You are a private practice owner, and you have decided to start running Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) for your business. You hope to reach your target audience on Google and improve (or perhaps just start) your digital marketing strategy.
While this advertising platform is just fantastic for therapists, there are some common myths you need to be aware of, and that's what we want to discuss in this post :)
Are Google Ads good for therapists and coaches?
The answer is yes. That's primarily due to the nature of this marketing strategy. With Google ads, you can get in front of every (or almost every) potential customer or client at precisely the right moment - when they are looking for mental health support.
That's what makes Google Ads a better choice vs. Facebook Ads, where you target a broad audience of people with specific characteristics but no indication whether they are experiencing any mental health issues at the moment.
And because the search engine (specifically Google) is where we usually start looking for help or information, including mental health issues, you should do whatever you can to be at the top of the relevant search results.
And that's what Google Ads can make quick and easy.
However, there is a but. Or actually a few of them. You need to know how to succeed on Google and what this marketing tool can and cannot do. Let's have a look, we have a list of 10 common Google Ads myths.
Common Google Ads myths
Google Ads is a money-making machine
The first common misconception is that all you need to do is start a marketing campaign on Google, and clients will come knocking on your digital door.
Not really.
Google is a very, VERY competitive platform, and there are at least several other therapists, psychologists or coaches trying to promote their business for the same keyword in the same area.
And people can choose, right? You can expect your clients to check two or three different PPs before making a decision on who to work with. That said, to succeed, you need to get everything right, and that includes your:
Website
Offer
Keyword strategy
Bidding and budget
Campaign settings
Ad copy
Verdict: Google Ads can be a money-making machine if you have all the right elements in place, a good offer, and a good website.
You can succeed on Google with even small advertising budgets
Again, not really, and it's a plain math question. In the therapy world, the CPC (cost per click) rate is anywhere between $2.00 and $10.00. Some keywords are cheaper, some are more expensive.
Let's say you have an average of $5.00 per click (which is really good, by the way). Now, in order to make the most of your campaign (so that you can optimize it and test different things), you need to get, on average, 10 clicks per day.
A quick math gives us the answer: $50 per day or $1,500 per month. And that's just the advertising budget (aka advertising spend), not the agency's or freelancer's fee.
Of course, you can start with a smaller budget, but in general, going below $1,000 per month will mean two things:
You will not get enough traffic to build a positive return on investment (ROI)
Or, if you are really patient (and I mean 4-5 months patient), you will see the first results only after a few months of the campaign.
Verdict: To succeed on Google you need at least a $1,000 advertising budget per month.
I can run Google Ads no matter how good my website is
Interestingly, many people think the same when it comes to SEO (organic searches) and Google Ads. We've seen this happen multiple times: People saying, "Google Adwords don't work." And then, it turns out the website was designed 10 years ago, its quality is just horrible, and there is absolutely nothing encouraging a potential client to reach out to them.
We always tell our clients that Ads contribute to 40% of their success in the search engine. The remaining 60% is the website.
A good website is an absolute must-have when it comes to any digital advertising. If you are interested in finding out more, take a look at this article on our blog: 10 essential features every therapist website needs.
Verdict: Improve your website before starting a Google Ads campaign.
You don't really need conversion tracking
This is a huge misconception when it comes to Google Ads. We've seen many accounts run with no conversion tracking set up. That's a huge, huge mistake! Why?
Google is all about data. And conversion tracking is Google's way of finding out who books with you, who reaches out to you (don't worry, Google doesn't collect any personal or health-related information), or who resonates with your ads.
With no conversion tracking (which is usually done via a Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics), you don't really know, and so doesn't Google. This means that without conversion tracking, your advertising campaign will never be as effective as it can be.
Verdict: You absolutely need conversion tracking to monitor and optimize your campaign performance.
The wider the audience, the better
Not at all. In most cases, a wider audience simply means getting irrelevant clicks. If you're after a positive return on investment, you should focus on the so-called bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) keywords that are used by clients ready to book therapy with you.
Here's how it looks sales-funnel-wise:
Especially if your budget is relatively low, you should focus on narrowing down your campaign so that you show your ads only to people who are likely to connect with you. And you can do so by targeting the BOFU (bottom of the funnel) keywords.
Verdict: Your audience, as well as your campaign settings, should be laser-focused.
You can just hire someone to set everything up for you and just let it run
Of course, you can do so, but it will likely not be effective. Google Ads is a living thing. Things change all the time, and only because everything was working last month, it doesn't mean it will work half a year from now (or even the next month sometimes...).
Your competitors can change their advertising strategy or a new competitor can start advertising in your area, and that's just a quick example. Things change, and you need ongoing optimization to ensure your account is running at full speed.
You can do so yourself as a business owner, but you need to know how to optimize your account and what to change. Ongoing management is one of the Google Ads success recipes. :)
Verdict: Your account requires ongoing maintenance, updates and improvements.
Those bidding strategies are all the same!
With Google Ads, you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to bidding strategies and the thresholds you don't want to cross. But never let anyone tell you that they don't matter. In fact, a bidding strategy can help you win or bury your account's performance.
What's more, those strategies should be changed and updated in specific situations, you shouldn't just go with maximize clicks and stick with this approach forever.
Optimizing the bid strategy for your account is one of the most important things to think about when managing a Google Ads/Google AdWords account.
Verdict: Understand the differences between bidding strategies and use the ones that make the most sense in your situation.
I need high-quality scores for everything
You really don't :) Of course, high quality score will help, but it's not a huge game-changer. We've seen accounts and keywords with the quality score of 3/10 or 5/10 that still worked and generated conversions. At the same time, a 7/10 or 9/10 quality score does not guarantee conversions.
Verdict: Focus some of your advertising efforts on improving your campaign's quality scores, but keep in mind that it's not the only factor at play.
The agency will not give me access to my account
Yes, that's something we've encountered. Even in 2025, some agencies still don't let their clients have access to their own accounts. Typical excuses include:
We've created this account, it's our know-how, you don't need to see it
You will change settings and ruin your account's performance
We don't want you to leave us
In short, here at Fully Booked Pros, we believe every client should have full access to their own account. That's why, at the beginning of the cooperation, we always create a new Google Ads account together with you to ensure you are the owner who can access the account at any given moment.
And if you're already working with an agency that won't let you in... Well... If you ever decide to start on your own or with a different provider, you will most likely need to start from scratch.
Verdict: Work with an agency that will give you full access to your account.
If I get bookings, it should only get better every month
Lastly, we want to address something that can be difficult to understand. If your campaign produced good results in January, it doesn't mean that February will be better or even equally good. But then, March can be even better! You never know.
You always need to keep in mind that there is a living person on the other side of the screen. And they can be on vacation (June-August), visiting family for holidays (December, April), etc.
This is especially important in the mental health field. Sometimes, it can take weeks, if not months, for a potential client to make the decision to start therapy. And they can research and visit your website multiple times before sending the actual contact form. That's 100% natural, right?
Even the biggest spenders have better and worse months, and there's nothing you can do about that. That's why it's so important to look at your account from the long-term perspective so that you can make informed decisions based on data and not your hunch.
Verdict: Be mentally prepared for worse and better months with Google Ads. It's just the way it goes, and there's nothing you can do.
Wrapping up
We wanted to address these myths because we believe you should know how it really works with Google Ads. It can be a great digital advertising channel, but it's not a magic wand. Keep all this in mind, and we're sure you will succeed with Google Ads!
And if you're looking for a partner who will help you design and set everything up the right way, we're at your service! You can start for free by booking a free initial consultation with us:
We look forward to talking to you!
Monika & Mike