Addiction Treatment, Rehab SEO, and LegitScript Certification
There still seems to be some confusion in the addiction treatment industry surrounding Google placement, organic SEO, and PPC (pay-per-click) advertising. We discovered this confusion in a recent SEO & Marketing meeting with a prominent addiction treatment center on the East Coast. After a considerate amount of time explaining our rehab center marketing using an organic strategy, the first statement by the CEO was:
“Well, none of this matters until we become LegitScript certified, so we have to wait before we move forward.”
At this moment, we understood how little people knew about how Google works and how it was not their fault. When Google decided to remove addiction treatment center ads in 2017, many addiction treatment providers were left stranded with no presence on Google for desired keywords. This caused panic within the industry and also spawned a ton of articles relating to the removal of addiction treatment centers from Google.
About seven months later, it was announced that Google had partnered with a company called LegitScript and that drug and alcohol treatment centers would now have to go through a complex vetting process, pay multiple fees, and be approved. Then, they would be able to participate in PPC advertising on Google. The funny thing about all of this is that most addiction treatment centers did not realize that THEY WERE NOT removed from Google, but just their PPC ads were.
What is LegitScript Certification?
LegitScript Certification is a credentialing process designed to ensure that healthcare providers, including drug rehab centers, meet specific standards of legality, safety, and transparency. This certification is a requirement for addiction treatment facilities that wish to advertise on platforms like Google and Facebook.
LegitScript evaluates these facilities based on various criteria to ensure they operate legitimately and provide high-quality care. The certification protects consumers from fraudulent or substandard services by ensuring that only credible and reputable rehab organizations can advertise their services.
What are the Requirements?
To obtain LegitScript Certification, treatment facilities must demonstrate compliance with several vital standards. They must adhere to all relevant laws and regulations, ensuring they are fully licensed and operate within the legal framework. Transparency is crucial; centers must provide clear and accurate information about their services, treatment methodologies, and staff qualifications.
The quality of care is also scrutinized to ensure that it meets industry standards and best practices. Additionally, centers must engage in ethical marketing practices, avoiding deceptive or misleading claims. Financial integrity is another requirement, as centers must show that they are financially stable and capable of sustaining their operations and services.
What is the LegitScript Certification Process?
The process of obtaining LegitScript Certification involves several steps. First, the addiction treatment center must provide detailed information about its services, operational procedures, and compliance with relevant laws. LegitScript then reviews these documents to verify the center’s adherence to legal and regulatory standards. In some cases, LegitScript may conduct an on-site inspection to ensure the facility’s operations align with its documented practices. Staff and management interviews may also be conducted to assess the center’s commitment to quality care and ethical practices. After certification is granted, LegitScript continues to monitor the facility to ensure ongoing compliance with its standards.
Here’s the breakdown for obtaining LegitScript Certification in a few steps:
- Application Process: The addiction treatment center submits an application detailing its services, operational procedures, and compliance with relevant laws.
- Documentation Review: LegitScript reviews the submitted documents to verify the center’s adherence to legal and regulatory standards.
- Site Inspection: LegitScript may conduct an on-site inspection to verify the facility’s operations and compliance with standards.
- Interview Process: Staff and management interviews may be conducted to assess the center’s commitment to quality care and ethical practices.
- Ongoing Monitoring: After certification, LegitScript continues to monitor the facility to ensure ongoing compliance with standards and practices.
You DO NOT NEED to be LegitScript certified to be on Google.
There are only two ways to get your addiction treatment center on Google. The first way is to buy ads, better known as rehab PPC ads, and the second is organic SEO. Let’s explore both in detail so there can be no more confusion.
What is PPC for Google Ads?
PPC stands for pay-per-click, a model of internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your site rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically. Search engine advertising is one of the most popular forms of digital advertising. Under today’s current climate, addiction treatment centers are required to become certified through LegitScript, which will cost your addiction treatment center a minimum of $2990.00 per year, and that is before you spend ONE dollar on the actual ads or the management fee.
- Desired Keyword Cost: The cost of desired keywords, or pay-per-click cost, varies depending upon the popularity of such keywords. Essentially, this is the price you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. The more popular and competitive a keyword is, the higher the cost will be. Addiction treatment centers are competing with each other for the same keywords, which drives up the prices. Understanding and managing these costs is crucial for a successful PPC campaign.
