Which traffic source is best to acquire refractive and cataract surgery leads? Paid search, paid social, or SEO?
There’s no “best traffic source”. It’s all about choosing what makes the most sense for your practice right now. Think about it as a continuum based on where you are in your journey.
When starting, paid traffic (also known as PPC) is likely the right move to start getting bums on seats. Then once you’ve tested all of your growth engine components with paid traffic, I would start SEO.
Cost per lead (CPL) with SEO can be way cheaper in the long run. With that said, I wouldn’t lower my budget on paid traffic if it was profitable. You can better control how many leads you get if you keep it going.
As long they are profitable: Leads are leads.
What about free posting on Meta (or LinkedIn)? To acquire refractive or cataract surgery leads, I have yet to find a more cost-effective way than either paid search, paid social or SEO, on a cost-per-lead basis.
And I’ve tried!
If you’ve succeeded with organic social – on ANY platform (show me the 📈), let me know. I’d happily pay for that skill if you can show me better CPLs than I’m getting with paid or SEO!
Want to see how this plays out in real life? Check out my video for more details and stats from one of our customers. It perfectly demonstrates the value of these tactics in action:
NOTE: The best way to answer that nagging question about practice growth or marketing or patient volume in the back of your mind is to book a free 15-minute compatibility call. Get some options and go away with a clear idea of what’s possible.
About the author
Rod Solar
Founder & Scalable Business Advisor / fCMO
Rod Solar is a co-founder of LiveseySolar and a Scalable Business Advisor for its customers. Rod mentors and coaches eye surgery business CEOs/Founders and their leadership teams to triple their sales, double their profit, and achieve their “ideal exit”.
Meet our Co-Founders
Rod Solar
Founder & Scalable Business Advisor
For over 20 years, I’ve helped ophthalmology entrepreneurs scale their private practices. I specialise in doubling revenue within three years by offering a proven framework, hands-on experience, and a team of experts who implement what works. We take the guesswork out of growth and scale, so you can focus on delivering exceptional patient care while maximising the value of your business.
LiveseySolar completely transformed the way we were approaching this… We’ve gone from having just the dream of having a practice to having a practice up and running with people making inquiries and booking for procedures… It’s extremely pleasing. We feel lucky we connected with LiveseySolar.
— Dr Matthew Russell, MBChB, FRANZCO, specialist ophthalmic surgeon and founder of VSON and OKKO
Laura Livesey
Founder & CEO
I’m the co-founder & CEO of LiveseySolar. I’ve developed powerful eye surgery marketing systems that increase patient volumes and profits for doctors, clinics, and hospitals, since 1997.
Rod and Laura know as much about marketing surgery to patients as I know about performing it. They are an expert in the field of laser eye surgery marketing. They know this industry inside out. I believe that they could help many companies in a variety of areas including marketing materials, sales training and marketing support for doctors.
— Prof. Dan Reinstein, MD MA FRSC DABO, founder of the London Vision Clinic, UK
