Google Ads Best Practices Based on My Experience as a Therapist

When I opened my own practice, I had the same concern as many young therapists.

“How do I find my first patients?”

During our studies or training, we spend a lot of time learning our profession. We reflect on the therapeutic framework, our clinical approach, the ethics of our practice, and supervision. However, we hear very little about a subject that is nonetheless essential: how to build a private practice.

Yet without patients, there is simply no clinical practice.

When I first started my practice, I often felt a bit lost. I knew how to work with a patient, but I didn’t really know how to help patients find me.

So I tried several approaches: some allowed me to get started gradually, while others proved less effective than I’d hoped.

Looking back, I don’t think there’s a magic formula. However, there are strategies that may or may not align with your work style, your location, or your specialty.

I wanted to share my experience here because this is the kind of article I would have loved to read when I first started my practice.

Getting Started Through Referrals

I got my first patients through referrals. For many young therapists, this is an excellent way to get started. It allows you to begin seeing patients without immediately feeling the pressure to fill your schedule completely. They also offer the opportunity to learn how a practice operates, interact with other professionals, and gradually gain clinical experience. Looking back, I consider this step to have been very important in my career.

On the other hand, retrocessions also have a limitation since, by definition, they depend on another professional’s workload. So, you build your experience, but not necessarily your own patient base.

For Regulated Professions: Doctolib, a First Step Toward Visibility

Many psychologists and psychotherapists sign up for Doctolib. For someone looking for a psychologist, the platform is easy to use and well-known to the general public. Having a presence on Doctolib therefore provides initial visibility. However, this may not be enough, as competition is fierce, particularly in major cities.

Patients often compare several profiles, and it can sometimes be difficult to stand out when a search yields dozens of professionals. Doctolib seems like a good solution, but I don’t think it can always serve as a growth strategy on its own.

Specialized directories and platforms:

I signed up for several directories and platforms aimed at therapists. The idea was simple: the more places my profile appeared, the more likely I was to be contacted. Again, I received a few inquiries, but in hindsight, the results were relatively modest. I realized that many platforms worked in a fairly similar way: you create a profile, wait for a patient to come across it, and hope they’ll choose you from among many other professionals.

This approach can work, but I felt like I was still very dependent on how these platforms operated. I wanted a more proactive strategy that would allow me to be visible exactly when someone was looking for a therapist.

What Really Made a Difference: Google Ads

Some therapists may be reluctant to “advertise” their practice, feeling that it’s not compatible with the values of our profession. After all, our job is to support people who are suffering, not to sell them therapy.

Then, after testing referrals and several specialized platforms, I asked myself a very simple question:

“What’s the difference between convincing someone to seek therapy and allowing someone who’s already looking for a therapist to find me?”

That thought completely changed the way I saw things.

When someone types into Google:

• “psychoanalyst Lyon”

• “addiction therapy in Lyon”

• “psychologist in Villeurbanne”

they don’t need to be convinced that therapy exists. They’re already in the process of searching: they’re simply looking for the professional best suited to support them.

From that point on, being visible no longer seems at odds with how this profession is viewed. It’s not about trying to persuade someone to seek therapy, but about helping people who have already taken that step find the therapist who’s right for them.

It was in this context that I began using Google Ads.

Instead of waiting for a patient to stumble upon my profile by chance among dozens of others, I could be visible at the exact moment someone was searching for the type of support I offered. This is the strategy that has had the greatest impact on the growth of my practice.

Why do so many therapists give up on Google Ads so quickly?

Since I’ve been working on this topic, I often hear the same thing:

“I tried Google Ads, but it didn’t work.”

I understand this reaction, and I made plenty of mistakes myself at first. Google Ads isn’t a button you press to make patients show up. Like any tool, it requires some upfront planning:

• Which keywords should I choose?

• Which geographic area should I target?

• What budget should I allocate?

• How do I write an ad that stays true to our ethics?

• What happens when someone clicks on the ad?

All of these questions directly influence the results.

In fact, I believe that many therapists give up not because Google Ads doesn’t work, but because they find themselves on their own with a particularly technical tool.

This is perfectly understandable, since our job is to support patients—not to become digital marketing specialists.

For therapists: visibility will never replace the clinic.

I’d also like to clarify a common misconception: having good visibility isn’t enough.

A patient doesn’t stay because they clicked on an ad; they stay because they find a professional with whom they feel understood.

Google Ads can facilitate an initial connection, but it will never replace the quality of your listening skills, your training, your supervision, or the way you support your patients.

In my view, these two aspects aren’t at odds with each other—they’re complementary: one helps the patient find you, and the other makes them want to continue working with you.

Why did I choose to support other therapists in collaboration with Bloomsline?

Over time, several colleagues have asked me the same questions:

“How did you set up your Google Ads campaigns?”

“What keywords do you use?”

“Where do I start?”

I quickly realized that many of them had the same questions I did when I first started my practice. They had a solid clinical practice and a strong professional identity, but didn’t always know how to increase their visibility without feeling like they were just doing marketing.

That’s exactly what inspired me to pursue more specialized training in Google Ads and to partner with Bloomsline.

The goal has never been to offer a standardized method or apply the same formula to every practice:

• Every therapist works in a different context.

• Each specialty attracts different patients.

• Every practice has its own identity.

Today, I work with psychologists and therapists who want to increase their visibility on Google while staying true to the values of their profession. 

In collaboration with Bloomsline, I offer audits, the creation and optimization of Google Ads campaigns, as well as support designed exclusively for mental health professionals.

Because, in my view, building visibility isn’t about marketing at any cost. Above all, it’s about helping people who are already seeking support find the professional who’s right for them.

To sum up, when I first started my practice, I thought the quality of my work would be enough to get the word out about my practice.

Today, I still believe that quality is essential, but I’ve also come to understand that a practice—no matter how competent it may be—can only help patients if they know it exists.

In my experience, Google Ads has been the tool that truly made the difference. Not because it replaces clinical quality, but because it allows people who are already looking for a therapist to find you at the right time.

If I’m sharing this experience today, it’s not because I think I’ve found a miracle solution. It’s simply because I wish a therapist had shared their own journey with me when I first started my practice.

Ultimately, the quality of your care is what will build patient loyalty. Google Ads, on the other hand, can simply help them find you. Looking back, I believe that distinction is essential.