Crisis and emergency phrases
Hotline, emergency and immediate-help searches belong to crisis services. Exclude them and point visitors to 988 on the page.
Google Ads for therapists and psychiatric practices
Mental Health Practice PPC: How a Google Ads Account Is Built
Advertising a counseling or psychiatric practice is different from advertising almost anything else. The people searching may be frightened, tired or in a hurry; the ad rules are tighter than for most categories; and a careless campaign can embarrass your practice as well as waste money. This guide to mental health practice PPC shows how a careful Google Ads account is built, what it should never say, and how requests for first appointments get counted.
It is written for practice owners and clinical directors, not for people in crisis. If you or someone you know is in crisis in the United States, call or text 988.
- 6campaign types in a typical first build
- 3actions tracked apart: calls, request forms, booked intakes
- Weeklysearch term review during the first month
- Nooutcome promises in ad wording
The build
Campaign Types for a Counseling or Psychiatric Practice and What Each Does
You will not need all six on day one. Most practices begin with brand, one or two in-person campaigns and, if it fits, online therapy.
| Campaign type | Who it reaches | Job it does | Care needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand search | People typing your practice or clinician names. | Keeps a paid listing above directories and other practices when someone already knows you. | Cheap, but worth watching for competitors bidding on your name. |
| Individual therapy by need | People searching therapist near me, anxiety therapy, trauma therapy, depression counseling, grief counseling. | Brings first-appointment requests for services you actually offer. | Ad wording should describe the service, not promise a result. |
| Couples and family | Couples counseling, premarital, family therapy, parenting support. | A separate funnel because the decision is shared and the page needs to speak to two people. | Pages should name who is seen together and your licensing. |
| Child and teen | Parents searching for a child therapist, adolescent counseling, school-related concerns. | Reaches the adult who books, so the message is about the parent's next step. | Keep parental consent and age ranges stated plainly on the page. |
| Psychiatry and medication management | Psychiatrist near me, ADHD evaluation, medication management. | Fills psychiatric slots that behave differently from therapy slots. | Prescribing and medication content falls under healthcare advertising rules. Read the current policy first. |
| Online therapy | People in states where you are licensed who want video sessions. | Reaches a wider area than your office, within the states you may legally serve. | Target only states where you hold a license, and read Google's current requirements for telehealth advertisers. |
Every campaign above is search based pay per click advertising. People who typed a need into Google are choosing to be shown an ad, which is different from following someone around the internet because of a visit.
The rules that shape the build
Why Mental Health Paid Ads Need More Care Than Most
Google treats health as a sensitive category. In its personalized advertising rules, advertisers promoting services around health conditions, including mental health, are restricted from using advertiser-curated audiences such as website visitor lists and customer lists. In practice that means the usual advice to follow visitors with reminder ads often does not apply. The account leans on search intent instead: someone looked for a therapist, and your ad appeared. Policies change, so read the current personalized advertising and healthcare pages in Google's help center before launch and again every few months.
What the ad copy can and cannot say
Professional ethics codes and state licensing boards restrict how clinicians describe results, testimonials and credentials. A safe ad names the service, the place or format, the insurance you accept if any, and how to ask for an appointment. It avoids claims of cure or recovery, avoids describing a visitor's private condition back to them and avoids urgency. Your board's rules sit above anything a manager writes, and this page is not legal advice.
Tracking without carrying health details
The tracking you set up should count that a call or a request happened, not carry what a person typed. Keep intake forms that collect symptoms away from tags that send data to ad platforms, and ask your compliance advisor or counsel how tracking tags should be used on any page where a person enters health information. A booking confirmation page that says only that the request was received is a cleaner event to count.
How paid search sits beside directories and referrals
Many practices already receive clients from therapist directories, physician referrals and word of mouth. Google Ads should not try to replace those. It fills the gaps: the weeks when a clinician has open hours, a new service line that nobody knows about yet, or a neighborhood where your office is hard to find. Treat PPC for mental health practices as one steady source among several, let your Google Ads management reflect that modest role, and ask each new client how they found you so the report can be checked against real intake notes.
Who answers when the request arrives
A person reaching out for therapy has often waited a long time to do it. A slow or cold reply costs more than a missed ad click. Decide ahead of time who answers calls, how soon form requests get a reply and what is said about waitlists, insurance and fees. If you have a waitlist, say so honestly rather than advertising openings that do not exist, and consider pausing or narrowing campaigns when the calendar is full.
