Questions to Ask a Healthcare Digital Marketing Agency

Before you sign, ask what the agency will measure, how patient information stays out of ad tools, who owns the accounts, what the minimum term is, and who writes the creative. Catalyze Care publishes referral marketing at $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum, SEO at $799/month with a 6-month minimum, and paid ads management at $2,500/month plus media with a 3-month minimum. A proposal that hides any of those lines is not ready to compare.

In one sentenceGet measurement, ownership, minimums, and creative approval in writing before the first invoice.

The questions apply to every channel in a healthcare digital marketing plan. To decide which channel comes first, read how to choose a healthcare marketing agency.

Ten questions to send before you sign

1. What will you measure, and can I match it to booked inquiries? The monthly report should include booked appointments your front desk logged, by source. Clicks can explain a change. They are not the result. Field names are in the healthcare digital marketing metrics glossary.
2. How do you keep patient information out of ads, forms, and call tracking? Ask which fields the form collects, whether thank-you URLs pass diagnosis-level detail, and how call recordings are stored. Tracking that keeps patient data out of ad platforms is the standard. The pixel note is in HIPAA and marketing pixels. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publishes HIPAA marketing guidance for covered entities. Your counsel should review anything that shares patient information.
3. Who owns the ad accounts, the website, the Google Business Profile, and the creative if we stop? The practice should be the owner. The agency can be a user. You should be able to export the referring-office list and keep the pages.
4. What is the minimum term, and what is included in the fee versus media? Catalyze Care's published lines are referral $5,000/month (3-month minimum), SEO $799/month (6-month minimum), and paid ads management $2,500/month plus media (3-month minimum). Media is not inside the $2,500. The line-by-line check is the fee transparency checklist.
5. Who writes the creative, and who at the practice approves it? Name the person at the practice who signs off on claims, payers, and who you take. The agency should not publish a clinical claim the practice has not approved.
6. What happens in the first 30 days? Account access in the practice's name, a walkthrough of how intake books patients, a signed targeting brief, and an agreed report. Week by week, see healthcare marketing agency onboarding.
7. When would you tell us to pause a channel? A clear answer names intake, a platform disapproval, or a license change. The checklist is in when to pause paid ads, SEO, or referral.
8. Which specialties do you work with, and which work do you turn down? Catalyze Care works with therapy practices, psychiatry clinics, multi-location mental health groups, and other specialty practices. Ask what the firm will not take so the fit is explicit.
9. What is not included in the monthly fee? For paid ads, media is separate. Ask about landing-page builds, directory fees, and photography. A single blended number hides which job you bought.
10. How do you report a referral dip or a disapproved ad? The report should name the fact (list, close-the-loop, policy, or intake) and the date you will look again. Start a referral dip with what to check when referral volume dips.

How to use the answers

Score the written answers, not the pitch. The RFP scorecard for practice owners turns healthcare-only focus, published fees, ownership, reporting, and cancel terms into one sheet. Contract language is in questions before signing a healthcare marketing contract.

Client results appear only with the client's written permission. Do not treat an unnamed percentage on a sales call as a result you should expect.

Written by Andrew Brazis, operator of Catalyze Care. LinkedIn: Andrew Brazis.