- Google Ad Rank: Google Ad Rank determines the position of your ad on the search results page. It is calculated based on your bid amount, the quality of your ad and website, and the expected impact of extensions and other ad formats. A higher ad rank means a better position, which can lead to more clicks and conversions. It’s important to optimize your ads to achieve a high ad rank.
- Google Auction: The Google Auction is the process that determines which ads will appear on the search results page and in what order. When someone performs a search, Google processes the auction in real-time, considering all eligible ads. Factors like bid amount, ad quality, and relevance play significant roles in the auction process. Understanding how the auction works helps in crafting strategies to outbid competitors and secure better ad positions.
- Google Quality Score: Google Quality Score is a metric that reflects the relevance and quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. It ranges from 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating better quality and relevance. A high-quality score can lower your cost-per-click and improve your ad position. Improving quality scores involves optimizing ad copy, selecting relevant keywords, and ensuring a good user experience on your landing pages.
- Ad Group: An Ad Group is a collection of ads within a campaign that share similar targets and keywords. Organizing ads into groups helps manage and optimize them more effectively. Each ad group should focus on a specific theme or product to ensure relevance and improve performance. Proper ad group organization can enhance your campaign’s efficiency and effectiveness.
- Conversion Optimizer: Conversion Optimizer is a tool that helps improve the performance of your PPC campaigns by automatically adjusting your bids to maximize conversions. It uses historical data and machine learning to predict which clicks are more likely to lead to conversions and adjust bids accordingly. This tool helps in achieving better ROI by focusing on high-quality traffic.
- Negative Keywords: Negative keywords are terms that you exclude from your PPC campaigns to prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches. Using negative keywords helps refine your target audience and reduce wasted ad spending. For example, if you’re advertising luxury rehab services, you might use “cheap” as a negative keyword to avoid attracting the wrong audience.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR is the ratio of clicks to impressions on your ads. It’s calculated by dividing the number of clicks your ad receives by the number of times your ad is shown. CTR is a critical metric because it indicates the effectiveness of your ad in attracting potential customers. A high CTR usually means your ad is relevant and compelling to users.
- Return On Ad Spend (ROAS): ROAS is a measure of the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It’s calculated by dividing the total revenue by the total ad spend. ROAS helps in evaluating the efficiency and profitability of your PPC campaigns. A higher ROAS indicates better performance and higher returns on your advertising investments.
- Website Architecture and PPC Success: The structure and organization of your website play a significant role in your PPC success. A well-designed website with clear navigation and optimized landing pages can improve user experience, increase conversion rates, and enhance your Quality Score. Ensuring your website is user-friendly and aligned with your ad goals is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns.
Understanding these components is essential for managing a successful PPC campaign. It requires a blend of strategic planning, continuous optimization, and expertise in digital marketing to ensure that every dollar spent yields maximum returns.
These are just a few factors that matter in a PPC campaign. The ability to understand and answer these questions and many more will dictate the success of any PPC campaign. This is why any addiction treatment center will need a superior PPC management team to run its campaign. Campaign management fees vary, but any worthwhile campaign has a set-up fee and a monthly management fee.
A study shows that organic search accounts for about 64 percent of all site traffic, while paid search generates only 6 percent.
What is SEO for Rehab Centers?
Organic SEO (search engine optimization) is the phrase used to describe processes to obtain a natural placement on organic search engine results pages. Some examples of techniques used for organic SEO include using keywords and keyword analysis, backlinking, link building to improve link popularity, and writing content relevant to human readers.
Organic SEO does not happen overnight but rather is a long-term strategy to guarantee that your addiction treatment center’s digital reputation will be built to last. Organic SEO is a lot like being in recovery because there is no time substitute. It takes consistency, hard work, a specific skill set, and patience. The bottom line is that many more treatment centers are fighting for the first page of Google than available spots on the first page.
The benefit of organically being on the first page of Google is that once you get there, it is easy to stay there. In September 2017, when Google removed all the PPC ads from addiction treatment centers, it was a massive blow to many addiction treatment centers marketing campaigns. However, many addiction treatment centers had spent time and resources making sure that they had an organic presence and were not affected by the PPC removal. Once you stop paying for a PPC campaign, you disappear from Google. Don’t get us wrong, organic SEO is not without its hiccups. It takes time, patience, and a significant investment to achieve results, and the results are not seen overnight.
