It’s becoming increasingly important for all pharmacists to bridge the gap between the online and offline world.

One way to do this is by using Google AdWords to create an advertisement, so your business appears in patients’ search engine listings.

AdWords works by businesses bidding on relevant search terms. These might include “pharmacy in Leeds”, “flu vaccine” or “shaving foam”, for example.

Factors taken into account by Google to determine whether the ad appears to internet users include the relevance of your content, the quality of your website and how much you would pay for each keyword.

For each click on your ad, you pay a fee. Your spend on AdWords completely depends on your goals and budgets. A good figure to begin with would be around £5,000 per month.

You’ve probably seen these advertisements (below) when searching the internet, which have been triggered using keywords, or search terms, that businesses have bid on:

Location targeting

Whether your company has a single store or a chain across the country, a way to hone your AdWords, and capture the attention of users online and offline, is through location targeting.

Location targeting aims your ad at internet users searching for something in a specific location, showing them your product or service as well as just how close you are.

Using location targeting makes your ad automatically more person-centred, as you’re encouraging someone to visit your pharmacy and engage with you. Even if they don’t visit, after seeing the ad they will know that your pharmacy is there for them.

Location targeting can be implemented via an AdWords account:

1. Make an account on AdWords
2. Go to “settings”
3. Select “locations” and the red “+ locations” button
4. Select the location that you want to specify your targeting in
5. Enter your location(s) and save. Your ads will now be targeted to internet users in that location

Age-specific

It’s important to recognise how different ages and genders search for products, particularly in the pharmacy sector. When advertising men’s products, for example, you can make sure you’re not targeting women, and vice versa.

Equally, some age groups are more likely to be searching for certain products.

Through demographic targeting, you can tailor your ads to appear to more relevant groups, further improving your online presence.

How to implement demographic targeting:

1. On your AdWords account, click on the “audiences” tab
2. Click on “demographics” and select the row with the age and gender you’d like to target
3. Once selected, click the “edit” dropdown and choose how much you are willing to pay for a click from your targeted audience

Become a problem-solver

The real opportunity surrounding AdWords is that you are there for your customer when and where they need you – something all pharmacists are familiar with.

By tailoring and targeting your ads resourcefully, you’re helping to solve problems, establishing a level of trust with your customer.

It is that trust that will ensure that they return and help your pharmacy business thrive.

Beth Crowe is the pay-per-click lead at digital marketing agency Blueclaw, based in Leeds