The New Patient Growth Ladder · For practices with one or two practitioners
Allied Health Practice Owners: Why You Don't Need To Pay For SEO Or Google Ads
One or two practitioners at one location? A website and Google Business Profile, built properly and linked together, will keep your diary full. You pay for it once, with no monthly retainer. Watch the video, then book your New Patient Growth Call.
We sell SEO. Most practices your size shouldn't buy it.
That sounds like a strange thing for us to say.
We build websites, we run Google Ads for practices, and we sell SEO. So we'd make more money telling you to buy all three, every month, for as long as you'll pay.
But we keep meeting the same owner. One location. One or two practitioners. Paying $1,500 to $3,000 a month in retainers for SEO or ads. And when we ask how many new patients it brought in last quarter, they can't tell us.
Marlon spent twelve years as a sales and marketing manager, judged on the sales he brought in. So we judge marketing the same way: by new patients in your diary, not by clicks or rankings.
By that measure, most practices your size are paying a monthly retainer for things they don't need yet.
You built this practice on referrals. Now you can't turn them up.
You know how you got here. A good reputation. GPs who trust you. Patients who send their family and friends. That got you to one or two practitioners, and it was enough.
Then you wanted more. A fuller diary. Room to bring on another practitioner. And word of mouth doesn't have a dial.
So someone told you what you needed. SEO. Google Ads. Social media. "It's about $1,500 a month, and give it six to twelve months."
Maybe you said yes. Maybe you're paying it now.
Here's what nobody mentions. Plenty of the patients you already have, the referrals you earned, Google you before they book. They find a slow site on their phone, a booking button that's hard to see, and no page about the thing they need help with. So they don't book.
More traffic won't fix that. A website and profile that get the people already looking for you to book will.
What to pay for, and when
The New Patient Growth Ladder
With one or two practitioners and one location, rung one brings in enough new patients. You only climb when your practice grows.
- Most practices stop hereRung 1Paid once
Website + Google Business Profile
For one or two practitioners and one location
Enough new patients on its own. You don’t need SEO or Google Ads.
- Rung 2 adds+ monthly ad spend
Google Ads
Only climb when you’re adding practitioners or opening a second location
- Rung 3 adds+ monthly SEO
SEO
Only climb when you have several locations, several disciplines, or both
Most practices are on rung one, and most never need to go higher.
The order matters because each rung pays you back at a different speed. A website and profile are a fixed cost that keeps working. Google Ads pays back fast and you can measure every dollar. SEO is a long-term play that usually takes more than a year to pay back, so it only makes sense once the business is big enough to wait.
Why rung one is enough for a practice your size
Rung one has two halves, and they only work when they're joined up.
Half one is your Google Business Profile, your listing on Google Maps. A lot of people who search "physio near me" pick a practice straight off the map. And when someone asks ChatGPT for a good physio nearby, it reads that same profile first.
Half two is your website. Google and AI tools check it to see whether your profile is telling the truth. If your profile says you do dry needling and your website has no page about dry needling, there's nothing to back it up. A great profile pointing to a weak website is a toothless tiger.
When we build rung one properly, here's what you'll find out:
- The 30 links almost no practice has set up. You can list up to 30 services on your Google profile, and each one should point to its own page on your website. Hardly anyone does it, and it's one of the main things Google and ChatGPT use to decide who to show.
- Why "physio near me" goes to the practice with the right pages, not the one paying the biggest monthly retainer.
- Why a $1,500-a-month SEO plan can't buy enough hours to work. Proper SEO usually costs $2,500 to $3,000 a month or more. On a cheaper plan you're paying for frustration, and you're right to be frustrated.
- Where patients give up halfway through booking. Cliniko asks a new patient to work out which practitioner and which appointment type they need, and plenty of people stop right there. We build the steps on your website that help them choose first, then hand them to Cliniko with the right options picked.
- Why your pages have to show you understand the problem, in the patient's own words, before they'll feel any reason to book.
- Why patching an old website costs more than rebuilding it. Think of a patient with a sore shoulder whose real problem is posture. Treat the shoulder every week and they keep coming back. Your website is the posture.
- What ChatGPT says about your practice right now. We'll show you on the call.
Built properly, it's a one-off job. We do the on-page SEO while we build, so there's no monthly SEO retainer afterwards.
What's changed on Google, and why the next year matters
In October 2024 Google started showing AI Overviews in Australian search results. That's the box at the top that answers the question before the list of websites. It means fewer people click through to websites.
