Google Ads Optimization Tips for Orthodontic Practices

Google Ads Optimization Tips for Orthodontic Practices

April 17, 2025
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Are you running an orthodontic practice and looking to bring in more patient appointments at your clinic? There are several digital marketing channels available, but Google Ads for braces, Invisalign, and orthodontic treatments is one of the most effective ways to generate new leads and attract patients in your area. Users actively searching for orthodontists or teeth-straightening options nearby can find your clinic through Google Ads.

If you are an orthodontist and don’t have a well-optimized Google Ads campaign targeting your local region, you might be missing out on high-intent traffic from people already interested in orthodontic care. Showing up at the right time with the right message can turn a quick Google search into a booked consultation. But that doesn’t mean it’s always straightforward!

In this guide, we’ll break down the most effective Google Ads optimization strategies tailored for orthodontic practices—so you can grow your patient base, improve your ROI, and stay ahead of other dental clinics in your area. Let’s dive in!

15 Orthodontic Google Ads Optimization Tips

1) Define Clear Campaign Goals

Running Google Ads without specific objectives is akin to splurging and hoping for success. That’s not how successful orthodontic campaigns are built. Defining clear campaign goals—like driving Invisalign consultations, getting more calls for braces evaluations, or increasing clicks to your booking page—gives your ad strategy real direction and purpose.

When you know exactly what outcome you’re aiming for, everything from keyword selection to ad copy to landing page design becomes sharper and more focused. Want more phone calls from parents of teens? Your ads should highlight flexible payment plans or early treatment benefits. Looking to fill weekday appointment slots? Set up campaigns with call-only ads and time-based targeting.

A surprising number of orthodontic practices skip this step and run generic ads with no specific CTA. But with crystal-clear goals, you’re not just running ads—you’re building a pipeline of high-quality patients.

2) Conduct Thorough Keyword Research

If you want your Google Ads to drive actual bookings and not just clicks, understanding keyword intent is non-negotiable. Take the search terms “braces near me” and “best orthodontist near me.” These are high-intent keywords—people typing these are already in the market and actively looking for a provider nearby. Your ad should be laser-focused here—promote consultation offers, flexible financing, or same-week appointments.

keywords for orthodontic Google Ads

But let’s switch that with “clear aligners” or “Invisalign cost.” While these still carry commercial intent, they often signal early-stage research. These users may be comparing treatment options, costs, and results. For them, your ad should lead to a landing page that educates—highlight treatment comparisons, show before-and-after cases, and include FAQs about effectiveness and pricing.

That way, you’re guiding potential patients through their journey and gently moving them toward booking a consultation with your orthodontic practice.

3) Utilize Negative Keywords

Negative keywords help you block out irrelevant traffic and ensure your ads reach only those actively searching for orthodontic care. For example, you don’t want your ads showing up for searches like “DIY braces kits” or “orthodontic salary,” right? These users aren’t looking to book an appointment—they’re looking for information that has nothing to do with your services.

Are you unsure of where to start? Try adding:

- Terms related to jobs or careers, like “orthodontist salary” or “how to become an orthodontist”

- DIY or at-home treatment terms like “at-home aligners” or “cheap braces kit”

- General dentistry terms if you’re strictly focused on ortho—like “teeth cleaning” or “dental filling”

It’s a small step, but using the right negative keywords can keep your budget focused, your click-through rate healthy, and your leads highly relevant.​

4) Optimize Ad Copy

To make your orthodontic practice stand out, optimizing your Google Ads is key. Ensure your ad copy highlights your core services like braces, clear aligners, and pediatric orthodontics.

Make your location clear — mention nearby landmarks or intersections to help potential patients find you easily. Keep your descriptions concise, engaging, and keyword-friendly while showing patients why your practice is the right choice for their smile needs.

Utilize clear calls to action like "Book Your Consultation Today" and include special offers to attract attention. With a 150-character ad copy limit, make sure each word resonates with potential patients.

5) Leverage Ad Extensions

Ad extensions can take your orthodontic ads from basic to brilliant. With tools like Google Ads, you can add extra details to your listing that make it stand out — and help users take action faster.

- Call Extensions: Add a click-to-call option so patients can reach your front desk directly from the ad.

- Location Extensions: Show your practice’s address, helping nearby patients find you easily — especially useful for mobile searches.

- Sitelink Extensions: Direct users to key pages like “Braces vs. Invisalign,” “Treatment Cost,” or “Book a Free Consultation.”

Using these extensions not only boosts your ad’s visibility but also increases its relevance and click-through rate—giving you more opportunities to convert the right audience.

6) Implement Geotargeting

Geotargeting should be a key part of your orthodontic Google Ads strategy. Why?

It helps you reach the right patients in your local area, maximizing your ad’s relevance and effectiveness. By focusing your ads on specific geographic locations, you can ensure your practice is seen by people who are most likely to become your patients.

Here’s how to make it work:

- Target your local area: You can set a radius around your office to reach potential patients nearby.

- Adjust based on population density: Increase your radius in high-density areas and narrow it in less populated zones.

- Consider travel habits: Understand how far patients are willing to travel for orthodontic care and adjust your targeting accordingly.

With geotargeting, your ads will be more relevant and lead to better results.

7) Schedule Ads Strategically

The timing of your ads can be the deciding factor that drives more patients to your practice. While your ads can run 24/7, the most effective way to increase clicks and conversions is to schedule them when your audience is most active. Think about when parents are searching for orthodontists — evenings, weekends, or during school holidays.