A successful organic SEO campaign requires the following:
Website Audit
A website audit is a comprehensive analysis of all the factors that affect your website’s visibility in search engines. This includes technical aspects like site speed, mobile usability, crawlability, and on-page elements like content quality, keyword usage, and meta tags. A thorough audit helps identify any issues hindering your site’s performance and provides a roadmap for improvement.
An Industry & Competitor Analysis
Industry and competitor analysis involves researching your market to understand the competitive landscape. This includes identifying key competitors, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and understanding their SEO strategies. Doing so can uncover opportunities to differentiate your treatment center and develop strategies to outperform your competitors.
Local SEO and International SEO
Local SEO focuses on optimizing your online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches.
This involves optimizing your Google My Business profile, ensuring consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information across all directories, and acquiring local citations and reviews.
On the other hand, International SEO involves optimizing your website so that search engines can easily identify which countries you want to target and which languages you use for business.
An Industry & Competitor Analysis
Industry and competitor analysis involves researching your market to understand the competitive landscape. This includes identifying key competitors, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, and understanding their SEO strategies. Doing so can uncover opportunities to differentiate your treatment center and develop strategies to outperform your competitors.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of identifying the search terms your potential clients use when looking for addiction treatment services. It involves finding relevant keywords with a good balance of search volume and competition. Effective keyword research helps you create content that meets the needs of your target audience and improves your chances of ranking higher in search results.
On-site Technical Maintenance and Optimization
On-site technical maintenance and optimization involve making sure your website meets all technical requirements for modern search engines. This includes optimizing site speed, ensuring mobile-friendliness, improving navigation, fixing broken links, and implementing structured data. Proper technical optimization helps search engines crawl and index your site more efficiently, leading to better visibility.
Content Marketing
Content marketing services involve creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage your target audience. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and more. High-quality content helps establish your authority in the addiction treatment industry and improves your site’s SEO by attracting backlinks and encouraging social shares.
Link Building
Link building is acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. Quality backlinks from reputable sites signal to search engines that your website is a trusted source of information. Effective link-building strategies include guest blogging, outreach to industry influencers, and creating shareable content that naturally attracts links.
Conversion Rate Optimazation
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as filling out a contact form or calling your center. CRO involves analyzing user behavior, conducting A/B testing, and making data-driven changes to your site to improve user experience and increase conversions.
By focusing on these elements, a successful organic SEO campaign can enhance your addiction treatment center’s online visibility, attract more potential patients, and build a sustainable digital presence.
Pros and Cons of Drug Rehab SEO
SEO is a long-term strategy that involves optimizing your website to rank higher in organic search results. This approach requires time, patience, and continuous effort but can yield sustainable and lasting benefits. Below is a detailed table summarizing the pros and cons of using SEO for marketing drug and alcohol rehab centers:
| Pros of Drug Rehab SEO | Cons of Drug Rehab SEO |
| Sustainable long-term results: Once you achieve high rankings, you can maintain them with consistent effort. | Takes time to see results: It can take several months to a year to see significant improvements in rankings and traffic. |
| Builds credibility and trust with your audience: High-ranking sites are often perceived as more trustworthy and authoritative. | Requires ongoing maintenance and updates: Continuous efforts are needed to keep your site optimized and up-to-date with SEO best practices. |
| Cost-effective compared to PPC in the long run: While initial costs can be high, ongoing costs are relatively low. | High competition for top keywords: Competing for popular keywords can be challenging and may require a significant investment in content and optimization. |
| Increases organic traffic and brand visibility: A strong SEO strategy can drive consistent and high-quality traffic to your site. | Requires significant initial investment in time and resources: SEO involves a lot of upfront work in terms of content creation, technical optimization, and link building. |
| No ongoing cost per click: Unlike PPC, you don’t pay for each visitor that comes to your site through organic search. | SEO algorithms and best practices can change frequently: Keeping up with changes in search engine algorithms requires constant learning and adaptation. |
Pros and Cons of Rehab Ads
PPC advertising is a strategy where you pay for ads to appear in search engine results or on other platforms. This method delivers quick results by driving immediate traffic to your site, but it comes with ongoing costs. Here is a detailed table outlining the pros and cons of using PPC for marketing drug and alcohol rehab centers:
| Pros of Rehab Ads | Cons of Rehab Ads |
| Immediate visibility and traffic: Your ads can appear at the top of search results almost instantly, driving quick traffic to your site. | High ongoing costs per click: Each click on your ad costs money, which can add up quickly, especially for competitive keywords. |
| Ability to target specific demographics and keywords: PPC allows precise targeting based on location, age, gender, interests, and more. | Requires LegitScript certification: Addiction treatment centers must obtain this certification, which involves a vetting process and annual fees. |
| Quick adjustments and optimizations possible: You can easily tweak your campaigns to improve performance based on real-time data. | Once the budget is spent, traffic stops: PPC traffic is dependent on your budget; once you stop paying, the traffic disappears. |
| Measurable ROI and data-driven insights: PPC provides detailed analytics and metrics, allowing you to measure the effectiveness and ROI of your campaigns. | Complex management and optimization: Managing a successful PPC campaign requires expertise and continuous optimization, which can be time-consuming and costly. |
| Retargeting opportunities: PPC allows you to retarget visitors who have previously interacted with your site, increasing the chances of conversion. | Ad fatigue and banner blindness: Over time, users may become desensitized to your ads, reducing their effectiveness. |
Addiction Marketing Agency believes that any successful marketing campaign should utilize every spoke of the marketing wheel, which includes both organic SEO and a PPC campaign. At the same time, we believe that a superior physical marketing campaign coupled with an effective organic SEO campaign will yield better long-term results than a singular PPC campaign.
