Google Ads for Dentists: How to Get More New Patients

You turned on Google Ads, the clicks came in, and the phone stayed quiet. Or worse, it rang with people asking for free cleanings or jobs at your practice. Dental ads can fill your chairs, but only when the account is set up with care.

I set up and manage Google Ads campaigns for local service businesses. In this guide I’ll show you how Google Ads for dentists really works, what it costs, and the setup that turns clicks into booked appointments.

Quick answer: Google Ads for dentists works best with separate campaigns for each treatment, tight local targeting, a strong negative keyword list and a fast landing page with online booking. WordStream’s 2025 data puts the average dental click at $7.85 and the average lead at $83.93, so tracking every call and form is essential.

What Google Ads for Dentists Really Costs

Dental keywords are expensive because one new patient can be worth years of cleanings, fillings and treatments. WordStream’s 2025 Google Ads benchmarks, based on more than 16,000 campaigns from April 2024 to March 2025, show these averages:

Two things stand out. Dentists had the lowest click-through rate of every industry in the report, so your ad has to work hard to earn the click. But once people click, dental landing pages convert better than average. That tells you where the money is: strong ads and a page that makes booking easy.

A Simple Budget Example

Say you spend $2,000 a month. At the average cost per lead of $83.93, that’s about 24 leads. If half of them book and show up, you gain around 12 new patients a month.

Now compare that with what a new patient is worth to your practice over a year or two. For most general practices, the math works well, especially when some of those patients need implants, crowns or aligners.

Search Ads vs Local Services Ads for Dentists

Dentists can now use two main types of Google ads, and they work differently.

According to Google’s Local Services Ads help page, you only pay for leads related to your services, and Google checks each business before its ads can run.

My advice: run both if you can. Local Services Ads bring simple, trusted calls. Search ads let you promote high-value treatments like implants or Invisalign, each with its own landing page.

How to Set Up Google Ads for Dentists

1. Split Campaigns by Treatment

Don’t put every service in one campaign. Create separate campaigns or ad groups for:

• General and family dentistry
• Emergency dentist
• Dental implants
• Invisalign or clear aligners
• Cosmetic dentistry and teeth whitening

Each one gets its own keywords, ads and budget. Implants and aligners are worth far more per patient, so they often deserve a bigger share of the spend.

2. Target a Small Area Around Your Practice

Most patients won’t drive far for a dentist. Target a radius of a few miles around your practice, or the neighborhoods you actually serve. In location settings, choose people who are in or regularly in your area, not only people “interested in” it.

3. Choose High-Intent Keywords

Start with phrase match and exact match keywords that show someone is ready to book:

• “dentist near me”
• “emergency dentist [city]”
• “dental implants [city]”
• “invisalign dentist near me”
• “teeth whitening [city]”

Avoid broad terms like “teeth” or “dental” on their own. They attract students, researchers and people looking for home remedies.

4. Build a Strong Negative Keyword List

Negative keywords stop your ad from showing for searches you don’t want. Google explains how they work in its guide to negative keywords. Here’s a starter list I use for dental accounts:

• jobs, hiring, salary, dental assistant, hygienist school
• free, cheap (unless you run offers)
• DIY, home remedy, how to, at home
• Medicaid (if you don’t accept it)
• dental school, course, degree, CE credits
• supplies, equipment, wholesale
• veterinary, dog, cat

Check your search terms report every week and add new negatives. In my experience, this habit saves more money than any bidding trick.

5. Send Clicks to a Treatment Page with Booking

Never send every ad to your homepage. Build a landing page for each main treatment with:

• The treatment and city in the headline
• A click-to-call button and an online booking button, visible without scrolling
• Accepted insurance plans and payment options
• Reviews, before-and-after photos and your team’s photos
• A clear offer, such as a new patient exam or a free implant consultation

Speed matters on phones, where most patients search. If your pages are slow or hard to use, see my landing page design service.

6. Track Calls, Forms and Bookings

If you can’t see which keywords bring booked appointments, you’re guessing. Set up conversion tracking for calls from ads, calls from the website, booking requests and form submissions. Then match leads to real patients in your practice software or a simple spreadsheet.

One more point: Google treats health as a sensitive category, and its personalized advertising policy limits some audience targeting for health-related ads. Keep your Search campaigns strong instead of relying on remarketing lists.

Common Mistakes That Waste Dental Budgets

• Sending all ads to the homepage instead of treatment pages
• Running ads when no one answers the phone, with no booking option
• Using one generic ad for every treatment
• Ignoring the search terms report
• Judging results by clicks instead of booked, kept appointments
• Accepting Google’s automatic suggestions without review

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should a dentist spend on Google Ads?

It depends on your area and the treatments you promote. At WordStream’s average cost per lead of $83.93, a $2,000 monthly budget brings about 24 leads. Many practices start with a test budget for two or three months, track booked patients, and then scale the campaigns that bring profitable treatments.

Are Google Ads worth it for dentists?

Yes, when the campaigns are set up well. A new patient is often worth much more than the cost of a few leads, especially for implants or aligners. The key is treatment-based campaigns, local targeting, strong negative keywords, a fast landing page with booking and proper call tracking.

Should dentists use Local Services Ads or Search ads?

Use both if you can. Local Services Ads charge per lead and appear at the top with a Google badge, but your practice must pass Google’s checks first. Search ads give you more control over keywords, ad text and landing pages, which suits high-value treatments like implants and Invisalign.

Why are my dental Google Ads not getting patients?

The usual causes are broad keywords, a wide location setting, missing negative keywords or a weak landing page. Check your search terms report, send each ad to a matching treatment page and make booking easy on mobile. Also check that calls are answered quickly during ad hours.

How long do dental Google Ads take to work?

Ads can bring calls within days of launch. Still, the first month is mostly for learning which keywords and ads convert. Most dental accounts need two to three months of data and weekly changes before the cost per new patient settles at a steady, predictable level.

Final Thoughts

Google Ads for dentists can bring a steady flow of new patients, but only when every dollar is tracked. Split campaigns by treatment, target the area around your practice, block junk searches and send clicks to fast pages with easy booking. Then judge success by kept appointments, not clicks.

The same approach works in other local industries too. See how it applies in my guide to Google Ads for roofers. If you’d like someone to review or run your campaigns, see my Google Ads management service or contact me for a free account audit.