You know better than anyone that running a successful orthodontic practice requires more than clinical expertise. You need brand visibility, trustworthy referrals, and a steady stream of new patients. But where do you start when it comes to budgeting for marketing? There’s no universal formula for the “perfect” spend, but with a few tips from the pros, you can find the right marketing budget for your orthodontic practice and grow from there.
Let’s unpack what factors shape your marketing spend, how percentage guidelines can help, where digital dollars go furthest, and why community and referral strategies matter just as much as clicks and impressions.
The Factors That Influence Your Marketing Budget
No two orthodontic practices have the same marketing needs. From geographic variations in ad costs to the unique challenges of differentiating your brand, your budget should fit your world—not the other way around. Here are some cues to help you determine your needs.
Location Matters
Your geographic area will often dictate how much you need to spend. Markets like New York or Los Angeles can demand more aggressive budgets just to break through the noise. On the other hand, if you’re located in a less saturated region, you may be able to capture attention with a smaller investment. Think about the local cost of advertising, the average CPC for orthodontic keywords, and the general marketing landscape.
Practice Size & Growth Goals
A start-up practice often needs a higher percentage of revenue devoted to marketing. You have to get your name out there and build trust from scratch. Established practices, on the other hand, might fine-tune their budgets, focusing on patient retention and referrals. Your stage of growth determines how aggressive you need to be.
Competitive Landscape
Are you up against large, well-known orthodontic chains or a handful of small, independent practices? You’re likely not the only orthodontist in town, and your competition’s marketing efforts will influence how aggressively you need to invest. If your competitors dominate search results and social feeds, you need to spend more to stand out. If your corner of the market is relatively open, a more modest budget might work.
The 7% Rule
While your dollar spend might be different from practice to practice, allocating around 7% of your total gross revenue toward marketing is a good rule of thumb. For example, if you’re bringing in $1 million annually, a 7% budget translates to about $70,000 per year—or roughly $5,800 per month. That may sound like a lot, but consider it an investment that, when used wisely, can lead to exponential returns.
Because no marketing budget is static year over year, however, you should consider this a jumping-off point rather than a rigid framework. You might need to adjust this number based on your unique situation.
If you’re a new practice hungry for patients, you might aim for closer to 10%. If you’re well-established and happy with your caseload, you might bring it down to 5% to prioritize specific high-impact campaigns rather than a broad awareness push. The goal isn’t to hit an exact number—it’s to use that number as a baseline and refine it as you learn what works.
Breaking Down Your Digital Marketing Spend
In today’s world, digital marketing is where you’ll likely devote a significant portion of your budget. But simply pouring money into online ads won’t guarantee results. You need a strategic approach.
Allocating Daily Budgets for Real Results
If you’re only getting a handful of ad clicks per day, you won’t gather enough data to refine your approach. Let’s say, for lead generation ads, $25 per day is a good place to start. In a cost-effective market, that might generate 3-5 meaningful clicks, giving you insights over time. In pricier cities, you may need to double or triple that amount just to keep pace. What matters is hitting a threshold that provides useful information—data you can act on to optimize ad copy, targeting, and landing pages.
Brand Awareness Ads ($10-$15/Day)
Before anyone becomes your patient, they have to know you exist. Brand awareness ads, even with a modest daily spend, help you consistently reach new eyes. They won’t deliver leads overnight, but they set the stage so that when someone finally needs an orthodontist, you’re the name they remember. This is a long game—like laying the foundation before you build the house.
Lead Gen Ads ($25+/Day)
Lead generation ads are your direct patient pipeline. Running them at about $25 a day (or more if you see strong returns) creates a steady flow of new inquiries. Monitor your metrics closely. If you’re converting leads at a profitable rate, increase your budget. If not, tweak your targeting or messaging. By staying active and flexible, you can turn your dollars into data-driven opportunities.
Expanding Across Channels
Don’t limit yourself to a single platform. Google Ads is great for high-intent searches (“orthodontist near me”), while Facebook and Instagram excel at pinpointing specific demographics or interests.
Consider running retargeting campaigns to reach people who’ve visited your website but haven’t converted. If another platform seems promising, test it. The key is diversification. Spread your bets to find what delivers the best return.
Referral Marketing
While digital ads are often front and center, there’s tremendous value in old-fashioned relationship-building, and you have to dedicate some of your budget to this goal. Personal connections and community involvement create trust, and trust converts leads into loyal patients.
Dental Referral Networks
A strong referral network can be one of the most cost-effective marketing engines you build. You can allocate part of your marketing budget to hosting occasional lunches or sending thank-you gifts to dentists who refer patients. Consider producing easy-to-share educational materials or offering referral incentives. These investments often yield high-quality patients because they arrive with trust already intact.
Community Presence
Your town’s events, school sports teams, and civic organizations provide rich opportunities to get your name out. Consider sponsoring a local charity event or setting up an informational booth at a health fair.
These moves rarely yield immediate conversions, but they plant seeds in the minds of families and community leaders. When someone mentions needing braces, your name naturally surfaces.
Include these costs in your budget, and remember to ask new patients how they found you. Over time, you’ll gauge which community efforts pay off.
Optimizing & Adjusting Your Budget Over Time
Your marketing plan isn’t a static document, and it should evolve as your practice and audience do. This means reviewing your results regularly, ideally every quarter. Check key metrics: cost per lead, conversion rates, and patient lifetime value. Are your Google Ads still yielding solid returns? Is your Facebook ad frequency too high or too low? Are referrals from a particular dentist on the rise?
Once you identify what’s working, double down. If lead-gen ads on Instagram are performing better than anything else, shift more of your budget there. If a referral partnership is driving consistent, high-quality patients, invest in strengthening that relationship. Likewise, if something isn’t producing, scale it back or test a new approach.
A data-driven mindset turns your marketing from guesswork into a growth engine. Over time, you’ll develop an intuitive sense of what resonates with your audience and see that optimizing your budget is not about spending more—it’s about spending smarter.
Budget Better with Neon Canvas
Setting your marketing budget is all about balance. You start with broad guidelines, like the 7% rule, and then you refine them based on your location, competition, and growth goals. Smart digital ad spending, backed by consistent brand awareness and referral strategies, helps you build a patient pipeline that’s stable and sustainable.
If you’re ready to craft a marketing strategy built for your unique practice, our team of professionals is here to help. Contact us to budget better today.