This page is for psychologists who own or manage a clinical practice and want to advertise therapy, psychological testing or assessment. If you searched "psychology advertising" for the psychology behind ads, you're in the wrong place: that phrase is shared by marketing students and practice owners. For practices, psychology advertising is less about volume than choosing what to advertise at all, because many testing services fill by referral. The rest is staying inside platform rules and the APA Ethics Code, and measuring whether ads produce booked evaluations.
Who this is for: advertising a psychology practice
The search data reflects that split. "Psychology advertising" and "psychology ads" together draw about 480 US searches a month, with clicks averaging $9.02. "Psychologist marketing" draws about 210 (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). Part of that 480 is people studying the psychology of advertising, not practices buying ads.
This page focuses on what sets psychology practices apart from counseling practices: testing and assessment services and referral-driven demand. If you mainly offer talk therapy, our guide to therapy advertising covers caseload-filling ads in more depth. For the full marketing picture, see psychology practice marketing.
Which services are worth advertising, and which fill by referral
Before spending anything, sort your services by how demand arrives and whether you have room.
| Service | How demand usually arrives | Advertise? |
|---|---|---|
| Child autism and learning evaluations | Pediatricians, schools, early intervention | Rarely; referrals often exceed capacity |
| Child and teen ADHD evaluations | Pediatricians, schools, parent research | Only with open evaluator time |
| Adult ADHD evaluations | Self-referral and online research | Often a good candidate, especially self-pay |
| Neuropsychological evaluations | Neurologists, primary care, rehab | Usually referral-led |
| Therapy (individual, couples, family) | Search, directories, referrals | Yes, when caseloads have room |
| Specialized therapy (e.g. OCD exposure work, perinatal) | Search and specialist referrals | Yes; specific services convert better |
For referral-led services, the first dollars belong to referrers, not ad platforms: a current wait time, a one-page referral sheet and a reliable confirmation process. Ads can fill a gap a referral channel can't, such as a new evaluator's open schedule or a self-pay adult service that pediatricians never see. Review the table each quarter, because capacity changes when evaluators join or leave.
What good looks like: ads run only for services with open capacity, each ad points to a page about that one service, and you can tell which ads produced booked evaluations, not just clicks.
Search ads for evaluations and testing
People looking for an evaluation search with intent, so Google search ads can work when you have capacity. Our dataset doesn't include volumes or costs for testing and evaluation keywords, so you'll need to check them in your own Keyword Planner account for your area.
Set up search ads for evaluations like this:
- One campaign per evaluation type, such as adult ADHD evaluation and autism evaluation, each with its own budget.
- Keywords that name the service and place: "adult ADHD evaluation [city]," "psychological testing near me," "autism evaluation for kids [city]."
- Negative keywords to block poor fits: "free," "online test," "quiz," "self-test," "jobs," "degree," "course" and "psychology of advertising."
- Location targeting limited to the area patients realistically travel from, or to the states where you're licensed for telehealth.
- Landing pages per evaluation that state ages, what's involved, fees or insurance, and the current wait. See websites for psychologists for the page plan.
- Ad copy that describes the service, not the searcher: "Adult ADHD evaluations. Reports within three weeks. Self-pay and out-of-network." Avoid "Do you have ADHD?"
Google's healthcare and medicines policy (opens in a new tab) mostly affects prescription drugs and online prescribing. Keep medication names out of testing and therapy ads, even when an evaluation may lead to a medication referral.
What the APA Ethics Code says about advertising
Standard 5 of the APA Ethics Code (opens in a new tab), "Advertising and Other Public Statements," applies to paid ads, directory listings, websites and social posts.
| Standard | What it requires | What it means for ads |
|---|---|---|
| 5.01 Avoidance of False or Deceptive Statements | No false, deceptive or fraudulent statements about training, competence, degrees, credentials, affiliations, services, results, fees or research | Every claim, such as "specialists" or "board-certified," must be accurate and checkable |
| 5.02 Statements by Others | You stay responsible for statements others place for you; a paid ad "must be identified or clearly recognizable as such" | You own what your agency writes; no disguised sponsored content |
| 5.05 Testimonials | No soliciting testimonials from current clients or others "vulnerable to undue influence" | No client quotes in ads |
| 5.06 In-Person Solicitation | No uninvited in-person solicitation of potential clients or vulnerable people | A talk people chose to attend isn't uninvited solicitation; approaching individuals is |
Standard 5.01(c) also limits which degrees you may claim as credentials for health services. Check your state board's advertising rules too; many add their own requirements.
