To market a med spa, sell each treatment where its clients look: search ads and your Google listing for treatments people search for by name, Instagram and Facebook for treatments people need to see first, and messages to past clients for every later visit. Then judge each channel by the consults that show up, buy a treatment and rebook within 90 days. Count those by source in your booking software, because click and lead reports don't.
Quick answer
- Make "How did you hear about us?" required in online booking and the phone script, with fixed choices.
- Each month, count by source: consults booked, showed, bought a treatment and, 90 days later, rebooked.
- Before advertising injectables or semaglutide, read the platform rules below.
- Compare channels on spend per client who bought, then on how many came back.
Which channels fit which treatments?
A treatment people search for by name already has demand that search ads and your Google Business Profile (the free listing on Google Maps and in local results) can catch. A treatment people need to see before they want it is a job for Instagram and Facebook, where the ad has to create the interest. The table shows monthly searches and the average cost per click (CPC), meaning what an advertiser pays for one click. Both come from Google Ads Keyword Planner estimates for the US, October 2026.
| Treatment and example search | US searches a month | Average CPC | Channels to test first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any: "med spa near me" | 110,000 | $5.64 | Business Profile, search ads |
| Laser hair removal: "laser hair removal near me" | 110,000 | $17.32 | Search ads, Business Profile |
| Fillers: "lip filler near me" | 74,000 | $7.78 | Search ads, Instagram and Facebook |
| Body contouring: "coolsculpting near me" | 18,100 | $8.71 | Search ads, Instagram and Facebook |
| Medical weight loss: "semaglutide near me" | 8,100 | $27.76 | Business Profile, past clients, referrals |
These CPCs are national averages, and your own price will differ. For laser hair removal, the planner's top-of-page bid estimates range from $3.29 to $65.80. And a click is not a client. Bidding on "semaglutide near me" itself needs certification, as the Google rules below explain.
Search ads need a page per treatment with prices and online booking. The Business Profile needs accurate hours, a booking link and reviews. Ask every client for a review, and offer nothing for it. Google Maps bars incentives for reviews and asking only happy clients (Google, checked 2026-10-04), and the FTC's 2024 rule bans incentives tied to whether a review is positive or negative (FTC, checked 2026-10-04).
Can you advertise Botox and semaglutide on Google?
Yes, with two limits. The list of prescription drugs Google monitors includes botox, dysport, xeomin, semaglutide and tirzepatide (Google, checked 2026-10-04). For US campaigns Google allows these terms in promotion "in accordance with local laws and regulations" and says: "While you don't need to be certified in order to use prescription drug terms in ads and landing pages, you must be certified in order to keyword-target these terms" (Google, checked 2026-10-04). So an ad and the page it sends people to may name Botox, but bidding on "botox" as a keyword (a search term that triggers your ad) needs certification.
That page gives online pharmacy, addiction services, telemedicine, health insurance and pharmaceutical manufacturer as examples of certification types. It also warns against applying for a category that does not match your business, so ask Google Ads support whether a med spa qualifies before planning around a drug-name keyword. The same page requires certification from some business types whatever their keywords, telemedicine providers among them. That means advertising online prescribing, such as semaglutide after a video visit, needs accreditation from LegitScript (a company that certifies healthcare businesses) and certification with Google (Google, checked 2026-10-04).
The second limit covers fillers too. Google's personalized advertising policy treats content about prescription drugs (Google, checked 2026-10-04) and about "Invasive medical procedures, including cosmetic surgery, surgical procedures, or injections" (Google, checked 2026-10-04) as sensitive interest categories. Ads about them can't use remarketing (ads shown to people who visited your site) or Customer Match (ads aimed at a client list you upload). Bringing injectables clients back is a job for your own emails and texts.
An ad that complies but is limited in where and when it can show is labeled "Eligible (limited)", and Google says website terms tied to regulated industries can also cause it (Google, checked 2026-10-04). What Google's healthcare policy lets practices run covers the rest.
