A person with a sore lower back has more than one place to go. A chiropractor is one. A physical therapist is another, and so are an orthopedic practice and a hospital's spine center. All of them advertise on the same searches, and the patient often hasn't decided which kind of care they want.
This last chapter is about that choice: what the other kinds of practices say in their ads, what chiropractors leave out, and how to answer the patient's real question without criticizing anyone's profession.
"Chiropractor vs Physical Therapist" Draws 2,400 Searches a Month From People Still Deciding
The comparison search itself, "chiropractor vs physical therapist," gets 2,400 US searches a month. For the top of the page on that search, Keyword Planner's estimate is $0.10 to $8.39 a click, well below what a chiropractor pays for the core searches. Smaller versions narrow it to a condition: "chiropractor or physical therapist for sciatica" draws about 90 a month, and "for lower back pain" about 50.
These aren't people who've picked a practice and need an address. They're earlier than that. Chapter 2 named this exact search as a "solution aware" one: the person is comparing fixes, and the goal is to influence the decision.
That's a reason to treat these searches gently in the account. They belong in the Exploration campaign (Chapter 6) or a small ad group of their own, with a bid well under what "chiropractor near me" earns, and with a landing page built to answer the comparison. They also show up in the search terms report from other ad groups; when they do, they're a signal that people near you are weighing the same choice.
"Doctor for Back Pain" Draws 12,100 Searches a Month, and Any Kind of Back Pain Practice Can Answer It
The comparison search is small. The bigger overlap is in searches that name a kind of provider without naming a profession. Keyword Planner's national monthly numbers:
- "spine specialist near me": 14,800 a month, bids up to $11.09
- "doctor for back pain": 12,100, up to $15.67
- "lower back pain specialist": 8,100, up to $14.85
- "neck pain doctor": 5,400, up to $11.99
These searchers want help from someone qualified and haven't said what kind of practice. A physical therapy group, an orthopedic office and a chiropractor can all reasonably answer them. Chapter 6 found that searches pairing a condition with treatment or a doctor make up a big share of chiropractic-related volume, and broad match in Exploration tends to find them on its own.
A chiropractor who bids on these should put them in a separate ad group whose ad explains, in plain words, how chiropractic care helps back or neck pain and what visit one involves. Watch the cost per kept first visit closely: some of these searchers will turn out to want a surgeon or a prescription, and the search terms report will show which phrasings bring patients and which don't.
Searches that name the other profession outright are different. Someone typing "physical therapy near me" has most likely already chosen. Unless your practice offers physical therapy and has a page for it, that search usually doesn't belong in a chiropractic campaign, and it belongs on the negative list.
A practical way to start: look at the search terms report for the last 90 days and pull out every search that mentions physical therapy, PT, orthopedic, spine specialist or a doctor. Sort them into three piles. Searches that name another profession outright go on the negative list. Searches that ask for a kind of provider ("doctor for back pain," "spine specialist near me") get their own ad group, as above. And searches that compare the two ("chiropractor or physical therapist for sciatica") go to the comparison page described below. After a month, compare the cost per kept first visit across the three, and move budget toward whichever brings patients.
Physical Therapy and Hospital Ads Bid on Back Pain Too, and None of the 136 We Read Mention Chiropractic
In our example market, Baltimore, we read 136 Google ads from eleven physical therapy, orthopedic and hospital websites. Forty mentioned physical therapy or rehab, and 44 mentioned orthopedics, spine care or surgery. None mentioned chiropractic.
That's simply how each profession advertises: every practice describes its own care. It also means the patient comparing their options won't learn about chiropractic from anyone else's ad. If a chiropractor wants to be part of that comparison, the chiropractor's own ad and page have to make the case.
Seven Physical Therapy Ads Lead With "No Referral Needed." Two Chiropractic Sites Say It, but No Local Chiropractic Ad Does.
Seven of the 136 ads, from two physical therapy companies, led with a specific promise: "No Referral Needed." It answers a question patients often have before booking: do I need to see my doctor first?
