Most "healthcare marketing statistics" pages recycle the same numbers without a source, a date or a sample size. These benchmarks are built differently. Some come from data we pulled ourselves: Google Ads Keyword Planner volumes and click prices for patient searches, by specialty and by city. The rest come only from third-party studies we opened and checked, each linked next to its figures with its date and sample.
Seven studies sit under this hub, each with its method shown. Three come with free CSV downloads you can check line by line.
How these benchmarks are built, and what we won't publish
Our own data: the methodology block.
- Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner historical metrics via the DataForSEO API (opens in a new tab) (keywords_data/google_ads/search_volume).
- Location and language: US (location code 2840) or Canada (2124), English.
- Period: 12-month average to Sep 2026, pulled Oct 2026.
- Metrics: CPC = average cost per click. Bids = the low and high top-of-page bid, which Google describes as roughly the 20th and 80th percentiles (opens in a new tab) of what advertisers have paid for a top-of-page position.
- Keyword difficulty and search intent: from DataForSEO Labs.
- Scale: 14,792 keywords pulled in October 2026 (9,846 returned US volume, 2,162 Canadian volume), plus metro-level pulls of about 45 patient searches in each of 33 markets.
Limitations. These are averages across advertisers and locations. Google groups close variants, so "therapist near me" and "therapy near me" report the same figures. Some restricted health terms, such as several addiction and prescription-drug searches, return no data. We show those as "no data", never as zero.
Third-party figures. We use a study only if it names its publisher, carries a publication date and states its sample size, or we say plainly that it doesn't. We prefer primary sources: the survey publisher, the research paper, the company's own earnings remarks. Vendor surveys are labeled as vendor surveys.
What we won't publish:
- a number we couldn't trace to a source we opened;
- one "healthcare CPC" for every specialty;
- a cost per lead calculated from a click price and someone else's conversion rate;
- zeros where Google returned no data;
- the names of practices in any aggregate data.
What Google Ads costs by specialty
Click prices for patient searches vary 100-fold. Headline examples:
| Patient search | Monthly searches (US) | Avg. CPC |
|---|---|---|
| urgent care near me | 4,090,000 | $3.79 |
| dentist near me | 1,830,000 | $14.71 |
| therapist near me | 368,000 | $24.19 |
| dental implants near me | 90,500 | $38.76 |
| detox near me | 14,800 | $107.39 |
Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026.
Across the 146 patient searches with data, the median CPC is $8.14. Demand and price don't move together: the most-searched term on the list, "urgent care near me", is one of the cheapest to advertise on.
Location moves the price too. "Dentist near me" averages $10.52 in New York and $21.87 in Phoenix, and Calgary stands out at $38.74, more than twice the Canadian average of $17.03. Across about 39 searches each, Denver's typical click costs 1.24 times the national average.
- Google Ads CPC by specialty: average CPC and top-of-page bids for patient searches across 22 specialties, with medians and the most expensive searches.
- Patient search demand and click costs by city: 40-plus patient searches in 33 US and Canadian metros, each next to the national figure, with a price index and demand per resident.
To turn a click price into a monthly budget, try the Google Ads budget calculator; for the rest of the spend, see marketing costs for practices.
What patients search for, by specialty
We grouped 213 patient searches across 22 specialties by intent:
| Intent | Queries | Example | Monthly searches (US) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Near me" | 144 | chiropractor near me | 673,000 |
| Cost | 26 | dental implants cost | 135,000 |
| Condition and treatment | 28 | plantar fasciitis treatment | 246,000 |
| Availability and insurance | 15 | dentist that accepts medicaid | 22,200 |
Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026. Intent groups assigned by Medfy.
Patients start local and specific, ask what treatments cost, look up conditions before they pick a provider, and check who's accepting new patients. Each intent asks something different of a practice's website and Google listing.
- Patient search demand: what patients search when choosing a doctor, by intent and specialty, and what each intent means for your website and listing.
Cost per lead: what sourced studies say
Most cost-per-lead "benchmarks" online don't say where they come from. The best current source we could verify is LocaliQ's 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks (opens in a new tab) (updated June 1, 2026; it doesn't publish its sample size or period):
| Category | Search ads cost per lead |
|---|---|
| Physicians & Surgeons | $40.04 |
| Dentists & Dental Services | $72.97 |
| Health & Fitness | $67.36 |
| All industries | $66.69 |
What happens after the lead matters as much. Invoca's 2026 healthcare report (opens in a new tab) (July 2026) found 54% of healthcare calls are answered by a person, and 45% of call leads convert on the call.
Our own data gives cost per click, not cost per lead. We never turn one into the other without a practice's own conversion rate.
- Cost per lead benchmarks: published healthcare figures with each study's definition of a lead, and how to calculate your own cost per lead and cost per new patient.
