---
type: "Sector"
title: "Medical Tourism Marketing Agency for Clinics | Roicool"
description: "Medical tourism marketing for licensed clinics and facilitators: Turkish rules, Google and Meta health policies, channels by market, cost per arriving patient."
url: "https://www.roicool.com/en/industries/health-tourism-marketing-agency"
lang: "en"
dateModified: "2026-10-20"
expert: "Murathan Bozkurt"
resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/industries/health-tourism-marketing-agency"
alternates:
  tr: "https://www.roicool.com/sektorler/saglik-turizmi-reklam-ajansi.md"
generated: { by: "process:roicool-cms", at: "2026-10-20T00:00:00.000Z" }
related:
  - { title: "Industries", resource: "https://www.roicool.com/en/industries.md" }
---

# Medical tourism marketing agency: campaigns that bring patients from abroad

Medical tourism marketing helps licensed clinics and facilitators reach patients living abroad through search, social media, video and messaging. What sets it apart from health advertising at home: under Türkiye's rules, promotion has to run in languages other than Turkish, from a separate channel aimed abroad, with Türkiye excluded from the targeting.

## 3 things that make winning medical tourism patients hard

### Every market has its own intent.

A patient in Germany researching a hair transplant and a patient in the Gulf researching the same treatment don't ask the same questions. Decision time, the information they expect, the contact channel and the family's part in the decision all change. A setup that pools every market into one campaign loses those differences in the average, and the report can't show which market is profitable.

### A rule breach puts the account and the licence at risk.

On the platforms, a banned phrase or image can get the ad rejected and the account suspended. Under Türkiye's rules the risk is heavier: in the 2025 promotion regulation's sanctions form, breaking the rules for promotion abroad leads, on repeat, to the cancellation of the health tourism licence. You need to know which rule applies to which channel before a campaign goes live.

### A lead is not a patient.

Not everyone who fills a form or writes on WhatsApp reaches a pre-assessment, and not everyone who passes one arrives for treatment. If the CRM isn't connected to the ad platforms, automated bidding only tries to grow the number of "messages", and the budget flows to inquiries that never become patients.

## A channel plan by market and language

A channel's job depends on the market and on where the patient is in their decision. The table ties each channel to the type of inquiry it brings and to how it's measured.

| Channel | What it does | Inquiry type | Rule note | How it's measured |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Google Search | Catches the patient searching for the treatment in their own language ("hair transplant Turkey", "Zahnimplantat Türkei"). | Form, call, WhatsApp | Location option "Presence", Türkiye excluded, languages other than Turkish. Remarketing and Customer Match can't be used in health. | Offline conversions from the CRM (qualified inquiry, pre-assessment) |
| Meta (Instagram, Facebook) | Creates demand; explains the process, the team and the city. | Click-to-WhatsApp, lead form | 18+ targeting. No health questions in the lead form. Automatic audience expansion off. | Conversions API, and ctwa\_clid for WhatsApp |
| WhatsApp and phone | The contact channel patients prefer most; the pre-assessment usually happens here. | Message, call | The message content is health data; it stays out of the tracking. | Reference code, call tracking, reply time |
| Multilingual SEO | Lasting visibility for comparison and "how does it work" questions. | Organic forms and messages | A separate site for abroad, hreflang, doctor and licence details | Organic inquiries by language |
| YouTube | Explains the process, the doctor and the recovery timeline. | Brand searches, return visits | Google's health policy applies in every format | Growth in brand searches, view-through conversions |
| AI answers (GEO) | Makes assistants describe the clinic correctly. | Direct visits | None | Mentions and accurate description in AI answers |

Links: \[Google Ads agency\](/en/services/google-ads-agency) · \[Meta ads agency\](/en/services/meta-ads-agency) · \[YouTube ads agency\](/en/services/youtube-ads-agency) · \[International SEO\](/en/services/international-seo) · \[Call tracking and WhatsApp\](/en/services/call-tracking-whatsapp) · \[GEO agency\](/en/services/geo-agency)

**A market example.** İstanbul Care's ads are set up separately for each of 11 country and language combinations; the brand receives patients from 6 countries, including Italy, Germany, Albania, Spain, the US and France. Because one country is targeted in several languages and one language in several countries, the split is larger than the number of markets. → [case study](https://www.roicool.com/en/case-studies/multi-market-ad-architecture)