None of the 116 local chiropractic ads we read made that point (two ads from a regional chiropractic injury group did). Yet two of the twelve chiropractic websites we studied say it plainly. One says, "No referral is required — you can book with us directly." Another says, "No referral is required. New patients are always welcome."
If your practice can see new patients without a referral, that's worth saying in the ad, not only on page three of the site. Two notes before you do:
- Check the patient's plan. A patient's plan may require a referral even when the practice doesn't. The website that says "you can book with us directly" adds that if the patient's plan requires a referral, the office will help sort it out. Say the same in your page copy.
- Keep it to what's true for your practice. If some patients do need a referral, for example under certain plans, the headline should say "No Referral for Most Plans" or point to the page that explains.
Nine of Twelve Chiropractors We Studied Also Offer Rehab In House. That Answers "Chiropractor or PT?" Before Anyone Asks.
Of the twelve practices we studied, nine offer physical therapy or rehab in house, alongside adjustments. Several local ads already mention it: 29 of the 116 named physical therapy, rehab, massage or dry needling.
For a patient comparing a chiropractor with a physical therapist, that's useful to know. It means the choice isn't always one or the other. If your practice offers both, the ad and the landing page can say so directly, for example "Chiro and Rehab, One Office." The comparison page can explain how the two work together in your care plan.
If your practice doesn't offer rehab, that's fine too. Say what you do offer, clearly, and say when you refer patients to a physical therapist or physician. A practice that says plainly when it will send a patient elsewhere gives the comparing patient one more reason to start there.
Only 1 of the 116 Local Chiropractic Ads We Read Mentioned an Exam or X-Ray
The person typing "chiropractor or physical therapist for sciatica" wants practical help. Which kind of care fits my problem? What happens at the first visit? Will my insurance cover it? Do I need to see a doctor first?
An ad that answers those questions gives the comparing patient something to weigh. Few local ads do: of the 116 we read, one mentioned an exam or X-ray at all. Some headline ideas, each within Chapter 8's 30-character limit, and only where true:
- "Sciatica? Book a First Visit"
- "No Referral Needed"
- "Chiropractic + Rehab Together"
- "Exam Before Any Treatment"
Descriptions can do the rest: what the first visit includes, which insurance you take, and that the doctor will say so if another kind of care fits better.
Remember the Reddit threads from Chapter 11. When people in our example market asked for a chiropractor recommendation, about a third told them to skip the chiropractor or see a physical therapist or physician instead. The patient comparing options has often heard both sides already. A calm, factual ad that describes the first visit gives that person something concrete to weigh, which a confident claim about one profession being better can't do.
Patients Who Ask "Chiropractor or PT?" Want to Know What Happens at the Visit, Not Which Profession Is Better
The landing page for these searches is where a practice can go wrong in one of two ways: they don't have one, or they write it as a debate.
A page that wins the comparison doesn't argue. It explains your care in plain terms:
- What you treat, by condition, linking to the condition pages from Chapter 4.
- What the first visit includes, exam first, the same promise Chapter 11's video makes.
- Rehab in house, if you offer it, and how it fits with adjustments.
- Referrals and insurance, in plain words, with the "check your plan" note.
- When you refer out, to a physical therapist, a physician or a specialist.
Leave the other profession uncriticized; it costs nothing and keeps the page credible. A patient who reads a page that runs down physical therapy may well have a physical therapist in the family, or a good experience of their own. A page that simply explains the practice lets them choose with confidence.
If you'd like help building the comparison page and its ad group, our Google Ads agency team does this for the chiropractic practices we work with.
Next: Back to the Google Ads for Chiropractors Guide Home
That's the last of sixteen chapters. In the order we build an account: send the kept first visit back to Google, start with "near me" searches, price a click by who pays, give each condition its own ad group and page, build keywords from a rival's site, add broad match for pain searches, set bids by hand, write ads in patients' words, change Google's defaults before launch, run Performance Max within health rules, reach doubters with video, win the map pack, keep AI Max on your own pages, and the bonus chapters on auto-injury patients, new-patient offers and this one. All of them are on the Google Ads for Chiropractors guide home.