Facebook and Instagram ad benchmarks
LocaliQ's Facebook Advertising Benchmarks for 2026 (opens in a new tab) (updated September 23, 2026; 20 industries; no sample size disclosed) put healthcare clicks near the all-industry average and healthcare leads above it:
- Traffic campaigns: physicians and surgeons 1.90% CTR at $0.61 a click, against 1.93% and $0.60 for all industries.
- Lead campaigns: $32.14 per lead for physicians and surgeons and $61.56 for dentists, against $27.39 for all industries.
Healthcare also plays by stricter rules. Meta removed detailed targeting options (opens in a new tab) tied to health causes from January 19, 2022, and its ad standards bar ads that imply a person's health condition.
- Facebook ads benchmarks: sourced CTR, CPC and cost per lead for healthcare categories, plus how Meta's health policies, lead ads and creative fatigue change the numbers.
Online review statistics
General consumers and patients both lean on reviews, but they answer differently:
General consumers: 97% read reviews for local businesses, and 74% look for reviews from the last three months (BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (opens in a new tab), 1,002 US adults, February 2026).
Patients: 84% check online reviews before choosing a new provider (rater8, February 2025 (opens in a new tab), 1,000+ US patients; a vendor survey without published methods).
Online review statistics: every figure dated and labeled general-consumer or patient, covering platforms, star ratings, recency and replies, plus what the FTC's review rule means for practices.
AI search and ChatGPT usage statistics
ChatGPT: more than 700 million weekly active users by July 2025 (NBER working paper by OpenAI and academic researchers (opens in a new tab), September 2025). In the US, 34% of adults had used it in early 2025 (Pew Research Center (opens in a new tab), 5,123 adults).
Google AI Mode: more than 1 billion monthly active users (Google, July 22, 2026 (opens in a new tab)).
Health questions: 32% of US adults used AI chatbots for health information or advice in the past year (KFF, March 2026 (opens in a new tab), 1,343 adults).
AI search statistics: ChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI Mode reach, how people use AI for health, and our planned study of how often assistants name independent practices. Checked quarterly.
Download the data
Three datasets are free to download, built from the same pulls as the pages above:
- Google Ads CPC by specialty: every priced patient search with monthly searches, average CPC, bid range and competition. Download the CSV.
- Patient search demand: all 213 patient searches with specialty, volume and CPC; searches without data are blank, not zero. Download the CSV.
- Patient search by city: 33 markets with local and national figures side by side. Download the CSV.
Cite this page: Medfy, "Healthcare marketing statistics and benchmarks, with sources", medfy.ai/benchmarks. Data: Google Ads Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, US and Canada, 12-month average to Sep 2026, pulled October 2026; third-party figures as cited.
Changelog:
- 2026-10-23: first edition of all seven studies. Keyword Planner data refreshes yearly (next: October 2027); AI statistics are checked quarterly.
Next step: benchmarks tell you what's typical; the free marketing audit tells you where your own practice stands across website, SEO, Google listing, AI visibility, social and ads, with the top five fixes. If you want help acting on it, see Medfy pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Medfy's benchmark data come from?
From two places. Our own data is Google Ads Keyword Planner historical metrics, pulled through the DataForSEO API for the US and Canada as 12-month averages to September 2026, plus metro-level pulls for 33 markets. Everything else comes from third-party studies we opened ourselves, each linked next to its numbers with the publisher, date and sample size, or a note where the publisher doesn't disclose them.
How often are the benchmarks updated?
Our Keyword Planner studies are refreshed once a year; the next pull is planned for October 2027, and each page keeps a dated changelog. AI search statistics change faster, so that page is checked quarterly. Third-party figures are updated when the publisher releases a new edition. Every page shows the date its sources were last checked, so you can see how current each number is.
Can I cite these statistics in an article?
Yes. For our own data, cite Medfy, the page URL and the source line: Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US (or Canada), 12-month average to Sep 2026. The CSV files are free to use with that attribution. For third-party figures, cite the original study rather than this page; we link it next to every number so you can check it yourself.
Why do some health keywords show no search volume?
Google Ads returns no data for some health searches, especially restricted ones such as several addiction-treatment and prescription-drug terms. In our set, 67 of 213 patient searches came back empty, including 'rehab near me' and 'plastic surgeon near me'. We show them as 'no data', never as zero: a missing number isn't evidence that nobody searches.
Is the average cost per click what my practice will pay?
Not exactly. It's the average advertisers paid across all locations over 12 months. Your price depends on your city, your ad and landing-page quality, match types, competitors and timing, and Google often charges less than your maximum bid. Use our national and city figures as a starting estimate for a budget, then let your own account's data take over after the first month.