## What has to be ready before the ads

- The health tourism licence, published on the site
- A separate site or social media account aimed abroad, with language versions other than Turkish
- The HealthTürkiye logo; accreditation or certificates
- Doctor pages: specialty and title
- A last-updated date and an editor contact on the site
- A reply rota for WhatsApp and phone (language, time zone, person in charge)
- Source fields and stage definitions in the CRM
- Privacy notices and consent records (forms, WhatsApp, images)

## Our service package for medical tourism

### Ads by market

Google and Meta accounts split by country and language, with ad copy checked against the rules. → \[Performance marketing\](/en/services/performance-marketing-agency), \[Google Ads agency\](/en/services/google-ads-agency), \[Meta ads agency\](/en/services/meta-ads-agency)

### Multilingual site and SEO

A site for abroad, language versions, hreflang, doctor and licence pages. → \[International SEO\](/en/services/international-seo), \[SEO agency\](/en/services/seo-agency), \[Webflow\](/en/services/webflow), \[Landing page design\](/en/services/landing-page-design)

### WhatsApp and call tracking

A setup that shows which ad a message or call came from, without touching its content. → \[Call tracking and WhatsApp\](/en/services/call-tracking-whatsapp)

### Tracking

Server-side tagging, Conversions API, offline conversions from the CRM. → \[Server-side tracking\](/en/services/server-side-tracking), \[CRM consulting\](/en/services/crm-consulting)

### Visibility in AI answers

→ \[AEO\](/en/services/aeo), \[GEO agency\](/en/services/geo-agency)

### Reporting

A live report split by country × language × channel × stage. → \[Looker Studio reporting\](/en/services/looker-studio-reporting)

## The legal frame for medical tourism ads

These rules were read from the texts in Türkiye's Official Gazette and from the platforms' own pages (see Sources). This section is not legal advice; you and your legal adviser decide which rule applies to your clinic.

| Topic | Rule | Source | What it means for the campaign |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Inside Türkiye: the basic rule | Open or hidden advertising of healthcare services is banned. Listings in search engines and social media are allowed if they aren't paid, sponsored or boosted. Prices, discounts and offers can't be given. | Promotion Regulation art. 5/1, 5/1-i, 5/1-m | Paid campaigns aimed at patients in Türkiye fall outside this frame, apart from the two exceptions in art. 5/1-j. |
| Abroad: who it's for | Article 8 applies only to clinics and facilitators working under a licence issued by the Ministry. | art. 8/1; Health Tourism Regulation art. 5/1 | Without a licence, the freedoms for promotion abroad don't apply. |
| Abroad: channel and language | Promotion runs from a separate site or social media account aimed abroad, in official languages other than Turkish; the licence is shown there; the HealthTürkiye logo is used. | art. 8/1-a, 8/1-b, 8/1-e | A separate site or account, language versions, a licence and logo block. |
| Abroad: targeting | No demand may be created among people living in Türkiye; Türkiye is not chosen as an audience and automatic audience settings are turned off. | art. 8/1-c, 8/1-d | Türkiye excluded, automatic expansion off, screenshots of the settings archived. |
| Abroad: prices and reviews | Discounts, offers and competitive prices may be announced; patient stories and reviews may appear with privacy respected and documented explicit consent. | art. 8/3, 8/1-ç | Prices only in the channel aimed abroad and in line with the Ministry's tariff (Health Tourism Regulation art. 11). |
| Images | Before-and-after images may be used with consent, the same shooting conditions and the date; they can't be retouched; they can't run as sponsored posts inside Türkiye. | art. 7/1-b, 7/1-e, 7/1-f, 7/1-j | The image archive keeps the consent form and the date. |
| Sanctions | For a breach of art. 8: 2% of gross service revenue at the first finding (at least one hundred thousand TL); at the fourth, the clinic's licence is cancelled. | art. 12, Annex 2 | The rule check is part of every campaign launch. |
| Consumer reviews | Reviews without a verified purchase can't be used in ads. | Commercial Advertising Regulation art. 28/B-6 (since 1 August 2026) | A review platform's rating is checked before it is used in an ad. |
| Google | Speculative and experimental treatments can't be promoted; prescription drug terms are restricted. Health is a sensitive category: Customer Match, data segments (remarketing), audience expansion and lookalike segments can't be used. Cosmetic surgery and injections are included. | Google Ads: Healthcare and medicines; Personalized advertising | The setup leans on search intent and location, not on remarketing. |
| Meta | Cosmetic procedure and surgery ads are shown to people aged 18+; before-and-after images only to 18+ audiences; language that belittles appearance is banned. Lead forms can't ask for health information without Meta's permission. Event and audience names can't reveal health information. | Meta: Health and Wellness; Advertising Standards; Business Tools Terms 1.h | Topic-led copy instead of "Losing your hair?"; event names like "Lead" and "QualifiedLead". |
| Personal data | Health data is a special category of personal data; processing it generally needs explicit consent; transfers abroad fall under art. 9. | KVKK art. 6, 9, 10 | A privacy notice in the form and in the WhatsApp greeting; message content never enters the tracking. |

