What should an urgent care center check in a marketing agency contract?
An urgent care center should check ten things in a marketing agency contract: term and notice, scope per location, fees, ad-spend billing, ownership of accounts and phone numbers, the Business Associate Agreement, reporting, performance terms, termination and handover, and non-solicit and IP. For multi-location groups, ownership of every location's profile and tracking number matters most, because those decide walk-in volume.
- Scope should be listed per location, including hours updates, review work and a fixed price for launching each new clinic.
- The center should own every account: domain, website, each Google Business Profile, ad accounts, analytics and call-tracking numbers.
- A signed BAA comes first if the agency will handle call recordings, check-in data or patient lists.
- No ad pixels in check-in or intake flows, and a written handover list attached to the contract before you sign.
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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.”
Which clauses in an urgent care marketing contract matter most?
Ten clauses decide how much risk an urgent care center takes on: term and notice, scope per location, fees, ad-spend billing, ownership, the BAA, reporting, performance terms, termination and handover, and non-solicit and IP. Read each one against the table below. If a clause is missing, ask for it in writing before you sign.
Urgent care contracts need more care than most practice contracts for one reason: you are buying marketing for several things at once. Each location has its own Google Business Profile, its own phone number, its own hours and often its own online check-in link. Many centers also sell occupational medicine to employers. A contract written for a single-office practice usually misses all of that.
This page is a buyer's checklist, not legal advice. Have a healthcare attorney review the final contract and the BAA, especially if you run several locations, share ownership with a hospital system or operate under a management company.
| Clause | What good looks like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Term and notice | Month-to-month, or a short first term with a clear written notice period (for example 30 days) | Long lock-in that auto-renews unless you cancel inside a narrow window |
| Scope and deliverables | Monthly outputs listed per location: profile updates, posts, pages, campaigns, review requests, reports | "Full-service marketing" with no list, or one scope covering every clinic as if it were one |
| Fees | Fixed management fee, any setup fee, the price for adding a new location, and what triggers a change | Fees that climb with ad spend without a cap, or vague "platform" charges |
| Ad-spend billing | Spend charged to your card inside your own ad accounts, or invoiced as a separate pass-through line | One blended invoice where you cannot see what reached Google or Meta |
| Ownership | The center owns domain, website, content, every location profile, ad and analytics accounts, tracking numbers and data | Domain, ad account or call-tracking numbers registered in the agency's name |
| BAA and data handling | Signed BAA before any patient data is shared; named tools; no ad pixels inside check-in or intake flows | "We don't need a BAA" while handling call recordings, check-in forms or patient lists |
| Reporting | Set cadence, per-location numbers, live access to raw data | Group-level totals only, or reports limited to clicks and impressions |
| Performance terms | Agreed goals, how each is measured, what happens if missed | Guaranteed rankings, guaranteed visit counts or guaranteed "top spot" on maps |
| Termination and handover | Written handover list, fixed handover period, access transferred, numbers ported | Handover "on request" for a fee, or the website switched off at exit |
| Non-solicit and IP | Mutual, narrow non-solicit; center owns all work it paid for | One-sided staff restrictions, or the agency "licensing" your site and content back to you |
How should scope be written for a multi-location urgent care group?
The contract should list deliverables for each location, not a single group-wide scope. Urgent care visits are won clinic by clinic, so a scope that says "local SEO" without naming which profiles, pages and campaigns get work each month leaves the newest or weakest location ignored.
What to ask for in the scope schedule
- A location list: every clinic by address, with the profile, landing page, tracking number and ad campaign that belong to it.
- Monthly outputs per location: profile posts, photo updates, hours checks, review requests and replies, page updates.
- Service-line work: which services get dedicated pages or campaigns, such as X-ray, lab testing, DOT physicals, sports and school physicals, or virtual visits.
- Occupational medicine: whether employer marketing is in scope, and what it includes (landing page, outreach lists, email, sales collateral).
