ICG · Pricing guide · Hospital PPC management cost
Hospital PPC management cost in India (2026): fair bands and honest scope
Hospital PPC engagements almost always run Google and Meta together, across dozens of specialties, multiple locations, and insurance-empanelled workflows. This page shows a hospital marketing head what a fair 2026 PPC management fee looks like, what should be in scope, and where the padding hides.
Fair pricing bands for hospital PPC management (2026)
| Tier | Typical market fee / month (INR) | Fits which combined media spend |
|---|---|---|
| DIY | Not realistic | Hospitals cannot credibly run PPC in-house without a dedicated team of 2-3. |
| Starter | ₹75,000 – ₹1,25,000/- | Combined ₹2,50,000 – ₹6,00,000/- monthly. Single-location hospital. |
| Growth | ₹1,50,000 – ₹2,50,000/- | Combined ₹6,00,000 – ₹15,00,000/- monthly. Multi-specialty hospital. |
| Scale | ₹3,00,000 – ₹6,50,000+/- | Combined ₹15,00,000+/- monthly. Chain or tertiary care. |
Percent-of-spend model: 10-15% at higher spend bands is common.
What you should be getting at each tier
- Starter (₹75K–1.25L management): Google + Meta account audit, specialty-wise campaign structure (min 8-10 specialties), landing-page architecture, Pixel + CAPI + GTM install, monthly business review.
- Growth (₹1.5L–2.5L): the above plus dedicated creative for each specialty, weekly optimisation, retargeting, CRM integration for appointment attribution, quarterly CMO review.
- Scale (₹3L+): dedicated pod with strategist, media buyer, landing-page designer, creative producer, analyst; daily monitoring; server-side tagging; offline conversion imports; enterprise BI dashboard.
Eight signs your hospital PPC fee is padded
- All specialties run under one generic campaign — no separation by cardio / oncology / ortho.
- No offline conversion imports — CRM outcomes never reach Google or Meta.
- Landing pages are department pages with no A/B testing.
- No CAPI + server-side tagging at this spend level.
- Meta creative refresh has not happened in 4+ weeks.
- Reports show impressions and clicks only — no consultations, no procedures.
- Insurance-empanelled treatments run at the same landing page as private cases.
- The strategist you met at pitch has been replaced by a rotating AM team.
Agency vs freelancer vs in-house — hospital view
| Option | Real cost / month | Fit / catch |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer stack | ₹50,000 – ₹1,00,000/- | Rarely enough for a hospital — no analyst, no landing-page team. |
| Hospital-focused PPC agency | ₹75,000 – ₹6,50,000+/- | Full pod with hospital-specialty instincts. Loss of daily control. |
| In-house team | ₹3,50,000 – ₹6,50,000/- | Media buyer + creative + analyst + landing-page designer. Full control, slow ramp. |
The 70/30 rule for hospital PPC spend
Media 70% + management, landing pages, tracking, creative 30%. At hospital spend levels the 30% is where the biggest gains sit — offline conversion imports alone can meaningfully cut blended CPL.
ICG's SEO programmes pair with hospital PPC engagements; run together, they usually bring cost per new patient down over time. Retainers start from ₹20,000/month, custom-scoped.
What ICG charges hospitals for PPC
Retainers from ₹20,000/month, custom-scoped to your media band — Goals-Driven, with Performance-Linked Payout Models available. See our PPC pillar service page, or WhatsApp ICG for a scoped quote.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fair PPC management fee for a hospital?
Single-location hospitals sit at ₹75,000 to ₹1,25,000 management fee monthly. Multi-specialty ₹1,50,000 to ₹2,50,000. Chains and tertiary care ₹3,00,000 and up.
Why is hospital PPC more expensive than clinic PPC?
Hospitals have 8-15 specialties, multiple locations, insurance workflows, and higher-cost consultations to optimise for. All of this expands the surface area to manage.
Should each specialty have its own campaign?
Yes — cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, and paediatrics all have different intent, CPL, and creative needs. One generic campaign is a red flag.
What is a realistic hospital CPL?
Basic consultations ₹150-₹500. Specialty consultations ₹500-₹2,000. High-value cases (transplant, oncology, cardiac) ₹2,500-₹6,000.
Do I need offline conversion imports?
Yes — hospital CRM outcomes (appointment done, procedure booked) should feed back to Google and Meta. This is where 20-35% of blended CPL efficiency comes from.
Should Google and Meta be one engagement?
Yes — one strategist, one dashboard, one attribution model. Splitting them loses 15-25% of blended efficiency.
Is percent-of-spend fair for a hospital account?
For accounts above ₹6L combined media, 10-15% of spend is fair. Below that, flat fee is fairer.
Do we need a dedicated landing-page designer?
At Growth tier and up, yes. Landing pages A/B tested per specialty lift conversion 30-60%.
What does ICG charge hospitals?
ICG retainers start from ₹20,000 per month, custom-scoped to your goals, with Goals-Driven engagements and Performance-Linked Payout Models available. Scope depends on specialty count, location count, and combined media budget.
Is a 12-month lock-in fair?
Six months is minimum. Twelve months is standard for hospital-scale engagements.
