Most health practices have seen firsthand that Google Ads performance tends to ebb and flow through the year, and we have too. Demand picks up, slows down, and competition adjusts their budgets, which all flow through to campaign costs.
What’s not always obvious is how those patterns show up in the day-to-day results for Australian health practices.
Do psychologists, dentists, counsellors, surgeons, and allied health teams all follow the same trends?
Are clinics planning their budgets around these shifts?
And how much does monthly demand actually influence performance?
We wanted to find out.
So, we analysed more than 190 months of real Google Ads data across Australian health practices. That included psychologists, counsellors, hypnotherapists, psychotherapists, speech pathologists, medical spas, dermatologists, dentists, and elective surgeons.
Here’s what our 2025 Google Ads Performance Benchmarks for Australian Health Practices Report revealed.
1. Real campaign data from Excite Media
By looking back over 190 months of Google Ads data across nine different health industries, we started to see clear trends, benchmarks, and budget ranges that now help us guide how we approach our campaigns.
Here’s what we analysed:
- Ad spend
- Cost per click (CPC)
- Conversion rates (CVR)
- Leads per month
- Cost per lead (CPL)
2. Australian CPC research
Independent studies across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide helped us validate average CPCs by industry and keyword.
3. Global medical marketing benchmarks
We cross-checked our numbers against trusted international data for CVR, CPL, and click behaviour.
To keep the findings accurate, we removed junk conversions, grouped similar practice types, weighted averages based on budget, and smoothed out outliers. Everything was converted to clean, 12-month style averages so the trends reflect typical performance, not one-off spikes.
Monthly patterns across the health sector 📊
Across every health category we analysed, we saw one clear theme:
Demand for health services follows predictable monthly patterns.
These trends aren’t random or unique to 2025. They appear year after year and are usually built around holiday seasons, life routines, and the way people reset their priorities across the year.
Here’s what stood out.
Psychologists 💬
Across the psychology campaigns we’ve managed, we noticed a pretty consistent flow of demand throughout the year, with a noticeable lift in January and February as people reset their routines and reach out for support. School holidays and long weekends often slow things down a little, and it’s normal to see CPL shift by 20–30% month to month.
Most psychology campaigns sit comfortably between $600–$2,000 per month, delivering around 8–20 enquiries depending on competition and season*.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month*
Counsellors 🧠
Counselling campaigns follow a similar pattern to psychologists, but with slightly lower CPCs and strong performance for issue-specific searches like anxiety or relationships. December into January generally sees a noticeable increase in demand, and weekends usually see an increase in unpredictability and mobile CTR.
We typically see counselling clinics generate 8–20 enquiries a month within the $600–$2,000 per month budget range.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month
Hypnotherapists 🌀
Hypnotherapy showed one of the most recognisable seasonal patterns in our dataset, with habit-based searches surging in January and motivation or weight-related queries dipping through winter.
The biggest takeaway from the data was how strongly single-issue landing pages performed. Campaigns that focused on one clear problem, like “Quit Smoking Hypnosis” or “Anxiety Hypnosis,” converted far better than those that attempted to cover too many topics at once.
Hypnotherapy campaigns generally see 10-25 enquiries a month with a monthly budget between $700–$2000.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month
Psychotherapy 💭
Psychotherapy campaigns tend to cover more complex services, which naturally pushes CPCs higher and creates more movement from month to month.
We regularly see enquiries increase in early January and late August, and strong conversion rates usually come from clear explanations of the practitioner’s approach and who they support.
CPL shifts of 20–40% are common as demand and competition change.
Clinics typically invest between $1,000 and $3,000 per month in this niche, generating around 10–25 enquiries depending on season and competition*.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month*
Speech Pathology
Speech pathology stood out with some of the strongest conversion rates across all health niches. Parents tend to take action sooner rather than later when it comes to developmental concerns, especially in February and March.
Many speech pathology campaigns convert at 8–12%, which is higher than 6 out of 9 of the niches we analysed.
With a monthly budget range of $800 to $2,000, clinics generally bring in around 12–30 enquiries a month.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month
Medical Spa ✨
Cosmetic treatments tend to be highly competitive, especially for injectables, laser services and body contouring. Campaigns perform noticeably better when landing pages include clear before-and-after imagery and simple pricing guidance.
Performance peaks between September and December, while June to August is usually slower.
CPL swings of 25–40% are common in this niche, especially during the busiest cosmetic months.
With a monthly budget of $800 to $4,000, clinics typically generate around 10–30 enquiries.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month
Dermatology 🌿
Dermatology campaigns cover both medical and cosmetic intent, which creates broader variation in performance. Acne, pigmentation and rosacea treatments consistently see stronger engagement than general clinic keywords.
Demand is at its highest from October to February, with acne-related enquiries rising again in the early new year.
We typically see dermatology clinics generate 15–50 enquiries a month within the $2,000 to $10,000 per month budget range.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month
Dentists 🦷
Dental campaigns face the highest CPCs of any health sector, largely due to the competitiveness of high-value treatments like implants, veneers, and orthodontics. Even with these higher costs, conversion rates are stronger than most industries.
Demand is consistently highest in November and December during the pre-holiday rush, and again in January as people commit to new routines.
We also see spikes before school holidays and a noticeable rise in cosmetic treatment interest from October to February. CPL often increases over Christmas and New Year when clinic availability drops.
Most dental campaigns sit comfortably between $3,000 to $10,000 per month, delivering around 20–80 enquiries.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month
Elective Surgeons 🏥
Elective surgery campaigns rely on trust, clear information and strong visuals. Searches for rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, body contouring. and eyelid surgery dominate, and they convert well when paired with high-quality landing pages.
This niche shows some of the biggest seasonal fluctuations, with cosmetic interest peaking from October to February, and bookings spiking again from January to March.
CPL swings of 30–45% are also very normal in this industry.
With a monthly budget of $3,000 to $15,000, elective surgeons usually see around 20–80 enquiries.
Budget
per month
Enquiries
per month
What this means for Australian health clinics
Across 190+ months of data, one message became clear:
Clinics perform better when budgets and strategy follow predictable monthly demand patterns.
Not all months are equal.
Not all services behave the same.
And not every fluctuation is a sign of poor performance.
When clinics understand how their niche performs within Google Ads, they can:
- Spend smarter during peak enquiry months
- Avoid over-spending during slow periods
- Plan staffing and capacity around real demand
- Improve conversion rates with targeted landing pages
- Set accurate expectations for CPL and lead volume
At the end of the day, it reminded us that it’s not just about chasing the lowest CPL or CPC. It’s about building a strategy that reflects real consumer behaviour and the way search habits change through the year.
