Med spa marketing ideas that stay within FDA, FTC and Google rules

Med spas market more like retail than most practices: memberships, gift cards, seasonal promotions, social media and before and after photos. They also sell prescription drugs and medical devices, which brings FDA labeling, FTC health claim rules, Google’s healthcare ad policies and HIPAA into the same campaign. The ideas below are the common ones, with the rule that applies to each.

Each idea links to a longer guide where we have one. The guide ends with ideas to skip. Med spas that offer tattoo removal should also read our guide to laser tattoo removal marketing. For neuromodulator and injectable ads specifically, see our guide to neuromodulator and injectable advertising. For fat freezing and other body treatments, see body contouring marketing. Before you promote fillers, read our guide to dermal filler advertising rules. For chemical peel claims and take-home peel products, see our guide to chemical peel advertising rules. Before you sell lash or brow serums, read our guide to eyelash serum advertising rules.

Get found by people searching nearby

1. Complete your Google Business Profile. Use your real business name, the correct primary category, accurate hours and the services you offer. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and its guidelines do not allow keywords added to the business name. See our Google Business Profile guide.
2. Build one page per treatment. Neurotoxins, fillers, laser treatments, chemical peels, medical weight loss: each deserves its own page that explains what it is, who performs it, what a visit involves, recovery and risks. Describe uses within what the FDA has approved or cleared. Our med spa website design guide covers treatment pages in detail.
3. Name the products you use, accurately. Botox Cosmetic, Dysport and Xeomin are prescription drugs approved for specific uses in their labeling. The FDA regulates dermal fillers as medical devices and says it has approved them for adults 22 and older for specific uses. Use “FDA approved” only where it is true for that product and that use: the FTC’s health products guidance gives the example of a device that was only cleared being called approved, which it treated as deceptive.
4. Introduce your providers. Name, license type, the treatments each one performs, relevant training and the medical director, with real photos. “Nurse injector” tells a visitor less than the actual license.

Our med spa SEO guide goes further on local search, including Business Profile rules that catch med spas, injector profiles and treatment pages written within FDA and FTC rules.

Google Ads for med spas

Ads can work well for treatments people search for by name, but several Google policies apply:

• Drug brand names. Botox, Dysport, Xeomin and GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide are on Google’s list of monitored prescription drug terms. For US campaigns, Google’s Restricted drug terms policy allows them in ads and landing pages without certification, but using them as keywords requires certification.
• Compounded drugs. The FDA says compounded drugs are not FDA approved. Do not describe a compounded GLP-1 as the brand-name drug or as FDA approved.
• Personalized advertising. Google’s policy treats health as a sensitive category and lists injections and cosmetic procedures, which limits remarketing and audience targeting for these services.
• Prices and claims. Google’s dishonest pricing and unreliable claims policies cover ads and landing pages.

Our guide to Google Ads for med spas explains each policy, and our guide to landing pages for healthcare ads covers what Google checks on the page.

Before and after photos, reviews and social media

1. Get written authorization for every patient photo. Full face photographs and comparable images are HIPAA identifiers, and using a patient’s photo to promote your services needs their written authorization under 45 CFR 164.508. Keep the signed form with the photo.
2. Show typical results honestly. Under the FTC’s Endorsement Guides at 16 CFR 255.2, a result shown in a testimonial or before and after photo is usually read as typical. If it is not what clients generally get, say clearly what they can generally expect. Keep lighting, angle and makeup consistent between the two photos and do not retouch the result.
3. Ask every client for a review. Google allows businesses to ask for reviews but not with incentives or by asking only happy clients. The FTC’s rule at 16 CFR Part 465 prohibits fake reviews and incentives conditioned on a positive review. A free add-on in exchange for a review breaks Google’s policy even if the review is honest. See patient review replies.
4. Disclose influencer and creator deals. If a creator receives free treatment or payment, 16 CFR 255.5 requires the connection to be clearly disclosed in the post. Make the disclosure a written condition of the deal, and check posts before reposting them. Our social media policy guide covers staff and creator posts.

