Key takeaways
- Bid on treatment-plus-area searches patients actually type, such as lip filler or underarm laser hair removal, not industry jargon.
- Neurotoxin brand names are prescription medicines, and Google restricts promoting them, so plan keywords and ad text around that.
- Start with phrase and exact match; broad match only earns a place once booked consultations feed back as conversions.
- A med spa negative list needs day-spa, training and at-home device terms on top of the usual jobs and free.
The Google Ads keywords worth paying for at a med spa are the ones patients type when they are ready to book a consultation: a specific treatment, a body area or concern, and "near me" or a neighborhood. Generic "spa" terms, training searches and at-home device queries burn budget, so your negative keyword list matters as much as the keyword list itself.
The keywords worth paying for
Pay for searches that name a treatment you offer and signal someone close to booking. Patients use their own words, not your menu's. They say "lip filler", not "dermal filler", and "laser hair removal bikini", not "laser hair reduction". Your consultation intake forms and call recordings are the best keyword research you own.
| Service line | Searches that tend to book | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Injectables | "lip filler near me", "wrinkle relaxer appointment", "filler consultation" | Neurotoxin brand names are prescription medicines. Google restricts promoting them in ads, so expect limits or disapprovals; bid on the treatment and the consultation, not the brand name (Google's healthcare policy) |
| Laser treatments | "laser hair removal underarms", "laser hair removal package", "IPL photofacial near me" | The word "laser" alone matches eye surgery, tattoo removal, printers and laser tag |
| Skin rejuvenation | "microneedling near me", "chemical peel for acne scars", "medical facial" | Device and product trademarks in ad text |
| Body contouring | "body contouring near me", "non surgical fat reduction" | Searches for surgery, which a med spa does not perform |
| Event-driven | "bridal skin treatment", "skin prep before wedding" | Wedding vendors searching for partners rather than patients |
| Your name | Your spa name and provider names | Paying for clicks your Business Profile would have caught anyway, which only a test will tell you |
Group these by service line, one tight ad group each, so the ad and landing page match what the person typed. For the organic side of the same research, see what patients search before they choose a med spa.
Building a keyword list that pays
- Pick high-intent terms Searches that name a service you sell
- Choose match types Phrase and exact for control
- Add negative keywords Block searches you never want to pay for
- Read the search terms What people actually typed
Then refine the list
Match types
Start with phrase and exact match, and add broad match only after booked consultations feed back into Google Ads as conversions. Match types decide how far Google can stretch a keyword (Google's match type rules), and med spa terms stretch badly.
- Exact match keeps "laser hair removal near me" to searches with that meaning. Use it for your best-booking terms.
- Phrase match lets "lip filler" catch "lip filler appointment this weekend" while still requiring the meaning of the phrase.
- Broad match lets Google decide what is related. Without conversion data, a broad "laser" keyword happily buys "laser printer repair". With good conversion data, it can find patient searches you did not think of. Watch the search terms report closely in the first weeks.
Negative keyword list
- Block job seekers and students. Add jobs, careers, hiring, salary, esthetician school, injector training, certification, course and license. These searches spike when schools enroll, and none of them book.
- Block at-home and DIY shoppers. Add at home, DIY, kit, handheld, device, cream, serum and how to. Someone pricing a home laser device is not booking a laser package.
- Block day-spa intent. Add massage, pedicure, manicure, nails, couples, sauna, day pass, resort and hair salon. Keep "facial" if you offer medical facials.
- Block the wrong laser and the wrong clinic. Add eye, LASIK, printer, level, tag and dental. Add tattoo removal unless you offer it.
- Block surgery searches if you do not offer surgery. Add surgeon, surgery, liposuction and tummy tuck.
- Decide on bargain terms deliberately. Add free and coupon. Test "cheap" and deal-site names before blocking them, because some price-led searchers do book.
- Block complaint and research searches. Add gone wrong, lawsuit, side effects and recall. Answer those questions on your website instead, where they build trust rather than cost clicks.
- Do not block gift card searches before the holidays. People buying a treatment as a gift are customers, even if they are not the patient.
Add negatives at the campaign or account level so they apply everywhere (how negatives work), and keep the list in a shared document so the front desk can flag new junk they hear on calls.
Review cadence
Review search terms weekly for the first month, then every month, and again before each season. The first weeks show you what Google actually matched your keywords to, and that is where most of the early savings sit.
- Weekly, at launch: read the search terms report, add negatives, and move good terms to exact match.
- Monthly: compare cost per booked consultation by ad group and shift budget toward services that book.
- Before wedding season, the holidays and New Year: add event and gift terms, refresh ad copy for the season and check every promotion has an end date.
- Whenever the menu changes: add keywords for new treatments and pause ad groups for anything you stopped offering.
If keeping up with that cadence is the problem, Google Ads management for med spas explains what to expect from someone running it for you.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We build your keyword and negative lists from patient language, your intake forms and real search data, then keep pruning as booked consultations come in. Your ad account stays in your name, changes run as dated projects, and we report which searches produced consultations and which did not. Book a growth consultation and we will review your search terms report with you.
Sources
- About keyword matching options, Google Ads Help
- About negative keywords, Google Ads Help
- Healthcare and medicines policy, Google Advertising Policies Help