Martin
Founder, strategy and audits
Writes every audit and takes every first call. On your account from day one, running growth for SMEs since 2010.
SEM for Orthodontics
Google Ads for Orthodontists
Google Ads puts your specialist practice in front of parents and adults already searching for braces, clear aligners or an orthodontist near them. We split braces and aligner intent, keep out job seekers and count booked consults.
We manage the account, landing pages, call tracking and reporting. The orthodontist reviews ad copy against FTC and state dental board rules, and owns compliance.
Paid search for orthodontics in the US
Context from how your customers search, compare and book.
Orthodontic paid search is a matter of buying the right conversations. A parent typing braces for kids near me and an adult typing Invisalign vs braces are at different points and deserve different ads, pages and budgets. Campaigns separate those intents rather than buying every phrase that contains the word braces.
Wasted clicks come from predictable places. Orthodontist jobs, orthodontic assistant courses, do-it-yourself and mail-order aligner brands, wisdom teeth, toothache and dental emergencies all share words with your keywords. We start with exact and phrase match around braces, aligners and the specialist consult, add those negatives from day one and prune weekly from the search terms report.
The LocaliQ healthcare benchmarks for October 2024 to September 2025 put orthodontics at a cost per click of USD 8.76 and a cost per lead of USD 71.52, with general dentistry in the same set at USD 7.03 and USD 84.77. Those are published industry figures, not HeyLead results, and your market will differ. They do show that a single booked consult that leads to a case start can justify a month of spend, as long as the account is counting consults and not clicks.
Ad copy stays plain and inside the rules. The ads name the specialist title only as your state board permits, state a free consult only if it is really free, and never promise straight teeth in a set number of months or copy the tone of direct-to-consumer aligner advertising. The orthodontist signs off on every ad before it runs.
Who orthodontic Google Ads suit
groups Customer segments
- person Specialist practices with open consult slots they want filled within weeks
- person Practices with a new associate orthodontist who needs a consult book
- person Practices opening a second office in a new part of town
- person Orthodontists who ran ads before and were burned by job seekers and toothache calls
psychology What drives their decision
- check_circle Braces and aligner campaigns with their own budgets and landing pages
- check_circle Negative keywords that keep out jobs, courses, DIY aligners and toothache searches
- check_circle Call tracking that shows which keyword produced each consult request
- check_circle Transparent spend, billed by Google directly to your account in USD
How we deliver SEM
A clear, repeatable process built around how orthodontics customers search and decide.
1
Account and consult review
We review any existing account or plan a new one around the treatments you want more of, the areas each office serves and the hours the front desk answers. We also agree what counts as a booked consult so reporting means something.
2
Campaign structure
Separate campaigns for braces, clear aligners, early treatment and the specialist consult, each with its own budget, ads and landing page. Location targeting follows the radius around each office and the areas your current patients come from.
3
Keywords and negatives
We start with exact and phrase match on consult-intent searches, then add negatives such as jobs, salary, assistant course, residency, mail-order aligners, wisdom teeth, toothache and emergency dentist. The search terms report guides weekly pruning in the early months.
4
Landing pages and call tracking
Each campaign gets a page that names the treatment, states your fee range and what the consult includes, and shows the orthodontist. Dynamic call tracking shows which ad and keyword produced each call, and missed calls are flagged for follow-up.
5
Conversion counting and tuning
Conversions count calls above a minimum length, forms that name a treatment and, where your practice software shares it, consults attended. Bids and budgets follow those numbers, not clicks.
query_stats
What Orthodontics SEM includes
Reach people who are ready to book on Google, without paying for clicks that never turn into customers
- check_circle Campaign build and ongoing management
- check_circle Landing pages for braces and clear aligners
- check_circle Call tracking and conversion setup
- check_circle Weekly search term reviews in the early months
- check_circle Monthly report with spend in USD and consults by keyword
What you can expect
- verified Consult requests from parents and adults actively looking for a specialist orthodontist
- verified Fewer calls about jobs, courses, mail-order aligners or toothache
- verified Budget concentrated on whichever of braces or aligners is booking consults
- verified Ads that stay inside FTC and state dental-board rules, approved by the orthodontist
- verified Spend in USD tied to booked consults, not clicks
- verified A front desk that knows which campaign each call came from
Deliverables you receive
inventory_2 Campaigns structured by braces, aligner, early treatment and consult intent, each with its own budget
inventory_2 Exact and phrase match keyword lists with an ongoing negative keyword list
inventory_2 Ad copy written plainly for review by the orthodontist against state board rules
inventory_2 Dedicated landing pages for braces and clear aligners with fees stated
inventory_2 Call tracking numbers and form tracking connected to Google Ads
inventory_2 Ad scheduling around front-desk hours, with after-hours form routing
Technical approach
The mechanics behind SEM for orthodontics, explained plainly.
