Use SEO when patients already search for the specialty and the listing or site is the bottleneck. Use paid ads when openings need nearer-term demand the front desk can book. Catalyze Care publishes SEO at $799/month with a 6-month minimum, and paid ads management at $2,500/month plus media with a 3-month minimum. Media is billed separately from the management fee.
In one sentenceSEO compounds on queries patients already type. Paid ads can start sooner and stop when intake or policy breaks. Buy neither if the schedule is full.
We run both: SEO for healthcare practices and paid ads for healthcare practices. To fund the first three months, read healthcare marketing budget allocation for practices.
Who is already looking for you
SEO covers the queries patients type: specialty, service, town, and insurance. The work is the Google Business Profile, service and location pages, citations, and technical fixes so those queries can reach a page that says who you take and how to book. That is practice SEO, not a health-system scheduling platform.
Paid ads cover queries and placements you choose to show on now. Google Ads can sit on searches for care. Meta ads can reach people in the service area without targeting a condition. Google publishes a healthcare and medicines advertising policy. A disapproved ad is not demand. Pause it until the creative and the landing page match the policy.
Search and social answer different jobs. The split between the two ad platforms is in Google Ads vs Meta Ads for a healthcare practice.
Speed versus compounding
| Channel | Published Catalyze fee | What the practice should expect |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | $799/month, 6-month minimum | Profile and technical fixes in the first month, then pages and content across the term. Rankings are not a deliverable you can book for week one. |
| Paid ads | $2,500/month management plus media, 3-month minimum | Campaigns can run once accounts, landing pages, and policy review are in place. Media spend can stop when you pause. Ask in writing whether a short policy hold still includes the management month. |
SEO keeps working after a given month's pages are live. Paid ads stop sending visits when the campaigns stop. That is why a practice that needs patients this month, and can book them, often starts with paid, and a practice that is invisible when patients search often starts with SEO. Google's guidance on helpful, people-first content is the standard for the pages both channels send people to.
Intake capacity decides the order
If the front desk cannot offer a time you will honor, do not buy more demand. Paid ads are the first channel to pause. SEO can stay on unless the site would publish a fact that is no longer true. The checklist is in when to pause paid ads, SEO, or referral.
A second channel waits until the first one has a report you can match to booked inquiries. The budget sequence for months 1 to 3 is in healthcare marketing budget allocation for practices. Referral marketing, at $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum, is a third job: offices that already send the specialty, not the searcher. Use it when that is the gap.
What to ask before you fund either line
- The gap. Are patients searching and missing you, or do openings need nearer-term demand?
- The fee line. SEO is $799/month with a 6-month minimum. Paid management is $2,500/month plus a media amount you approve, with a 3-month minimum.
- The report. Booked inquiries from your intake, not a slide of clicks. Who owns the ad account and Search Console if you stop.
- The landing page. The phone and the form match who you take. Patient details stay out of the ad platform.
Written by Andrew Brazis, operator of Catalyze Care. LinkedIn: Andrew Brazis.
FAQ
When should a practice choose SEO instead of paid ads?
Choose SEO when patients already search for the specialty and place, and the Google Business Profile or the site is thin. Catalyze Care SEO is $799/month with a 6-month minimum. SEO is compounding work. It is the wrong first buy when intake is full.
When should a practice choose paid ads instead of SEO?
Choose paid ads when openings need nearer-term demand and the front desk can book the next patient. Management is $2,500/month plus media, with a 3-month minimum. Media is separate from the management fee. Pause spend when a platform policy blocks the campaign or intake cannot keep the slot.
Can a practice run SEO and paid ads at the same time?
Yes, when each channel has a named job and intake can take the extra patients. SEO at $799/month with a 6-month minimum keeps the listing and pages accurate. Paid ads at $2,500/month plus media cover the queries you want to show on now. Add the second channel only after the first one has a report you can check against intake.