- 8% vs 15% People clicked a normal search result in 8% of searches with an AI summary, against 15% without one. Pew Research, US data
- 58% fewer The website ranked number one gets 58% fewer clicks when an AI Overview shows above it. Ahrefs, 300,000 searches
- 70%+ More than 70% of Australians who search online now use AI for some of it. YouGov, 2026
Think about what a monthly SEO retainer mostly pays for: pushing your website up the list. And the list gets fewer clicks every year.
Meanwhile, the AI tools read the two things on rung one, your Google profile and your website. Most practices have never set them up to be read.
We think the practices that get this right in the next year will be the ones these tools keep naming, and it's easier to do while most of your competitors haven't noticed. That's our opinion, and you can judge it yourself on the call.
Case study
The chiropractor in Mackay
He's very good at dry needling, which not many chiropractors near him offer. His old website barely mentioned it. He was already paying for SEO and Google Ads when we started.
Here's what we changed:
- Rebuilt his website from the ground up, with a page for each of his most profitable services, dry needling included.
- Optimised each page for Google and AI tools.
- Linked each service on his Google Business Profile to its matching page.
- Wrote every page so patients could see he understood their problem and could help.
- Made booking simple. Patients still book in the same system. The website walks them through choosing the right practitioner and appointment first.
What happened
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Online bookings a day, first 10 days | 5.9 | 9.3 |
| "Book now" clicks a day | 8.7 | 29 |
| Completed online bookings, first 6 weeks | 292 | 351 |
| Cost per booking from his ads | $15.62 | $13.82 |
| Google traffic | Up only about 10% | |
Same ad spend. About the same traffic. A lot more people booking.
Then he got so busy he stopped his SEO and cut back his Google Ads, because his website and profile were doing the job.
Screenshots from his analytics and booking system, cropped to remove the clinic's name.
What rung one saves you
Here's what a one-location practice paying monthly retainers for both can spend in a year.
| Per month | Per year | |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | $1,500 (cheap) to $3,000 (proper) | $18,000 to $36,000 |
| Google Ads | About $1,800 | About $21,900 |
| Both | $40,000 to $58,000 |
An example, not a quote. Your numbers will be different.
On rung one, you don't need to spend any of it. That money stays in your practice.
When Google Ads and SEO are worth paying for
We're not against either. We sell both. They just belong higher up the ladder.
Rung two: you're adding a practitioner or a second location
Now you need more new patients than your website and profile bring in, and you need them quickly so the new diary fills. That's when Google Ads earns its money. It's the fastest return you'll get, and you can see every dollar. The chiropractor's bookings from ads cost $13.82 each, so $1,500 a month would buy about a hundred. If someone's selling you an SEO retainer at this stage, put that money into ads instead.
Rung three: several locations and several disciplines
Now Google has to work out which clinic offers which service in which suburb, and keeping that in order is ongoing work. That's what SEO is, and at this stage it's worth paying for, on top of your ads.
Either way, you still start at rung one. Ads only work when the website underneath them gets people to book.
The New Patient Growth Website
What you get
Everything on rung one, built for you as one package. It's what we built for the chiropractor in Mackay. We've been building websites and doing SEO for close to twenty years, the last ten of them in health.
- A new website, built from the ground up, with a page for each service that's most profitable for you and that patients are actually searching for
- Every page optimised for Google and AI tools like ChatGPT, so the on-page SEO is done once, while we build
- Your Google Business Profile set up, with each service on it, up to 30, linked to its matching page
- Every word written for you, so patients can see you understand their problem and want to book
- Simpler booking. Steps on your website that help patients choose the right practitioner and appointment before they reach Cliniko, so fewer give up halfway. You keep Cliniko.
- A dashboard showing your new patient enquiries and bookings, before and after, so you can see whether it worked without taking our word for it
About five hours of your time. Live in about 30 days. You own everything we build.
A practice paying monthly retainers for SEO and Google Ads can spend $40,000 to $58,000 a year.
The New Patient Growth Website
$7,500. Once.
Or three payments of $3,000.
No monthly retainer. No monthly SEO bill. The only ongoing cost is hosting, which you'd pay for any website.
We don't take on custom builds. Every website is built the same proven way, which is how we keep the price fixed and the timeline short.
What happens on your New Patient Growth Call
It's 30 minutes on Zoom, with Marlon. Not a junior salesperson. Before the call, he looks at your website and your Google Business Profile.
