Google Ads for dermatologists should run as two separate businesses: cosmetic campaigns that run steadily to sell cash-pay treatments, and medical campaigns that switch on only when a provider has room. This guide covers which searches are worth paying for, what clicks cost, how to build each campaign type, a starter list of negative keywords, Google's rules on drug names, and when to manage the account yourself.
Which dermatology searches are worth paying for
Google Search ads show up when someone types a query, so the question is which queries come from people you want, at a time you can see them.
Worth paying for:
- Cosmetic treatment searches. Laser hair removal, filler, microneedling, peels and wrinkle treatments near you. Cash-pay, with no insurance ceiling and usually open injector or laser time.
- "Cosmetic dermatologist near me." The searcher has already decided they want a dermatologist rather than a spa.
- Specific medical services with capacity. Skin cancer screenings or full body skin exams with a provider who has openings this month.
- Services you want to grow. Phototherapy, patch testing or a new Mohs surgeon's schedule.
Usually not worth paying for:
- Broad "dermatologist near me" traffic when new patients already wait weeks. Your Google Business Profile can capture much of this search for free.
- Conditions you don't treat, or treat only by referral.
- Informational searches ("what causes eczema") that rarely turn into bookings.
For how ads fit with the rest of your plan, see our dermatology marketing overview and our broader guide to dermatology advertising.
Click costs from Google's data
| Search (US, monthly) | Volume | Avg. CPC |
|---|---|---|
| dermatologist near me | 673,000 | $5.52 |
| psoriasis treatment | 201,000 | $17.67 |
| cosmetic dermatologist near me | 4,400 | $5.30 |
| skin cancer screening near me | 3,600 | $6.87 |
| full body skin exam | 720 | $4.86 |
Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026.
How to read it:
- "Psoriasis treatment" is the outlier at $17.67 a click, about three times "dermatologist near me". Bid on it only if you offer the specific treatments those searchers want and can see them soon.
- "Full body skin exam" is the cheapest at $4.86 and describes exactly what the patient wants. It's a good medical keyword when a provider has open skin-check slots.
- "Cosmetic dermatologist near me" costs $5.30, less than the generic search, with far clearer intent.
Hypothetical arithmetic. A practice sets $600 a month on a "full body skin exam" campaign. At the $4.86 average, that buys about 123 clicks. If 8% become appointment requests (an assumption, not a benchmark), that is about 10 requests. Your real rates depend on your page, your area and how fast the front desk responds.
Cosmetic campaigns: treatments and offers
Build cosmetic campaigns around treatments, because that is how patients search.
- One ad group per treatment. Laser hair removal, filler, microneedling, chemical peels, laser resurfacing, wrinkle treatment. Each ad group gets its own keywords and ads.
- One landing page per ad group. The treatment page with price, provider and a consult button, not your homepage.
- A separate "cosmetic dermatologist" campaign. It catches searchers who want the credential, not a specific treatment.
- Lead with credentials and price. The thing a med spa can't say is "performed by a board-certified dermatologist".
- Test the radius. Start a little wider than your medical campaigns, then trim areas that click but never book.
- Schedule ads for when you answer. If consult requests come in at 9 p.m., make sure someone follows up first thing next morning.
Illustrative example. An ad for a fictional practice, Westbrook Dermatology: "Laser Hair Removal | Board-Certified Dermatologists | Packages From $[price] | Book a Consult Online." Sitelinks: "Meet Our Laser Team", "Pricing", "Before & After Gallery".
Offers work, but compete on expertise first. A discount war with med spas is one you don't need to win. More on positioning and pages is in our guide to cosmetic dermatology campaigns.
Medical campaigns: when capacity allows
Medical campaigns should be narrow and easy to switch off.
- Tie each campaign to a schedule. "Skin checks with our PA, Tuesday and Thursday openings" is a campaign. "Dermatology" is not.
- Use service keywords. "Skin cancer screening near me", "full body skin exam", "mole check", plus a few condition terms you treat with capacity.
- Land on a page that answers insurance. Plans accepted, whether a referral is needed, and the provider's new-patient status.
- Keep the radius tight. Start with the area your current medical patients come from.
- Set a pause rule. When the provider's next new-patient opening is more than a few weeks out, pause the campaign. Restart when it reopens.
- Exclude what you don't offer. If you don't do phototherapy or prescribe biologics, don't buy "psoriasis treatment" at $17.67 a click.
