What changed for one chiropractic clinic when its ads pointed at a better website
Align Health Co is a chiropractic clinic. We built its new website, then compared the first six weeks after launch with the equal-length period before it, using GA4 and Google Ads data.
| Google Ads metric | Change |
|---|---|
| Ad spend | Approximately unchanged |
| Conversions | +13% |
| Cost per conversion | -12% |
Spend held. The destination changed. The same budget reached a site that did a better job of helping people book, so each conversion cost less.
The change was not a new bidding trick. It lines up with the website the ads pointed to, and as the Align Health Co case study notes, a before-and-after comparison shows performance since launch rather than proving that every change was caused by the website alone.
Why the landing page decides cost per conversion
Cost per conversion is spend divided by conversions. If spend holds and the page converts more of the people who already clicked, each conversion costs less. Cheaper clicks are not required.
Someone searching for a chiropractor wants a few answers before they book:
- Does this clinic see people with my problem?
- What happens at the first appointment, and how long is it?
- What does it cost, and can I claim through my health fund on the day?
- Can I book an initial visit online now?
That last one trips up many chiro sites. Booking systems often list several appointment types, such as initial consultation, standard adjustment and extended session. A new patient arriving from an ad should not have to guess which applies. Where the booking system allows it, we point ads at a page whose booking link opens straight to the new-patient appointment.
Initial-visit offers: show the terms on the page the ad leads to
Initial-visit offers are common in chiropractic, usually a consultation and assessment at a set price for new patients. Under section 133 of the National Law, AHPRA asks whether an ad offers an inducement without stating its terms. Those terms belong on the page the ad leads to, not somewhere the patient has to hunt for them.
For a chiro initial-visit offer, the landing page should state:
- what the visit includes, and what it does not (for example, whether treatment or imaging on the day costs extra)
- who it applies to, such as new patients only
- the normal fee once the offer ends
- any end date or limit on availability
We would also question any offer that only applies if the patient commits to a block of future visits, which runs into the next rule. The guidelines change over time, so check the current version from AHPRA and the National Boards before an offer goes live.
Care plans and unnecessary use: what not to say in a chiro ad
AHPRA asks whether advertising encourages unnecessary use of a health service. In chiropractic, where so much marketing language is built around ongoing care, this is where ad copy most often slips.
Lines we keep out of chiro ads and their landing pages:
- prepaid visit packs promoted as the way to get started
- "regular adjustments" framed as something everyone needs
- maintenance care presented as necessary whether or not a patient has a problem
- "don't wait until it hurts" style urgency
A care plan agreed after an assessment is a clinical matter between practitioner and patient. An ad that sells the plan before anyone has been assessed is something else. We keep ad copy to presentations the practice can support and leave the number of visits to the consultation.
Watch automated assets here too. Generated headlines can lift phrases from the website and show them to patients before anyone has read them. AHPRA treats the registered practitioner and the business providing the service as the advertiser, whoever or whatever wrote the line. For the wider list, see what you can't say in health ads.
How we structure Google Ads for chiropractors
Brand. Searches for the clinic's name, kept separate so they do not hide how the rest of the account performs.
"Chiro near me" and suburb searches. Location settings drawn around the area patients will realistically travel from, with suburb ad groups only where the clinic genuinely draws patients.
Presenting-problem ad groups. Searches such as lower back pain or neck pain, limited to presentations the practitioners treat and can describe on the landing page without promising an outcome.
Negative keywords. Chiro searches attract people who will never book: students after courses, job and salary searches, and people wanting to crack their own back at home. If the clinic runs no free offer, "free" usually goes on the list too.
Tracking needs one chiro-specific check. If existing patients rebook through the same online booking page, their return visits can be counted as ad conversions. We separate new-patient bookings from rebookings so the number you see is new patients.
How we work and what you receive
We start with a free audit of your current account: the search terms you pay for, whether offer terms appear where the ad lands, how your copy reads against section 133, and whether conversions count new patients or everyone who books.
If we take the account on, you receive a campaign structure built around brand, local and presenting-problem searches, ad copy checked against section 133 and Google's healthcare policy before it runs, and a monthly report showing what each new-patient booking cost.
A clinic that ranks through chiropractor SEO relies less on paid clicks for its own suburb. Align Health Co's ads improved after the site they pointed to changed, and pages built to convert are the focus of our chiropractor web design work. See every channel on our chiropractor marketing page, or read how we run Google Ads for allied health across other professions.
Running several sites, or unsure where to start? Book a strategy call instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Align Health Co's Google Ads after the new website?
In the first six weeks after launch, compared with the equal period before, conversions rose 13% and cost per conversion fell 12% with ad spend approximately unchanged. A before-and-after comparison does not prove every change was caused by the website alone.
Can we advertise a new-patient offer?
Yes, if the terms are on the page the ad leads to: what the visit includes, who it applies to, the normal fee and any end date. Check the current AHPRA guidelines before it goes live.
What should a chiropractic ad avoid saying?
Anything that encourages unnecessary use of a health service, such as prepaid visit packs, regular adjustments framed as something everyone needs, or "don't wait until it hurts" urgency. Keep copy to presentations the practice can support.
Check your chiro account before the next offer goes live
We will look at which search terms your budget goes to, whether new-patient bookings are counted apart from rebookings, and whether your initial-visit offer and copy stand up to section 133.