Marketing for optometry practices
"Eye test near me" costs up to $14 a click. The chains are happy to pay it. Are you?
Optometry marketing for Australian practices
Optometry marketing means using SEO, Google Ads, social, content and your website together to bring in the patients your practice wants, inside Ahpra's rules.
Independent optometry is a fight against national budgets. The chains run ads every day and have a shopfront in every centre. Independents win on trust, expertise and service, but only if patients find them. We run marketing that plays to those strengths: a strong local profile, smart ads and content the chains can't match.
15 years marketing allied health practices across Australia.
Free. In 2 minutes.
Find out who's taking your patients.
- ✓Where you rank on Google Maps in your suburb and the ones around it
- ✓Whether ChatGPT and Google's AI recommend your practice
- ✓How your profile and reviews compare with the 20 nearest optometrists
No credit card. Just the truth about your practice.
This work is part of our allied health marketing services for Australian practices.
Local trust vs big budgets
Why optometry marketing is different.
Optometry sits between healthcare and retail. Patients come in for an eye test and leave with frames, so every channel has to work for both. The advertising rules still apply to every offer. Good optometry marketing wins the test and the sale, without a misleading deal in sight.
$79.80
Medicare schedule fee for a comprehensive eye test (item 10910). Bulk billed tests bring people in. Your service keeps them.
Source: MBS Online, fee from 1 July 2026
$12.72
Average cost per click for "eye test near me". The chains bid hard on it, so independents need a smarter mix.
Source: Google Ads data, October 2026
1,900
Monthly searches for "behavioural optometrist". Specialist services like this are where independents win.
Source: Google Ads data, October 2026
What each search costs in Google Ads
$12.72 a click for "eye test near me". Pick your battles.
These are average Google Ads costs per click in Australia. Paid clicks fill the diary fast, but they never get cheaper. A good optometry marketing plan uses ads for the searches that book today, and SEO, reviews and referrals to bring the cost per patient down over time.
Source: Google Ads average cost per click for Australia, October 2026.
| Search | Avg cost per click |
|---|---|
| bulk billing optometrist | $13.78 |
| eye test near me | $12.72 |
| eye test | $10.82 |
| optometrist near me | $4.95 |
| behavioural optometrist | $3.74 |
| glasses near me | $1.61 |
What a optometry marketing plan includes
6 channels. One plan. Every one pulling its weight.
Most practices run two or three of these, with nobody joining them up. We run them as one plan, so every channel feeds the next.
1. Google profile and reviews
"Optometrist" as the primary category, services and frame brands listed, real photos and steady reviews. Your best weapon against the chains.
2. SEO
Pages for myopia control, dry eye, behavioural optometry and kids' vision, where chains rarely compete.
3. Google Ads
Ads on the searches you can win, not a bidding war on "eye test near me" against a national budget.
4. Facebook and Instagram
Frames, faces and your team. The local personality a chain can't copy, with offers that always show their terms.
5. Your website
Online booking, bulk billing made clear, and frames and services easy to browse on a phone.
6. Referrers and recall
GPs, schools and local ophthalmologists, plus recall reminders when patients are due for their next test.
What we do for optometrists
Optometry marketing services. One team.
SEO for optometrists
Rank for "optometrist near me", your suburb and the services you want more of.
Google Ads for optometrists
Campaigns built around your best services, with clicks for "optometrist near me" averaging $4.95.
AI visibility
Get named when people ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI for a optometrist near them.
Facebook and Instagram
Frames, faces and your team. The local personality a chain can't copy.
Content that's compliant
Articles and service pages written in your optometrists' voice and checked against Ahpra guidance.
Optometry websites
Fast sites with online booking front and centre and every service easy to find.
Want SEO on its own? See our SEO for optometrists page, or let one team run all of it with Fractional CMO.
How it works
How we market optometry practices. Four steps.
Assessment first
The Practice Growth Audit looks at your Google profile, rankings, ads, website and reviews against the 20 nearest optometrists.
Fix the leaks
Profile, tracking, website speed and booking path. Small fixes that stop patients slipping through before you spend more.
Build the plan
The right mix of SEO, ads and social for your optometry practice, with a budget and a target for each.
Report what counts
New patients and bookings by channel, every month. If a channel isn't paying its way, we change it.
Where to start
Where should your optometry marketing budget go?
It depends on where your practice is now. Here's how we usually set the focus. Your free report shows which fits you.
New or quiet practice
- Google Ads first, to fill the diary this month
- Google profile and reviews set up properly
- SEO started underneath, so ads can scale back later
Busy, but want to grow
- SEO and content for the services you want more of
- Facebook and Instagram to build your name locally
- Referrer and recall emails to keep patients coming back
Not sure? Check first
Your free report shows whether your gap is rankings, your profile or your website, and which to fix first.
Get my free reportWe don't get paid to make excuses.
We stand behind our work. If we don't deliver the agreed milestones in your first 90 days, we'll keep working at no extra cost until we do.
Your first quarter
What happens in your first 90 days.
Every step agreed up front, so you always know what's being done and when.
Practice Growth Audit
Your profile, rankings, ads, website and reviews, compared with the 20 nearest optometrists.
Foundations in place
Google Business Profile, tracking, website fixes and listings, all sorted.
Channels live
SEO pages, ads and social running for the optometry services you want more of.
Results and the next plan
New patients and bookings by channel in one report, and the plan for the next 90 days.
Ahpra-aware, every time
What we never put in an optometry ad or post
- Frame or lens deals without the terms spelled out
- Patient testimonials about clinical outcomes
- "Specialist" claims. Optometry has no specialist registration
- "Free eye test" offers that hide conditions
- Messages that push unnecessary tests or products
Based on Ahpra and the Optometry Board.
Questions optometrists ask
Optometry marketing: FAQs explained.
plain answers for busy owners.
How much should a optometry practice spend on marketing?
It depends on your goals and your area. Google Ads clicks for "optometrist near me" average $4.95, so we start from how many new patients you want a month and work back to a budget. The Practice Growth Audit gives you the numbers before you commit.
Can we run Facebook and Instagram ads?
Yes, within Ahpra's rules: no testimonials, no posts that promise results, and clear terms on any offer. Meta ads work best for building your name locally and reaching people before they need you.
Can we use patient reviews in our marketing?
Patients can leave Google reviews, and they help you rank. You can't reuse reviews about clinical outcomes in your ads or on your website. Under section 133 of the National Law, that's a testimonial.
How do we compete with the chains on price?
Mostly, don't. Make bulk billing clear, keep offers simple and honest, and win on what chains can't match: time with the optometrist, specialist services and local trust.
Should we start with SEO or Google Ads?
If your diary has gaps now, ads first. If you're busy but want growth that doesn't cost per click, SEO first. Most practices need both. Our SEO for optometrists page covers the SEO side in detail.
Do you work with multi-clinic practices?
Yes. We've marketed a national allied health franchise, so we know how to give every clinic its own local presence while keeping the brand consistent.
How do you report results?
One report a month: new patients, bookings and cost per booking by channel. No vanity metrics.
What does it cost?
Single services start from $1,200 a month plus GST for Google Ads and $1,500 for SEO. Fractional CMO, with every channel run as one plan, starts from $4,000 a month plus GST. Every engagement begins with a Practice Growth Audit.
Optometry marketing across Australia
Relevant across Australia.
Related specialties
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90 Day Delivery CommitmentEvery day you're not on the map, they're booking someone else.
Find out who's beating you and exactly why.
Show me where I'm losing patientsThe commitment covers agreed work and milestones within our control. It does not guarantee patient volume, appointments, revenue, rankings or platform outcomes.