In detail: \[Health advertising regulation 2026\](/en/blog/health-advertising-regulation-2026)

## Who this is not for

- Clinics without a health tourism licence and no plans to apply for one.
- Clinics that only want patients from inside Türkiye: promotion at home follows different rules.
- Teams that can't answer messages in the patient's language and time zone: ads only grow the unanswered inquiries.
- Brands that want ads promising results or claiming to be "the best".

## Privacy-safe tracking: from inquiry to arriving patient

1. **Define the stages.**: Inquiry, qualified inquiry, pre-assessment done, treatment done. The platform's primary conversion is a qualified inquiry, not any inquiry.
2. **Capture the source.**: A hidden GCLID field in the form, a reference code or ctwa\_clid on WhatsApp, call tracking on the phone. The source is measured, never the person or the message.
3. **Feed it back.**: Qualified stages go from the CRM to Google Ads as offline conversions and to Meta through the Conversions API. Event names and URLs never carry a treatment name.
4. **Allow for consent.**: Google's EU user consent policy requires consent for users in Europe; the signal is missing for users who decline. Server-side tagging lets you control which data leaves; it does not replace consent.

## What we measure

### Cost per qualified inquiry

Cost per inquiry found suitable for a pre-assessment

### Cost per arriving patient

Total marketing cost ÷ patients who arrive for treatment, per market

### Stage rates

The rates from inquiry to reached, qualified, quoted, deposit and arriving patient

### Reply time

Time to answer the first message or call; share of unanswered inquiries

### Platform vs CRM gap

The difference between conversions the platform reports and those in the CRM

→ [Google Ads offline conversion tracking](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/google-ads-offline-conversion-tracking) · [What is Meta Conversions API?](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/what-is-meta-conversions-api) · [WhatsApp lead tracking in health tourism](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/whatsapp-lead-tracking-health-tourism) · [Consent Mode and KVKK](https://www.roicool.com/en/services/consent-mode)

## Our published medical tourism case studies

Figures are quoted as they appear on the case pages. They are a published snapshot, not a promise, and they vary with the campaign and the period.

| Case | Setup | Published result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \[İstanbul Care\](/en/case-studies/multi-market-ad-architecture) | 11 country and language combinations, CAPI | Average 12x ROI, 6% conversion rate (up to 8% by campaign), $14 cost per lead; 3 months, ongoing |
| \[Royal Hair\](/en/case-studies/google-meta-multi-stage-funnel) | Google for ready demand, a multi-stage Meta funnel | Average 14x ROI, 8% conversion rate, $11 cost per lead; 2 months, ongoing |
| \[EsteMoon Clinic\](/en/case-studies/service-line-campaign-split) | Campaigns split by service line, SEO in 10 languages | Average 13x ROI, 7% conversion rate (up to 8% by campaign), $13 cost per lead; 2 months, ongoing |
| \[Albania Hair Clinic\](/en/case-studies/location-advantage-meta-ads) | Meta Ads built on the location advantage, SEO in 3 languages | Average 10x ROI, 6% conversion rate (up to 8% by campaign), $16 cost per lead; 5 months, completed |
| \[Serkan Hezar Clinic\](/en/case-studies/healthcare-appointment-optimization) | Lead quality optimisation, fixed budget | 150% more confirmed appointments, 30% lower cost per lead; a 3-month optimisation period |
| \[Patient flow from zero in 2 months\](/en/case-studies/patient-flow-gain-in-2-months-in-health-tourism) | Niche countries, ads in 4+ languages, CRM setup | The first international patients arrived in the first 2 months; cost per lead in niche countries 60% lower than in the main markets |

