I run both for practices in Louisville KY and southern Indiana, and I hear the same question from implant and full arch owners: if we can only fund one, which one? The honest answer depends on whether your next patient is already typing a search or still scrolling and thinking.

What Google Ads does well for dental consults

Someone typing a procedure name plus Louisville is close to booking. Google search ads can place you in front of that person the same day the campaign is running and approved. That is why Google Ads is so often the starting point for high intent procedures.

The tradeoff is the auction. Those clicks cost what they cost because other practices want the same searches. Healthcare ads also face stricter review. The account needs clean keywords, a landing page that matches the search, and tracking that can follow a click to a consult.

I cover that work on my Google Ads page. If you want a Louisville specific overview, see Google Ads in Louisville.

What Meta ads do well for dental consults

A person scrolling Facebook or Instagram is usually not typing "full arch implants near me." They may still have been thinking about implants, a smile change, or a consult for months. Meta ads for healthcare are how I reach that person, earn the click or the form, and start a conversation before they enter the search auction.

Meta cannot replace search. People who are actively looking for a provider still go to Google, and Google Ads plus your Google Business Profile are what catch them there. Meta works best beside those channels, not instead of them.

Meta also has rules. You cannot target people by medical condition. Campaigns have to be built around location, interest in the treatment, and audiences you already have permission to use. The ad itself has to stay inside Meta's health policies. I write about the local version of this work in Facebook ads in Louisville.

How I choose which channel to fund first

Start with Google Ads when:

  • Patients already search for your procedure by name
  • You have a page that can turn that search into a consult request
  • Your team can answer inquiries quickly
  • You want demand from people who are ready to compare providers now

Start with Meta ads when:

  • The procedure is a long considered decision and people think about it before they search
  • You have a way to start a conversation without pretending the person typed a query
  • You can create honest creative, ideally with you or your team on camera rather than stock photos
  • Search alone is not bringing enough people into the top of the process

If follow up is slow, I will tell you to fix that before we raise spend on either channel. An inquiry that waits until tomorrow is usually gone, and that is true for a Google lead form and a Meta lead form alike.

What both channels require

High ticket dental ads fail in the same places no matter which logo is on the invoice.

They fail when every procedure shares one campaign and one budget, so you cannot tell what produced a consult. They fail when the click lands on a homepage that lists every service. They fail when creative makes claims you would not say in the chair. They fail when tracking stops at the form fill and never learns about started cases.

They also fail when health details are sent to an ad platform. No patient record should go to Meta or to Google as a convenience. Tracking has to be set up so the platforms get the conversion signal they are allowed to get, and nothing from the chart.

You should own the ad accounts. Media should be paid by you to the platform. Management should be a separate, readable fee.

Can they work together?

Yes. A common pattern is Google Ads capturing the people who are searching today while Meta ads keep the practice in front of people who are earlier in the decision. The two accounts should share the same definition of a booked consult and the same honest offer.

They should not share a single vague message about "a better smile" if you are trying to start implant or full arch cases. The procedure should be clear, the next step should be clear, and the follow up should be ready before spend goes live.

You can hire Meta ads alone or Google Ads alone. If you want them connected with the website, search, and follow up as one system, that is the New Patient Engine. The Empty Chair Offer is a separate offer.

What I will not invent about cost or results

I will not publish a typical cost per consult for either channel. Those numbers move with the procedure, the market, the creative, the page, and how fast your team replies. I will tell you the media amount I would recommend on the call, paid to the platform, not to me.

I will not claim that Meta always produces cheaper leads or that Google always produces better ones. Cheap leads that never show up for a consult are not a win. Better is the channel that produces started cases you can afford after management and media are both counted.

Questions practices ask

Should a practice run Google Ads, SEO, or both first?

If you need consults from people already searching, Google Ads can go first, with SEO building the pages and map presence that make you less dependent on those clicks later. Meta ads are a third decision, used when you also want to reach people before they search. SEO is not a substitute for either ad channel, and ads are not a substitute for pages that can rank.

How much does Google Ads cost for dentists?

You pay Google for clicks and you pay separately for management. Click cost depends on the procedure, the competition, and the landing page. I estimate both after I see your market rather than inventing a range here. Meta has its own media bill, paid to Meta, with the same rule: no blended mystery number.

When does paid search beat local SEO for high value procedures?

Paid search can reach a ready searcher today even if you are not yet strong in the map. Local SEO can keep producing visits without paying for each click, but it takes longer. Meta sits beside both of those. It is not local SEO, and it is not search. For a high value dental procedure I often want search ads carrying immediate demand while local SEO and, when it fits, Meta ads cover the rest of the path.

Can you target people who already have a dental condition?

Not by condition. Meta does not allow targeting by medical condition, and health related targeting on Google is limited too. We use location, the way people express interest in treatment, and audiences the practice already has the right to use.

What I would do next

If you are choosing between Meta ads and Google Ads for implant or full arch consults, tell me how people currently find you and how fast inquiries get a reply. Start on my Meta ads page or my Google Ads page. I will recommend a first channel, or tell you if follow up should come before either one.