A 90-day marketing plan for a TMS clinic

Most people who eventually get TMS don't start by searching for it. The earlier, much larger search behavior is symptom and medication-failure first, phrases closer to medication hasn't helped my depression than TMS near me, so a clinic that only chases the direct term is fighting for a smaller, later slice of real demand.

Once someone does know TMS exists, a persistent misconception gets in the way: many picture something closer to electroconvulsive therapy, with anesthesia and memory loss, rather than a walk-in, walk-out treatment a patient can drive home from. Content that clears that up directly removes a real barrier to the first call.

Insurance adds its own friction. Coverage typically hinges on showing that medication already fell short, and getting that authorization through can eat up several weeks, a well-known reason a booked consult sometimes never reaches a first session.

Once treatment starts, the real unit of growth isn't the consult, it's a completed course. TMS runs near-daily for several weeks, so a single no-show or a patient who quietly stops midway is lost capacity the clinic can't get back without follow-up.

Google Ads targeting direct TMS searches come first, since these are the ready-to-book patients closest to scheduling a consult, and capturing them is the fastest path to filling near-term openings.

Content built for the earlier, symptom and medication-failure stage comes next, alongside a clear, plain explanation of how TMS differs from ECT, since this is where most of the real, larger demand actually lives before someone ever learns the treatment's name.

Insurance-navigation content and proactive follow-up build in parallel, walking patients through what coverage typically requires, since this is one of the more common points where an otherwise interested patient quietly disappears before session one.

Daily-session reminders and gentle re-engagement for patients already in a course should start immediately, in parallel with everything above, since protecting an existing course from falling apart midway is often cheaper than acquiring a new patient to replace it.

Weeks 1 to 4: get Google Ads running for direct TMS searches, publish a clear page explaining how TMS differs from ECT, set up session reminders for any patient currently mid-course, and build an insurance explainer page covering what documentation and prior authorization typically involve.

Weeks 5 to 8: build separate content and landing pages for the earlier, symptom-first stage of both depression and OCD searches, request reviews from patients who completed a full course, and tighten the Google Business Profile and local SEO around the clinic's service area.

Weeks 9 to 12: with earlier-stage content now developed, roll out AI search optimization, begin light outreach to local psychiatrists who might refer patients, and review cost per started course by campaign and search stage to guide next quarter's budget.

A clinic without earlier-stage content or a clear ECT explanation usually needs a website build or rebuild first, tied to however many condition pages it needs and running $1,500 to $20,000-plus. SEO is priced $50 per page, ten pages the floor for that line, and ad management takes a tenth of monthly spend, with $600 as the least it goes.

When a workable site is already in place, the build drops out and only SEO and Ads remain. Getting set up costs nothing, the commitment never runs past a month, and a 30-day guarantee backs the start of it.

Cost per started course of care matters more than cost per consult, since a consult that never turns into a first session, often lost to insurance friction, hasn't produced any real revenue yet.

Course-completion rate is worth its own line, since an empty chair mid-course is lost capacity the clinic can't recover. Watch it alongside no-show rate to see whether the reminder system is actually protecting revenue that's already been earned.

Track results separately for depression and OCD campaigns, since they draw on different content and often different search behavior, and one condition may be quietly outperforming the other.

A new site for the clinic, if one's needed, is billed once: $1,500 to $20,000-plus, depending on how many condition and content pages it covers. SEO then recurs at $50 a page across a ten-page floor, and ad management costs a tenth of whatever the clinic spends with Google, $600 the least it ever runs, nothing padded on top of the ad spend.

A clinic whose site is already in decent shape only takes on those two ongoing costs. Send details about the clinic, and a written quote returns inside one business day.