Paid search briefs are excellent for any pay-per-click (PPC) campaign. By breaking down the details of what you are trying to accomplish, who you are talking to, where these audiences will land on the website, and the message and campaign details are crucial for pre-campaign communication and client buy-in. 

However, a few industries, like healthcare, require paid search briefs even more. Today, we take a closer look at each of the sections in a paid search brief for healthcare campaigns and why it will help you make the PPC campaign more successful. 

Set a Proper Foundation on Which to Build

Before we get into all of that, let’s review the pre-paid search template work that is essential, too. Building a marketing plan requires some foundational information to build upon to create a functional paid search template. As Pacific54.com suggests, this process starts with the basics—setting the strategy, settling on a budget, and deciding how to measure success. 

Setting the strategy: Determine the business objective for the campaign, whether it’s raising awareness or widening the patient base or something else. What you are trying to do will determine the best marketing channels for success. 

Settling on a budget: Everyone’s favorite marketing budget that brings in a ton of business growth is $0, but it’s also the most unrealistic. So, the proper marketing budget is somewhere between $0 and $10googol. It’s up to you to determine what you can afford. However, as Pacific.54.com points out, the budget is constantly changing, so update the numbers regularly. 

Decide how to measure success: Now that you have committed hard-earned cash to your budget, it would be best to know how the spending benefitted your bottom line or return on investment (ROI). Develop a few metrics you will use to see how your marketing budget is producing an ROI.

What Are Paid Search Briefs?

Now that you have the basics covered, it is time to develop a PPC campaign—provided that’s what your marketing strategy dictates. PPC Campaigns are often designed using a paid search brief, which Merlin One describes as a one to two-page document that outlines the methodology and extent of a creative project from end to end. 

The primary intent of the paid search brief is communication. It keeps everyone on the same path, ensures the campaign is brand-compliant, and achieving the objectives identified in the pre-paid search brief steps. Merlin One also offers the following five best practices for creative briefs:

1.  It helps the creative team and designer hit the mark faster when they have this information. 
2.  Give the campaign’s reasons and what metrics you will measure for success. 
3.  The creative team needs to know who they are talking to so they craft the appropriate message. 
4.  If possible, provide examples, too, particularly those in the brand’s “voice.”
5.  They can’t work without the right tools, so make sure they have them. 

So, What About Paid Search Briefs for Healthcare Companies?

If you are building a PPC campaign for a healthcare company, the Paid Search Brief best practices and advice still apply. We have also identified six sections that are essential to include:

Campaign Objectives: 

These are a restatement of marketing objectives. Break them down into as many different sections as you can for clarity and organization.

Target Audience: 

Define exactly which part of the medical community you have in mind for the campaign.

Landing Pages: 

Listing out where the traffic the campaign generates is essential. Breaking down into primary and secondary landing pages is excellent.

Key Messaging: 

As the name implies, this is what the campaign will say. One way to communicate this effectively is to make a bulleted list that will cover the different points of the ad copy.

Campaign Details: 

Here is where you put the how, what, where, and how much it costs information about the campaign. In this case, the where breaks down into location and devices, meaning the geographic area and what type of screen will display the ad.

Supporting Details: 

This section gives you a chance to provide additional influential information like main competitors, keywords that the target is likely to search, timeframes that might get more (or less) traffic due to industry events, impacting details for budget pacing, and so on.

Paid search templates are a foundational tool for any successful PPC advertising campaign. These templates break down the campaign objectives, target audience, landing pages, messaging, and campaign details for the client. Perhaps most importantly, paid search templates help you get the PPC budget you need by showing them how you will get the client the results they want. 

Sources:

“Creative Brief: Templates, Examples, & Best Practices.” Merlinone.com. Web. 23 April 2021. < https://merlinone.com/creative-brief-templates-examples-best-practices/>. 

Bruce, Leilani. “How to Create Your Own Medical Practice Marketing Plan — Template Included.” Pacific54.com. 20 March 2019. Web. 23 April 2021. < https://www.pacific54.com/blog/medical-practice-marketing-plan/>.