Google Ads for eye doctors
LocaliQ's 2025 healthcare benchmarks put Ophthalmology at $4.95 per click and $30.88 per lead, with 18.29% of clicks turning into a lead, well above the 8.09% healthcare average. Its older optician, glasses and contacts row was $4.01 per click and $22.65 per lead, which makes eye care one of the cheaper healthcare specialties to advertise.
Eye care cost per click and per lead
| Category | Data period | Cost per click | Click-through rate | Conversion rate | Cost per lead | Cost per call |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ophthalmology[1] | Oct 2024 to Sep 2025 | $4.95 | 6.52% | 18.29% | $30.88 | not published |
| Opticians, Glasses & Contacts[2] | May 2020 to Jun 2021 | $4.01 | 6.06% | not published | $22.65 | $22.42 |
| All healthcare[1] | Oct 2024 to Sep 2025 | $5.64 | 6.07% | 8.09% | $66.02 | not published |
Neither report has a row for optometrists, so an optometry practice sits somewhere between the two eye care rows.[1] In the older data a phone call cost $22.42, about the same as a form lead.[2]
Across industries, the RunAds Google Ads Benchmark 2026 found a median cost per click of $1.36 and a median cost per conversion of $41.53, based on 224 live Google Ads accounts.
Cost drivers for eye doctors
- Service mix. Routine exams are cheap to win; LASIK, cataract and other surgical consults are worth far more per patient and cost more per click.
- Online eyewear sellers. Frame and contact lens searches draw national retailers, so product terms cost more than exam terms.
- Insurance. Many people search for an eye doctor that takes their vision plan, and practices that list the plans they accept can win those searches.
- Urgent visits. Eye infections, injuries and sudden vision changes bring searches that need a same-day slot.
- Audience limits on surgery. Procedure ads lose access to remarketing lists under Google's health audience rules.
A budget for 60 exam bookings a month
An optometry practice with two doctors and an optical shop wants 60 new exam bookings a month.
60 eye exam bookings a month
Budget surgical consults separately; they cost more per lead and are worth more per patient. Google can spend up to twice the daily budget on a single day.[6]
The two budgets differ because the benchmark cost per lead, cost per click and conversion rate are each calculated separately across thousands of campaigns, not taken from one account. Plan for the higher one, then use your own numbers after 30 days.
RunAds plans the campaign at your budget and writes the ads.
Campaign structure for an eye care practice
Separate routine care, eyewear and procedures. They differ in value, urgency and policy.
| Campaign | Ad groups | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eye exams | Eye doctor near me, eye exam, optometrist near me, kids eye exam | The core campaign. Online booking and the vision plans you accept on the page. |
| Urgent eye care | Eye infection doctor, pink eye doctor, eye injury, emergency eye doctor | Run only during hours with same-day slots. Call assets on. |
| Eyewear and contacts | Glasses near me, designer frames, contact lens exam, contacts fitting | Lower bids than exams. Send clicks to the optical page. |
| Procedures | LASIK, cataract surgery, dry eye treatment | Only what your practice performs. Its own budget and consult page. |
| Brand | Practice name and doctor names | Cheap clicks that keep chains off your name. |
Keywords to start with
Use phrase and exact match, and add your town names to the exam terms if search volume allows.
Exams
eye doctor near meeye exam near meoptometrist accepting new patientspediatric eye exam
Urgent
eye infection doctorpink eye treatmentsame day eye doctoreye doctor open saturday
Eyewear
glasses near meprescription glassescontact lens examdesigner eyeglass frames
Procedures
lasik consultationcataract surgeon near medry eye treatment
Negative keywords for eye doctors
These remove job, school, cheap online eyewear and DIY searches. Negatives don't match close variants, so add plurals too.[4]
jobssalaryoptometry schooltechnicianonline eye testvision test appeye chart printablereading glassesblue light glassessunglassescostume contactscolored contactscontacts onlinecheap glasses onlineeye dropsfree
Ad copy examples
Two sets of responsive search ad assets. List the plans you take and the hours you're open, and keep procedure claims factual.
