Home Results Meta Ads Outperform Google PPC for Treat Mental Health

Meta Ads Outperform Google PPC for Treat Mental Health

Treat Mental Health partnered with GoldenComm to improve their digital ad performance. By shifting to Meta Ads, they reduced their costs per click and per lead even while admitting 6 new patients in the first 60 days.

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screenshots of Treat Mental Health Facebook page overlay that reads 6 admits in 60 days with Meta Ads

Who is this for?

This case study will be especially relevant for the following job functions:

Admissions Teams

Therapy Clinics

Marketing Specialists

Behavioral Health Startups

Marketing Directors

Healthcare Organizations

The Challenge

Treat Mental Health was experiencing a familiar problem: Their Google Ads PPC campaigns were getting more expensive by the month but producing fewer qualified leads and admissions. With cost per acquisition (CPA) rising to unsustainable levels, we needed a better way to reach people struggling with mental illness and addiction.

The Results

78%

lower cost per acquisition (CPA) than industry average with Google PPC

6

new patients admitted in the first 60 days of campaign run

54%

higher click-through rate (CTR) than industry average

The Solution

We shifted the entire campaign strategy away from Google Ads and into Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram). While Google Ads rely on high-intent searches, Meta Ads allowed us to reach potential patients earlier in their decision-making journey—through targeted, form-based campaigns embedded right in their social feeds. Here’s what we focused on…

Building a new lead capture strategy with Meta’s in-app forms
Using Meta demographics like location, age, and interests for smarter audience targeting
Creating a new workflow to move leads through the funnel, with complete buy-in from the Admissions team
Aligning every part of the process with TreatMH’s messaging and the typical Meta app user experience

Keep reading for a full breakdown of what we did and the great results we saw within just the first 60 days of running this campaign on Meta Ads for mental health treatment.

screenshot of Treat Mental Health facebook posts on a mobile device

screenshot of Treat Mental Health facebook page on a mobile device

Changing Platform Means Changing Strategy

Moving from Google Ads to Meta Ads meant completely changing the strategy, creative, and internal workflow to ensure the channel’s success. Our first step was deciding what experience we wanted Meta app users to have when they saw advertisements for mental health treatment. Mental illness and therapy being sensitive topics, we wanted to create as frictionless a process as possible, which meant using Meta’s in-app lead forms.

Instead of driving users to external landing pages, we kept the entire experience inside the Meta platform (primarily Facebook). These native forms auto-populate with the user’s contact information—making it incredibly easy for someone to request help without ever leaving the app. For prospective patients who are already overwhelmed, this simple process helped transform conversions and keep Treat Mental Health’s Cost Per Lead (CPL) right on par with industry averages on Facebook Ads ($12.00, according to WordStream, 2024).

Smarter Audience Targeting with Meta Ads

Unlike a paid search campaign through Google, which relies heavily on keyword intent, Meta Ads allowed us to target people based on behavioral and demographic data. Factors like age, location, life stage, job stress, or interests in mindfulness and therapy can all play a role. Narrowing down our target audience with smart demographics filtering helped us serve the right message to the right people.

Internal Buy-In for Managing Leads Differently

Success with in-app lead forms depends on what happens after the form is filled out. Meta’s Leads Center requires fast, human follow-up, especially for healthcare organizations like mental health treatment centers. We worked closely with the TreatMH Admissions team to set up an ideal workflow using Meta’s Leads Center. They were able to assign dedicated team members to monitor incoming leads and respond quickly—often within minutes.

That responsiveness made a huge impact, as therapy leads are often time-sensitive. The result? Faster follow-up times, better booking rates, and a streamlined intake experience for new clients. They admitted 6 new patients in the first 60 days of their campaign, with a cost per acquisition (CPA) about 78% lower than what Treatment Centers can usually expect to pay on Google Ads (Circle Social Inc, Aug 2024).

Lessons Learned from Running Meta Ads for a Mental Health Treatment Center

Prospective patients for mental health treatment are often scrolling through Facebook or Instagram while stressed, anxious, or unsure where to begin. Meta Ads is giving TreatMH the opportunity to show up in that moment, interrupt the doom scroll, and give them the way out.

So, why did Meta Ads perform so well for TreatMH? The key wasn’t just switching platforms and messaging. It was aligning every part of the campaign with the mindset and behaviors of people seeking mental health care. From the ad creative to audience targeting to the native form experience, all of the pieces came together to build a funnel that works smarter for their organization.

Summary

This mental health treatment center needed a more cost-effective way to reach and convert leads. By moving from Google PPC campaigns to Meta Ads, we boosted clicks and conversions while keeping costs lower than industry averages.

In the first 60 days, Treat Mental Health saw quick returns on their Admissions rate with an average $1,666 Cost Per Admit (78% lower than the average $7,500-$12,000 they would have expected to spend with Google).