Google Ads reach people already searching for a treatment by name, so leads cost more but book more often. Meta ads reach people who weren’t searching, so leads cost less but book less often. Most med spas start with Meta for visual and lower-cost treatments, use Google for the treatments patients search for by name, and run both once the booking path is ready. Here’s how the two compare, what each costs in 2026 and how to split a starter budget.
Brand Lift 360 runs Google and Meta advertising for med spas in Roseville and Greater Sacramento. Ad spend is paid directly to the platforms with no markup; management is included in our Growth and Authority managed marketing plans.
Two terms come up below. A lead is a call or form from a potential patient, and cost per lead is your ad spend divided by those leads. Retargeting means showing ads to people who already visited your website.
The Short Answer
- Meta first for visual and lower-cost treatments: body contouring, peels and facials, memberships and seasonal offers. People respond to what they see.
- Google first for anything people type into a search box with a city name, such as Botox, fillers or laser hair removal. Fillers move to Meta too once Google is booking.
- Both together for most spas: Google catches people already searching, Meta retargeting brings back the ones who visited.
- Both need a treatment page to land on and someone to answer within minutes. The ad is the cheap part.
Side by Side
| Google Ads | Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees it | People searching for the treatment now | People who match an audience, not searching |
| Cost per lead | Higher | Lower |
| Booking rate | Higher | Lower |
| Best for | Named treatments, “near me” searches | Visual treatments, offers, awareness |
| Creative | Text, a few images | Photos and short video do the work |
| Policy risk | Moderate: prescription drug terms are restricted | Higher: weight-loss before-and-after images and copy that attacks appearance are banned; cosmetic ads must target adults 18+ |
What Each Costs in 2026
We do not quote a cost-per-lead range for med spas. The ranges that circulate online come from agency blogs, not neutral research, so your own first 90 days are the better benchmark. Click costs are easier to check. Google's Keyword Planner (Google's free tool for estimating searches and click costs) had too little Sacramento data to price a click for “Botox near me”. Broad “med spa” searches in the Sacramento area averaged about $6 a click, “botox” about $7 and “laser hair removal sacramento” about $11, and the highest top-of-page bids (what advertisers pay to appear above the regular results) for laser hair removal near $47 (Google Ads data via DataForSEO, 12 months to September 2026). Meta does not publish comparable estimates. On either platform, count booked and attended appointments separately, because a booking that no-shows is not revenue.
Those numbers move with your market, offer and landing page. In our own accounts, the biggest swings come from the page the click lands on and how fast the inquiry is answered, not from the platform.
Which Treatments Go Where
| Treatment | Start on | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Botox and other neuromodulators (wrinkle-relaxing injections) | High search volume with a city name; patients know what they want | |
| Dermal and lip fillers | Google, then Meta | Searched by name; visual results work on Meta once Google is booking |
| Laser hair removal | Searched seasonally; price-shopped, so the landing page needs a starting price | |
| Body contouring | Meta | People don’t know the treatment name; visuals create the interest |
| Microneedling, peels, facials | Meta | Lower ticket; Meta’s cheaper leads make the math work |
| Medical weight loss | Heavily searched; strict ad policies, so copy needs care | |
| Memberships and seasonal offers | Meta | Reaches existing and lapsed clients cheaply |
A Starter Budget
For a 1 to 3 provider med spa, we recommend starting at $1,500 a month per campaign, paid directly to Google or Meta. That is enough for the platform to learn quickly and start producing leads within a few weeks. From there, measure cost per booked appointment by treatment, and at the 90-day checkpoint move budget toward the campaigns that book. Growth manages up to $3,000/month in ad spend; Authority up to $10,000.
With Growth at $1,499/month plus one $1,500 campaign, the total is $2,999/month, plan and ad spend combined. Run one campaign on Google and one on Meta and the total is $4,499/month. To judge it, divide that total by the margin on one booked treatment: at a $600 margin per patient, about five extra booked patients a month cover it. See plans and pricing.
The Rules That Get Ads Rejected
- Before-and-after weight-loss images on Meta, and cosmetic ads not limited to people 18 and older
- Claims that imply a guaranteed result or a medical outcome
- Meta ad copy that puts down how someone looks (“tired of your double chin?”)
- Prescription drug names in Google ads, keywords or landing pages without Google's approval
We review eligibility, claims and targeting against Google's healthcare and medicines ad policy and Meta's health and wellness ad standards before launch. The platforms make the final call, and policies change, so a rejected ad is a revision, not a crisis.
Google vs. Meta at a Glance
| Question | Google Ads | Meta ads |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees the ad | People searching for a treatment now | People who match an audience, not searching |
| Leads | Cost more, book more often | Cost less, book less often |
| Start here for | Botox, fillers, laser hair removal, medical weight loss | Body contouring, peels and facials, memberships, seasonal offers |
| Sacramento-area click costs | About $6 to $11 a click on common med spa searches | Not published |
| Main policy limits | Prescription drug terms | Adults 18+ only; no copy that puts down appearance |
| Starter budget | $1,500 a month per campaign, paid directly to Google or Meta; move budget toward what books at day 90 | |
Questions Med Spa Owners Ask
Should I start with Google or Meta?
Meta, for visual and lower-cost treatments, because people respond to what they see. Google, for treatments people search by name with a city. Most spas run both, with Meta retargeting bringing back people who visited from Google.
Do Meta ads work for Botox and filler?
Yes, with care. Leads are often cheaper than Google’s but book at a lower rate, and Meta restricts some claims and images. Send clicks to a treatment page and answer within minutes.
Is ad management included in your plans?
Yes. Growth includes Google Ads and Meta retargeting; Authority includes Google Ads and integrated paid social. Ad spend is separate and never marked up. For the full plan, read Med Spa Marketing: A 12-Month Plan.
What to Do First
Pick your two most profitable treatments. Check that each has its own page with a starting price and a booking button, then run one campaign per treatment at $1,500 a month on the platform that fits it. Track booked and attended appointments by treatment, and at day 90 move budget to what books. For how we run this for med spas, see our med spa marketing. To build the treatment pages themselves, read Med Spa SEO: How to Rank Treatment Pages Locally. For click prices across dental, plastic surgery and chiropractic searches, see How Much Does Google Ads Cost for a Medical Practice?
Sources
- Healthcare and medicines, Google Advertising Policies Help, accessed October 2026.
- Health and Wellness ad standards, Meta Transparency Center, updated July 22, 2026.
- Google Ads Keyword Planner data, retrieved through DataForSEO on October 26, 2026: average cost per click and top-of-page bids for Sacramento-area med spa searches, 12 months to September 2026.
- Brand Lift 360 (our data): treatment-by-platform patterns and the $1,500 starter budget come from the med spa ad accounts we manage. Method: we compare booked appointments by treatment and platform at each account's 90-day review.