Eye exams
Headlines (up to 30 characters)
- Eye Exams Near You18
- New Patients Welcome20
- Most Vision Plans Accepted26
- Same-Week Appointments22
- Book Your Exam Online21
Descriptions (up to 90 characters)
- Full eye exams for adults and kids with a licensed optometrist. Book online in minutes.87
- Glasses and contacts fitted in the same visit. Bring your vision plan card.75
Urgent eye care
Headlines (up to 30 characters)
- Same-Day Eye Appointments25
- Red or Painful Eye?19
- See an Eye Doctor Today23
- Call for Urgent Eye Care24
Descriptions (up to 90 characters)
- Eye infections, scratches and sudden vision changes seen the same day when slots are open.90
- Call the office and we'll fit you in, or tell you where to go after hours.74
Schedule call assets for the hours your front desk answers and count calls as conversions with call reporting.[5]
Audience rules for eye surgery
Google's health in personalized advertising policy lists invasive medical procedures, including surgical procedures, as a sensitive category, and blocks Customer Match, your data segments, audience expansion and lookalike segments when you promote in it.[3] LASIK and cataract campaigns should run on keywords and location. Routine exams and eyewear are a different case, so keep procedures in their own campaign where the rule applies cleanly.
How RunAds runs Google Ads for eye doctors
What the agent does for you
- Builds separate exam, urgent care, eyewear and procedure campaigns from your site, limited to the area your patients come from.
- Writes the ads around your vision plans, hours and booking link, and shows you the full launch before anything goes live.
- Keeps audience settings inside Google's health policy and brings budget and bid changes back to you as approval cards.
- Tracks bookings and calls server-side with Smart Pixel and blocks fraudulent clicks.
See everything the agent does, how a campaign gets built, or the pricing section.
Credit packs from $25, 5 credits per $1 of ad spend.
Common questions
How much do Google Ads cost for eye doctors?
LocaliQ's 2025 ophthalmology figures are $4.95 per click, an 18.29% conversion rate and $30.88 per lead. Its 2020-21 Opticians, Glasses & Contacts row had $4.01 per click, $22.65 per lead and a median search budget of $1,200 a month.
How much should an optometry practice spend on Google Ads?
60 exam bookings a month comes to $1,853 at the 2025 ophthalmology cost per lead and $1,359 at the 2020-21 optician figure. Practices that sell frames and contacts can recover more per patient than the exam fee alone.
Why do eye exam ads convert so well?
People searching for an eye exam usually need one soon and only want a time that works. In LocaliQ's 2025 data ophthalmology converted 18.29% of clicks, more than twice the 8.09% healthcare average.
Can eye surgery practices use remarketing?
Not for surgical procedures. Google's health in personalized advertising policy treats invasive medical and surgical procedures as sensitive and blocks Customer Match, your data segments, audience expansion and lookalike segments for those ads. LASIK and cataract campaigns should run on Search keywords and location.
Can RunAds run Google Ads for an eye care practice?
Yes. RunAds is an AI agent that builds exam, eyewear and procedure campaigns from your site, writes the ads and shows you the full launch before anything goes live. Credit packs start at $25.
Sources
- Healthcare Search Ads Benchmarks for 16 Specialties, LocaliQ, by Susie Marino. Last updated January 13, 2026; data from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.3,542 US search campaigns, at least 43 per specialty. The page says its averages are medians.
- Healthcare Advertising Benchmarks (+Quick Tips for Better Results), LocaliQ, by Stephanie Heitman. Last updated July 29, 2025; data from May 1, 2020 to June 25, 2021.2,838 North American LocaliQ healthcare campaigns, at least 10 clients per subcategory. The page says its averages are medians.
- Health in personalized advertising, Google Advertising Policies Help. Checked Nov 6, 2026.Customer Match, your data segments, audience expansion and lookalike segments can't be used when promoting in sensitive health categories, which include cosmetic surgery and injections.
- About negative keywords, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 6, 2026.Negative keywords don't match close variants, so synonyms and singular or plural forms have to be added separately. Casing and misspellings are covered automatically.
- About call assets, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 6, 2026.Numbers can be set to show only when the business can take calls, and call reporting counts calls as conversions.
- About average daily budgets, Google Ads Help. Checked Oct 30, 2026.A campaign can spend up to 2x its average daily budget on a given day, and up to 30.4x it in a month.
Every outside number on this page links to its source above, with the date we checked it.
Related pages
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