On the call, you'll get:
- What Google and ChatGPT say about your practice when a patient searches for what you treat
- Which rung of the New Patient Growth Ladder you're on, and what that means you should and shouldn't be paying for. For most practices, it's rung one.
- A map of the pages your new website needs, based on your most profitable services
- A homepage design for your practice, so you can see it before you decide anything
If it makes sense, he'll explain how we'd build it. If it doesn't, he'll tell you, and you still leave with the plan. Plenty of owners use it to have a sharper conversation with the agency they already pay.
Here's how to book
- Click the button below.
- Pick a time that suits you on the calendar.
- You'll get the details by email and text, and a text from Marlon's own mobile before the call.
- Bring the owner. If that's not you, ask them to join.
Why calls are limited: Marlon takes every call himself and prepares for each one, so he only takes a small number each week.
Who this is for, and who it isn't
It's for you if
- You own a physio, chiropractic, osteopathy, podiatry or similar practice
- You have one or two practitioners at one location
- You built the practice on referrals and want a diary that doesn't depend on them
- You're paying a monthly retainer and can't say what it brings in, or you've been told you need one
- You're about to add a practitioner or a second location (you'll add Google Ads, but you still start here)
It's not for you if
- You want the cheapest website you can find
- You're happy with where the practice is right now. Keep your money.
Questions owners ask before the call
I'm already paying an agency every month. Isn't that working?
Ask them one question: how many new patients did your work bring in last quarter? If they can't tell you, you've got your answer. A $1,500 plan doesn't buy enough hours to do SEO properly, and on rung one you don't need it at all.
Can't my current SEO person just fix the website I've got?
They can patch it, and you'll keep paying for the patches. Think of a patient with a sore shoulder whose real problem is posture. Your website is the posture. If the foundation is wrong, SEO on top of it is treating the shoulder. That's why we rebuild from the ground up.
Don't I need Google Ads or SEO to get new patients?
Not with one or two practitioners and a website and profile built properly. Google Ads is for when you're adding practitioners or a second location. SEO is for several locations and several disciplines.
What if the new website doesn't bring in more patients?
We won't promise you a number of new patients, and we'd be careful of anyone who does. Every practice starts from a different place. Your dashboard shows enquiries and bookings before and after, so you'll see whether it worked. And you'll see the page map and homepage design on the call, before you pay anything.
Am I going to get locked into a monthly retainer?
No. There's no monthly retainer and no monthly SEO bill. The only ongoing cost is hosting, which you'd pay for any website.
Can I pay it off?
Yes. You can pay $7,500 up front, or in three payments of $3,000.
Do I have to leave Cliniko?
No. Patients still book in Cliniko. We change the part before it, so they arrive having already picked the right practitioner and appointment.
How much of my time does it take?
About five hours across the whole project. An hour at the start on your most profitable services and what patients ask you, a couple of hours reviewing pages, access to your Google profile and booking system, and a final check before launch. We write everything, and it goes live in about 30 days.
My website is just old. Does it really need rebuilding?
Check it on your phone now. Does it load fast? Can you see the booking button straight away? Is there a page for each service you most want to sell? If any answer is no, it's costing you bookings.
Should I just post on Instagram instead?
If you enjoy it, post. But people with a sore back rarely search Instagram for a physio. They search Google, look at the map, or ask ChatGPT, and all three read your profile and your website.
What if I want SEO later? Is the website mine?
Yes, you own everything we build. A site built properly makes SEO easier and cheaper later, with us or anyone else.
Who will I be speaking to?
Marlon. He looks at your website and Google profile before the call.
Find out which rung your practice is on
30 minutes with Marlon. You'll see what Google and ChatGPT say about your practice, which rung you're on, the pages your website needs, and a homepage design for your practice. Then you decide.
Book my New Patient Growth Call
P.S. If you do nothing, next year probably looks like this one. Another $18,000 to $36,000 on an SEO retainer you can't measure, while fewer people click through to websites and more of them ask ChatGPT, which reads the two things you haven't set up yet. Or you can spend 30 minutes finding out whether a website and profile, paid for once, would keep your diary full instead. The chiropractor in Mackay went from 5.9 online bookings a day to 9.3 in ten days, on the same ad spend. Book your call below.
P.P.S. If Marlon looks at your practice and thinks you're fine as you are, he'll tell you. Some owners book the call just to hear that.