Why Your Therapy Practice's Google Ads Aren't Working

Therapists waste thousands on Google Ads that generate clicks but no clients. Here are the five mistakes killing your ROI—and how to fix them.

The therapy practice Google Ads paradox

You're spending £800/month on Google Ads. You're getting clicks. The numbers look reasonable—£3-5 per click seems fine for therapy leads.

But you're booking maybe one new client per month from it. Maybe two if you're lucky.

Do the maths: £800 spend ÷ 1.5 new clients = £533 cost per acquisition. And that's before considering no-shows and clients who ghost after one session.

Here's the uncomfortable question: at what point is Google Ads just an expensive hobby?

We've audited Google Ads accounts for over 30 therapy practices—from solo practitioners to group practices with 8+ therapists. The same five mistakes appear repeatedly, and they're almost always fixable.

Mistake 1: You're targeting the wrong intent

Most therapists bid on broad terms like "therapist near me" or "counselling services."

These searches cast a wide net, but they're also expensive and low-intent. Someone searching "therapist near me" might be: - Shopping for a friend or family member - Just starting to consider therapy - Looking for specific modalities you don't offer - Price shopping with no intention to book

Compare that to someone searching "trauma therapist accepting new clients Bristol" or "CBT for anxiety near me." These searches have clearer intent and commercial readiness.

The fix: Shift budget toward long-tail, high-intent keywords: - Include your specific modalities (CBT, EMDR, psychodynamic, etc.) - Add "accepting new clients" or "available now" - Target specific issues (anxiety, trauma, relationship problems) - Include location modifiers

Yes, search volume is lower. But conversion rates are 3-4x higher, making cost per acquisition dramatically better.

Mistake 2: Your landing page is your homepage

Someone clicks your ad about anxiety therapy in Manchester. They land on your homepage with a generic hero image and "Welcome to [Practice Name]."

That's a conversion killer.

The person who clicked that ad is looking for anxiety therapy in Manchester. They don't want to hunt through your navigation to figure out if you actually treat anxiety.

The fix: Create dedicated landing pages for each ad group: - Anxiety therapy → Anxiety therapy landing page - Couples counselling → Couples counselling landing page - Trauma therapy → Trauma therapy landing page

Each page should: 1. Immediately confirm they're in the right place (headline matches their search) 2. Explain your approach to that specific issue 3. Show relevant qualifications and experience 4. Display availability and pricing (or ranges) 5. Have one clear call-to-action (book consultation)

We tested this for a CBT therapist in Leeds. Before: homepage landing with 2.1% conversion. After: dedicated CBT anxiety page with 8.7% conversion. Same ad spend, 4x more enquiries.

Mistake 3: You're hiding pricing and availability

"Contact us to discuss rates and availability" is advertising jargon for "I'm probably expensive and fully booked."

Therapy is already difficult for people to pursue. Every bit of uncertainty or friction increases abandonment.

The reality check: - If you charge £80/session, people searching for therapy probably know sessions cost £60-120 - If you're fully booked, you shouldn't be running ads - If rates vary by therapist, give ranges

The fix: Be transparent: - "Individual sessions: £75/hour" - "Currently accepting new clients with availability Tuesday-Thursday evenings" - "Initial consultations available within 5-7 days"

This transparency filters out people outside your budget range (saving you time on calls that go nowhere) while massively increasing conversion from qualified prospects.

Mistake 4: Your conversion pathway has too much friction

The typical therapy practice booking flow: 1. Click ad 2. Read landing page 3. Find contact form 4. Fill in 8-field form 5. Wait for email reply 6. Exchange 2-3 emails about availability 7. Finally schedule consultation 8. Wait 7-14 days for appointment

That's roughly 10 days and 7 decision points where someone can change their mind or lose momentum.

Compare that to booking a restaurant: click, see availability, book, done in 90 seconds.

The fix: Reduce friction dramatically: - Add online booking calendar (Calendly, Cal.com, or practice management software with booking) - Offer next-day or same-week consultations - Minimise form fields (name, email, phone, preferred times) - Provide immediate confirmation

When people are ready to start therapy, urgency matters. A practice we worked with reduced their consultation booking time from 11 days to 2 days average and saw their Google Ads conversion rate increase 67%.

Mistake 5: You're not tracking what actually matters

Most therapists track clicks and maybe enquiries. But the metrics that actually matter are: - Cost per booked consultation - Consultation-to-client conversion rate - Client lifetime value - True cost per new client (including no-shows and drop-offs)

Example scenario:

Practice A: - £800/month ad spend - 200 clicks at £4/click - 10 enquiries (5% conversion) - 6 booked consultations - 4 become clients - Cost per client: £200

Practice B: - £800/month ad spend - 120 clicks at £6.67/click (lower volume, higher intent keywords) - 12 enquiries (10% conversion) - 10 booked consultations - 7 become clients - Cost per client: £114

Practice B spends the same amount, gets fewer clicks, but acquires 75% more clients at 43% lower cost per acquisition.

The fix: Set up proper conversion tracking: 1. Google Ads conversion tracking for form submissions 2. Track consultation bookings separately from enquiries 3. Monitor consultation → client conversion rate 4. Calculate true CAC including drop-offs

This data tells you what's actually working, not just what's getting clicks.

The budget reality check

Google Ads for therapy practices works, but not at £300/month budgets spread across 15 keywords.

Minimum viable budget: £600-800/month focused on 3-5 specific services in your local area. Any less and you're spreading too thin to get meaningful data or consistent volume.

When to increase budget: When you're consistently converting at profitable CAC and you have capacity for more clients.

When to pause: If your CAC exceeds one session fee and you can't identify clear optimisation opportunities. At that point, invest in SEO or referral systems instead.

The five mistakes summarised

1.Targeting broad, low-intent keywords instead of specific, high-intent searches
2.Landing on generic homepage instead of modality-specific landing pages
3.Hiding pricing and availability, creating unnecessary friction
4.Complex multi-day booking process when clients want to act now
5.Tracking clicks instead of actual cost per client acquisition

Fix these five issues and your Google Ads performance will transform. We typically see practices double or triple their enquiry-to-client conversion rate while reducing cost per acquisition 30-50%.

Get the full breakdown

We've created a detailed guide covering the 5 Google Ads mistakes therapy practices make, including templates for high-converting landing pages and ad copy that works.

[Download: 5 Google Ads Mistakes Therapy Practices Make (And How to Fix Them) →](/contact?interest=therapy-ads-guide)

Free guide with specific fixes, ad copy templates, and conversion rate optimisation strategies.

The bottom line

Google Ads can be an excellent client acquisition channel for therapy practices. But it requires precision: right keywords, right landing pages, right conversion pathway, right tracking.

Most practices get 2-3 of these elements wrong, which makes the entire campaign unprofitable.

The good news? These issues are fixable. You don't need a bigger budget. You need better targeting, clearer landing pages, reduced friction, and proper tracking.

Get those right and Google Ads shifts from "expensive experiment" to "reliable client pipeline."

---

Fix your therapy practice marketing

LogicLeap works with healthcare practices to build profitable Google Ads campaigns that actually acquire clients, not just clicks.

[Download the free 5 Mistakes guide](/contact?interest=therapy-ads-guide) or [discuss your practice marketing](/contact).