Google Ads can work for psychiatry and psychology practices, but only when campaigns are built around real intake capacity, split by referral-led versus self-referred intent, and written to comply with the s.133 testimonial ban and platform restrictions on sensitive health categories. This guide sets out a workable campaign structure and the pitfalls specific to mental health advertising.
Start with capacity, not keywords
The first question is not which keywords to bid on, but which services actually have appointment capacity in the near term. Many psychiatry practices have long waitlists for general appointments but spare capacity for a specific subspecialty or a newly joined clinician. Running broad "psychiatrist near me" ads while the general waitlist is closed generates enquiries staff cannot fulfil, frustrates prospective patients, and wastes budget. Structure campaigns around what you can actually deliver this month, and update this regularly as capacity changes.
Separating referral-led and self-referred intent
Psychiatry intake usually comes through two distinct paths, and they need separate campaigns. Self-referred search covers people typing queries like "psychiatrist Sydney" or "ADHD assessment adult" directly into Google — these campaigns should link to service pages that explain the referral requirement, if one exists, before the person books. Referral-related search covers GPs and other clinicians searching for "refer patient to psychiatrist [suburb]" or looking up your practice by name after a referral conversation — this traffic should land on a page built for referrers, with clear intake criteria and referral forms, not a patient-facing consultation offer.
Structuring by subspecialty, assessment type and honest availability
Group campaigns by clinical service rather than running one generic account. Typical ad groups include adult ADHD assessment, perinatal psychiatry, mood disorder management, and psychological therapy for anxiety. Each ad group should map to its own landing page describing what the assessment or treatment involves, who it suits, and how to book or get referred. This also keeps quality scores and cost per click more efficient, since generic "mental health" ad groups tend to attract broad, low-intent traffic.
Negative keywords and platform restrictions
A mental health account needs a substantial negative keyword list from day one. Exclude crisis and self-harm related queries — people in acute distress need a crisis line or emergency service, not a paid search ad, and directing that traffic to a booking page is not appropriate. Exclude free-resource and DIY queries such as "free ADHD test" or "self-help anxiety", academic and research terms, employment searches for clinicians, and queries for services the practice does not provide, such as court-ordered assessments if that is out of scope. Review search term reports weekly in the first months to catch queries the initial list missed.
If a service has a waitlist, campaigns should either be paused for that service or the ad and landing page should state realistic timeframes rather than implying immediate availability. Ads that promise fast access to a service with a months-long wait create a poor first impression and increase cancellation and no-show rates once the actual wait becomes clear. It is better to advertise a specific service with genuine capacity than to run general awareness ads for a fully booked practice.
Writing compliant ad copy
Ad copy must not include testimonials or imply guaranteed clinical outcomes, consistent with s.133 of the National Law. Avoid language that promises a cure, a specific result, or uses emotionally loaded urgency about untreated mental illness, which risks creating unreasonable expectations or being seen as targeting a vulnerable audience with pressure tactics. Describe the service factually: what the assessment or session involves, who delivers it, and how to book or get a referral started. Every psychology and psychiatry ad should be checked against the same standard used for the rest of the practice's marketing, which is covered in more depth in our post on advertising rules for psychiatrists and psychologists under AHPRA.
Both Google and Meta apply additional review and targeting restrictions to health-related advertising, and mental health is treated as a sensitive category on most platforms. This can mean slower ad approval, restrictions on remarketing to people who visited mental-health-related pages, and limits on interest-based targeting tied to mental health conditions. Build extra review time into launch schedules, and do not rely on remarketing audiences built from visits to sensitive pages, since platforms increasingly restrict or disallow this by default.
Measuring what matters
Track cost per booked initial consultation by service and by referral source, not just clicks or form fills. A campaign that generates cheap enquiries for a service with no capacity is not a good result even if the cost per click looks attractive. Pair Google Ads with the profile and content foundations covered in the Google Business Profile checklist for psychiatrists and psychologists, since paid traffic sent to a weak or inconsistent profile and site converts poorly regardless of targeting.
Landing pages and budget allocation
An ad promising a specific assessment should never land on a general homepage. Build a dedicated landing page for each major ad group that states what the assessment or session involves, roughly how long it takes, who delivers it, current cost or rebate information, and the exact next step — a referral form, a booking link, or a phone number with expected response times. Pages built for self-referred traffic should also address the practical question a first-time patient is likely to have: what to expect walking in, whether a GP referral is needed, and how privacy is handled. Pages built for referrer traffic should instead lead with intake criteria, turnaround times, and a referral form, since a GP does not need reassurance about what therapy involves.
Once campaigns are separated by capacity, intent and subspecialty, allocate budget deliberately rather than spreading it evenly. Put the largest share behind services with confirmed spare capacity and a clear landing page, a smaller amount behind newer or untested ad groups while data is collected, and a modest, capped amount behind referrer-facing campaigns, which typically need far fewer clicks to generate a meaningful referral relationship than patient-facing campaigns need to generate a booking. Revisit this allocation monthly against actual booked-consultation data rather than leaving it fixed for a full quarter, since capacity and clinician availability change more often in mental health practices than in many other specialties.
Getting the structure right from the start
Our psychiatrist marketing engagements build the negative keyword list, capacity checks, and compliance review into the account setup rather than bolting them on after launch, and the same discipline applies across our healthcare marketing work. Before any ad goes live, run the copy through our free AHPRA advertising compliance checker, and review the broader principles in AHPRA-compliant marketing.