Memberships, packages and gift cards

These are some of the most useful tools a med spa has for repeat business, and each has its own federal rule:

• Online memberships with recurring charges. The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (15 U.S.C. 8403) applies to recurring charges sold online with a negative option. It requires clear and conspicuous disclosure of all material terms before collecting billing information, express informed consent before charging, and a simple way to stop recurring charges. Put the price, billing cycle, minimum term and how to cancel next to the sign-up button, and make cancelling as easy as joining.
• Gift cards. Under Regulation E at 12 CFR 1005.20, a store gift card generally must not expire sooner than five years after it was issued or last loaded, and dormancy or inactivity fees are allowed only under narrow conditions with disclosure. Some promotional cards are treated differently, and state gift card laws can be stricter. Print the terms on the card or its packaging.
• Packages and prepaid treatments. State rules on refunds and prepaid services vary. Write down what happens if a client cannot continue treatment for medical reasons or moves away, and show it before purchase.
• “Free” offers. The FTC’s guide on the word “free” at 16 CFR Part 251 requires the conditions of a free offer to be stated clearly and conspicuously at the outset.

Keep clients coming back

1. Send treatment reminders. Many aesthetic treatments are repeated over time, so reminders are useful to clients. HHS treats appointment reminders as part of treatment. For texts, FCC rules under the TCPA apply: see text message appointment reminders.
2. Email clients about your own services. An email describing services you provide generally falls outside HIPAA’s definition of marketing for a covered entity, but CAN-SPAM requires an opt-out, a postal address and an honest subject line for promotional email. See email marketing for practices.
3. Make booking and intake easy. Online booking requests and intake forms save phone time, as long as the tools that hold health information are set up for it. See online patient intake forms.
4. Answer every call. A client ready to book who reaches voicemail may book elsewhere. Our AI front desk answers when the team is with clients.

Events and partnerships

1. Host education events, not treatment parties with pressure. Product education evenings and Q&A sessions with the medical director build trust. Keep any treatment on site within your state’s rules on medical settings and supervision, and keep the same consent and screening steps as on a normal day.
2. Partner with local businesses carefully. Bridal shops, salons and gyms can be good partners for joint events. Paying partners per referred client can raise state law issues for medical services, so check before you set up a referral fee.
3. Keep claims to the evidence. The FTC expects health claims to be backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence. That applies to event slides and social posts as much as to ads.

Ideas to skip

• Calling a product or use “FDA approved” when it is cleared, compounded or used off label.
• Body contouring with injectable fillers: the FDA recommends against using dermal fillers or any injectable filler for body contouring, such as breast or buttock enhancement.
• Bidding on drug brand names as keywords without Google certification.
• Before and after photos without written authorization, or retouched results.
• Free add-ons or discounts for reviews, and review gating.
• Memberships that are hard to cancel or that hide the billing terms.
• Gift cards that expire within a year.
• Uploading client lists to ad platforms for targeting, or ad pixels on booking and intake pages. See tracking pixels on a practice website.

Our med spa marketing work covers the website, local search, Google Ads and the AI front desk with these rules in mind. For other specialties, see our dental and chiropractic marketing ideas, or the healthcare marketing rules hub.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• FDA: Dermal fillers (soft tissue fillers)
• FDA: FDA’s concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss
• FTC: Health Products Compliance Guidance
• 16 CFR Part 255: FTC Endorsement Guides
• 16 CFR Part 465: FTC Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials
• 16 CFR Part 251: FTC Guide Concerning Use of the Word “Free”
• 15 U.S.C. 8403: Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, negative option marketing on the internet
• 12 CFR 1005.20: Requirements for gift cards and gift certificates (Regulation E)
• 45 CFR 164.508: Uses and disclosures for which an authorization is required
• 45 CFR 164.514(b): De-identification standard and identifiers
• Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
• Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
• Google Ads: Restricted drug terms policy
• Google Ads: List of monitored prescription drug terms
• Google Ads: Health in personalized advertising
• Google Ads: Dishonest pricing practices
• Google Ads: Unreliable claims policy
• Google Maps: Prohibited and restricted content
• HHS FAQ: Are appointment reminders allowed under the HIPAA Privacy Rule without authorizations?

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