Solved: Healthcare Ads Destroyed Overnight - Conversion Down 80%

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. I've had a look at the situation you've described with your healthcare clinic's ads, and I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on it. It's a tough spot to be in, especially when performance falls off a cliff overnight like that. Let's break it down.

We'll need to look at why your conversions have tanked...

First off, let's talk about that advice you got from the Facebook "Pro". Switching from a Lead campaign to a Traffic campaign was, to be blunt, terrible advice. You've already seen the results for yourself – traffic campaigns are designed to get cheap clicks, not conversions. The algorithm does exactly what you tell it to do, and you told it to find people who like to click on things, not people who are likely to book an appointment. The 0.5% conversion rate is proof of that; you just ended up with a load of low-quality visitors, and maybe even some bots for good measure. I'd definitely steer clear of that advice in the future.

Now, let's look at your metrics. The fact your CPM and CPC are down while your CTR is stable is actually quite interesting. It tells me your ads are still resonating with the audience and Facebook is able to serve them cheaply. The problem isn't the ad itself, or the top-level targeting. The audience is seeing the ad and clicking on it. The breakdown is happening *after* the click.

This points almost entirely to a problem on your landing page or with the post-click experience. Since you're manually tracking the important stuff (completed appointments), which is absolutely the right way to do it in your sector, the 80% drop is a real, tangible problem. The restrictions on sending data back to Facebook are a pain, for sure, but they don't explain a sudden drop like this. The issue is that the high-quality traffic you were getting before is no longer converting once it hits your site. Something's changed there.

I'd say you need to seriously audit your landing page...

When we see a sudden drop-off like this, the first place we look is the landing page. It's the most common culprit, and often it's something small and unexpected. After running the same service for four years, it's easy to assume everything is fine, but websites are fragile things.

Here’s what I’d be checking immediately:

-> Technical Health Check: Have you checked your page speed recently? Use a tool like Google's PageSpeed Insights. A recent update to your website's theme, a new plugin, or even just server issues could have slowed it down considerably. A few extra seconds of loading time can decimate conversion rates, especially on mobile. People just won't wait around.

-> Form Functionality: This sounds almost too simple, but is the appointment form working perfectly on all devices and browsers? I mean, have you tested it yourself recently? Fill it out on your phone, on a desktop, using different browsers. We had a client in the health space with a similar problem, and it turned out their contact form had broken after a small WordPress update. It's a simple check but absolutely critical.

-> Trust and Credibility: You're in healthcare. Trust is everything. Has anything on the page changed that might make it feel less trustworthy? Maybe a security badge expired, or some images are broken? For a single practitioner clinic, people are buying into *you*. The page needs to ooze professionalism and credibility. Think about adding more trust signals: patient testimonials (if compliant in your area), professional affiliations, clear photos of the clinic and the practitioner. Your website is your digital waiting room; it needs to feel safe and professional.

-> The Copy and The Offer: Is the value proposition still crystal clear? After four years, maybe the messaging has gone a bit stale. Is it immediately obvious what the benefit of booking an appointment is? Is the call-to-action (CTA) button prominent and compelling? You want to make it as easy and frictionless as possible for a potential patient to take that next step.

You probably should restructure your campaigns for the long run...

Even though you can't send specific conversion data back to Facebook, you should still be using a campaign objective that aligns with your goal. Sticking with a Lead or a Conversion objective (even if optimising for a higher-funnel event like Landing Page Views) is far better than a Traffic objective. The algorithm is still smarter than just finding random clickers. It will try to find people who exhibit behaviours similar to those who have converted in the past, even with the data limitations.

I would suggest a proper funnel structure. This helps you segment your audience and tailor your messaging, which almost always improves performance. It's a structure we use for many of our clients, including in the medical space. Here's a simplified version:

-> Top of Funnel (ToFu) - Prospecting: This is your cold audience campaign. Here you use detailed targeting (interests, demographics, behaviours) to reach new potential patients who haven't heard of you before. The goal is to introduce them to your clinic and the problems you solve.

-> Middle of Funnel (MoFu) - Re-engagement: This is where you retarget people who have shown some interest but haven't converted. This could be people who visited your website, watched a percentage of one of your videos, or engaged with your Facebook page. You show them different ads, maybe focusing more on trust-building, like a patient testimonial or an "about the practitioner" video.

-> Bottom of Funnel (BoFu) - Conversion: This is your warmest audience. You retarget people who have visited the appointment page or even started filling out the form but didn't complete it. The messaging here should be very direct, with a clear call to action to "Complete Your Booking" or "Request Your Appointment".

Running separate campaigns for each stage allows you to control the budget and messaging far more effectively. For a smaller practice, you could combine MoFu and BoFu into a single retargeting campaign to start with.

You'll need to breathe some new life into your ads...

While the problem seems to be post-click, a campaign refresh is never a bad idea, especially after four years. Ad creative gets stale, and audiences develop banner blindness. Since your campaign needs a kickstart anyway, this is the perfect time to test new things.

I remember a campaign we worked on for a medical job matching SaaS where we overhauled the creative and campaign structure, reducing their cost per acquisition from £100 down to just £7. A fresh approach can make a world of difference. We used both Meta Ads and Google Ads for this client, as mentioned.

Think about what builds trust for a healthcare clinic. Instead of just static images, could you test:

-> A short video tour of the clinic? Showcasing a clean, professional, and welcoming environment.

-> A "meet the practitioner" video? Where you speak directly to the camera, explain your approach, and build a personal connection.

-> User-Generated Content (UGC) style testimonials? If you have happy patients who are willing to (and it's compliant), a simple, authentic video can be incredibly powerful.

Testing new ad formats and angles within the new funnel structure you've built will give your campaigns the best possible chance of recovery and growth.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Navigating these platform changes, diagnosing technical issues, and implementing a full-funnel strategy like this can be complex and time-consuming. An expert can often spot the problem much faster and has the experience of implementing these kinds of structures across many different accounts to know what works.

If you feel you might need some more hands-on help with this, we do offer a free initial consultation where we can take a proper look at your account and strategy together. It might be helpful to have a second pair of expert eyes on it.

Hope this helps you get things back on track.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh