What should happen in the first 90 days with a new marketing agency for a dietitian practice?
In the first 90 days, a new marketing agency for a dietitian practice should sign a BAA, audit tracking on your booking and intake pages, fix your Google Business Profile, map how clients arrive (search, physician referral, insurance, employer programs), launch one or two measured campaigns, and report on a fixed weekly day. By day 90 you should know which source fills your calendar.
- Days 1–30 are setup: logins, a signed Business Associate Agreement, a review of tracking on intake and booking pages, and a baseline of where new clients come from.
- Days 31–60 are fixes and first campaigns: Google profile, service pages by condition, the discovery-call path, and one paid or referral campaign with a clear goal.
- Days 61–90 are proof: booked initial consults by source, a first optimization round, and a written plan for the next quarter.
- Dietitian-specific checks matter: license states for telehealth, how insurance and Medicare MNT eligibility are explained, and careful weight and health claims.
- Every practice welcome — retainers from $499/mo, Goals-Driven engagements, Performance-Linked Payout Models available.
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“They were able to get all my ideas and work with me over a period of three to four months and create this amazing website. It's super customized, very modern, and it incorporates all the elements that I had wanted — the patient portal, nice pictures, a very interactive website, patient reviews. I would highly recommend their company to anyone who wants to make an excellent website.”
What does a good 90-day onboarding look like for a dietitian practice?
A good onboarding runs in three phases. Month one secures access, paperwork and a measured starting point. Month two fixes the leaks between a search and a booked consult, then starts one or two campaigns. Month three proves results by source and sets the next quarter. Each phase ends with something you can check.
Dietitian practices have a few traits that change the order of work. Many see clients by video across several states. Many take some insurance plans and stay private pay for others. A large share of new clients may come from physician referrals rather than search. An agency that copies a generic local-business playbook will miss most of this.
So the first weeks should be spent learning how your practice actually gets clients today. Who refers? Which plans do you accept? Which states are you licensed in? Which conditions do you most want to see, such as diabetes, digestive health, eating disorders or sports nutrition? The answers decide what gets built first.
This is the standard we hold ourselves to on dietitian marketing engagements in the US, and it works as a yardstick for any agency you hire.
Ask these at the kickoff call
- What will be finished and checkable at day 30, day 60 and day 90?
- Who owns our account day to day, and in what time zone?
- What will the first report show, and on which weekday will it arrive?
- How will you measure discovery calls and booked initial consults, not just clicks?
What should the agency do week by week in days 1–90?
Weeks one to four cover access, the BAA, a tracking review and a baseline. Weeks five to eight cover the Google profile, service pages, the booking path and first campaigns. Weeks nine to thirteen cover optimization, referral outreach and the quarter plan. The table shows what you should be able to check at each stage.
| Weeks | What the agency does | What you should be able to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kickoff call; collect logins; sign the BAA; agree goals and the report day | Signed BAA; shared access list; named account owner |
| 2 | Review tracking on website, booking, intake forms and patient portal links | Written list of tags found and which pages carry them |
| 3 | Baseline: where initial consults came from over recent months; phone and form handling review | A one-page baseline by source, with gaps noted |
| 4 | Fix or remove risky tracking; set up HIPAA-safe call and form tracking | Before-and-after tag list; test calls and forms recorded |
| 5 | Google Business Profile: categories, services, hours, service area or virtual setup | Profile changes listed; verification status confirmed |
| 6 | Service pages by condition and payment path (insurance, Medicare MNT, private pay) | New or revised pages live and reviewed by the dietitian |
| 7 | Discovery-call and booking path: fewer steps, clear next action | Mystery-shop notes; time to first reply measured |
| 8 | First campaign: paid search for one priority service, or a referral push | Campaign goal, budget and tracking agreed in writing |
| 9–10 | Physician and employer referral materials; review requests through a consistent process | Referral one-pager approved; review process documented |
| 11–12 | First optimization round on search terms, pages and call handling | Change log with reasons |
| 13 | Day-90 review: booked consults by source; next-quarter plan | Written plan with goals for the next quarter |
The exact order can shift. A practice with a strong referral base may start outreach earlier. A practice with no Google profile may need one built and verified first. What should not shift is the rule that ad spend scales only after tracking works.
What should be finished in the first 30 days?
By day 30 you should have a signed Business Associate Agreement, a shared list of every account the agency can access, a written review of tracking on your site and booking flow, and a baseline of where new clients come from. No large ad budget should be spent before these exist.
Access and the BAA
Your agency will likely touch call recordings, form submissions or booking data, and some of that can include protected health information. That is why a BAA comes first. We sign a BAA with every US client. Keep ownership of your accounts in the practice's name and grant the agency user access, so nothing is lost if you part ways. Our dietitian marketing agency contract checklist covers data ownership and exit terms.
The tracking review
Many nutrition practices use an online scheduler, intake questionnaires and a client portal. Ad pixels on those pages can send health information to third parties. The HHS guidance on online tracking technologies says tracking on authenticated pages, such as portals, is covered by HIPAA. A 2024 federal court ruling vacated part of that guidance for unauthenticated public pages, but booking and intake flows remain risky. A good agency lists every tag, removes risky ones and replaces them with HIPAA-safe measurement. Ask your counsel to confirm the approach for your practice. Our glossary entry on HIPAA and tracking pixels explains the basics.
The baseline
The baseline answers one question: where did your recent initial consults come from? Sources usually include search, Google Maps, physician referrals, insurance directory listings, employer wellness programs, past clients and social media. If your scheduler does not record a source, the agency should add a simple "how did you hear about us" field and a front-desk habit of asking.
Which quick wins and first campaigns fit days 31–60?
Days 31–60 should fix the places where interested people drop off: the Google profile, thin service pages, a confusing insurance explanation and a slow reply to discovery-call requests. Then the agency launches one or two campaigns tied to a priority service, each with a written goal, budget and tracking plan.
Google Business Profile for in-person and virtual practices
An office-based practice needs accurate categories, services, hours and photos. A virtual-only practice has different rules, because Google profiles are meant for businesses that meet customers in person or travel to them. The agency should confirm which setup is allowed for you before editing. Our guide to Google Business Profile for virtual dietitian practices walks through the options.
Pages that answer the buyer's real questions
- One page per priority condition or program, written and checked by a credentialed dietitian.
- A clear payment page: which plans you accept, what private pay looks like, and how to check coverage.
- Medicare wording that stays accurate. Per Medicare.gov, Medicare covers medical nutrition therapy for people with diabetes or kidney disease, or a kidney transplant in the last 36 months, when a doctor refers them.
- The states where you are licensed to see clients by telehealth.
- Credentials shown plainly, such as RD or RDN.
First campaigns
Pick one or two. Paid search for a high-intent service often suits private-pay programs. A physician referral push often suits insurance-based care. Keep weight and health claims modest and supportable, and avoid before-and-after framing that could harm clients with eating-disorder histories. The FTC expects health claims to be backed by competent and reliable scientific evidence.
What proof should a dietitian practice see by day 90?
By day 90 you should see booked initial consults by source, the cost per booked consult for any paid campaign, the reply time on new inquiries, and a written plan for the next quarter. Clicks and impressions alone are not proof. If the agency cannot connect work to bookings yet, ask what is missing and when it will be fixed.
A sample day-90 scorecard
- Initial consults booked, split by search, Maps, referral, insurance listing, social and other.
- Discovery calls requested versus consults booked.
- Median time from inquiry to first reply.
- Paid spend and cost per booked consult, where paid campaigns ran.
- Referral sources contacted, and referrals received.
- Changes made in the quarter and what each was meant to do.
Reporting cadence
Agree a fixed rhythm: a short weekly update, a monthly review and a quarterly plan. On Goals-Driven engagements we agree monthly goals with the client, track them live on Ichelon Agency OS, and send a report every Monday. Whichever agency you use, the report should arrive on the same day each week and show bookings, not just activity.
Reviews, done the right way
Ask every client the same way, and never offer something only for positive reviews. The FTC rule on fake reviews and testimonials bans fake reviews and incentives tied to review sentiment. Many dietitians also choose not to ask clients in sensitive programs at all, which is a sound call.
