There is no fixed price for marketing a psychiatry or psychology practice in Australia. Cost is driven by how much of your intake already comes from referrals versus self-referred search, how many clinicians you need to keep booked, and how much compliance repair the website and advertising need before spend is increased. This guide sets out the real cost drivers and how to read a proposal from a marketing agency.
Why psychiatry and psychology marketing is priced differently
Most medical marketing is priced around a single acquisition channel. Mental health practices usually run on two parallel intake sources: referrals from GPs and other clinicians, and self-referred patients searching directly. A quote that only prices search engine optimisation (SEO) or paid search is pricing half the intake funnel. The other cost difference is compliance load — advertising for psychiatrists and psychologists sits under the National Law and the s.133 testimonial ban, and platforms such as Google and Meta apply extra restrictions to sensitive health categories. Building compliant assets from the start avoids costly rework later.
What drives the cost
Four factors matter more than any headline figure.
- Channel mix. A website rebuild, ongoing SEO, a Google Business Profile, and paid search each carry separate costs. Paid media also has two components: what goes to the ad platform, and what goes to whoever manages the account. A proposal that blends the two into one number is hiding the split.
- Number of clinicians and waitlist position. A solo psychiatrist with a 12-month waitlist has a very different marketing need to a group psychology practice trying to fill three new graduate clinicians' diaries. Practices with capacity to spare need acquisition; practices with long waitlists often need better triage content and referral-pathway clarity more than new enquiry volume.
- Subspecialty and modality mix. A practice offering ADHD assessment, perinatal psychiatry, or specific therapy modalities needs distinct pages and campaigns for each, rather than one generic "mental health" page. More distinct services mean more content and campaign structure to build and maintain.
- Starting condition of the website and profile. A slow, thin, or outdated site means the first months are largely repair. A practice with a reasonably current site and an active Google Business Profile starts further ahead and spends less to get moving.
Budgeting by practice size
Rather than quoting a figure that will be wrong for most readers, think in proportions.
- Solo psychiatrist or psychologist. Focus spend on a clear, compliant website, an accurate Google Business Profile, and a modest amount of local search work. If the waitlist is already long, spend is better directed at referral communication and a clear intake process than at generating more enquiries.
- Small group practice. Split budget between SEO that builds pages for each service and clinician, and paid search that targets specific assessment or therapy queries where there is spare capacity.
- Multi-site or multi-clinician group. Budget needs to cover per-clinician and per-service pages, a Google Business Profile per location, and reporting that shows which services and locations actually have capacity, so spend is not wasted driving enquiries into a full book.
A useful check before agreeing any budget: know what a booked initial consultation is worth to the practice, and know current capacity by clinician and service. Without both figures, a marketing budget is a guess.
What the first 90 days should look like
Expect the first quarter to be mostly foundation work: correcting the Google Business Profile categories and services, writing or rewriting service pages with accurate scope-of-practice wording, installing tracking so enquiries are actually attributed, and — where paid search is in scope — launching a small, tightly targeted campaign with a growing negative-keyword list. Leading indicators to expect inside 90 days include profile views, call volume, and impressions on relevant assessment queries. A settled organic ranking position typically takes longer than one quarter in a competitive metropolitan market.
How to judge a proposal
Look past the deliverables list for four things: separated media spend and management fees; named KPIs with dates rather than vague visibility goals; ownership of the website, ad accounts, analytics and Google Business Profile sitting with the practice, not the agency; and explicit compliance literacy. If a proposal for a psychiatrist marketing or psychology practice engagement does not mention the s.133 testimonial ban or scope-of-practice wording, the compliance risk sits with you. Ask what happens if agreed numbers are missed — our answer is a 90-day KPI guarantee with no lock-in contract, so the agency carries part of the risk.
Where the money is usually wasted
The most common waste is paid traffic sent to a generic homepage instead of a specific service page, so a person searching for ADHD assessment lands on a page about the practice's history and leaves. The second is broad "mental health" keyword targeting that pays for clicks from people looking for crisis support or free resources, not a paid consultation. The third is a referral pathway that is never explained clearly on the site, so GPs and other referrers are left guessing how and when to refer.
In-house cost, contracts and exit terms
Some practices consider hiring an in-house marketing coordinator instead of engaging an agency. The honest comparison includes more than salary: a single hire rarely has deep expertise across SEO, paid search, compliance and web development at once, so specialist tasks still end up outsourced piecemeal, often at a higher hourly rate than a bundled agency retainer. An in-house hire can be the right call once a group practice is large enough to justify a full-time content and campaign role, but for a solo practitioner or small group, a fixed-scope agency engagement with named deliverables is usually the more predictable cost.
Whichever route is chosen, judge the arrangement on exit terms as much as on price. A long lock-in period removes the practice's ability to react if a campaign underperforms or if clinician capacity changes significantly, which happens often in mental health practices as clinicians join, take leave, or move to part-time hours. Favour month-to-month or short-term agreements with clear notice periods over discounted annual contracts, particularly for a first engagement with a new provider. Ask what specifically is handed back if the contract ends: website files, analytics access, ad account administration, and content already produced should all transfer to the practice without additional cost, and ownership of the domain and Google Business Profile should sit with the practice throughout.
Getting an accurate number for your practice
The honest approach is to audit first — the website, the Google Business Profile, current rankings, referral pathway clarity, and what comparable practices in your catchment are doing — and quote against what is actually there. That is the starting point for our work across healthcare marketing, including SEO for psychologists and psychiatry-specific campaigns. Before agreeing any spend, run your current website and ad copy through our free AHPRA advertising compliance checker, and read our summary of the rules at AHPRA-compliant marketing.
For the free asset most practices under-use, see our Google Business Profile checklist for psychiatrists and psychologists, and if paid search is on your shortlist, read Google Ads for psychiatrists: campaign structure before you brief an agency.
