Landing pages for healthcare ads

A practice can write a good ad, pick the right keywords and still waste most of its budget if the click lands on the home page, a slow page or a page that does not mention what the person searched for. The landing page is where someone decides whether to call. It is also something Google reviews: ads can be disapproved because of what is on the page they lead to, and Google’s Quality Score diagnostics rate the landing page separately from the ad.

This guide covers what Google requires of an ad destination, what Google says makes a good landing page experience, the healthcare policy points that affect the page itself, how to handle forms and tracking without sending patient information to ad tools, and accessibility. It ends with a section by section outline you can use for a treatment page that runs ads. If a page has already caused a disapproval, see our guide to fixing disapproved healthcare ads. When the visitor arrives from a printed QR code, our guide to QR codes on print ads explains how the page and the print piece have to match. If a page shows models as patients or doctors, see stock photos, models and actors in healthcare ads.

This is general information, not legal advice. Google changes its ad policies and help pages often, so check the current versions linked in the sources before you launch. We do not quote typical conversion rates or costs, because we have no reliable public source for them and they vary widely by specialty and market.

What Google requires of an ad destination

Google’s Destination requirements policy sets the floor. An ad can be disapproved if its landing page fails any of these, and Google says it warns at least 7 days before suspending an account over this policy:

It works. The page and its contents must work on common browsers and devices. Pages that return an HTTP error to Google’s AdsBot crawler are disapproved.
It matches the ad. The domain in the display URL has to match where people actually land. Redirects from the final URL to a different domain, or tracking templates that lead to different content, cause a destination mismatch.
Google can crawl it. A page that blocks AdsBot, for example through robots.txt or a login wall, cannot be reviewed and is disapproved.
It is reachable in the area you target. Geo-blocking or a firewall rule that blocks the region you advertise in leads to disapproval.
It is easy to use. Pages that are unnecessarily hard to navigate, that start a download or open an email address instead of a page, or that contain abusive experiences fall under Destination experience.
It has original content. Pages made mainly to show ads, copied from elsewhere without added value, or built only to send people somewhere else are disapproved for insufficient original content.

For practices, the common failures are ordinary ones: a page left in “maintenance mode”, a security plugin that blocks unknown crawlers, a booking link that sends the ad click straight to a third party scheduling domain, or a campaign pointing at a page that was deleted in a site redesign.

Landing page experience: what Google says it looks at

Quality Score is Google’s 1 to 10 keyword diagnostic. It combines expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience, each rated “above average”, “average” or “below average” against other advertisers whose ads showed for the same search over the last 90 days. Google says Quality Score is not an input in the ad auction and should be used as a diagnostic, not a goal in itself.

Google defines landing page experience as how relevant and useful your page is to people who click your ad, and says better rated pages are usually well organized with text that relates to the person’s search. Its suggestions for a below average status are:

Give people what they searched for. Someone who clicked an ad for dental implants should land on your implant page, not your home page.
Keep the message consistent from ad to page, and make sure the page follows through on the ad’s offer or call to action.
Make the page work well on mobile, where ease of navigation matters even more.
Improve loading speed.

Google also notes that the exact search phrase does not need to appear word for word on the page. A page that clearly answers what the person was looking for matters more than repeating keywords. In practice this usually means one landing page per service you advertise, which is how we structure campaigns in our guides to Google Ads for dentists and Google Ads for med spas.

Healthcare policy applies to the page, not only the ad

Google’s healthcare and medicines policies cover ad destinations as well as ad text. Our healthcare ad policy basics guide covers the full list. The points that most often affect a practice landing page are:

Prescription drug terms. Google’s Restricted drug terms policy covers ads, landing pages and keywords. In the US, prescription drug terms such as neurotoxin brand names may appear in ads and on landing pages without certification, but using them as keywords requires certification.
Unreliable claims. Google’s Misrepresentation policy includes an unreliable claims policy, and Google reviews the destination as well as the ad. A promise such as “guaranteed results” on the landing page is a risk even when the ad text itself is careful.
Prices and offers. Google’s Dishonest pricing practices policy expects the full terms to be clear. If an ad mentions a new patient special or a per-unit price, the landing page should state what is included, who qualifies and any financing terms.
Speculative treatments. Google has a separate policy for speculative and experimental medical treatments, cell therapies and gene therapies. Read it before advertising any such service.

The FTC rules apply here too. Testimonials and before and after photos on an ad landing page are advertising. Under the FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR 255.2, a testimonial about a key result is usually read as typical, so the page should either have support for that or clearly say what patients can generally expect. Our guide to health claims in marketing explains the substantiation side.

