Dermatology marketing for medical and cosmetic patients

Two practices in one: medical and cosmetic dermatology

Many independent dermatology practices run an insurance-based medical schedule and a cash-pay cosmetic schedule under one roof. The two behave like separate businesses, and marketing that treats them as one usually serves neither.

The split is not just a marketing convenience. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) tells patients that cosmetic procedures such as wrinkle treatment "usually are not covered" (opens in a new tab) by insurance, and that their insurer is the best source for whether a dermatologist is in network. So the medical patient's first question is coverage, and the cosmetic patient's first question is price.

The practical rule: medical marketing should steer demand to the right slots (new skin checks, a PA or NP schedule with openings, a Mohs referral pathway), not simply create more calls. Cosmetic marketing is demand generation, and it has to win against businesses that do nothing else.

What patients search and what clicks cost

These are the searches your patients run each month in the US, with the average cost of one click when a practice bids on them in Google Ads.

Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026. For "psoriasis treatment", Keyword Planner's bid range runs from $6.84 to $17.89.

Four things stand out.

• Condition searches cost more per click than the generic search. "Psoriasis treatment" averages $17.67 a click, more than three times "dermatologist near me" at $5.52.
• The generic search is enormous. At 673,000 searches a month, "dermatologist near me" is mostly answered by the Google map pack and Business Profiles, not ads. Your listing is the first battleground.
• Patients use lay terms. They type "full body skin exam" and "skin cancer screening near me", not "total body skin examination". Your page titles should use their words.
• "Accepting new patients" is small but pointed. Only 210 searches a month, yet each comes from someone ready to book, at $8.46 a click. A visible new-patient status on your site and listing answers it for free.

Want to see how your own listing, website and ads stack up against these searches? Get a free dermatology marketing audit: it scores six areas from 0 to 100 and lists your top five fixes.

Messaging availability, new-patient openings and referrals

In medical dermatology, availability is the message. A patient who has waited weeks for a call back will choose whoever states plainly that they can be seen. Say it in four places.

1. On the website. Show which providers are accepting new patients, which insurance plans you take, and whether a referral is needed. Update it when it changes; stale "accepting new patients" text creates angry phone calls.
2. Per provider. Physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) may have earlier openings than the physicians. Give each provider a profile with credentials, services and new-patient status so patients can choose the earlier slot knowingly.
3. On Google. Google's Business Profile guidelines (opens in a new tab) let a public-facing practitioner who can be reached at the verified location during stated hours have a profile of their own, separate from the practice's profile. The practitioner profile's name should contain only the practitioner's name; keywords like "Skin Cancer Expert" don't belong in it.
4. For referring clinicians. Primary care doctors want to know how to send a patient, what to include, and how fast you see an urgent referral. A one-page referral section with the fax or e-referral route and your turnaround standard does more than a lunch-and-learn that never gets followed up.

Insurer directories matter too. Since the AAD tells patients to check network status with their insurer, a wrong address or a missing provider in a payer directory quietly sends patients elsewhere. Audit those listings twice a year.

Skin cancer awareness and seasonal campaigns

May is the anchor of the dermatology calendar. The AAD's Skin Cancer Awareness Month (opens in a new tab) campaign runs every May and opens with Melanoma Monday, which fell on May 4, 2026. Dates change, so check the AAD page each year. For campaign plans by week, see our Skin Cancer Awareness Month ideas.

The AAD's free screening program is the best-known hook. Its Skin Cancer Check Program (opens in a new tab) (part of SPOT Skin Cancer) works like this, as of October 2026:

• An AAD member must serve as the check director and attend the event.
• PAs and NPs can screen under a dermatologist's direct supervision.
• Many checks run between May and August, though events can be held any time.
• The AAD estimates one dermatologist can check 6 to 10 people an hour, which is useful for planning staff and slots.
• The AAD says dermatologists have conducted more than 2.9 million free checks (opens in a new tab) since 1985.

