What should happen in the first 90 days with a new marketing agency for an urgent care center?
In the first 90 days, a new urgent care marketing agency should sign a BAA, audit tracking across your website and online check-in, clean up the Google Business Profile for every location, launch a few measured campaigns, and agree a weekly reporting rhythm. By day 90 you should see check-ins and calls by location and channel, not just clicks and impressions.
- Days 1–30 are setup: access, a signed Business Associate Agreement, a tracking audit that includes the online check-in flow, and a per-location baseline.
- Days 31–60 fix the map and launch: every location's Google Business Profile, hours and services pages, then one or two search campaigns tied to check-ins.
- Days 61–90 prove it: visits by location and channel, a first optimization round, and a seasonal plan for the next quarter.
- The center has homework: logins, a contact at each site, a check-in or practice-management data export, and a weekly 30-minute review.
- Every practice welcome — retainers from $499/mo, Goals-Driven engagements, Performance-Linked Payout Models available.
- Dallas, Texas LLC
- US client team · Central Time (CST)
- 25+ US healthcare clients
- BAA signed with every client
- HIPAA compliance training across client and delivery teams
- Contracts and invoices in USD
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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 an urgent care center?
A good urgent care onboarding runs in three phases: setup in month one, local fixes and first campaigns in month two, and proof in month three. Each phase ends with something you can check, such as a signed BAA, check-in tracking that works, or a report of visits by location and source.
Urgent care is a different buying journey from most of healthcare. Many patients decide within minutes, on a phone, often from the map results. They compare distance, open hours, wait time and whether you take their insurance. Some book an online check-in slot. Many simply walk in. That means the usual agency playbook of ads first, measurement later fails faster here than almost anywhere else. A walk-in who saw your ad never shows up in a form report.
So the order of work matters. Access and paperwork come first. Then the agency measures where visits come from today, per location. Then it fixes the things that leak demand: wrong hours on a Google profile, a check-in button that breaks on mobile, a phone line that rolls to voicemail at 7 p.m. Only after that should real ad budget go live. This is the sequence we follow on urgent care marketing engagements in the US, and it is a fair yardstick for any agency you hire.
Three questions to settle at kickoff
- What counts as a result: online check-ins, calls, walk-ins attributed by survey, occupational medicine accounts, or all of these?
- Which locations and which service lines get priority this quarter?
- Who at the center answers the agency's questions within one business day?
What should the agency do week by week in days 1–90?
Weeks one to four cover access, the BAA, tracking and a per-location baseline. Weeks five to eight cover Google Business Profile, website and phone fixes, then the first campaigns. Weeks nine to thirteen cover optimization, a seasonal plan and a quarterly review. Use the table below as the agenda for your weekly calls.
| Weeks | What the agency does | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Kickoff; collects logins for website, analytics, ad accounts, Google Business Profiles and the online check-in tool; signs a Business Associate Agreement; confirms goals by location and service line | Signed BAA; access list; named account owner and a contact at each site |
| Week 2 | Tracking audit: analytics events, check-in completions, click-to-call, call tracking, and any pixels or tags on check-in, booking or patient-portal pages | Written audit with fixes ranked, including anything that could send patient data to ad platforms |
| Weeks 3–4 | Baseline per location: visits by source today, call answer rate, Google profile completeness, review count and response habits, local map visibility | A one-page baseline per site that you both sign off |
| Weeks 5–6 | Local fixes: hours (including holidays), categories, services, insurance and self-pay information, photos, check-in links on every profile; location pages on the website | A dated change log for every location |
| Weeks 7–8 | First campaigns, usually search ads around each location for core visit types, with budgets and geography you approved; call-handling review | Campaigns live with written goals; first call-outcome notes |
| Weeks 9–10 | Optimization: search terms, ad schedule against open hours, location radius, landing pages, cost per check-in | Notes on what changed and why |
| Weeks 11–12 | Seasonal plan for the next quarter (for example respiratory season, school and sports physicals, or employer outreach); review-request routine running at every site | A draft 90-day plan with a calendar |
| Week 13 | Quarterly review against the baseline | Visits and calls by location and channel, spend, and agreed next goals |
Some slippage is normal. A franchise or management group may control the website. A check-in vendor may take weeks to add a tracking event. What is not normal is skipping the audit and baseline to launch ads sooner. If you do, you lose the ability to say which location or campaign drove more visits.
What should be finished in the first 30 days?
By day 30 you should have a signed BAA, a complete access list, a written tracking audit covering the website, online check-in and phones, and a baseline for every location. No meaningful ad spend should be running on broken tracking. If the agency launched big campaigns in week one, ask how it plans to measure them.
The BAA and access
An agency that handles call recordings, check-in data or any patient information on your behalf is acting as a business associate. It should sign a Business Associate Agreement before it touches those systems. We sign a BAA with every US client. Access should be granted to named user accounts, not shared passwords, so you can remove it cleanly later.
The tracking audit
The HHS guidance on online tracking technologies says tracking on pages where patients log in, such as portals, is covered by HIPAA. A federal court in June 2024 vacated part of that guidance for unauthenticated public pages, but booking and check-in flows still deserve caution. The audit should list every tag on those pages and say what data each one sends. Confirm the right setup with your counsel.
The baseline
Urgent care baselines are harder than most because walk-ins leave no digital trail. A practical baseline combines four sources:
- Online check-ins and calls by source, from analytics and call tracking.
- Visit volumes by location from your practice-management or check-in system, without patient details.
- A simple "How did you hear about us?" field at registration.
- Google Business Profile insights for calls, direction requests and website clicks per location.
None of these is perfect alone. Together they let you compare month three with month zero honestly.
Which quick wins and campaigns should come in days 31–90?
