A dental practice doesn't need more clicks. It needs more enquiries for the treatments that pay, from people close enough to come in, and a way to see which searches produced them.
I rebuild and run Google Ads accounts, and I have done it for a dental clinic: ad groups by treatment, with form submissions and phone calls tracked as conversions.
What I would set up for your practice
Campaigns split by treatment
Someone searching for implants and someone searching for a check-up are different patients with very different value. Implants, whitening, cleaning and emergency searches each get their own ad groups, ads and budget decisions.
Location targeting set to your catchment
Your ads only show where patients can realistically reach you. This sounds basic, but it is one of the first things I check, because the wrong default setting can spend budget far outside your area.
A negative keyword list
Dental searches attract people looking for jobs, courses, free treatment and information. A maintained negative list stops those clicks before you pay for them.
Calls and forms counted as conversions
Enquiries usually arrive by phone or form. Both are tracked through Google Tag Manager and imported into Google Ads, so bidding works towards patient enquiries and not just visits.
What dental clicks cost right now
| Search | UK searches/month | UK top-of-page bid | US searches/month | US top-of-page bid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dentist near me | 246 000 | £1.39 to £5.54 | 1 830 000 | £3.64 to £17.15 |
| dental implants | 22 200 | £1.55 to £7.44 | 165 000 | £5.34 to £22.45 |
| invisalign | 90 500 | £2.64 to £11.27 | 368 000 | £1.33 to £8.42 |
| teeth whitening | 60 500 | £1.02 to £2.70 | 165 000 | £1.54 to £5.87 |
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner, checked 30 October 2026, average monthly searches for October 2025 to September 2026. Bids are Google's low and high estimates in pounds, because that is the account's currency. They are estimates and not what you would actually pay.
The gap between treatments is why I split campaigns. Compare the high estimate for implants with whitening in the UK, then ask which one you would rather fill your diary with.
Direct dental experience
Smile Line Dental
The clinic was already paying for Google Ads, but campaigns were targeting worldwide, Search and Display were mixed together, there were no negative keywords, and neither forms nor calls were tracked.
I completed advertiser verification, rebuilt the account as Search only, split ad groups by service, set local targeting, built the negative list and added tracking. For the first time, the clinic could see which ads and keywords were producing patient enquiries.
The fundamentals don't change with the country. Clicks and leads cost more in the UK and the US, which makes wasted spend more expensive and clean tracking more valuable. A dental account leaks money in the same places wherever it runs: broad targeting, irrelevant searches and enquiries nobody is counting.
What a dental account should be able to answer
- Which treatments bring enquiries?Spend and enquiries per treatment, so budget can follow the work you want.
- Which searches brought them?The actual search terms behind each enquiry, reviewed and cleaned regularly.
- What does an enquiry cost?Measured from your own tracked calls and forms, not from an industry average.
- Which enquiries became patients?If your practice records this, it can be fed back to Google Ads so bidding learns from real bookings.
Common questions
Do you only work with dentists?
No. I also run marketing for a UK carpet cleaning company and have worked on online stores. Dental is one of the areas where I have direct account experience.
Can you guarantee a number of new patients?
No, and be careful with anyone who does. Results depend on your location, competition, offer and how enquiries are handled. What I can promise is a clean account and honest tracking of what it produces.
Do you also help with Google Maps?
Yes. Many patients choose from the Maps results, so I can work on your Google Business Profile and local pages alongside your ads.
How does working with you start?
With a free audit of your ad account, website and tracking. You get the findings in plain language before you decide anything, and you keep ownership of your Google Ads account.
Do you know which searches bring your patients?
Send me your practice website. I'll review your ads and tracking and tell you the first things I'd fix.
Get my free dental ads audit →