I don't know which marketing channels are actually generating paying patients

Marketing attribution is the foundation of efficient patient acquisition. Without knowing which channels generate paying patients rather than enquiries, marketing budget is allocated by assumption and habit. The result is overspending on ineffective channels and underspending on those that deliver the best return, while the overall cost per patient acquisition remains higher than necessary.

steps: 7; steps
to start: 1 hour; to start

The short answer

Most clinics know what they spend on marketing and how many enquiries arrive, but not which channel produced each paying patient. Tag every link, ask every patient how they found you, record the source in your PMS, and report cost per booked patient by channel every month. After three months you can move budget with confidence.

7 steps

Do it yourself: step by step

0 of 7 done

Record monthly spend on each channel: Google Ads, search optimisation, directories, social, print, GP events, PR
Time
1 hour
Typical cost
£0
Who does it
practice manager
Done when: A channel list with monthly cost

This problem is Solvable.

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Monthly channel performance report

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Table

Monthly channel performance report

Month: [month]

Channel	Spend	Enquiries	Booked new patients	Conversion (booked / enquiries)	Cost per enquiry	Cost per booked patient	Average first-episode value	Return (value / spend)
Google Ads	£[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]%	£[ ]	£[ ]	£[ ]	[ ]x
Organic search
Directories (e.g. Doctify)
Social media
GP and consultant referrals
Existing patient referral
Insurer directory
Other / unknown

PMS source drop-down list

Google search, Google Ads, Doctify, insurer website, GP referral, consultant referral, friend or family, existing patient, social media, print or local press, event, other (specify).

UTM naming rules

utm_source: google, doctify, facebook, newsletter
utm_medium: cpc, directory, social, email
utm_campaign: [service]-[month]-[year]

Avoid these

Common mistakes

Judging channels on enquiries rather than booked patients.
A free-text source field, so answers cannot be counted.
Letting unknown be the most common source.
Cutting a channel after one bad month.
Forgetting that GP and patient referrals are channels and need tracking too.

Free personal check

Done by Paul Robinson, not software

Answer eight quick questions and I'll show you which channels you can and can't see

What I need from you

Eight tap answers about how you track enquiries
The channels you spend money on

What you get

Where your tracking breaks between click and paying patient
The three changes that would show cost per booked patient
Which ones you can do yourself this week

Within 2 working days

No sign-in, no sales call. I read every request myself and reply on WhatsApp.

Free tools

Check where you stand

Your illustrative estimate

£6,000

Solvable estimate. Rounded to the nearest £500. Updates as you type.

Monthly marketing spend

Starting figure £3,000 (from £3,000 (Solvable estimate; use your own)). Change it to match your practice.

Untraceable share

Starting figure 40% (from 40% (Solvable estimate)). Change it to match your practice.

Likely wasted share

Starting figure 40% (midpoint of 30% to 50% (Solvable estimate: some untraced spend does work, you just cannot prove it)). Change it to match your practice.

Formula

Annual cost = monthly marketing spend x share that cannot be traced to a booked patient x share of that spend likely to be wasted x 12

Variables and defaults

monthly marketing spend: £3,000 (Solvable estimate; use your own)
untraceable share: 40% (Solvable estimate)
likely wasted share: 30% to 50% (Solvable estimate: some untraced spend does work, you just cannot prove it)

Defaults only. Change them in the calculator to use your own numbers.

Assumptions and defaults

monthly marketing spend = £3,000 (Solvable estimate; use your own)
untraceable share = 40% (Solvable estimate)
likely wasted share = 30% to 50% (Solvable estimate: some untraced spend does work, you just cannot prove it)

At these defaults about £4,300 to £7,200 a year is likely wasted and recoverable by moving budget (arithmetic checked), within £14,400 a year of spend you cannot yet prove works.

Every supplier I know who solves this. No one pays to be listed. Where I've worked with them, I say so.

