Google Ads can put a practice in front of people searching for exactly what it offers. Health is also one of the most restricted areas in advertising. Ads get limited or disapproved, and accounts get suspended, usually for reasons that were avoidable. Here are the basics every practice owner should know. Policies change, so always check the current Google Ads policy pages before launching.
Some topics need certification or are not allowed
- Prescription drugs: advertising prescription medicines is restricted and in many cases requires certification by Google. Practices that mention specific prescription treatments in ads or keywords often run into this first.
- Addiction treatment: in the United States, ads for addiction services generally require third-party certification before they can run.
- Unproven or experimental treatments: Google does not allow ads promoting speculative or experimental medical treatments.
- Unapproved substances and some supplements: products on Google’s unapproved substances list cannot be advertised, whatever the landing page says.
Personalized ads have limits in health
Google’s personalized advertising policy does not allow targeting people based on sensitive information such as health conditions. In practice, that means you should not build remarketing lists or audiences around health conditions, and you should not write ads that imply you know about the person’s condition. “Struggling with back pain?” in an ad for a chiropractic visit is a common example of wording that can be flagged. If an ad has already been flagged, our guide to disapproved healthcare ads and appeals covers the fixes.
Write ads about your practice, not about the patient
- Describe the service, the location and how to book.
- Avoid wording that suggests you know the reader’s health situation.
- Do not promise outcomes or use before and after claims in ad text.
- Make sure every claim in the ad is supported on the landing page.
The landing page matters as much as the ad
Google reviews where an ad leads. A good practice landing page names the providers and their real credentials, shows the address and phone number, explains the service in plain words, and has a privacy policy. It should load fast and work on a phone. Our guide to landing pages for healthcare ads covers Google’s destination requirements and a section by section outline.
Tracking without patient data
Measure calls and form submissions, but keep patient information out of ad and analytics tools. Do not send names, conditions or appointment reasons to Google. US health regulators have published guidance on tracking technologies on healthcare websites; a federal court in 2024 limited part of it, but the safest approach is still to keep patient information out of tracking entirely.
Where we come in
We run Google Ads for practices with these rules built into the setup, and we track results to calls and booked appointments without sending patient information to ad platforms.
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