Here’s how to do it right:

- Review your Google Ads performance data to find peak engagement times

- Align your ad schedule with your clinic’s working hours or appointment availability

- Test different time slots and refine based on the results

8) Design Optimized Landing Pages

The whole purpose of running Google Ads is to bring potential patients to a landing page that encourages them to take action — whether that’s booking a consultation or filling out a lead form. To make this work, your landing page for the orthodontic ads must be fast-loading, mobile-friendly, and focused on a single goal.

Here, what you do is purposely avoid distractions like unnecessary links or cluttered layouts. Instead, highlight your core services (like Invisalign, braces, or free consultations), use strong headlines, patient testimonials, and trust signals like certifications or before-and-after photos.

Most importantly, make it easy to convert patients: Include a simple contact form above the fold, clear call-to-action buttons, and optional features like click-to-call for mobile users.

9) Monitor and Adjust Bidding Strategies

Google rewards advertisers who stay engaged with their campaigns. Regularly monitoring and adjusting your bidding strategies can have a direct impact on your ad performance and ROI.

Google Ads uses bidding to decide when and where your ads appear. If you're not optimizing bids based on performance, you might overspend or miss valuable opportunities. For orthodontic practices, adjusting bids based on device type, time of day, or location can lead to better visibility and more qualified leads.

Remember that regularly checking your bids is important to stay competitive and get the best out of your ad spend. This is especially true for orthodontic Google ads.

10) Track Conversions

Now, set up conversion tracking to truly understand how your Google Ads are performing. All of this is optional during the initial setup, but if you want real results, this step is essential.

You can track:

- Phone calls made directly from your ad or website

- Form submissions for consultations or appointments

- Clicks on directions to your practice

- Online bookings through third-party scheduling tools

There are many more ways to measure ad success than just looking at clicks. Conversion tracking gives you insight into what actions patients are taking after seeing your ads. The next section dives into how to set this up and what metrics matter most.

11) A/B Test Ad Variations

After performing conversion tracking, you’ll start to get a clear picture of what’s working — and what’s not. That’s when A/B testing becomes a powerful tool.

A/B testing means running two or more variations of your ads to see which version performs better. You can test different headlines, descriptions, call-to-action phrases, or even display URLs. For orthodontic practices, try variations like “Book Your Free Consultation Today” vs. “Get Invisiline Cost” to see what resonates most with your audience.

Even small changes can lead to noticeable improvements in click-through rates and conversions. Over time, A/B testing helps you fine-tune your ad copy and increase the overall effectiveness of your Google Ads strategy.

12) Ensure Mobile Optimization

People search for orthodontists on their phones most of the time! That’s why it’s essential your landing page is mobile-optimized, especially if you're running Google Ads.

If someone clicks on your ad and the page takes too long to load or doesn’t display correctly, they’re likely to drop off. Mobile responsiveness helps improve user experience, keeps bounce rates low, and increases the chances of a lead.

Plus, Google considers mobile performance when calculating your ad quality score, which affects how often your ad shows and how much you pay. Optimizing for mobile gives your orthodontic practice a better shot at converting high-intent, on-the-go searchers.

13) Utilize Remarketing Strategies

So why remarket? Is it really worth it? Great question — but a tricky one too!

Think about it: most people don’t book an orthodontic consult on their first visit to your site. They browse, compare, maybe even forget. Remarketing lets you gently remind those visitors what they’re missing — whether it’s straight teeth, Invisalign, or a special offer.

These ads follow users who’ve already interacted with your website and show up across Google’s Display Network, YouTube, and even Gmail. It’s like a second chance to turn interest into action. And yes, it works. Remarketing often delivers higher conversion rates and helps you stay top-of-mind in a competitive space. For orthodontic practices, it’s essential.

14) Maintain HIPAA Compliance

To start, yes — even your Google Ads need to follow HIPAA guidelines.

Orthodontic practices deal with sensitive patient data, and any marketing effort that collects or uses personal health information must be handled carefully. That means no sharing names, treatment details, or using retargeting ads in a way that could reveal someone’s identity.

Avoid ad copies that directly mention a patient’s condition or treatment history, and make sure your landing pages don’t capture protected health information (PHI) without secure, HIPAA-compliant forms.

15) Regularly Review and Refine Campaigns

As a dental Google Ads advertiser, we know there’s no fixed formula that works forever.

The orthodontic market changes. User behavior shifts. Even Google’s algorithm and ad policies evolve. That’s why it’s so important to regularly review your campaigns — not just set them and forget them.

Check which keywords are converting, pause underperforming ads, adjust bids, test new headlines, and update extensions. Use insights from Google Ads reports to spot patterns and opportunities.

Final Verdict

Google Ads is one of the most effective ways for orthodontic practices to generate immediate leads and drive growth. While SEO can take time to show results, a well-executed Google Ads campaign delivers quick, measurable outcomes that fill your pipeline with high-intent patients.

However, it’s important to remember that Google Ads is just one piece of the puzzle. For long-term success, combining it with a strong SEO strategy for orthodontists is crucial. SEO helps build your organic visibility and credibility over time, creating a sustainable foundation for your practice.

The most effective strategy for your orthodontic clinic is to use Google Ads for immediate lead generation while investing in SEO to secure future growth. Together, they provide a powerful combination that maximizes your online presence and boosts your practice’s success.​

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