Costs and how to measure a test
The main cost drivers are click prices in your area, the number of services you advertise, management fees and the staff time to answer inquiries. Ad spend is only part of the bill.
Hypothetical arithmetic: assume adult ADHD evaluation clicks cost $10 in your area. A $1,500 monthly budget buys 150 clicks. If 1 in 15 clicks requests an appointment, that's 10 requests. If half book, you have 5 evaluations, at $300 of ad spend each before management costs. Compare that with what an evaluation brings in, minus evaluator time.
Run ads as a 60- to 90-day test:
- Fix the budget and the services in advance.
- Count consult requests, booked evaluations and kept appointments by source, in your own systems.
- Ask every new client how they found you.
- Report results to any vendor as counts, never names.
- Stop or change what doesn't produce booked evaluations at a cost you can carry.
Evaluation checklist for anyone managing your ads
- Do they exclude remarketing and Customer Match for health services?
- Do they write copy without personal-attribute wording?
- Will they report booked evaluations, not just clicks?
- Is ad spend paid directly by you to Google and Meta?
- Will they sign a business associate agreement if they touch patient information?
Red flags: promised patient numbers, marked-up ad spend, pixels on intake forms, and ads that quote clients.
Where Medfy fits
Medfy offers Google Ads management and Meta ads + AI creatives as add-ons at $199/month each, on top of the $349/month base plan. Google Ads management includes daily search-term reviews and negative keywords, budget pacing with a monthly ceiling you control, and ad copy suggestions checked against healthcare policy, with every change logged and reversible. Meta ads include on-brand static ads made from your own website and copy written for healthcare ad policies. Ad spend is paid directly to Google and Meta, never marked up, and ad platforms never receive patient data. See ads add-on pricing, or start with a free marketing audit, which flags privacy risks such as pixels on patient forms. For channel options beyond these, see our guide to healthcare advertising.
Frequently asked questions
Can psychologists advertise on Facebook?
Yes, within Meta's rules and the APA Ethics Code. Meta bans ads that assert or imply a viewer's mental or physical health, so 'Adult ADHD evaluations in Denver' works while 'Think you have ADHD?' does not. Don't upload client lists or retarget visitors to condition pages, keep ad pixels off intake forms, and make sure every claim about your services, fees and credentials is accurate, as Standard 5.01 requires.
What does the APA Ethics Code say about advertising?
Standard 5 covers it. Psychologists must not make false, deceptive or fraudulent statements about their training, credentials, services, results, fees or research (5.01). They stay responsible for ads others create for them, and paid ads must be recognizable as ads (5.02). They may not solicit testimonials from current clients or vulnerable people (5.05), or engage in uninvited in-person solicitation (5.06).
Is it worth advertising psychological testing?
Only when you have evaluator capacity and a self-pay or well-paid service to fill. Many testing practices already have waitlists from pediatrician and school referrals, so ads just lengthen the wait. Adult ADHD evaluations and services with open slots are better candidates. Run a time-boxed test with a fixed budget, a page per evaluation and tracking of booked evaluations, then keep only what pays for itself.
Social ads and the personal-attributes rule
Social ads suit awareness of a specific service, such as a new adult ADHD evaluation track or a parent workshop, more than urgent needs. Two rules shape them.
Meta's personal attributes policy. Ads must not "assert or imply" a person's physical or mental health, according to Meta's personal attributes policy (opens in a new tab). Meta's own examples allow "Depression counseling" and reject "Depression getting you down? Get help now." Our summary of Meta's health ad policy covers the other restrictions.
Google's restricted targeting. Health is a sensitive interest category in Google's personalized advertising (opens in a new tab) rules. Advertiser-curated audiences, including remarketing lists and Customer Match, aren't allowed, and neither are lookalike segments.
Illustrative example (fictional practice):
Two more privacy rules: don't upload client lists to any ad platform, and keep pixels off intake and appointment-request pages. The FTC and HHS's Office for Civil Rights warned providers in 2023 (opens in a new tab) that tracking pixels can disclose health information.