If you want true results and you want them to be achieved ethically without compromising your addiction treatment center’s reputation, drop us a message, and we will be more than happy to help you achieve your rehab center goals.
Our team specializes in the rehab industry—that’s just what we do. We don’t mess around with other sectors. Our team comprises qualified counselors, psychiatrists, and pharmacists, alongside SEO and marketing experts.
FAQs
How much do ads on Google cost?
The cost of ads on Google varies widely depending on several factors, including the competitiveness of your keywords, your industry, and your geographic targeting. In the addiction treatment industry, keyword costs can be particularly high due to intense competition. On average, costs per click (CPC) can range from $10 to $50, but some highly competitive keywords may cost even more than $100. It’s essential to carefully manage your PPC budget and continuously optimize your campaigns to ensure you’re getting the best return on investment.
How much is the application fee for LegitScript?
The application fee for LegitScript Certification varies based on the number of unique facilities your organization has. For 1 to 9 unique facilities, the application fee is $1,595 per facility. For 10 to 24 facilities, it is $1,495 per facility, and for 25 to 49 facilities, it is $1,395 per facility. If you have 50 to 99 facilities, the fee is $1,175 per facility, and for 100 or more facilities, the fee is $1,075 per facility. Additionally, there is an annual fee per facility that ranges from $2,125 to $3,095, depending on the number of facilities. This pricing structure takes into account both the number of distinct corporate entities and the number of locations providing addiction treatment services.
Can I do SEO and PPC at the same time?
Yes, you can absolutely do SEO and PPC at the same time, and in fact, many successful addiction treatment centers utilize both strategies concurrently. Using both methods allows you to maximize your online visibility by combining the immediate traffic benefits of PPC with the long-term, sustainable growth provided by SEO. This integrated approach can help you cover more ground, reach a broader audience, and ensure that your marketing efforts are comprehensive and effective.
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
SEO is a long-term strategy, and it typically takes several months to start seeing significant results. While some improvements may be noticeable within the first few months, achieving substantial increases in organic traffic and rankings can take six months to a year or longer. The timeline can vary based on factors such as the competitiveness of your industry, the quality of your existing website, and the effectiveness of your SEO efforts. Consistency, patience, and ongoing optimization are key to successful SEO.
What are the benefits of combining SEO and PPC?
Combining SEO and PPC offers several advantages. First, it provides comprehensive coverage on search engine results pages, with PPC ads appearing at the top and SEO results providing additional visibility below. This dual presence can increase brand credibility and trust with potential clients. Additionally, data from PPC campaigns can inform SEO strategies by revealing high-performing keywords and audience behaviors. Lastly, while PPC drives immediate traffic, SEO builds a sustainable foundation for long-term growth, ensuring that your addiction treatment center remains visible even if you reduce your ad spend.
What happens if I stop my PPC campaigns?
If you stop your PPC campaigns, the immediate traffic generated by your ads will cease, and your website’s visibility for those paid keywords will drop significantly. Unlike SEO, where organic rankings can provide ongoing traffic, PPC relies on continuous investment. However, if you have invested in a robust SEO strategy alongside PPC, your organic search presence can help mitigate the impact and maintain some level of visibility and traffic.
Reviewed by:
Mario Gonzalez
Rehab Marketing Expert