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When you optimize your website and tailor your social media strategy, you’re bound to see an increase in traffic. But if you’re in the healthcare sector, you may not be experiencing a corresponding increase in conversions. Don’t count this as lost sales—these numbers could simply indicate that certain audience members are not yet ready to commit. By formulating a solid ads retargeting strategy, you can re-engage warm prospects who didn’t complete the desired action initially, guiding them back to your conversion funnel.
Retargeting Ads – What They Are and Why They Work for Healthcare
In B2B and B2C healthcare, most prospects who visit your website won’t convert on their first visit. Retargeting is a digital marketing strategy that helps you reconnect with those visitors through targeted ads after they’ve left your website. It can be a highly effective way of repopulating your pipeline and boosting ROI.
Here’s how it works: using what’s called a tracking pixel (which is a small piece of code embedded in your site), you can identify and categorize users who didn’t complete a desired action, such as filling out a contact form, requesting a demo, or booking an appointment. By using tracking pixels, you can show personalized ads to these audiences on the other websites and platforms they browse, reminding them they’d visited your site and encouraging them to return and convert.
Examples of retargeting ads include banner ads on industry-related articles, video ads on YouTube, following up on audiences that downloaded a white paper with a message that builds on that topic, and for those who visited your demo page but didn’t fill out the form, showing them an ad that simplifies the next step.
Ad retargeting should focus on building trust through relevant educational content. This is not a hard sell tactic but rather a reminder that your solution might still be the one they’ve been looking for. In healthcare, where decision-makers are doing their research and comparing vendors and practitioners, this is particularly powerful. Retargeting keeps your brand alive in that in-between space, helping to convert in your favor.
Best Practices for Healthcare Ads Retargeting
By showing meaningful, timely ads to people who’ve already demonstrated interest in your product or service, you reduce wasted spend while increasing the likelihood of conversions.
Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process:
Tracking: an in-market individual visits your website, and a cookie identifies them as part of a custom audience.
Segmentation: You assign them to a specific audience list, such as “demo page visitors” or “abandoned contact forms.”
Re-engagement: Your ads appear on different sites, apps, and social media across the web, reminding them of your offer and encouraging another visit.
Ad Content. Avoid hard sells or overt product pushes. Focus instead on building trust by tailoring messages to match each stage of their journey. Use retargeting ads to share case studies, data sheets, or explainer videos.
Ad Frequency: Too many impressions can cause ad fatigue. Limit exposure so your brand stays visible but not overwhelming.
Best Platforms for Ad Retargeting
As with all digital marketing strategies, it’s important to remember that different platforms serve different purposes.
Google Display Network lets you reach users across millions of Google-owned sites and apps. Your ads can appear almost anywhere your audience spends time, which is why retargeting ads on Google is so effective.
LinkedIn, the king of B2B retargeting, is where healthcare leaders, administrators, and decision-makers engage. With its detailed targeting tools, you can show ads directly to professionals based on their job titles, industries, or company size. In a sector built on relationships and trust, this kind of precision is priceless.
Facebook and Instagram also have their place. They’re ideal for showcasing thought leadership, maintaining visibility among professional networks, and reinforcing your brand personality through visual storytelling. Pro tip: keep your content professional and compliance-oriented.
Compliance and Privacy Considerations
This is where B2C healthcare marketers need to pay special attention. Retargeting ads are generally not HIPAA compliant because of cookies and trackers that can link to an individual’s private health information, violating patient privacy. To avoid this conflict, use broad, non-personal targeting and remove pixels from secure areas like patient portals so that any data sent to an ad portal is de-identified. In the realm of B2B healthcare, targeting professionals (not patients) is safe, compliant, and effective.
Measuring Success
The advantage digital marketing offers over traditional media is the accurate data it generates. You won’t get this from a print campaign in a trade publication. Data in digital is your best friend, allowing you to monitor essential KPIs. The trick here is to identify meaningful metrics instead of vanity metrics (such as likes or follows). Your KPIs can include—but are not limited to—conversion rates, view-through conversions (VTC), cost per acquisition (CPA), lift in website visits, time on page/bounce rate/engagement rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
A/B test your creative and messaging to determine which types of ads and messaging are the most effective.
The Comeback Kid in Healthcare Leads
Industry data reveals that retargeted ads are more likely to be clicked on than regular ads. They help you stay connected with prospects who already know your brand and need a few more nudges to convert. When used strategically and with compliance safeguards in place, retargeting ads in the healthcare space can transform stray traffic into loyal customers.
At GoEpps, we help healthcare organizations build data-driven marketing systems that deliver measurable, sustainable results. If your traffic is being held up at the conversion intersection, we’ll help you blend strategy with execution for a solid retargeting strategy that achieves your goals. Get in touch today!
