Dermatology digital marketing: paid search without the drug names, audiences Google will not allow, and patient email HIPAA lets you send

Dermatology digital marketing works when each channel is matched to the kind of patient it brings and run inside the rules that apply to health advertising. Search ads catch people already looking for a dermatologist or a treatment. Email keeps existing patients coming back for checks and follow ups. Social and content show the practice and its doctors. Three sets of rules shape all of it: Google limits health ad targeting and prescription drug terms, HIPAA decides which patient emails count as marketing, and the FTC sets the bar for before and after photos. A plan that respects those limits from the start avoids disapproved ads and complaints later.

Match the channel to the patient

Patient	Best channels	What to measure
New medical patient (skin check, acne, eczema)	Search, Google Business Profile, insurance-focused landing pages	New patient bookings by source
Existing patient	Email and text reminders, patient portal	Return visits, annual skin checks booked
Cosmetic patient	Search, social, before and after galleries, consultation offers	Consultations booked and treatment plans started
Referring doctors	A referral page, direct outreach	Referrals received by practice

Track bookings, not clicks. A channel that brings a lot of traffic and no appointments is costing you money.

Paid search: what Google allows

Search ads work well for dermatology because people search with clear intent: "dermatologist near me", "mole removal", "laser hair removal [town]". Three Google policies shape these campaigns.

Prescription drug terms

Google's healthcare and medicines policy, read on 21 October 2026, says Google restricts the use of prescription drug terms in ads, landing pages and keywords, and that whether you can use them depends on the location. Many cosmetic treatments are known by a prescription drug brand name. Check the location rules before you bid on or write those names, and build campaigns around the treatment and the condition instead.

Health is a sensitive interest category

Google's personalized advertising policy for health, also read on 21 October 2026, lists physical health conditions and invasive medical procedures, including cosmetic surgery, surgical procedures and injections, as sensitive. For ads in that category:

• Advertiser-curated audiences cannot be used. That covers Customer Match, your data segments (remarketing lists), audience expansion and lookalike segments.
• Predefined Google audiences, such as in-market and affinity segments, can be used, because Google strips sensitive signals out of them.
• Users under 18 are not eligible for personalized ads of any kind.

So a plan that depends on uploading your patient list or retargeting people who visited your acne page will not work. Build on keyword intent, location targeting and strong landing pages instead.

Local Services Ads

Google's Local Services Ads include Dermatologist as a category (Google Ads help, read 21 October 2026). The same page says booking leads and pre-badge ads are not available for health care categories, so the practice must finish verification before the ad can run.

Email and texts: which ones HIPAA treats as marketing

Email to existing patients is the cheapest channel a practice has. HIPAA decides how freely you can use it. Under the definition of marketing in 45 CFR 164.501, a practice's communications to describe its own health-related products and services, or about the patient's treatment, are generally not marketing, unless a third party pays the practice to send them.

That matters in dermatology. An email reminding patients that annual skin checks are open is about your own service. An email promoting a skincare brand or device, where the maker pays or supports the practice for it, falls under the paid exception. Section 164.508(a)(3) then requires the patient's written authorization, and the authorization must state that payment is involved. Keep vendor-funded promotions out of patient email unless you have that authorization.

Practical rules for patient email:

• Keep reminders and service news general. Do not put a diagnosis in a subject line.
• Give every marketing message a working unsubscribe link.

Before and after photos and testimonials

Galleries and patient stories sell cosmetic treatments, and the FTC's Endorsement Guides apply to them. Under 16 CFR 255.2(b), an ad that shows one patient's result on a key outcome will be read as what patients generally achieve. If you cannot support that, the ad should clearly disclose the generally expected results. Show typical results, keep lighting and angles the same, and do not retouch.

An identifiable patient photo is protected health information. Using it to promote the practice needs the patient's written authorization under 164.508(a)(3). Collect it before any photo is posted to the site, social media or an ad.

Reviews

Reviews feed both search ads and the map. Ask every patient, without incentives. Google's review policy forbids offering discounts or free services for reviews, and the FTC's rule 16 CFR 465.4 makes it unlawful to give incentives for reviews that express a particular sentiment. In replies, do not confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention their care.

Content and social

Content earns trust between ads. Short videos of a doctor explaining sunscreen, mole checks or acne myths do well on social platforms and on your site. Each piece should be reviewed by a physician and carry their name. For the planning side, our guide to content marketing in healthcare sets out how to plan by service line and who signs off. For the website pages and the map listing, see our guide to SEO for dermatologists.

Questions about dermatology digital marketing

What is the best digital marketing channel for a dermatology practice?

For new patients, search: Google Business Profile, search ads and strong treatment pages. For existing patients, email reminders about checks and follow ups.

Can a dermatologist use remarketing on Google?

Not for ads in the health sensitive category. Google's policy blocks advertiser-curated audiences, including remarketing lists and Customer Match, for those ads. Predefined Google audiences are allowed.

Can a dermatology practice advertise a prescription drug brand name?

Google restricts prescription drug terms in ads, landing pages and keywords, with rules that depend on location. Check before using them, and lead with the treatment and condition instead.

Does HIPAA allow marketing emails to patients?

Emails about your own services and the patient's treatment are generally not marketing under HIPAA. If a third party pays for the message, you need the patient's written authorization stating that.

Do before and after photos need a disclaimer?

If the result shown is not what patients generally achieve, the FTC expects a clear disclosure of the generally expected results.

When a patient asks an assistant which dermatologist to trust

People now ask ChatGPT or Gemini which dermatologist near them is good with acne, or who does skin checks without a long wait. The answer names a few practices and builds its description from their websites, profiles and reviews. Whether your practice is named there is a separate thing to track, and AI Knows Us measures it.