach before building it.
UK advertising guidance also prohibits public promotion of prescription-only botulinum toxin products. Refer to ASA/CAP guidance and obtain the clinic’s appropriate review.
Choose the next change from the evidence
Prioritise the largest demonstrated break in the journey: irrelevant searches, an unclear page, a failed contact route, slow handling, missing qualification or unlinked outcomes. Change a bounded part, record the date and compare like-for-like data after enough observations have accumulated.
Use our Google Ads planning guide for campaign preparation, our campaign evidence hub for dated examples and our Google Ads service page for the available support. A free external audit can identify public website issues; it does not certify a private campaign’s profitability.
Before you choose
Your questions, answered.
Should I increase the budget when enquiries are weak?
First check search relevance, the page, response capacity and the definition of a valid enquiry. More spend can amplify an unresolved problem. A budget change should follow evidence and an agreed test limit.
What if the CRM cannot connect enquiries to customers?
Report received and qualified enquiries separately, mark the customer outcome as unverified and repair the record links. Do not calculate cost per customer from advertising conversions alone.