Generating qualified leads in medical tourism: our method and our cost per lead

Medical tourism is one of the most demanding advertising markets: a long decision cycle, patients comparing several countries, strict ad platform rules on health advertising, and an absolute need for qualified leads — not mere browsers. For a hair transplant clinic in Istanbul, our campaign management produced 5,700 leads in 5 months for €97,000 invested, i.e. €17 per lead on a blended basis. Here is the method, backed by the figures.

The figures first

The clinic’s name remains confidential — that is our rule for all published cases — but the lead definition and the period are documented and can be shared on request.

Why both channels, and not just the cheapest?

At first glance, Meta produces the cheapest lead (€14.6 versus €18.3). So why leave 70% of the budget on Google? Because the two channels don’t capture the same intent:

• Google captures expressed demand: the person is actively searching for the procedure, comparing clinics, often with precise queries. The volume is more expensive but deeper — it is Google that carries the scale.
• Meta creates and captures latent demand at a lower cost, but its qualified volume plateaus sooner on such a precise target audience.

The trade-off is made every week based on each channel’s cost per qualified lead — not the raw CPL, and certainly not the last click: a patient reached on Meta often converts via a Google search a few days later.

The lead definition: where everything is decided

A “lead” can be anything, from a WhatsApp click to a complete medical file. Before spending a single euro, we locked in a contractual lead definition with the clinic — valid contact details + verifiable intent — and it is this definition that is measured, not the platforms’ default conversions. Three practical consequences:

1. The forms filter (qualifying questions), even if this slightly raises the apparent CPL.
2. The conversion events sent back to the ad platforms correspond to the qualified lead, not the click — so the algorithms optimise for the right target.
3. The reporting speaks the clinic’s language: files the sales team can work with, not “results”.

Measurement at 30/60/90 days

In medical tourism, the truth about a lead emerges weeks after the click: first contact, quote, booking, procedure. Our measurement cadence follows the lead over 30, 60 and 90 days, which makes it possible to answer the only question that matters to the clinic: which channel, which campaign and which message produce patients — not forms. It is this feedback loop that steered the budget towards the campaigns with the highest lead conversion, even when their CPL was higher.

The sector-specific requirements you must respect

• Ad platform compliance: health advertising is regulated (limited personalisation, controlled wording). Accounts that ignore this end up suspended — the campaign structure must be designed for compliance from the outset.
• Genuinely multilingual: our campaigns for this sector run in the patient’s language — the team works in French, English, German and Turkish, creatives included. An approximate translation destroys trust on a medical subject.
• The landing page accounts for half the CPL: proof (compliant before/after photos, accreditations), reassurance about the patient journey (travel, stay, follow-up), and an immediate contact channel.

This method is detailed on the Google Ads and Meta Ads side, and the case features among our results.

Frequently asked questions

Is €17 per lead good or bad?

Only the cost per patient can tell you. With a realistic conversion rate for the sector and the value of a procedure, a €17 lead leaves a very healthy acquisition margin — that’s the calculation to make with your own figures before judging a CPL.

Can you do medical tourism on Meta alone, for less?

You can start on Meta to validate the message, but the qualified volume plateaus. Expressed demand lives on Google: doing without it means leaving the patients closest to a decision to your competitors.

Does this method work for other specialities (dental, cosmetic)?

Yes — the mechanics (lead definition, compliance, multilingual, 30/60/90 measurement) are identical. What changes: the search queries, the proof expected and the decision cycle, and therefore the creatives and the landing pages.