What do Instagram and Facebook allow for med spa ads?
Cosmetic procedures, yes, for adults; prescription drugs, only with certification. Meta's Health and Wellness policy lets advertisers promote dermal fillers, injectable treatments, chemical peels, micro-needling and laser treatments to people 18 or older, and allows "General cosmetic products, procedures, surgeries depicting before and after transformation" (Meta, checked 2026-10-04). It bars statements of inferiority about someone's appearance, close-ups of pinched fat in weight-loss ads, and clickbait such as promising a specific result in a set time without disclaimers or qualifiers. Meta's personal attributes rules also bar implying you know the viewer's age or health: its examples allow "Our new lotion and creams fight wrinkles like never before!" and reject "Ready to upgrade your skin to look younger?" (Meta, checked 2026-10-04).
To promote a prescription drug, Meta requires active LegitScript certification (drug manufacturers may use Meta's own review instead), Meta's authorization and onboarding, a disclaimer to consult a licensed health professional or get a valid prescription, and adults-only targeting in the US, Canada or New Zealand (Meta, checked 2026-10-04). Prescription weight-loss products fall under that rule. Whether an ad for Botox injections counts as an injectable treatment or a drug ad is Meta's call, so put one ad through review before you build a campaign on a drug's name.
Data has limits too. Meta may file a site offering health-related products and services under its "Health and wellness" data source category (Meta, checked 2026-10-04). That category can bring core setup, which strips everything in a page address after the domain, and blocks on "specific mid and lower funnel events" (Meta, checked 2026-10-04). Those are the events (actions your site reports to Meta) closest to a booking. Events Manager, where Meta lists those events, shows your category. Meta's terms also bar event, conversion and audience names that reflect health information, including medical procedures and treatments (Meta, checked 2026-10-04), so a conversion (a counted result) named "botox-booked" breaks the rule.
Why do repeat clients matter more than the first visit?
Because you pay to win a client once and get paid each time they return. Two channels that bring the same paying clients for the same spend are not equal if only one channel's clients come back. Only the rebook count shows that.
A membership (a monthly fee that buys treatments or discounts) turns the return visit into a payment you can track. Count members by the source of their first visit and by how many still pay three and six months after joining. If a discount fills the calendar with first visits that never rebook, the rebook count shows it once those 90 days pass.
Past clients are a channel too: a rebooking message after each visit, a reminder before the next.
What should you count for each channel?
Five numbers per source, from your ad accounts and your booking software (Boulevard or Mangomint, for example).
| Count | What it means | When to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Consults booked | New clients' first appointments that month, consult or treatment | Month end |
| Showed | Of those, the ones marked arrived or completed | Month end |
| Bought a treatment | Showed and paid for a treatment, not only a consult fee | Month end |
| Rebooked within 90 days | Bought, then booked another visit within 90 days | 90 days after month end |
| Spend | Ad cost plus what you pay someone to run the channel | Month end |
In online booking and in the phone script, make "How did you hear about us?" a required question with fixed choices: Google search, Google Maps, Instagram or Facebook ad, Instagram or Facebook post, friend or client, other. Free text gives you a report you can't sort. Answers are approximate. Someone who saw an Instagram ad and later searched your name may say Google. Give every ad a link with UTM tags (labels at the end of a link that tell your analytics which ad sent the visit) and compare.
How do you compare channels in one month?
Illustrative: every number below is made up for an imaginary two-room med spa, and none comes from a client.
| Row | Google search ads | Instagram and Facebook ads | Client referrals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spend | $3,000 | $2,000 | $0 |
| Consults booked | 40 | 50 | 14 |
| Showed | 32 | 30 | 13 |
| Bought a treatment | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| Rebooked within 90 days | 11 | 3 | 7 |
| Collected in 90 days | $11,400 | $4,300 | $6,100 |
The formulas, Google first, then Instagram and Facebook:
- Cost per booked consult = spend ÷ consults booked: $3,000 ÷ 40 = $75; $2,000 ÷ 50 = $40.
