We recently audited the Google Ads account of a dental clinic. Their main complaint was simple: “Calls and booking enquiries are coming in, but most of them are from outside our target area.”
That is a frustrating problem. The phone is ringing and the ads look like they are working, but many of those callers will never travel to the clinic. Every one of those calls was paid for.
The location targeting looked correct
The first thing we checked was the campaign’s location targeting. The right city was selected, exactly as it should be. On the surface, nothing was wrong.
So the problem had to be somewhere less obvious.
The setting behind it: Presence or interest
In the campaign settings, under Advanced Location Options, the option selected was “Presence or interest”.
This is the setting many advertisers never look at. With “Presence or interest”, Google Ads can show your ads to:
- People who are in, or regularly in, your target area, and
- People somewhere else who have shown interest in your target area
In other words, choosing the right city does not mean your ads are only shown to people in that city. For a dental clinic that depends on local patients, a lot of that extra reach is simply wasted budget. This is one of the first things we check when we manage Google Ads for dentists and healthcare clinics.
What this dental clinic needs
1. Switch to “Presence” targeting. When the goal is local patients, choose “Presence: people in or regularly in your included locations”. This focuses the ads on people who can actually visit the clinic.
2. Compare the location report with real enquiries. Check where clicks and conversions come from in the Google Ads location report, then compare that with where callers and booking enquiries actually live. If they don’t match, keep adjusting.
3. Track qualified patients, not just calls. The number of calls or booking enquiries is not the full picture. Review how many were suitable patients and how many turned into confirmed appointments. That is the number that matters.
Presence is better, but not perfect
Even with “Presence” selected, location targeting is never 100% exact. Google uses signals such as device location, IP address and location history, and none of them are perfect. Regular monitoring is still needed, along with excluding areas that keep sending poor-quality leads.
The lesson
One small setting can quietly increase wasted ad spend for weeks or months without anyone noticing. If your clinic or local business is getting calls from the wrong places, check your Advanced Location Options before you increase your budget.
GadsPro is a Google Ads agency that helps dental clinics and healthcare practices, local service businesses and e-commerce brands get more qualified leads from Google Ads. If you’d like a second opinion on your account, get in touch with our team.