Start with the Problem Before Choosing a Package
You do not need to arrive with a finished marketing strategy. You should, however, be able to describe what is not working.
1. Patients cannot find us
Start by reviewing your visibility in local search, your Google Business Profile, and the pages explaining your services.
2. People visit our website, but few contact us
Look at the mobile experience, clarity of information, calls to action, and booking process before paying for more traffic.
3. We are spending on ads without understanding the results
Check which inquiries are being tracked, whether they relate to the services you want to promote, and what happens after someone makes contact.
4. We want to introduce a new service
You may need a dedicated service page, clear explanations, and a focused campaign rather than a complete website redesign.
5. We receive inquiries, but they rarely turn into appointments
Review response times, availability, and the questions people ask before booking. More advertising will not solve the problem of unanswered calls.
✔ These situations can overlap. The purpose of an initial review is to identify the first problem worth fixing.
Which Healthcare Marketing Services Do You Actually Need?
Healthcare SEO and Local Search
SEO helps search engines understand your website and helps potential patients find relevant information. For a clinic, that can involve improving service pages, resolving technical issues, maintaining accurate location details, and making the website easier to navigate.
Local search work also considers how your practice appears when someone searches for care in a particular area. The information should clearly explain what you offer, where you are located, and how to contact you.
Ask an agency what its
[SEO and local search services] include. “Monthly SEO” is too vague to assess without a description of the work.
Google Ads
Google Ads can help a clinic reach people searching for the services it offers. However, an ad click is only the beginning.
The campaign needs an appropriate landing page, clear information, and a reliable way to measure relevant inquiries. It also needs to reflect your service area, available appointments, and campaign eligibility.
When comparing
[Google Ads management], ask who pays for the advertising, who owns the account, and how the agency distinguishes useful inquiries from irrelevant ones.
Website Design and Improvements
A clinic website should make practical questions easy to answer:
✔ Does this practice offer the service I need?
✔ Where is it located?
✔ Who provides the care?
✔ What do I need to know before contacting the clinic?
✔ How do I request an appointment?
Sometimes a few improvements to navigation, content, or forms are enough. In other cases,
[website design and redesign] may be appropriate.
Content and Social Media
Useful content answers the questions people ask before contacting a practice. This may include service explanations, preparation information, team introductions, and answers to common administrative questions.
Clinical information should be reviewed by a qualified healthcare professional. The agency and clinic should also agree on a process for approving public-facing content.
[Social media marketing] can support that communication, but publishing more frequently is not a complete strategy. Each piece of content should have a clear purpose and suit the audience you want to reach.
Tracking and Reporting
Reporting should help you make decisions. You should be able to understand which channels bring relevant visitors, which actions those visitors take, and what the agency plans to improve next.
Agree on the measurement approach before campaigns begin, including how patient privacy will be protected. Sensitive information should not be sent to advertising or analytics tools without an appropriate assessment.
How Much Does Healthcare Marketing Cost in Canada?
There is no single price that fits every practice.
The cost depends on the work involved: the services being promoted, number of locations, language needs, content requirements, website condition, and campaign complexity.
A proposal is easier to compare when the costs are separated into four categories.
1 Initial Project or Setup
This may cover research, website improvements, campaign setup, or measurement configuration.Ask for the deliverables, timeline, payment schedule, and process for approving additional work. A setup fee should correspond to identifiable tasks.
2 Monthly Agency Fee
This pays for ongoing work such as SEO, campaign management, content, reporting, and agreed improvements.
Clarify what happens each month. How much content is included? Are website updates covered? How often will campaigns be reviewed? Who handles unexpected requests?
A monthly fee is difficult to evaluate without those details.
3 Advertising Spend
Advertising spend is the amount paid to platforms such as Google or Meta. It may be billed separately from the agency’s management fee.
For example, a hypothetical proposal might include CAD $500 per month for management and CAD $1,000 per month in advertising spend, for a combined CAD $1,500 before taxes and any additional costs.
This is an illustration of how fees can be structured, not a Nuvaclicks quote or an estimate of typical market pricing.
4 Software and Ongoing Expenses
Additional expenses may include hosting, booking software, call tracking, or other subscriptions.
Ask which tools are necessary, who pays for them, and what happens to those accounts if the agency relationship ends.
What Should a Healthcare Marketing Package Include?
A useful package should specify:
✔ The services and locations covered.
✔ Initial deliverables and recurring tasks.
✔ Content quantities and revision limits.
✔ Advertising management fees and separate ad spend.
✔ Reporting and meeting frequency.
✔ Account ownership and access.
✔ Contract length and cancellation terms.
When comparing proposals, ask each agency to quote against the same priorities. A lower fee may cover substantially less work, while a higher fee may include services you do not currently need.
You do not need to arrive with a finished marketing strategy. You should, however, be able to describe what is not working.
SEO, Google Ads, or a Better Website: What Comes First?
The right starting point depends on where potential patients encounter a problem.
1. When Visibility Is the Main Issue
If people rarely discover your practice through relevant searches, investigate local visibility, service content, and technical SEO.
Advertising may also be worth considering when there is suitable demand, campaign eligibility, and enough capacity to handle inquiries.
2. When the Website Is Losing Interested Visitors
If people arrive but struggle to understand your services or contact you, improve that experience first.
A confusing mobile layout, unclear booking instructions, or a form that does not work can undermine both paid and organic traffic.
3. When You Need to Promote a Specific Service
A focused campaign may be more useful than broad marketing activity.
Start with the service, audience, location, and desired action. Then decide whether the work requires a landing page, advertising, search optimization, or a combination.
A proposal should explain this sequence rather than simply recommend every available service.
7 Questions to Ask a Healthcare Marketing Agency
1. What would you prioritize first, and why?
A good agency should be able to explain what deserves attention first based on your clinic’s goals.
2. Have you worked with clinics facing similar challenges?
Relevant experience can help, but the agency should still adapt its approach to your specific situation.
3. What exactly is included in the fee?
Make sure you understand the services, deliverables, and any costs that are billed separately.
4. How will you measure results?
Ask which metrics will be tracked and how they connect to your clinic’s goals.
5. Who owns the website, accounts, and content?
Your clinic should know what it owns and what it can access if the relationship ends.
6. Who will manage our account?
Find out who your main contact will be and who is actually doing the work.
7. What should we expect in the first 90 days?
The agency should be able to outline the initial priorities, setup, and early deliverables.
How Long Does Healthcare Marketing Take?
Different activities operate on different timelines. Website improvements may be delivered as a defined project. Advertising can begin generating traffic once campaigns are approved and running, but useful performance data takes time to accumulate.
SEO usually requires a longer evaluation period. Progress depends on the starting condition of the website, competition, resources, and implementation.
Ask when you can expect each deliverable, when there will be enough information to assess performance, and what would trigger a change in approach.
Treat guaranteed rankings or a fixed number of new patients with caution. An agency can commit to agreed work and transparent reporting; it cannot control every factor affecting search results or patient decisions.
How Do You Know Whether Your Marketing Is Working?
Start with the outcome you want, then work backwards.
If the goal is more appointments for a particular service, useful measures may include:
✔ Relevant inquiries about that service.
✔Cost per qualified inquiry.
✔Booked appointments, when measurable.
✔ The proportion of inquiries that become appointments.
✔ Performance by service, location, and channel.
Search rankings and website traffic can show progress, but qualified inquiries matter more.
Define what counts as a real lead, and remember that response times, appointment availability, and follow-up also affect whether inquiries become bookings.