Match types and search terms
We review the search terms report weekly at the start and add negatives as unrelated queries appear. Broad match is only used once there is conversion data behind it, and it is watched closely so aligner budget does not drift to toothache searches.
Conversion tracking
Google Ads receives call and form conversions with filters for call length and completed treatment fields. Duplicate conversions from the same person are removed so reports reflect real consult requests, not repeated clicks.
Scheduling and geography
Ads run when someone can answer, with bid adjustments for the after-school and evening hours when parents search. Location targeting uses a radius around each office and excludes areas you cannot serve.
Marketing from $500 USD a month
Month to month, no commitment. One fee covers the pages, the search and ad work and the tracking. Ad spend is separate and stays in your own accounts.
Starting at
$500 USD per month
Free to cancel with 1 month's notice. Tell us what you sell and where. We come back with what the first month would fix.
Get a Free AuditWhat $500 a month covers
Pages
IncludedPages built around the searches your buyers actually type.
Search and ads
IncludedSearch and ads aimed at people ready to inquire.
Tracking
IncludedCalls, forms and bookings tagged to the search, ad or page behind them.
What to expect from orthodontic Google Ads
Paid search can produce consult requests quickly, but the first weeks are for learning which intent books, not for judging results.
Days 1 to 14
Account structure, tracking, landing pages and ads are built and reviewed by the orthodontist. We test that calls and forms record correctly before spend increases.
Days 15 to 60
Search term reports drive negative keywords and copy changes. We compare braces and aligner campaigns, shift budget toward the one producing booked consults and ask the front desk for feedback on call quality.
Day 61 and beyond
With more data we refine bids, test new landing page versions and expand into early treatment or a second office if consult capacity allows. Reporting ties spend in USD to booked consults.
Other Orthodontics marketing services
Our team
The same people on the audit and on the work
Martin writes every audit and takes the first call. The same team stays on the account. 160+ businesses since 2010.
Yoana
Social and app development
Shapes social strategy and builds practical app experiences that turn attention into action.
Mike
SEO
Owns technical, local and content SEO so the right buyers find you when demand is highest.
Robert
Paid media
Plans and manages paid search and social campaigns around qualified leads.
Elmer
Analytics
Connects tracking, attribution and reporting so decisions are based on revenue-quality data.
Dino
Design
Creates clear brand and conversion-focused design across landing pages, campaigns and product experiences.
Certified and experienced
Certified where it matters. Accountable for the outcome.
Verified platform knowledge, 25+ years of hands-on experience, and an operating track record since 2010.
Google AdsCertified
✓Google AnalyticsCertified
✓Google Tag ManagerCertified
✓Operating since 2010Proven experience
✓Frequently Asked Questions
How much should an orthodontic practice spend on Google Ads? expand_more
It depends on your market, how many consult slots you can fill and whether braces or aligners are the priority. Published healthcare benchmarks put orthodontics near USD 72 per lead, but that is an industry average, not a forecast for you. We size the budget after the audit and adjust it to booked consults.
Can you keep braces and aligner spend apart? expand_more
Yes. They run as separate campaigns with separate budgets, ads and landing pages, so a parent searching for braces never lands on an aligner page and you can see which intent books consults at what cost.
How do you stop clicks from job seekers and students? expand_more
Negative keywords from day one for jobs, salary, assistant, hygienist, course, residency and school, plus weekly review of the search terms report in the early months. Those queries share words with yours, so the list keeps growing.
Do you bid on direct-to-consumer aligner brand names? expand_more
We can bid on searches that compare mail-order aligners with an orthodontist, because those people are often looking for a specialist opinion. We do not copy that advertising's promises, and the landing page explains what a specialist consult involves instead.
Who reviews the ads for compliance? expand_more
The orthodontist does, before anything runs. We draft within the FTC Endorsement Guides and your state dental board's advertising rules, which govern the specialist title, credentials and any use of patient images, and the practice stays responsible for the final sign-off.
Can we advertise a free consult? expand_more
Yes, if it is really free and the ad and page say what it includes. We keep it plain, with no coupon-style countdowns, and we do not combine it with exam or cleaning offers that attract people who are not looking for orthodontic treatment.
What will we see each month? expand_more
Spend in USD, consult requests by campaign and keyword, consults attended where your software records them, the negatives added and the changes planned. We do not report clicks as if they were patients.
Ready to get more from Orthodontics SEM?
Get a free audit and we will show you where you are losing inquiries today.
Get a Free Audit arrow_forward