- Seasonal plans: how the agency will handle flu and respiratory season, back-to-school physicals and other demand swings.
- New-location launches: a fixed price and a standard launch list for each new clinic, so expansion does not reopen the whole contract.
Hours, wait times and check-in
Write down who updates holiday hours, temporary closures and wait-time or check-in links. A profile showing "open" when a clinic is closed costs trust quickly. The contract should say the agency will update hours on every listing within an agreed time after you tell it. If your check-in system feeds wait times to your website, the scope should say the agency will not break that link during site changes. Our guide to wait times and online check-in covers why this matters.
Who should own the profiles, ad accounts and phone numbers?
The center should own every account, and the agency should work inside them as a user or manager. That includes the domain, website and hosting, each location's Google Business Profile, the ad accounts, analytics, tag manager, call-tracking numbers and all content. Ownership decides whether you can leave without losing visits.
The assets that cause the most trouble at exit
- Location profiles. Your center should be the primary owner of every Google Business Profile. Reviews and photos live on the profile. Losing access can mean months of rebuilding.
- Call-tracking numbers. Urgent care patients call before they walk in. If tracking numbers sit in the agency's account, they can disappear on exit, and the numbers printed on listings and directories stop working. The contract should say numbers will be ported to you.
- Ad accounts. Owning the Google Ads and Meta accounts keeps years of history, audiences and conversion data in your name.
- The website. Some agencies build on their own platform and license the site back. That makes leaving expensive. Ask for the site to be built on hosting you own, with files you can export.
- The domain. It should be registered to the center, with your own login.
Clause wording to request
Ask for a plain sentence such as: "All accounts, content, data, tracking numbers and website files created or managed under this agreement belong to the client. The agency will provide admin access on request and transfer full ownership within an agreed period after termination." Attach an asset register listing each account, its owner and who holds admin access. Update it whenever a location opens.
When does an urgent care center need a BAA with its agency?
An urgent care center needs a signed Business Associate Agreement before its agency handles protected health information. That usually includes call recordings, check-in or intake form data, patient lists used for review requests or reminders, and CRM records. HHS explains what a business associate is and what the agreement must cover.
HHS guidance on business associates sets out the role. In short, a vendor that creates, receives, maintains or transmits protected health information for a covered entity is a business associate. A BAA should be in place before data is shared, not after the campaign starts.
Tracking and check-in flows
Online check-in is where urgent care marketing and patient data meet. The HHS Office for Civil Rights published guidance on online tracking technologies in December 2022 and updated it in March 2024. A federal court (AHA v. Becerra, June 2024) vacated part of it covering unauthenticated public pages. Tracking on patient portals and authenticated pages is still covered. Ad pixels on booking, check-in or intake pages remain a real risk. The contract should say:
- No advertising pixels or session recording on check-in, intake, portal or payment pages.
- Which tools the agency will use, and that each tool that touches patient data is covered by a BAA.
- How call recordings are stored, who can hear them, and how long they are kept.
- How the agency will report a suspected breach and how fast.
- That patient data is returned or destroyed when the contract ends.
For the full picture, see HIPAA-safe website tracking. Confirm the details with your counsel.
Review requests
If the agency sends review requests, the contract should say it will follow the FTC rule on consumer reviews, which took effect in October 2024. The FTC's final rule bans fake reviews, buying positive reviews, and suppressing negative ones through threats. Ask the agency to confirm it will not gate requests so that only happy patients reach the review site.
What should reporting and performance terms say?
Reporting terms should name the metrics, the cadence and the level of detail: per location, per channel and per service line where possible. Performance terms should set agreed goals, explain how each goal is measured, and state what happens if a goal is missed. Avoid any contract that guarantees rankings or visit counts.
