A full-funnel paid search strategy to convert Orange County residents — and California telehealth patients — into scheduled appointments at Shanti OC.
Confidential — prepared exclusively for Shanti Orange County
Shanti OC's current website over-emphasizes HIV/AIDS services, leading prospective patients to self-disqualify before ever making contact. Patients regularly ask whether they must be HIV-positive to be seen. The answer is no — Shanti serves anyone aged 13 and older across a broad range of mental health needs — but this is invisible in search results. The entire Google Ads strategy is built around correcting this perception gap and capturing demand that is currently being lost to competitors or going unfulfilled.
How to read this section: Each campaign is structured as a standalone unit — with its own rationale, keyword strategy, sample ad copy and dedicated landing page. Campaigns are prioritized as Priority 1 (launch immediately), Priority 2 (launch in month 2), and Priority 3 (launch once P1/P2 are stable). Budget can be allocated proportionally based on priority.
This is the highest-volume category in local mental health search. "Therapist orange county" and "therapy near me" are searched thousands of times per month by people who are ready to book — they just need to find a provider that accepts their insurance and has availability. Since Shanti has 50+ therapists with open slots, this campaign is designed to capture that broad pool first and let the intake process handle matching. Without this campaign, Shanti is invisible for its most commercial search terms. This campaign alone could double current inbound inquiry volume.
Page headline: "Therapy for everyone in Orange County." Prominent CTA: "Get matched with a therapist." Insurance strip visible above the fold.
"Anxiety therapist near me" and "depression counseling" are among the most-searched mental health queries in the US. These searchers have already self-diagnosed a need — they are not browsing, they are buying. Shanti's providers treat both conditions extensively, yet this is not surfaced anywhere in current marketing. Condition-specific campaigns consistently achieve 2–3x higher conversion rates than generic brand awareness campaigns because the ad copy matches the exact problem the person is experiencing at the moment of search.
In the kickoff meeting, DBT was identified as one of the top reasons prospective patients arrive with a specific request. A person searching "DBT therapist orange county" has typically already been through a diagnostic process and knows what treatment they need. This is the highest-quality lead type in mental health search. These searchers are motivated, pre-educated, and unlikely to drop off during the intake process. The keyword volume is lower than general therapy, but CPL (cost per lead) is significantly better. This campaign also signals clinical sophistication to prospective patients.
Page must explain DBT in plain language, list providers who practice it, and include a prominent intake CTA. Condition page — not a homepage redirect.
Shanti has over 40 years of history serving the LGBTQ+ community — this is a genuine and deep differentiator that most competing practices in Orange County cannot claim. However, this advantage is currently being obscured by an over-emphasis on HIV. A dedicated LGBTQ+ affirming therapy campaign positions Shanti as the leading inclusive mental health provider in the region and captures a community that actively searches for affirming care. LGBTQ+ individuals are 2.5x more likely to experience a mental health condition and are highly motivated to find providers who understand their experience. This campaign builds long-term loyalty and referrals.
During the kickoff, it was noted that Shanti serves patients from age 13 upward, but the website makes no mention of teen or adolescent therapy. This is a major missed opportunity: parents searching for a teen therapist are among the most motivated searchers in mental health — the urgency is high, the intent is clear, and the search volume in Orange County is significant. Teen mental health demand has surged post-COVID. Shanti's insurance coverage (including Medi-Cal) is a critical differentiator since many private teen therapy practices do not accept public insurance. This campaign targets parents directly.
Copy should address parent concerns directly. Emphasize insurance coverage, quick intake, and the experienced teen-focused therapist profiles.
Couples therapy was mentioned in the kickoff as a service Shanti provides but doesn't communicate. In Orange County, the search volume for "couples therapy" and "marriage counseling" is consistently high, and the commercial intent is very strong — people in crisis do not browse, they search and call. Shanti's LGBTQ+ inclusive positioning is an especially powerful differentiator here, as same-sex and gender-diverse couples actively look for affirming couples therapists and often struggle to find them. Insurance coverage for couples therapy is rare among private practices, making this a significant advantage.