Keep any statistics you publish sourced. MedlinePlus states that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States (opens in a new tab), and the AAD's awareness-month page (opens in a new tab) estimates that about 9,500 people in the US are diagnosed with skin cancer every day. Quote figures like these with the link, never from memory.

The rest of the year has its own rhythm:

• Summer: sun-safety education, sourced to the CDC's prevention guidance (opens in a new tab) (shade, protective clothing, broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher, no indoor tanning).
• Fall and winter: dry skin and eczema content, plus cosmetic packages before the holidays.
• December and January: plans with calendar-year deductibles reset in January, which changes when insured patients book elective visits.

Cosmetic services: competing with med spas

Many med spas outpace dermatology practices on marketing volume: more posts, more promotions, more review requests. Your counter is training, and it only works if patients can see it.

The AAD's cosmetic safety guidance (opens in a new tab) says cosmetic treatments carry risks like any medical procedure, and that board-certified dermatologists' medical knowledge of the skin means a lower risk of complications. It also explains the FAAD designation (opens in a new tab): Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, a board-certified dermatologist. Make that concrete on your site:

• Name who performs each treatment and their credentials, and who supervises.
• Explain what happens if something goes wrong and who manages it.
• Publish prices or "from" prices for common treatments. Cosmetic patients compare, and silence reads as expensive.
• Sell consults, not discounts. A physician-led consult is the thing a med spa can't copy.

It helps to study the other side. Our med spa marketing guide shows the playbook you are competing against, and plastic surgery marketing covers the surgical procedures some of your cosmetic patients will compare you with.

Photos, claims and HIPAA

Before-and-after photos are the most persuasive cosmetic asset and the easiest way to create a privacy problem.

Authorization comes first. Using a patient's photo, video or testimonial in marketing requires a written HIPAA authorization under 45 CFR 164.508 (opens in a new tab). A valid one describes the information, who may disclose it and to whom, the purpose, an expiration date or event, and the patient's signature and date. Name the marketing uses explicitly: website, social posts, ads.

Cropping is not a workaround. "Full face photographic images and any comparable images" are one of the 18 identifiers in HIPAA's de-identification standard (45 CFR 164.514 (opens in a new tab)). A tattoo, birthmark or distinctive background can identify someone too. Get the authorization for every image.

Claims need evidence. The FTC's health products guidance (opens in a new tab) says health claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence, and that testimonials reporting results more dramatic than people can generally expect are likely to be deceptive. A "results not typical" footnote does not fix that. Choose before-and-after pairs that represent typical outcomes, with the same lighting and angle.

Platforms add their own rules. Meta permits before-and-after images for cosmetic procedures (opens in a new tab) only in ads targeted to people 18 and older, and bans statements that attack someone's appearance. In US and Canadian campaigns, Google lets advertisers use prescription drug terms (opens in a new tab) such as Botox in ads and landing pages, but requires certification to keyword-target them.

Reviews. When you reply to an online review, never confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention their care, even if they did.

Channels in order of impact

For most independent practices, this order puts money and time where demand already is.

1. Google Business Profile and Maps. The 673,000 monthly "near me" searches resolve here. Complete categories, hours, services, photos of the office and provider profiles.
2. Your website. Condition, procedure and cosmetic pages that use patient language, provider pages with new-patient status, and forms that keep patient information private.
3. Referral relationships. For the medical schedule, a steady primary care referral base beats paid clicks.
4. Search content. Plain-language condition and procedure articles sourced to the AAD and MedlinePlus, which also feed AI assistants' answers.
5. Google Ads. Cosmetic treatments first; medical services only where a schedule has room.
6. Meta ads. Cosmetic offers to adults, built from authorized photos.
7. Social media. Education and credibility; slow to produce bookings but strong for cosmetic trust.
8. AI assistants. Patients can ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for "a good dermatologist near me", and the answers draw on the same website, listings and reviews as everything above.