Crisis searches are not your lead source
Searches that signal an emergency do not belong in a practice's ad budget. Block them, and put a short line on every landing page telling a visitor in crisis to call or text 988 or to contact local emergency services.
How the account is built
From Empty Account to First Appointment Requests
Decide what the practice can see this month
Open intake slots, which clinicians take which clients, insurance panels, whether telehealth is offered and in which states. The ads promise nothing the calendar cannot honor.
Set up tracking before any ad runs
Calls from ads, request forms and booked intake appointments are three separate goals. Whoever handles the phone learns how to mark a first appointment.
Build campaigns in small, separate pieces
Each service and format gets its own set of searches and its own page. Locations are drawn around the office and, for telehealth, the states where you are licensed.
Write plain ads and a calm page
Service name, who is seen, how to ask, insurance accepted, privacy and the crisis line note. No promises.
Tune weekly, then monthly
Search terms are read often at first. Add negatives, move good phrases into tighter groups and review the monthly report for requests booked, not clicks.
Search terms to block
Negative Keyword Themes for Therapy Ads
Self-help and quizzes
Free tests, worksheets, apps and books bring readers rather than appointment seekers.
Careers and training
How to become a therapist, psychology degrees, licensure, continuing education and job terms are not clients.
Medication information
Drug names and dosage questions are informational and tied to stricter ad rules. Keep them away from therapy campaigns.
Services you do not offer
Inpatient, residential, court-ordered, forensic and specific specialties outside your scope send callers you must turn away.
Free and cheapest
Free therapy and lowest price searches may fit a sliding scale practice and be a poor fit for another. Decide on purpose.
Other practices by name
Searches for a competitor by name rarely turn into your callers, and bidding on their names invites trouble.
Questions practices ask
What Practice Owners Ask Before They Start
How much does mental health practice PPC cost?
Two things get paid for: the ad spend you decide on and send to Google, and the person managing the account. Management at GetPhound is $895 monthly for one platform, $1,595 monthly for two and $2,295 monthly for three, with nothing to pay up front and nothing to sign. Base the spending ceiling on what an ongoing client is worth to your practice and how many requests it takes to book one.
Can a therapist run Google Ads at all?
Yes. Counseling and therapy advertising is allowed, with the health rules described above and your state board's advertising rules on top. Treat the current Google healthcare and personalized advertising policies as required reading, and have anything that mentions credentials or results checked against your board.
Why can I not use remarketing like other businesses?
Google restricts advertiser-curated audiences when a service relates to health conditions, so visitor lists and similar tools are generally limited in this category. Predefined Google audiences and search intent are what remain. Check the policy page in your own account, because the details can change.
Should I advertise specific conditions such as anxiety or trauma?
You may use those words when they describe services you actually provide, since people search by need. The care is in the wording: describe the service and who you see, never promise improvement and never address a visitor as though you knew their situation.
How should we handle insurance in ads?
Name the plans you take only if it is accurate and current, because out-of-date panel lists create wasted calls. A line such as accepts several major plans, with a page that lists them and who to call to verify, is safer than a long list inside an ad.
Is telehealth advertising different?
Yes. Target only the states where you are licensed to practice, keep online campaigns separate from in-person ones, and read Google's current healthcare policy for any extra requirements that apply to telehealth providers before you launch. Confirm with your board how licensure applies when the client sits in another state.
What should be on the landing page?
The service, the people who provide it and their licenses, where or how sessions happen, insurance or fee information, a simple way to ask for an appointment, privacy language and the crisis line note. Keep it calm and short, and put the phone number at the top.
Should I pause ads when my practice is full?
Usually yes, or at least narrow them. Paid ads that bring requests you cannot schedule leave people waiting and can reflect badly on the practice. Many owners keep a small brand campaign running, pause the rest and restart service by service when clinicians have open hours again.
How long until I see requests?
Ads can be live within days of approval. The first weeks are for sorting out which searches bring real appointment requests, so expect changes before the picture settles. No honest manager can promise a number of clients or a date, and a practice with a short waitlist may see requests slow while another with open hours sees them sooner.
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Get in Touch
Talk Through Your Practice's Ads
Call 610-825-4363 or email hello@getphound.com. We will explain how we would build the account and what we would and would not say in the ads.