Negative keywords for dermatology accounts
Negative keywords stop your ads from showing on searches that will never become patients. Start with this list and add to it every week from your search terms report.
| Category | Starter negatives |
|---|---|
| Jobs and careers | jobs, careers, hiring, salary, dermatologist salary, residency, fellowship, how to become a dermatologist, PA jobs, nurse jobs |
| Education | dermatology school, medical school, course, certification, training, textbook, exam prep, pictures, images |
| Skincare products and brands | skincare products, best moisturizer, sunscreen brand, CeraVe, Cetaphil, La Roche-Posay, The Ordinary, Sephora, Ulta, Amazon |
| DIY and at-home | DIY, at home, home remedy, natural remedy, kit, at-home microneedling, at-home laser |
| Not your patients | dog, cat, vet, veterinary, pet |
Two cautions. Don't add "free" as a blanket negative if you run free skin cancer screenings in May; you'll block your own event. And check that a negative doesn't block a real service: "laser" as a negative would wipe out your cosmetic campaigns. For match types and list management, see our guide to negative keyword lists.
Drug names and claims
Google's Healthcare and medicines policy (opens in a new tab) governs dermatology ads. As checked on 2026-10-22, these are the parts that matter most:
- Prescription drug terms. For campaigns targeting the US, Canada or New Zealand, the restricted drug terms policy (opens in a new tab) says you don't need certification to use prescription drug terms in ads and landing pages, but you must be certified to keyword-target them.
- Which terms count. Google's non-exhaustive list (opens in a new tab) includes Botox, Dysport, Xeomin and botulinum toxin, and on the medical side isotretinoin, tretinoin, spironolactone and Humira. Bidding on "botox near me" or "isotretinoin dermatologist" requires certification; writing "Botox by a board-certified dermatologist" in the ad does not.
- Experimental treatments. Google doesn't allow ads promoting speculative or experimental medical treatments.
- No health remarketing. Google's personalized advertising policy (opens in a new tab) treats health as a sensitive interest category. Health ads can't use remarketing lists, Customer Match or lookalike segments, so don't build audiences from past patients or visitors to condition pages.
Claims follow FTC rules as well as Google's. The FTC's health products guidance (opens in a new tab) requires competent and reliable scientific evidence for health claims. "Clear skin in 7 days" is a claim you would need to prove.
Managing it yourself vs Medfy's Google Ads add-on
You can run a dermatology account yourself if someone owns it weekly. The minimum routine:
- Review the search terms report and add negatives.
- Check spend against budget for each campaign.
- Pause or restart medical campaigns based on provider openings.
- Compare form, call and booking actions by campaign.
- Read every new ad or asset against Google's healthcare rules.
If that routine keeps slipping, Medfy's Google Ads management add-on ($199/month) does the daily work inside guardrails you set. It reviews search terms and adds negative keywords every day, paces spend under a monthly ceiling you control and suggests ad copy checked against healthcare policy. Every change is logged and reversible.
You choose suggest-only or auto-apply for safe changes, budget increases wait for your approval, and daily changes are capped. Ad spend is paid directly to Google, never marked up. No one can promise a number of patients from ads; the add-on is built to show what each dollar did.
See Google Ads add-on pricing, or audit your Google Ads and the rest of your marketing for free first.
Common mistakes
- One campaign mixing cosmetic and medical keywords
- Sending every ad to the homepage
- Keyword-targeting drug brand names without certification
- Leaving medical campaigns running after the schedule fills
- Remarketing to past patients or condition-page visitors
- Measuring clicks instead of booked patients
For general setup, see our guide to Google Ads for practices.
Frequently asked questions
How much do Google Ads cost for dermatologists?
Average clicks on core dermatology searches range from $4.86 to $17.67: 'full body skin exam' $4.86, 'cosmetic dermatologist near me' $5.30, 'dermatologist near me' $5.52, 'skin cancer screening near me' $6.87 and 'psoriasis treatment' $17.67 (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). Your monthly cost is the budget you set plus any management fee. Start small, measure bookings, then scale.
Should dermatologists run ads for medical services?
Only when a schedule has room. Many medical dermatology schedules are already full, and ads for 'dermatologist near me' can fill the phones with patients you can't see for months. Run narrow medical campaigns when a provider has openings, a new location opens or you want to grow a specific service, and pause them when the schedule fills. Cosmetic campaigns can run continuously.
What keywords should cosmetic dermatology ads target?
Treatment searches with local intent, grouped by treatment: laser hair removal, filler, microneedling, chemical peels and wrinkle treatments, each sent to its own page with a price. Add 'cosmetic dermatologist near me', searched 4,400 times a month at $5.30 a click (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). Keyword-targeting drug brand names such as Botox requires Google certification.