Dermatology marketing guides in this hub

• Dermatology website design: condition, Mohs and cosmetic pages, provider profiles and consented galleries.
• Dermatology advertising: when ads pay for a busy practice and when they don't.
• Google Ads for dermatologists: separate cosmetic and medical campaigns, real CPCs and negative keywords.
• Facebook ads for dermatologists: cosmetic offers that pass Meta's personal-attribute rule.
• Cosmetic dermatology marketing: pricing, treatment pages and physician-led positioning against med spas.
• Dermatology social media: sourced skin education, photo consent and comment privacy.
• Dermatology marketing ideas: 25 ideas by season and service line.
• AI marketing for dermatologists: getting named by AI assistants and which AI tools are safe with patient data.
• Choosing a dermatology agency: the questions to ask and the contract terms to avoid.

How Medfy runs marketing for dermatology practices

Medfy is AI marketing software for independent medical practices in the US and Canada, built HIPAA-compliant by design. Here is what it covers, stated as plainly as on our pricing page.

The base plan is $349/month and includes:

• Website: your site rebuilt and hosted on your own domain. It is fast, with a page per service (each condition, procedure and cosmetic treatment), structured data and HIPAA-compliant forms, plus 500 AI credits a month for edits you ask for in plain English.
• Automated SEO: researched articles every week, drafted from MedlinePlus and PubMed, which you approve or set to auto-publish; local pages and technical fixes.
• AI visibility tracking: every week Medfy asks ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews the questions patients ask, and shows whether they name your practice and who they recommend instead.
• Website analytics: first-party analytics for calls, forms, bookings, directions and visits from AI assistants.
• Google reporting: Search Console, Google Analytics and Business Profile in one view.
• AI CMO dashboard: leads by source, next steps you approve in one click, and a weekly brief by email.
• Patient CRM and inbox: every form and message in one place, access-controlled.

Optional add-ons: Google Ads management ($199/month), Meta ads + AI creatives ($199/month) and a HIPAA AI chat widget ($49/month). Ad spend is paid directly to Google and Meta, never marked up. Billing is monthly and you can cancel anytime. Patient information is stored in separate, encrypted HIPAA databases in the US or Canada, and Medfy signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your practice before any patient data flows.

What Medfy does not do: it doesn't post to social media for you, run review requests, provide scheduling software or organize screening events. See Medfy pricing for the full plan.

Frequently asked questions

How do dermatology practices get more patients?

Start where patients already look: a complete Google Business Profile for the practice and each provider, a website with condition, procedure and cosmetic pages, and a clear accepting-new-patients status. Add primary care referral outreach for medical patients and paid campaigns for cosmetic services. Then measure new patients by service and source, so money goes to the part of the schedule you actually want filled.

Should a dermatology practice market cosmetic services separately?

Usually, yes. Medical and cosmetic patients search differently, pay differently and decide on different evidence. Medical patients look for availability, insurance and credentials; cosmetic patients compare results, price and who performs the treatment. A distinct cosmetic section on your site, separate ad campaigns and separate reporting keep each message clear. A second brand or domain is rarely needed and starts its reputation from zero.

How much should a dermatology practice spend on marketing?

We know of no reliable industry benchmark, so build the budget from goals. Fixed costs cover the website, listings and content. Ad budgets follow click costs: 'cosmetic dermatologist near me' averages $5.30 a click and 'psoriasis treatment' $17.67 (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). Fund cosmetic campaigns first and medical ads only where you have open capacity.

Can dermatologists post patient photos?

Yes, with a signed HIPAA authorization that names the marketing use. Under 45 CFR 164.508, marketing uses of patient information need a written authorization with set elements, including the purpose, an expiration date or event, and the patient's signature and date. Full-face photos are one of HIPAA's 18 identifiers. Before-and-after images should also reflect typical results to stay within FTC guidance.

Do dermatologists need Google Ads?

Not always. A medical practice with a months-long wait gains little from paying for more 'dermatologist near me' clicks. Google Ads earn their place for cash-pay cosmetic services, new providers with open schedules and specific procedures you want to grow. In the US, a clinic can name a drug like Botox in ad text, but Google requires certification to target prescription drug names as keywords.