Why are my clinic's Google Ads not getting calls?

How do I find out which problem it is?

Check in this order: tracking, search terms, location, schedule, landing page. Tracking comes first because many clinics do get calls but cannot see them. Then confirm the ads are showing for treatment searches from your area, during clinic hours, and leading to a page with a visible phone number.

Are calls happening but not being tracked?

Often, yes. If call assets have no call reporting, the website number has no tracking, and WhatsApp clicks are not set up as conversions, the account looks dead while the phone rings. Fix tracking before you change anything else, or you will cut campaigns that were working.

• Turn on call reporting so calls from call assets use a Google forwarding number and register as conversions.
• Track clicks on the phone number and the WhatsApp button on your landing page.
• Set a minimum call length so wrong numbers and hang-ups are not counted.
• Ask the front desk to note "how did you hear about us" for a few weeks and compare it with the account.

Once tracking is in, compare call counts with the clinic's own call log. Gaps tell you where measurement still leaks.

How do I advertise my dental clinic, or any clinic, to the right searchers?

Target searches that show intent to book a specific treatment in your area, and block the rest. For a dental clinic that means terms such as "root canal near me" or "dental implants in Nagpur", not "toothache home remedy" or "dentist salary". Location and timing settings matter as much as keywords.

Search terms

Open the search terms report and read it. Clinics on broad match often pay for students, job seekers, people wanting free treatment and people researching symptoms. Add these as negatives every week. Our article on negative keywords for Indian clinics has a starter list.

Location

The default "presence or interest" setting shows ads to people who are merely interested in your city. Switch to "presence" so ads reach people who are in, or regularly in, your area. Tighten the radius around each branch if patients rarely travel far.

Schedule

A call ad shown at 11 pm to a closed clinic wastes the click and the patient. Run call-focused ads only when someone can answer, and point after-hours traffic to a form or WhatsApp.

Is the landing page losing the calls?

If clicks look right but calls stay low, the landing page is the likely leak. Patients on mobile need to see the treatment, the clinic's location and a tap-to-call button without scrolling. A homepage, a slow page or a page about a different treatment loses them within seconds.

• Send each ad group to its own treatment page, not the homepage.
• Show the phone number and a WhatsApp button at the top and again lower down.
• Name the treating doctor with qualifications and registration number.
• Keep forms short: name, phone, preferred time.
• Remove testimonials, before/after images and "best" claims, which the NMC guidelines of 6 October 2026 restrict in promotion (as of October 2026) and which may also run into Google's ad policies.

Whether a call ad, lead form or landing page suits you best depends on the treatment; see call ads vs lead forms for clinics.

Are Google Ads still worth it in 2026 for clinics?

For most clinics, yes. Search ads still reach people at the moment they look for a treatment. They stop paying off when the account is unmanaged. An account with clean tracking, tight targeting and compliant pages gives you a fair test of whether search ads work for your clinic.

ICG's public dataset shows a median cost per qualified lead of ₹1,220 across our healthcare accounts, against a ₹2,100 market median. Any account improvement starts with the checks above. If you want a second pair of eyes, ICG's healthcare Google Ads team audits clinic accounts and fixes tracking, targeting and landing pages; retainers start from ₹20,000 a month.

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