What must the practice provide, and what are the red flags?
The practice must provide logins, a signed BAA, a list of accepted plans and licensed states, a person who answers new inquiries quickly, and a dietitian who reviews clinical wording. The red flags on the agency side are spend before tracking, no BAA, vague reports and claims nobody checked.
Your homework
- Admin access to website, scheduler (marketing settings only), Google profile, ad accounts and analytics.
- Insurance plans accepted, private-pay options, and the states where each dietitian is licensed.
- Your top two or three priority services and current weekly capacity.
- A named person who replies to inquiries and records the source.
- A dietitian who approves health-related copy before it goes live.
- A standing weekly check-in, kept short.
Red flags in the first 90 days
- No BAA, or a request to "sort it out later".
- Ads live before tracking was reviewed.
- Reports full of reach and clicks, with no booked consults.
- Copy promising specific weight loss or cures.
- Accounts created in the agency's name, not yours.
- No written plan at day 90.
If you want a second opinion on your setup before or during onboarding, run our dietitian marketing audit checklist, or book a call with the US team and we will walk through it with you.
Related pages from the US team
Dietitian marketing agency USA
How Ichelon Consulting US runs marketing for dietitian and nutrition practices.
Dietitian agency contract checklist
Terms to settle before you sign, from data ownership to exit.
Dietitian agency RFP template
A copy-ready request for proposal to compare agencies fairly.
Dietitian marketing audit checklist
Check your profile, website, tracking and follow-up yourself.
Every practice welcome — Goals-Driven engagements from $499/mo
We benchmark your last 90 days, agree monthly goals with you, and track them live on Ichelon Agency OS with a report every Monday. Performance-Linked Payout Models are available. Our US leadership is based in Dallas, and strategy calls run in US business hours.
Common questions
How long does it take to onboard a dietitian marketing agency?
Setup usually takes about 30 days: logins, a signed Business Associate Agreement, a tracking review and a baseline of where new clients come from. Fixes and first campaigns follow in days 31–60. By day 90 a dietitian practice should see booked initial consults by source and a written plan for the next quarter.
Does a dietitian practice need a BAA with its marketing agency?
Usually yes. If the agency handles call recordings, form data, booking data or anything else that may include protected health information, a Business Associate Agreement is the standard safeguard. Ichelon Consulting US signs a BAA with every US client. Ask your counsel to confirm what your arrangement needs before any data is shared.
What should a dietitian practice give a new agency in week one?
Give the agency user access to your website, Google Business Profile, ad accounts and analytics, plus the scheduler's marketing settings. Share accepted insurance plans, private-pay options, licensed states for telehealth, priority services, weekly capacity, and the name of the person who answers new inquiries. Keep account ownership in the practice's name.
What results should a dietitian see after 90 days with an agency?
By day 90 a dietitian practice should see booked initial consults by source, reply times on new inquiries, cost per booked consult for any paid campaign, and a record of changes made. Results vary by market, specialty and payment model, so judge the agency on clear measurement and a sound next-quarter plan, not on promises.
What are red flags when onboarding a nutrition marketing agency?
Watch for ad spend before tracking is reviewed, no Business Associate Agreement, accounts set up in the agency's name, reports that show clicks but no booked consults, and copy promising specific weight loss or cures. Any of these in the first 90 days is a reason to pause and ask for a written fix.
A note on this guide: it explains marketing practice, not legal advice. Rules on privacy, advertising and insurance change and vary by state, so confirm anything compliance-related with your own counsel.
Want a 90-day plan for your nutrition practice?
A 30-minute call with the US team. We will review your tracking, Google profile and referral paths, and outline what the first 90 days should deliver.
We cover every stage, from first search to repeat visit
- 0Foundations
- 1Demand gen
- 2Capture
- 3Lead quality
- 4Lead mgmt
- 5Scheduling
- 6Show-up
- 7Conversion
- 8Retention
We work across all nine stages, from foundations to past patients, and fix the stage that leaks first. Our own software runs the work, and every stage is reported against a monthly target on Ichelon Agency OS.
See all nine stages and the tool behind each one →