95% of Shanti's current patients use insurance, with 67% using CalOptima (Orange County Medi-Cal). This is Shanti's core patient profile. People who search "therapist that accepts Medi-Cal" or "CalOptima therapist" have already cleared the decision to seek therapy — their only remaining question is whether their insurance is accepted. This is a near-zero-friction conversion if the landing page answers that question immediately and prominently. Many competing private practices do not accept Medi-Cal, making Shanti the only credible option for a substantial portion of these searches.
Note on "free therapy" queries: These searchers have mismatched intent but represent motivated leads. Ad copy should reframe: "Insurance-covered therapy = near-zero out-of-pocket cost." Qualify the lead on the landing page, not in the ad.
60% of Shanti's current sessions are conducted via telehealth — meaning the practice already operates at scale beyond Orange County. However, the digital presence targets only local patients. This campaign extends Google Ads reach to the entire state of California (excluding CalOptima-specific keywords, which require OC residency). Statewide telehealth keywords have lower competition and CPCs than OC-local terms, making the Grant budget go further. This is particularly powerful for LGBTQ+ and DBT searchers who cannot find affirming providers in their local market.
Geo targeting: California statewide. Separate from OC-local campaigns to avoid cannibalizing budget on terms that already perform in the local campaigns.
This service is central to Shanti's mission and history since 1982. However, the strategic problem is one of balance, not elimination: HIV/chronic illness must remain visible for the patients who genuinely need it, while not overwhelming the general therapy experience. A dedicated campaign preserves this visibility while ensuring that HIV-specific messaging does not spill into the general therapy campaigns or suppress conversion rates there. Keyword volume in this category is lower, so budget allocation should be modest — sufficient to serve this community but not at the expense of higher-volume campaigns.
Target a 30-mile radius centered on Shanti OC's office address. Include specific cities with high Medi-Cal enrollment: Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Westminster. In-person patients must be local; telehealth patients for CalOptima must be OC residents.
Telehealth campaign targets all of California. Exclude zip codes in Orange County (to prevent budget overlap with local campaigns). Statewide CPCs for mental health terms are 30–50% lower than local OC CPCs, extending grant budget further.
No device exclusions at launch. After 30 days of data, review mobile vs. desktop conversion rates. If mobile converts at lower rate, apply a bid adjustment of –15% to –25% on mobile devices while keeping ads visible.
Run ads 7 days a week, 7am–9pm. Avoid running between 12am–6am to preserve Quality Score and budget efficiency. Consider increasing bid adjustments on Monday–Wednesday mornings when mental health search volume peaks (post-weekend resolution intent).
Ad extensions increase click-through rate by an average of 10–15% and provide additional information that improves Quality Score. All extensions below should be active on every campaign from day one. Google selects which extensions to show based on predicted CTR improvement.
Launch all Priority 1 campaigns on Maximize Clicks with Smart Bidding enabled. This unlocks the grant's Smart Bidding exception, removing the default CPC cap and allowing Shanti to compete for high-value keywords that were previously unreachable.
Switch to Maximize Conversions once 30+ conversion events are logged. The algorithm will begin optimizing bids in real time to generate the most intake form submissions and calls within the daily budget.
Google Ad Grant and Smart Bidding: Google requires Ad Grant accounts to use Smart Bidding (Maximize Conversions or Target CPA) OR maintain a 5% CTR using manual bidding. Smart Bidding is strongly recommended — it removes the default CPC hard cap and allows Shanti to bid competitively on high-intent keywords like "DBT therapist orange county" or "LGBTQ affirming therapy" that operate in a competitive auction.
Negative keywords prevent ads from showing for irrelevant searches, protecting the Quality Score and the 5% CTR requirement. The list below should be applied at the account level from day one. It will be expanded weekly based on Search Terms Report review.
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