The compliance-first PPC playbook for UK clinics
How to launch paid search for a private clinic without falling foul of ASA, CAP or Google's healthcare policies. A phase-by-phase playbook with checklists and sources.
Paid search is the fastest lever a private clinic can pull, and the easiest place to burn budget or breach advertising rules. This playbook walks through a compliant launch, phase by phase, exactly the way we run it for clients.
Why healthcare PPC is different
Healthcare advertisers answer to more rulebooks than any other sector: the ASA and CAP Code, GMC guidance for doctors, MHRA rules on prescription-only medicines, and Google's own healthcare ad policies. Getting any of them wrong can mean disapproved ads, wasted spend or regulatory complaints.
Choosing your channel mix
| Channel | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search | High-intent bookings (people already looking for treatment) | Healthcare policy certification, POM restrictions in ad copy |
| Meta (Facebook/Instagram) | Awareness and remarketing for elective treatments | Personal-attribute rules, restricted health targeting |
| Local Services / Maps | "Near me" demand for multi-location clinics | Review volume drives rank, slow to start |
The four phases of a compliant launch
Foundations
Setupweek 1-2No tracking, no conversion definition, landing pages that talk about treatments the ASA would flag. Most clinics start here.
What to do: Install consent-mode tracking, define a booked consultation as the conversion, rewrite landing pages around the consultation rather than the medicine.
Nothing goes live in this phase.
Controlled launch
Liveweek 3-4First campaigns live on exact-match, high-intent keywords with tight budgets. Data is thin and volatile.
What to do: Resist broad match. Review search-term reports daily and add negatives. Let the account gather at least 30 conversions before judging anything.
Optimisation
Scalingmonth 2-3Enough data to see cost per consultation by keyword, device and location. Some ad groups clearly win, others drain budget.
What to do: Shift budget to winners, test smart bidding against manual, start remarketing lists (excluding sensitive audiences).
Compliance re-check every time new ad copy ships.
Scale
Maturemonth 4+Search demand is capped; growth now has to come from new locations, new treatments or upper-funnel channels.
What to do: Layer in Meta prospecting, test Performance Max with tight brand safety, and negotiate call-tracking into the CRM so revenue, not leads, drives bidding.
This is where budgets get big. Weekly reporting becomes non-negotiable.
The clinics that win at PPC are not the ones with the biggest budgets. They are the ones that measure cost per booked consultation and kill everything that does not move it.
Pre-launch compliance checklist
Run this before any campaign goes live
- ✓Landing page promotes the consultation, not a prescription-only medicine.
- ✓All claims are backed by evidence and avoid guaranteed-outcome language.
- ✓Google healthcare certification applied for where required.
- ✓Before/after imagery follows ASA guidance for cosmetic procedures.
- ✓Privacy policy covers ad tracking and consent mode is configured.
- ✓Call recording disclaimers in place if calls feed the CRM.
What good looks like after six months
A mature clinic account books consultations at a predictable cost, attributes revenue back to keywords through the CRM, and passes every compliance review without edits. That is the standard this playbook is built to reach.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Can UK clinics advertise prescription-only treatments on Google?+
Not directly. Advertising prescription-only medicines to the public is prohibited in the UK. Campaigns must promote the clinic or the consultation instead, and the landing page has to follow the same rule.
How much budget does a clinic need to start PPC?+
Enough to reach roughly 30 conversions a month in your market, for most UK clinics that means 2,000-5,000 GBP per month at launch. Below that, the data is too thin to optimise against.
How long until paid search pays for itself?+
With clean tracking, most clinics see a positive return on ad spend by month three: the first month builds data, the second optimises, the third scales what works.
Do I need Google healthcare certification?+
Only for restricted categories such as addiction services or certain pharmacies. Most private clinics do not, but every account should check Google's healthcare policy list before launch.