Metrics worth writing into the contract
| Metric | How it should be measured |
|---|---|
| Calls by location | Tracked numbers per clinic, with answered vs missed calls |
| Online check-ins or bookings | Completed check-ins attributed to source, measured without ad pixels in the check-in flow |
| Profile actions | Calls, direction requests and website clicks from each Google Business Profile |
| Cost per check-in or call | Ad spend divided by tracked calls and check-ins, per campaign |
| Review volume and rating trend | New reviews per location per month, and replies sent |
| Employer leads | Occupational medicine enquiries and accounts opened, if in scope |
Performance language that protects the center
Ask for goals agreed each month or quarter, a named way to measure each one, and a remedy if goals are missed, such as a revised plan, a fee credit or the right to exit early. At Ichelon Consulting US, our Goals-Driven engagements set monthly goals with the client, track them live on Ichelon Agency OS, and send a report every Monday. Performance-Linked Payout Models are available where results can be measured cleanly. The urgent care KPIs guide explains which numbers to track.
What termination, handover and IP terms protect the center?
Termination terms should give the center a short notice period, a written handover list and a fixed handover window. The agency should transfer admin access, port tracking numbers, export website files and reports, and return or destroy patient data. None of this should carry an exit fee beyond work already delivered.
A handover list to attach to the contract
- Primary ownership of every location's Google Business Profile.
- Admin access to ad accounts, analytics, tag manager and search console.
- Ported call-tracking numbers, with a call log export.
- Website files, hosting credentials and the domain login.
- All content, images, ad copy and creative in editable form.
- Employer contact lists and occupational medicine collateral, if built for you.
- Written confirmation that patient data has been returned or destroyed.
Non-solicit and IP
A non-solicit clause should be mutual and narrow, covering active recruiting of each other's staff for a limited period. Be wary of clauses that stop you hiring a marketer who simply applies to you. On IP, the center should own everything it paid for. Agencies can keep their own templates and tools, but not your content, data or creative.
If you are changing agencies now, our switching checklist covers the order of steps. For a second opinion on a draft contract, book a call with the US team. You can also compare how we scope work on our urgent care marketing agency page.
Related pages from the US team
Urgent care marketing agency USA
How Ichelon Consulting US scopes, contracts and runs urgent care accounts.
Choosing an urgent care agency
What to compare before you reach the contract stage.
Urgent care agency RFP template
Ask agencies for these terms in your RFP.
Switching agencies checklist
Recover accounts and keep momentum when you change agencies.
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
Should an urgent care marketing contract be month-to-month?
Month-to-month, or a short first term with a clear notice period, is the safest structure for an urgent care center. It keeps the agency accountable every month. A website build or new-location launch can justify a fixed project fee, but the ongoing management retainer should not lock the center in for long periods or renew automatically without notice.
Who should own an urgent care center's Google Business Profiles?
The urgent care center should be the primary owner of every location's Google Business Profile, with the agency added as a manager. Reviews, photos and years of profile history live on the listing. If the agency owns it, the center can lose access when the relationship ends and may struggle to recover the profile quickly.
Does an urgent care marketing agency need to sign a BAA?
An urgent care marketing agency needs a Business Associate Agreement if it creates, receives, maintains or transmits protected health information for the center. That often includes call recordings, online check-in or intake data, patient lists for review requests, and CRM records. Get the BAA signed before sharing any data, and confirm the details with your counsel.
What should happen to call-tracking numbers when an urgent care center changes agencies?
Call-tracking numbers should be ported to the urgent care center when the contract ends, along with an export of the call log. Those numbers are often printed on listings, directories and ads. If they sit in the agency's account and are switched off, patients calling an old listing reach nothing. Write porting into the handover clause.
Is it normal for an urgent care marketing agency to guarantee rankings or visits?
No. Guaranteed map rankings or guaranteed visit counts are a warning sign, because Google controls search results and many factors drive walk-ins, from weather to local illness trends. A sound contract sets agreed goals, explains how each is measured, and states what happens if a goal is missed, such as a revised plan or a fee credit.
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.
Reviewing an urgent care marketing contract?
Book a call with the US team. We'll walk through the ownership, billing, BAA and exit clauses in your draft, and show you how we write our own.