Chris (00:02.2)
Hey everyone, it’s Chris Pistorius with the No BS Dental Growth Podcast. Today we’re talking about something that most dentists completely misunderstand. Why paid ads make the most sense early on in a marketing campaign and why they fail miserably for so many practices. If you’ve ever spent money on Google or Facebook ads and felt like you were lighting cash on fire, this episode is absolutely for you.
If you’ve ever worked with an agency that promised the moon but delivered absolutely nothing, this is definitely for you. Paid ads do work. They can grow a practice and fast, but only if they’re used at the right time, with the right strategy, and with the right systems behind them. So today I’m breaking down exactly why paid ads are the smartest move early on. Why most dentists don’t see results.
and how to use ads the right way so you actually get new patients in the door. So let’s jump in. Here’s the truth that most agencies won’t tell you. Paid ads are not the long-term strategy. They are the ignition switch. They are what you use when you need to get traction, when you need to get momentum, when you need new patients now, not six months from now. Paid ads are oxygen for a practice that wants to grow
or a practice that’s rebuilding. If you just bought an office or if you’re expanding hours or if you’re adding up or operatories, or if you’re filling a brand new schedule, paid ads are the fastest way to fill that capacity. But here’s the catch. They’re also the easiest way to waste money if you don’t know what you’re doing. And most dentists who tried ads and they didn’t work, were never actually running the right setup.
Let’s talk about why ads make so much sense early in a marketing campaign. Number one, they work almost immediately. SEO does not. SEO is like planting trees. Paid ads are like lighting a match. If you want instant visibility, paid ads get you there in hours, not months. Number two, they let you test your messaging fast.
Chris (02:18.018)
So with ads, you can test different procedures, different offers, different audiences, and figure out what resonates in your market. What works in Denver does not necessarily work in Dallas. What works in Atlanta does not work in Boise. Every market behaves differently. Paid ads give you that real-time feedback. Number three, paid ads help you identify your ideal patient. Are implants resonating? Is Invisalign the winner?
Are emergencies your fastest conversion? Does general dentistry outperform cosmetic in your zip codes? Ads answer those questions with real data. Number four, paid ads fill the holes in your schedule while your long-term strategy matures. If your SEO is weak, your maps ranking is low, and you’re not showing up organically, ads bridge that gap.
They keep the lights on, if you will, while the long-term strategy, the SEO and organic footprint grows behind the scenes. That’s the real beauty of ads early on. They buy you time and cash flow. Now let’s get into the meat of it. Why do so many dentists have terrible experience with paid ads? Reason number one, and I’ve seen them, they hire agencies that run generic copy and paste, set it and forget it type campaigns. Most big agencies especially,
give you the same ads almost as every other dentist on their roster. They just swap out your city name and your name. Then they automate everything and check it once a month if that. That’s not marketing, that’s digital babysitting. Reason number two, the practice doesn’t have the systems to convert leads. If you’re running ads, you need someone answering the phones, duh, a system for missed calls, a follow-up plan, training.
Tall tracking, front desk coaching, ongoing coaching. You cannot spend money on ads while letting leads just die on voicemail. Reason number three, the wrong keywords with the wrong strategy. You can blow thousands of dollars targeting Dennis Near Me with broad match keyword types and never get a single high value patient. Paid ads require precision with experts that know what they’re doing. Reason number four, no tracking.
Chris (04:41.62)
or not very good tracking. Most dentists don’t know which calls were new patients, which came from ads or which were good opportunities really. They’re guessing. And reason number five, no video content. The highest performing ads in dentistry right now, especially on Facebook and Instagram are doctor videos. When patients see you, hear you, and feel like they know you, your conversion rates will skyrocket.
If you’re not using video, you’re leaving money on the table. And reason number six, dentists expect overnight miracles. Even ads need a few weeks to really optimize. There’s a ramp up period. It’s like a learning phase. There’s data collection, there’s testing. Ads are fast, but they are not magic. Paid ads are not the strategy, if you will. They are part of a complete system. So here’s the real framework. Paid ads do create quick wins. SEO creates long-term
Stability. Retargeting increases conversion. AI follow-up captures missed opportunities. And call tracking reveals what’s working and what’s broken. Front desk coaching ensures patients actually get scheduled. This combination is where the magic happens. Because here’s the truth. Ads can get people to call your office, but they can’t make your staff answer.
They can’t force someone to schedule. They can’t fix internal issues. That’s why paid ads alone often fail. They have to be part of an ecosystem. This is how we do it at Kickstart. We run ads to generate immediate demand. We build SEO behind the scenes to lower long-term acquisition cost. We install call tracking and AI systems to capture every opportunity. And we give the front desk feedback on what needs improvement.
We target every visitor so they convert on the second or third touch. And we optimize messaging based on what the data says, not guesswork. This is the difference between ads not working and ads that are printing money. If I were to build a paid ads plan for a practice, starting them from scratch, here’s what I would include. Step one, choose one to two core campaigns. Not five, not 10, one or two, keep it simple.
Chris (07:04.641)
Typically things like general dentistry, emergencies, maybe even implants.
Chris (07:18.446)
emergencies or implants if the doctor wants higher value cases. Step two, set a realistic budget. The minimum to compete is around $800 to $1,000 per campaign, depending on the market. Anything less and you won’t get enough data to make smart decisions. Step three, use video. Doctor videos outperform static ads by two to four times. Patients want to face
not a stock image. Step four, track everything. Call source, call quality, front desk performance, patient scheduling, service type, revenue attribution. You cannot optimize what you don’t track. Step five, fix the internal gaps. Most ad failure has nothing to do with the ads. It’s the systems inside the office. When you fix those, ads become more predictable. Here’s what realistically,
realistic early results look like when ads are done correctly. Months one through three, 10 to 25, I would say attended new patient appointments per month, depending on the service mix, competition and your overall budget. Months four through six, your SEO starts to improve, your maps ranking strengthens, your website traffic increases, your cost per acquisition starts to stop. By month six,
Ads amplify your SEO. SEO amplifies your ads and your front desk has the training and data it needs to convert consistently. That’s when practices start adding days, opening operatories or hiring associates. Paid ads are the spark. SEO is the gasoline. Your internal systems are the engine. When all three line up, that’s when growth becomes predictable.
Now here’s the warning most agencies will not tell you. If you rely on paid ads forever, your cost will eventually go up. You’re not building a true marketing asset. You’re giving somebody your credit card. Competition increases every year for ads. Clicks get more expensive. Ad platforms get noisier. Patients get savvier. Paid ads are not the forever plan. They are the early plan. They are phase one.
Chris (09:41.494)
Long-term domination comes from SEO, maps, authority, reviews, and your reputation online. But if you skip paid ads early on, you slow down your entire growth curve. Paid ads give you the momentum. Organic gives you the staying power. You need both. All right, that’s it for today’s episode. If your practice is in that early growth phase, or if you’ve tried ads before and they didn’t work, or if you’re…
rebuilding from bad agency experiences, you’re exactly the type of practice that benefits the most from doing ads the right way. If you want me to look at your market, your competition and tell you exactly what kind of paid ad strategy would actually work for your practice, please reach out. I’ll tell you what’s worth doing, what to avoid and what your first 90 days would look like. No BS, no hype, just the truth. Thanks for listening to the No BS Dental Growth Podcast.
I’ll see you next time.
