All right, guys, welcome to another episode of the Rocket Chiro podcast, the business and marketing podcast for chiropractors. We're going to talk about Google ads and search engine optimization today, or at least I'm going to attempt to. I want to answer the question if you're a chiropractor, should I spend money on Google ads or SEO? There isn't one answer for everyone. My goal is to help you understand the pros and cons and what situation you might want to consider.
Hopefully the end result is you can make the best decision for your practice. That's going to be my goal for today. Before I get too far into that, I do want to say if you want a better chiropractic website, reach out to me through Rocket Chiro. If you want help with Google Ads and SEO, like all this stuff we're talking about today, I could help you with that too.
If you are feeling stuck or you are brand new and you need some help getting started, check out my Next Step program. It’s a great option for chiropractors who are getting started or feeling a little stuck. Should you spend money on SEO and Google ads? Short answer: yes. But how you do it is not as straightforward. Maybe even the short answer is yes, if you want new patients and you don’t have them coming in from other places.
Google ads and SEO is all about local search—people in your area looking for a chiropractor or for back pain relief, neck pain relief, or other services. Should you do it? Yeah, if you want new patients. The exception might be if you already have a strong social media following. SEO can be a massive time sucker if you don’t know what you’re doing. And a huge money pit if you’re paying someone who isn’t doing a good job.
Google Ads is more likely to be a money pit where you’re dumping money without getting good results. There are cautionary tales on both sides. Are they good options for getting new patients? Yes. Are they time and money pits? Also yes. Three things to consider: your timeframe, your budget, and your competition. SEO takes longer than Google Ads—usually. Sometimes there are fast results, but don’t expect that.
If you really need patients this month, Google Ads will usually show results faster than SEO. If you’re competent or working with someone competent, Ads are faster. If you're not, both can be slow. Low budget or no budget? Start with SEO. You can do some of it yourself. It takes time and knowledge. If you’ve got a little money, consider DIY Google Ads or pay for local SEO. If you’ve got more money, consider paying someone to manage your ads. Best-case scenario: do both.
SEO has location limitations—you can’t dictate where you rank. Ads can help fill in those gaps. Doing both is ideal if you’ve got the budget. Expect to spend a couple thousand a month if you go that route. Your competition matters. You can’t control the number of chiropractors in your area. Low or bad competition makes everything easier and cheaper—for both SEO and Ads. One of my clients had fast results because he was in a low-competition area. That made a big difference.
High competition makes SEO slower and ads more expensive. That’s just how it is. Check how many people are running ads in your area. Do a basic search. That gives you a general idea. If competition is high and your budget is low, you might have to put ads and SEO on the back burner for now. Don't take unnecessary financial risks. Sometimes you have to wait for a better time or reassess your strategy. ChatGPT says low competition is 5 chiros per 100k people, moderate is 5–10, and high is 10+.
It's hard to calculate density accurately, though—it depends on how you define the area. More important than number is the strength of the competition. Look at review counts to estimate SEO strength. If no one has over 100 reviews, you’re probably in a good spot. If others have 250+, it’s tougher to climb. Thanks for listening. If you want help with your website, SEO, or Ads, reach out to Rocket Chiro. If you're getting started or feeling stuck, check out the Next Step program.
If you know a chiropractor who would benefit from the podcast, share it. I’d really appreciate that. See you next time.