Days 31–60 should fix local listings, location pages and phone handling, then launch one or two search campaigns built on working tracking. Days 61–90 should optimize those campaigns, start a steady review routine at every site, and produce a seasonal plan. Social media and broad awareness work usually come later.
Quick wins that usually matter most
- Hours. Every profile, page and ad schedule should match real open hours, including holidays. A patient who drives to a closed center rarely comes back.
- Check-in links. Each location's Google profile and page should link to that location's check-in, not a generic page.
- Services and insurance. List the visit types you actually offer and the plans you accept, plus how self-pay works. See our urgent care Google Business Profile guide.
- Phones. Calls after hours or during rush periods need a plan: overflow, callback, or a clear message pointing to online check-in.
- Reviews. Ask every patient the same way, at every site. The FTC rule on consumer reviews and testimonials bans fake reviews and bars paying for reviews that express a particular sentiment, so do not filter who gets asked.
First campaigns
Search ads around each location for core visit types are the usual starting point. Ad schedules should follow open hours, and location targeting should reflect realistic drive times. Keep ad copy factual. Avoid implying you treat emergencies; messaging about when to choose an emergency room should come from your clinical leaders.
Days 61–90
The agency should cut wasted search terms, adjust budgets between locations, and test one landing-page change at a time. It should also bring a plan for the coming season, whether that is respiratory illness, school and sports physicals, or employer and occupational medicine outreach.
What does the urgent care center need to provide during onboarding?
The center needs to provide access, a contact at each location, de-identified visit data by site, decisions on priorities, and time for a weekly review. Most slow onboardings are slowed by missing logins and unanswered questions, not by the agency's work. Assign one internal owner before kickoff.
- Access: website and hosting, domain, analytics, tag manager, ad accounts, every Google Business Profile, the online check-in tool and the phone system or call-tracking account.
- People: one owner for the agency relationship and a site manager or lead at each location who can confirm hours, services and photos.
- Data: monthly visit counts per location for the past year, without patient identifiers, so the agency can see seasonality and set a fair baseline.
- Decisions: which locations and service lines matter most, monthly budget limits, and who approves ads and copy.
- Compliance input: your privacy officer or counsel should review tracking choices, SMS consent language and review-request wording.
- Time: a 30-minute weekly call in the first 90 days, then whatever rhythm you agree.
If your group has several sites, decide early whether each site manager can request changes directly or whether all requests go through one person. Mixed instructions from five managers is a common reason campaigns drift. Our multi-location urgent care marketing guide covers how groups usually split this work.
What are the red flags in an urgent care agency's first 90 days?
The biggest red flags are no BAA, ads running before tracking works, reports that show clicks but not check-ins or calls, and one generic plan for every location. Any of these means you will reach day 90 with activity but no proof. Raise them in writing as soon as you see them.
| Red flag | Why it matters | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| No BAA, or "we don't need one" | The agency may handle calls, recordings or check-in data | A signed BAA before system access |
| Ad platform pixels on check-in or portal pages | Risk of sharing patient information with third parties | A tag list for those pages and a HIPAA-safe alternative |
| Reports with impressions and clicks only | You cannot connect spend to visits | Check-ins and calls by location and channel |
| Same ads and pages for every site | Locations differ in hours, services and competition | A per-location view in plans and reports |
| Ads running when a site is closed | Wasted spend and frustrated patients | Ad schedules matched to each site's hours |
| No change log | You cannot tell what caused a change in results | A dated log of every fix and campaign edit |
One flag deserves special care: review tactics. If an agency suggests asking only happy patients for reviews, or offering perks for five-star ratings, stop it. Our urgent care reviews and reputation guide explains a cleaner routine.
If you are not seeing what this page describes by day 90, book a call with our US team for a second opinion on your setup.
Related pages from the US team
Urgent care marketing agency USA
How Ichelon Consulting US plans and runs urgent care marketing.
Urgent care agency contract checklist
What to settle in writing before onboarding starts.
Urgent care agency RFP template
Ask agencies to describe their 90-day plan before you sign.
Urgent care marketing audit checklist
Build the baseline your first 90 days will be judged against.
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 a new urgent care marketing agency to show results?
Expect setup and fixes in the first 60 days and measurable results by about day 90. Local listing fixes and search ads can lift calls and check-ins within weeks, but SEO and reputation gains build over months. Judge the first 90 days on whether the agency created reliable tracking, fixed each location's listings and showed visits by channel against a baseline.
Does an urgent care marketing agency need to sign a BAA?
An agency that creates, receives or handles protected health information for an urgent care center, such as call recordings or online check-in data, generally acts as a business associate and should sign a Business Associate Agreement before getting access. Ichelon Consulting US signs a BAA with every US client. Ask your counsel to confirm which of your vendors need one.
How should an urgent care center measure walk-in patients from marketing?
Walk-ins leave no form or click record, so combine several signals. Track online check-ins and calls by source, review Google Business Profile calls and direction requests per location, compare de-identified visit counts per site against a baseline, and ask a simple 'How did you hear about us?' question at registration. Together these give a fair picture.
What should an urgent care center provide to a new marketing agency?
Provide logins for the website, analytics, ad accounts, every Google Business Profile, the online check-in tool and the phone system. Add a named owner for the relationship, a contact at each location, monthly visit counts per site without patient details, budget limits, approval rules, and a weekly 30-minute review during the first 90 days.
What is a red flag in the first month with an urgent care marketing agency?
The clearest red flag is spending ad budget before tracking works. Others include refusing to sign a BAA, placing ad pixels on check-in or patient-portal pages, reporting only clicks and impressions, using one plan for every location, and running ads while a site is closed. Raise each issue in writing and ask for a dated 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 urgent care?
A 30-minute call with the US team. We will look at your check-in tracking, each location's Google profile and your call handling, 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 →