What patients need to see on the page

Policy is the minimum. A landing page earns the call by answering the questions a patient has in the few seconds after the click. For most practices those are the same handful of things:

Is this the right place? A headline that names the service and the city, matching the ad. If the ad said “same-day emergency dentist”, the page says it too.
Can they see me, and when? Hours, whether new patients are accepted, how soon appointments are usually available if you can state it honestly, and what to do after hours.
Do they take my insurance, and what will it cost? The plans you accept or a clear note that you are out of network, plus what a first visit includes. If you show prices, say what they cover.
Who will I see? The providers with their real names, credentials and photos. Google’s policies and patients both look for a real, identifiable practice.
What happens next? A short description of the first visit or the treatment process, in plain words.
How do I book? A tap-to-call phone number near the top, and an appointment request option. The phone number should be the same one that is answered during the hours you advertise.

Things that usually hurt more than help on an ad landing page: a full site menu that leads people away, autoplay video, popups that cover the phone number on mobile, and long blocks of text about the practice history before the service is even described.

Forms and tracking without patient data

Ad landing pages almost always have conversion tracking, and in healthcare that is where privacy problems start. In its bulletin on online tracking technologies, the HHS Office for Civil Rights explains when information collected by tracking tools on a covered entity’s website can be protected health information. A federal court vacated part of that guidance in 2024, but the rest still applies. Our article on tracking pixels on practice websites covers what changed.

Track the action, not the patient. Count a call or a form submission as a conversion. Do not send names, phone numbers, conditions or appointment reasons to Google Ads or analytics.
Keep the form short. Ask for what you need to call back: name, phone, preferred time. A field like “describe your symptoms” invites health information you then have to protect.
Know where the form goes. If the form does collect health information, the form tool and email path need the safeguards and vendor agreements HIPAA requires. Our guide to HIPAA and website contact forms goes through this.
Use Google’s call tools for calls. Call assets and website call conversions use Google forwarding numbers, which let you count calls from ads without collecting caller details on the page.

Remarketing is limited too. Google’s personalized advertising policy treats health as a sensitive interest category, and when you promote services in it, Google does not allow advertiser-curated audiences such as data segments built from your page visitors.

Accessibility and speed

A landing page has to work for patients who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, magnification or captions. The HHS Section 504 rule for recipients of HHS financial assistance names WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the web standard, with compliance dates that HHS extended in 2026. WCAG 2.2, the current W3C version, adds criteria that matter on landing pages in particular: tap targets large enough to hit, focus that is not hidden behind sticky headers, and help such as the phone number in a consistent place.

For a landing page, the basics are labeled form fields, enough color contrast on buttons, captions on any video, a phone number that is a real link, and no content that only appears on hover. Our guide to website accessibility for medical practices has the dates and the full list.

Speed follows the same logic. Google lists loading speed as part of landing page experience, and most clicks on healthcare ads come from phones. Compress images, avoid heavy sliders and chat widgets that load before the content, and check the page on a real phone over a mobile connection before you launch.

A landing page outline for one treatment

Illustration only. Adapt the sections to the service and check every claim against your evidence and the current policies.

Headline and subhead: the treatment and city, matching the ad, plus one plain sentence on who it is for.
Call bar: tap-to-call number, hours, and an appointment request button, visible without scrolling on a phone.
What it is: the treatment in plain words, who is usually a candidate, and who is not.
What to expect: the first visit, the steps, typical number of visits, and recovery, without promising outcomes.
Cost and insurance: plans accepted, what a quoted price includes, financing terms if offered.
Who you will see: providers with names, credentials and photos.
Evidence of a real practice: address, map, parking, and patient reviews shown with privacy in mind and without implying typical results.
Short FAQ: the five questions your front desk hears most about this service.
Request form: name, phone, preferred time, a note not to include medical details, and a link to the privacy policy.

We build pages like this as part of our Google Ads for practices and practice website work. If you want to know how a landing page fits into what a new patient costs, see patient acquisition cost.

Frequently asked questions

Can we send ad traffic to our home page?

You can, but Google suggests sending people to a page that gives them what they searched for. A home page usually covers every service, so the person has to look for the one they clicked on. A dedicated page per advertised service is easier to keep relevant.

Do landing pages need to be separate from the main website?

No. A treatment page on your existing site can work well as a landing page if it matches the ad and loads fast. Separate domains or subdomains for ads add redirect and mismatch risks under Google’s Destination requirements policy.

Can we use the drug brand name on the landing page?

For US campaigns, Google’s Restricted drug terms policy allows prescription drug terms in ads and landing pages without certification. Using them as keywords requires certification.

Should we hide the site menu on a landing page?

Many advertisers trim it so people focus on calling, but the page still has to be easy to navigate under Google’s policy. Keep a way to reach your contact, privacy and provider pages.

Is a low Quality Score a penalty?

No. Google describes Quality Score as a diagnostic tool and says it is not an input in the ad auction. A below average landing page experience is a sign the page could be more relevant or easier to use.

Can we put a symptoms field on the request form?

You can, but then the form collects health information and needs the safeguards HIPAA requires. Most practices only need contact details and a preferred time to call back.

Landing pages for healthcare ads: what Google checks and what patients need