Creating Better Patient Engagement

A hospital system needed to enhance its digital presence and effectively reach patients seeking specialized care, particularly in its bariatrics service line. It sought to revitalize its search engine marketing (SEM) strategy to drive lead generation, improve campaign efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge in key markets.

The hospital system partnered with GRADIANT to implement a comprehensive SEM strategy overhaul. GRADIANT began by thoroughly analyzing the hospital’s current digital presence, market position, and target audience. The team identified KPIs and set clear goals for lead generation, cost efficiency, and market share. Based on their findings, GRADIANT and the hospital system developed a tailored SEM strategy that included implementing a hospital-system-forward branding approach to unify messaging across all facilities, leveraging advanced SEM techniques including responsive search ads, refining keywords from broad terms to exact-match keywords and phrases, and planning for continuous improvement using Google’s Recommendation Tool. They focused on optimizing ad combinations dynamically, improving impression share in competitive markets, enhancing user understanding and quality scores by adding page summaries to site links, and continually monitoring and adjusting the campaign based on performance data.

The hospital system and GRADIANT’s collaborative efforts yielded impressive outcomes. Lead generation for the bariatrics service line soared by 27%, indicating a significant increase in connecting with patients needing specialized care. Remarkably, this growth was achieved while simultaneously reducing the cost per lead by 20%, demonstrating a substantial improvement in campaign efficiency. The team successfully achieved an impression share of 20%-40% across markets, reaching up to 40% in focus markets. This enhanced visibility translated into tangible patient care outcomes, with a 165% increase in patient encounters, corresponding to a 5% year-over-year growth in net patient revenue. Beyond the numbers, the campaign's success meant more individuals in the community could easily find and access the life-changing care they needed.