Doctify
Reviews and reputation
Patient review and doctor search platform: verified reviews, consultant profiles and online booking for UK private healthcare.
Verified reviews, consultant profiles and online booking across UK private healthcare.
Best for: Consultants, clinics and private hospitals
Price on request
Former client
Medico Digital
Marketing and websites
Healthcare digital marketing agency: websites, SEO, paid search and social for private hospitals, clinics and health companies.
Healthcare-only agency for websites, search and paid ads, working with private hospitals and multi-site clinics.
Best for: Private hospitals and multi-site clinics
Price on request
No commercial relationship
Semble
Practice management software
Practice management and patient records software for private clinics and consultants, covering scheduling, notes, telehealth and payments.
Clinic PMS covering bookings, notes, invoicing, online payments and a patient portal in one place.
Best for: Private consultants, clinics and clinic groups
Price on request
No commercial relationship

Know a supplier I have missed? Tell me Suggest yourself

There is no UTM tracking or source attribution on digital enquiries Bookings are not linked back to the channel that generated the enquiry Marketing spend decisions are made on volume of enquiries rather than quality of patients

Website enquiry forms do not capture the source channel
There is no CRM or tracking system linking enquiry source to patient booking
Marketing spend is reviewed against enquiry volume rather than booking and revenue outcome
Offline channels such as events or referral cards are not tracked
There is no regular channel performance review meeting

Redirecting 30% of a £2,000 monthly marketing budget from an untracked channel to a proven high-performing one, based on attribution data, typically generates two to four additional booked patients per month.

Marketing budget is spent on channels that generate enquiries but not bookings
The cost per patient acquisition is higher than necessary because inefficient channels are retained
The practice cannot scale investment in high-performing channels because it cannot identify them
Marketing ROI cannot be demonstrated to justify continued or increased investment
Revenue is lower than the marketing spend would support if correctly attributed and optimised

What it looks like in practice

A clinic spending £2,000 per month across three marketing channels without attribution knows its total spend but cannot calculate its return, every budget decision is made blind
UTM parameters on all booking links and enquiry forms can be implemented in under one working day by any competent digital marketing resource and immediately connect spend to bookings
A simple monthly marketing report showing spend, enquiries, bookings, and revenue per channel takes approximately one hour to produce and transforms the quality of budget allocation decisions

Paul Robinson

14 years in UK private healthcare

I solve this one for clinic and hospital teams

Want a hand? I'll look at your situation and tell you the three things I'd tackle first.

A few quick questions, about two minutes. I read every one myself and usually reply the same day.

No sales call unless you ask for one. Just a straight answer from me.

I reply personally, usually the same day.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What is a UTM tag?

A short code added to the end of a link that tells your analytics where the visitor came from.

Is asking patients enough?

It is a good start, but patients misremember. Combine it with link tracking.

How long before we can trust the data?

Around three months of consistent recording (Solvable estimate: enough to smooth out one-off weeks).

What is a good cost per booked patient?

It depends on your service value. Compare it with the first-episode value and lifetime value, not with other clinics.

Should we stop channels that look poor?

Reduce gradually and watch the effect. Some channels support others.

Last reviewed: 30 October 2026

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The short answer

Do it yourself: step by step

1List every channel and its cost1 hour · £0

2Tag your linksHalf a day · £0 or a few hours of supplier time

3Set up conversion tracking1 to 2 days · £0 to £500 (Solvable estimate: up to about a day of supplier time)

4Add a source field in the PMS1 hour · £0

5Train reception to ask30 minutes · £0

6Report cost per booked patient1 hour a month · £0

7Move budget quarterly1 hour a quarter · £0

Monthly channel performance report

Common mistakes

Answer eight quick questions and I'll show you which channels you can and can't see

What I need from you

What you get

Check where you stand

What's this costing you?Optional: work it out with your own numbers

How we worked this outMethod, formula and assumptions

Suppliers who solve this3 suppliers. No one pays to be listed

Why this keeps happening

What it leads to

Want a hand? I'll look at your situation and tell you the three things I'd tackle first.

Frequently asked questions

What is a UTM tag?

Is asking patients enough?

How long before we can trust the data?

What is a good cost per booked patient?

Should we stop channels that look poor?

You're not the only one with this problem.