- Show rate = showed ÷ consults booked: 32 ÷ 40 = 80 percent; 30 ÷ 50 = 60 percent.
- Cost per paying client = spend ÷ bought: $3,000 ÷ 20 = $150; $2,000 ÷ 10 = $200.
- Rebook rate = rebooked ÷ bought: 11 ÷ 20 = 55 percent; 3 ÷ 10 = 30 percent.
- Collected per ad dollar = collected ÷ spend: $11,400 ÷ $3,000 = $3.80; $4,300 ÷ $2,000 = $2.15.
On cost per booked consult the Instagram and Facebook ads win, $40 against $75; on every row after that they lose. A report that stops at cost per lead (spend divided by people who asked to book) would favor them.
Twenty of their 50 consults never showed, so check reminders and how to measure no-shows before cutting the ads. Referrals, with 7 of 10 rebooked, set the bar for both paid channels. Collected money is before product costs; the 90-day payback check shows how to subtract them for a verdict. Your month may rank them the other way, so read down to the rebook row before moving budget.
What should a med spa ask the agency running its ads?
- Can you report consults booked, showed, bought and rebooked by channel every month, from my booking software rather than the ad platforms?
- Which of my ads, keywords and landing pages use drug names such as Botox or semaglutide, and what policy status does each have?
- Do any injectables or weight-loss campaigns use remarketing or Customer Match?
- Which data source category has Meta given my website in Events Manager, which events are restricted, and do any event or audience names mention a treatment?
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Frequently asked questions
Which med spa treatments run into Google's ad rules?
Prescription drugs such as Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, semaglutide and tirzepatide: US ads and landing pages may name them without certification, within local law, but bidding on them as keywords requires it, and advertising online prescribing, such as semaglutide after a video visit, needs LegitScript and Google certification. Injections and cosmetic surgery count as health content under Google's personalized advertising policy, so their ads can't use remarketing or Customer Match. Ads that comply but are limited in where and when they can show get the status 'Eligible (limited)'.
Does Meta allow before-and-after photos for injectables and laser treatments?
Yes, for adults. Meta's Health and Wellness policy lists injectable and laser treatments among the cosmetic procedures advertisers can promote to people 18 or older, and allows before-and-after transformations for general cosmetic procedures. The ad still can't contain statements of inferiority about someone's appearance or promise a specific result in a set time without disclaimers or qualifiers, and Meta's personal attributes rules bar implying you know the viewer's age or health. An ad that promotes a prescription drug falls under Meta's separate drugs policy.
How should a new med spa with no clients start marketing?
Start where demand already exists: complete your Google Business Profile and run search ads on the treatments people near you search for by name, sending clicks to pages with prices and online booking. From the first booking, ask every new client how they heard about you, with fixed answer choices, so that within a few months you can compare channels on clients who bought and rebooked.
Why can't my Facebook ads optimize for bookings?
One reason is that Meta may place a health-related website in its health and wellness data source category, which can bring core setup (stripping everything in a page address after the domain) and restrictions on specific mid and lower funnel events. Check the category in Events Manager and ask Meta for a review if it looks wrong. Either way, count bookings by source in your booking software, which those restrictions do not touch.
How can I tell whether a med spa membership works?
Count members by the source of their first visit and by how many still pay three and six months after joining. For members who were clients before they joined, compare their visits in the six months before and after joining: if the number barely moves, the membership mostly repriced visits that would have happened anyway.
How long before I can judge a new ad channel for my med spa?
Plan on one full month of bookings plus 90 days. Bookings, shows and purchases can be read when the month ends, but the rebook count needs the 90 days after it. That is the row that separates channels whose clients return. If one client more or less would change your verdict, add a second month before deciding.