Industry Guide · 4 of 16 chapters published
Google Ads for Orthopedic Surgeons, Built Around the Surgeon Patients Choose.
Most orthopedic patients arrive by referral. The rest pick a surgeon by name, insurance and credentials, on a search page shared with hospital systems, large groups and clinics selling injections Google won't let anyone advertise. These sixteen chapters build a Google Ads account in the order that works, using real searches, websites and patient reviews from one example market, Nashville. The method works for orthopedic practices anywhere in the US.
Sixteen Chapters, From the First Call to the Operating Room
New account? Start with Chapter 1. Every chapter builds on the ones before it.
Measure
Count new patients, not every call, and price a click on the whole patient
An Orthopedic Practice's Phone Rings for Follow-Ups, PT and New Knees. Only the New Patient Call Should Count.
"Knee Pain" Is Months From Surgery. "Orthopedic Surgeon Near Me" Is Ready to Book. Pay for That One First.
Up to 45% of Knee Replacement Patients Get the Other Knee Done Within 20 Years. Price the Click on Both.
Build
Ad groups by body part, surgery searches first, then the injury searches
Orthopedic Patients Search by Body Part. Build Ad Groups and Pages the Same Way, and Google Charges Less.
Past the Brand Names
Procedures First, Then Injuries
Bids by What Patients Are Worth
Headlines From the Exam Room
Launch
Settings that keep a new account local and in your control
Three Defaults to Switch Off
Scale
More reach once the account knows what a new patient looks like
Performance Max and Your PRP Page
Demand Gen Before the Fourth Quarter
Surgeons on Google Maps
AI Max and Opioid Wording
Orthopedics
Injection ad rules, surgeon brands and walk-in injury care
PRP, Stem Cells and Injections
Surgeon Brand Campaigns
Orthopedic Walk-In Care
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 procedure and "orthopedic near me" searches, plus your practice name and every surgeon's name.
Walk-in injury care
A separate campaign for sprains, fractures and sports injuries, if you run walk-in clinics.
Exploration
Broad match and a target CPA after the account logs about 30 new patients a month.
Performance Max
After months of clean new-patient data, with your PRP and injection pages kept out of it.
Demand Gen, Local Services Ads and AI Max
Video before the fourth-quarter surgery rush, an optional pay-per-lead test, and Google's newest automation last.
How to Use This Guide
No account yet?
Go in order. New-patient tracking and the budget math come before any keyword.
Chapter 01 →Ads already running?
Check what your conversions count and which pages Google can send clicks to. Follow-up calls counted as new patients and ads landing on a PRP page are two common leaks.
Chapter 10 →One example market
Examples come from Nashville-area orthopedic practices, described as we found them. Run the same steps where you are.
Chapter 05 →Running more than one specialty under one roof? Google Ads for Healthcare shows how to run them as one account without one service line starving the rest.
Rather Have Us Build It
For Your Practice?
We build orthopedic accounts in this order. See our Google Ads management.
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