How Polaris Dentistry Went from 26 to 413 Conversions and Cut Cost Per Patient to Under $4
A struggling dental practice with a limited budget needed to survive, not experiment. We rebuilt their Google Ads account, fixed broken campaign structure, and delivered a 15x increase in conversions with 80% lower acquisition cost.
A Practice at a Critical Crossroads
In 2023, Polaris Dentistry was a small practice struggling to bring in enough patients to stay open. The owner, Shilpa, faced a straightforward problem: she needed more patients, she had a limited budget, and she could not afford a single dollar of wasted spend.
The existing Google Ads account was the source of the problem. Campaigns were mixing high-competition keywords like dental implants, veneers, and cosmetic procedures with landing pages built for general dentistry. High-intent searchers were clicking, finding a mismatch, and leaving. Cost per conversion was $48.79, and the account was generating only 26 conversions per year across all campaigns. The budget was being spent. Results were not being produced.
Precision Targeting on a Tight Budget
The first move was structural: remove the expensive mismatched keywords (dental implants, veneers, cosmetic terms) that were sending high-cost clicks to pages that could not convert them. Every keyword in the account needed to match the landing page it pointed to and the patient the practice was actually trying to reach.
We rebuilt around high purchase-intent local searches for general dentistry, specifically patients looking for a dentist near them who was accepting new patients, covered specific insurances, or offered same-day appointments. We leveraged specialized optimization tools within Google Ads to accelerate quality score improvements and bid efficiency, and we wrote ad copy designed for high click-through rates in a competitive local market.
As the account matured and budget allowed, campaign structure was expanded to break out service types. But the core principle never changed: every dollar had to point to a keyword that matched an ad that matched a landing page that matched what a patient was actually looking for.
From Survival to Steady Growth
The improvement was not gradual. In the year before Creekside, Polaris generated 26 conversions at $48.79 each. In the year after, those numbers became 413 conversions at $9.58 each, a 15x increase in patient inquiries at 80% lower cost.
That improvement compounded over time. As quality scores improved and campaign structure matured, cost per conversion continued falling. Nearly a year into our management, Polaris was generating new patient inquiries at under $4 each. At that cost, every single new patient who booked, showed, and accepted treatment represented a return of 50x or more on what it cost to acquire them.
The practice that was fighting to stay open is still running, still growing, and still hitting weekly goals. Shilpa had the budget she always had. The difference was where it went.
Performance Comparison
| Metric | Before Creekside (1 Year) | After Creekside (1 Year) |
|---|---|---|
| Conversions | 26 | 413 |
| Clicks | 358 | 1,690 |
| Cost Per Conversion | $48.79 | $9.58 |
| Total ROI | Ineffective | Over 500% |
Creekside Marketing has helped my clients grow their business while significantly increasing ROI on ad spend. I highly recommend!
Cost Per New Patient Inquiry
At under $4 per conversion, every new patient who books an appointment and shows up represents a return of 50x or more on what it cost to acquire them. New dental patients typically generate $500+ in year-one revenue from exams, x-rays, and initial procedures, and far more over the lifetime of the relationship. The practice that was struggling to stay open is now hitting weekly goals and expanding.