Industry Guide · 16 of 16 chapters published
Google Ads for Nursing Homes, Built for Rehab Deadlines and Long-Term Decisions.
A rehab family picks a nursing home from a hospital list, often the same day. A long-term family decides over months and wants to know first whether Medicare or Medicaid will pay. Google's health ad rules cover both, and the word "rehab" pulls in drug treatment searches that cost several times more. These sixteen chapters build a Google Ads account in the order that works, using real searches, websites and family reviews from one example market, Pittsburgh. The method works for nursing homes anywhere in the US.
Google Ads for Nursing Homes Runs on Two Clocks, One Account
The whole guide in five steps. Local numbers come from our example market, Pittsburgh. Yours will differ; the method won't.
A Rehab Admission and a Long-Term Admission Are Worth Different Money
A rehab family decides in days. A long-term family decides over months, usually with Medicaid paying. Count what matters for both:
- A call of 30 seconds or more, voicemails included
- A tour request or a hospital referral
- The admission itself, sent back to Google by click ID
Google keeps call recording off for healthcare, and enhanced conversions stay off for a HIPAA-covered building. Then price the admission: a $6.30 click, 5.51% of clicks becoming an inquiry and one inquiry in four moving in puts it near $458.
"Nursing Homes Near Me" Costs Half What Assisted Living Pays, and Drug Rehab Pays Far More
Rehab and long-term care get separate ad groups and separate pages; only 4 of the 12 local sites we checked had both. The word “rehab” also pulls in drug treatment searches that run up to about $80 a click, so the addiction words go on the negative list before the first ad.
The known searches start on exact match with manual bids, aiming for 75% to 90% top impression share. The ads come from your reviews: staff response drew the most praise in 422 local reviews, and none of 134 local nursing home ads mentioned it.
Google Never Says Whether a Nursing Home Counts as Housing, So Build as if It Does
Skip age, gender and ZIP targeting and draw a radius instead. Never draw a tiny circle around the hospital. Keep Presence targeting, give out-of-state families their own campaign, and switch AI Max, search partners and Display off before launch.
Automation Waits Until Search Has Proven What an Admission Looks Like
Broad match opens at about 30 quality conversions a month, usually a few months in and sooner for bigger accounts. Performance Max follows around months six or seven. A YouTube walk-through needs a daily budget of about ten times your target cost per inquiry, reviews get answered without confirming a resident, and AI Max comes last, fenced so Medicare lines stay in the rehab ads.
The Admission Is Won in the Hours After the Hospital Hands Over Its List
Federal rules make the hospital hand families a list and leave the choice to them. Be findable by name, answer the phone and admit on Saturdays; 10 of the 12 local sites didn't say when admissions was open. Explain Medicare honestly: the average covered stay ran 30.7 days, not 100. And hire, since federal law already makes CNA training free to the aides a nursing home hires.
Sixteen Chapters, From the First Admission to a Full Building
Starting from scratch? Begin with Chapter 1. Each chapter builds on the ones before it.
Measure
Count admissions, not just inquiries, and know what each payer is worth
A Rehab Admission Happens in Days. A Long-Term Admission Can Take Months. Your Conversion Window Has to Cover Both.
Nursing Home Families Move From "When Is It Time" to "Near Me" Fast. Your Budget Starts at "Near Me."
A Medicare Rehab Stay and a Medicaid Resident Are Worth Different Amounts. Price Each Click by Its Payer.
Build
Win the searches families make, and keep drug rehab out of the account
Short-Term Rehab and Long-Term Care Belong in Separate Ad Groups. One Page for Both Weakens Your Ad Relevance.
Keyword Planner Mixes Nursing Home Rehab With Drug Rehab. The Drug Rehab Clicks Cost Several Times More.
"Nursing Homes Near Me" Belongs in Exact Match. The Way a Family Describes Mom's Broken Hip Belongs to Broad Match.
"Nursing Homes Near Me" Costs Less Than Half of What Assisted Living Pays. Buy the Top of the Page.
Nursing Home Reviews Measure Care in Minutes to Answer a Call Bell. "Compassionate Care" in an Ad Measures Nothing.
Launch
Settings that stay inside Google's health and housing rules from day one
Scale
More reach once the account knows what an admission looks like
Google's Health Rules Take Away Performance Max's Best Data. Let Search Replace It First.
Families Run the Smell Test Before They Call. A YouTube Walk-Through Lets Them Run It From the Hospital.
There's No Local Services Ad for Nursing Homes. The Map Pack Shows Up on Almost Every Search Instead.
Medicare Pays for Rehab, Rarely for Long-Term Care. AI Max Writes From a Website That Covers Both.
Nursing Homes
The hospital list, Medicare and Medicaid, and the staff who keep beds open
Rehab Patients Pick From a Hospital List in Hours. Be Findable, Answer the Phone and Say Yes on a Saturday.
Medicare Covers "Up To" 100 Days, and Families Hear 100. Ads That Explain the Rule Earn the Call.
Nursing Homes Turn Away Admissions When Shifts Go Unfilled. Your Hiring Ads Fill Beds Too.
The Rollout, Month by Month
The order matters as much as the campaigns. Each step waits until the one before it has taught Google something.
Isolation and brand
Exact match on the searches most likely to become an admission, plus your facility's name.
Exploration
Broad match with a target CPA, once qualified inquiries and admissions reach about 30 a month. Bigger budgets get there sooner.
Performance Max
Once the account holds that volume with both campaigns running, with job pages kept out and no resident lists under Google's health rules.
Demand Gen and AI Max
Video walk-throughs for families still comparing, and Google's newest automation kept on the right pages.
How to Use This Guide
Brand-new account?
Read in order. Tracking and the admission math come before the first keyword.
Chapter 01 →Ads already running?
Check tracking and keywords first. Job applicant calls counted as leads and drug rehab searches in the keyword list are two leaks to look for.
Chapter 05 →One example market
Examples come from Pittsburgh-area nursing homes, described as we found them. Run the same steps in your own market.
Chapter 05 →Google Ads for Nursing Homes
Bid on "Rehab" and Google Hands You Drug Treatment Clicks at Several Times the Price.
We've run paid ads for 25+ years and seen just about every way a budget goes sideways. Get on the phone with someone who does this every day. Bring your questions, your numbers and your skepticism. You'll hang up knowing what we'd do, whether you hire us or not.
Or see how our Google Ads management works.