Projects: \[İstanbul Care\](/en/projects/istanbul-care) · \[Royal Hair\](/en/projects/royal-hair) · \[EsteMoon Clinic\](/en/projects/estemoon-clinic) · \[Albania Hair Clinic\](/en/projects/albania-hair-clinic) · \[Serkan Hezar\](/en/projects/serkan-hezar) · \[SDF\](/en/projects/sdf) · \[Lin Clinic\](/en/projects/lin-clinic) · \[Küçükçekmece Hospital\](/en/projects/kucukcekmece-hastanesi)

## How we work

1. **Eligibility and inventory.**: The licence, the channel aimed abroad, the documents and logo; the list of target markets and languages.
2. **Tracking setup.**: CRM stages, source fields, WhatsApp and call tracking, offline conversion flows.
3. **Campaigns.**: Google and Meta split by market and language; an archive of location, language and audience settings; ad copy checked against the rules.
4. **Content and SEO.**: Language versions, doctor and treatment pages, a last-updated date.
5. **Reporting.**: Inquiries and cost every week; stage rates and cost per arriving patient every month. → \[Looker Studio reporting\](/en/services/looker-studio-reporting)

## Related resources

- Blog: [Health advertising regulation 2026](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/health-advertising-regulation-2026) · [Medical tourism SEO in Turkey](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/medical-tourism-seo-turkey) · [The international patient journey](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/patient-journey-multilingual-content) · [WhatsApp lead tracking in health tourism](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/whatsapp-lead-tracking-health-tourism) · [WhatsApp conversion tracking](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/whatsapp-conversion-tracking)
- Glossary: [Hreflang](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/hreflang-tag) · [CAPI](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/capi) · [Offline conversion](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/offline-conversion) · [CPA](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/cpa) · [ROI](https://www.roicool.com/en/glossary/roi)
- Tools: [ROI calculator](https://www.roicool.com/en/tools/roi-calculator) · [ROAS calculator](https://www.roicool.com/en/tools/roas-calculator) · [Ad budget calculator](https://www.roicool.com/en/tools/ad-budget-calculator) · [Conversion rate calculator](https://www.roicool.com/en/tools/conversion-rate-calculator) · [Google Ads audit grader](https://www.roicool.com/en/tools/google-ads-audit-grader)

## Sources

1. [Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Healthcare Services, Official Gazette 12.11.2025 no. 33075](https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/11/20251112-2.htm)
2. [Annexes of the same regulation (Annex 2, administrative sanctions form)](https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/11/20251112-2-1.pdf)
3. [Regulation on International Health Tourism and Tourist Health, Official Gazette 26.04.2025 no. 32882](https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/04/20250426-2.htm)
4. [Amendment to the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices, Official Gazette 01.07.2026 no. 33297](https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2026/07/20260701-9.htm)
5. [Law no. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data, KVKK (current text)](https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuatmetin/1.5.6698.pdf)
6. [Google Ads, Healthcare and medicines](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/176031)
7. [Google Ads, Restricted targeting in personalized advertising](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/143465)
8. [Google Ads, Health in personalized advertising](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16701855)
9. [Google, EU user consent policy](https://www.google.com/about/company/user-consent-policy/)
10. [Meta, Health and Wellness](https://transparency.meta.com/policies/ad-standards/restricted-goods-services/health-wellness/)
11. [Meta, Advertising Standards (health information in lead ads)](https://transparency.meta.com/policies/ad-standards/)
12. [Meta, Business Tools Terms (section 1.h)](https://www.facebook.com/legal/businesstech)
13. [Meta for Developers, Conversions API for Business Messaging](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/conversions-api/business-messaging)

## FAQ

### What does a medical tourism marketing agency do?

It builds the ads, the multilingual site and the tracking that reach patients abroad for licensed clinics and facilitators. It runs campaigns by market and language, follows inquiries in the CRM and sends only qualified inquiries back to the ad platforms. Part of the job is checking every ad against Türkiye's rules and each platform's health policy.

### What is the difference between a marketing agency and a health tourism facilitator?

A facilitator holds a licence from USHAŞ and refers patients, arranges transfers and coordinates the visit. A digital marketing agency runs the ads, the site and the tracking for a clinic or a facilitator; it does not act as a patient intermediary. A clinic may not use unlicensed people or companies for facilitator work.

### Can a clinic advertise abroad without a health tourism licence?

Article 8 of Türkiye's promotion regulation, which allows promotion abroad, applies only to clinics and facilitators working under a health tourism licence. Without the licence, the regulation's general rules apply. The Ministry of Health licenses clinics; USHAŞ licenses facilitators.

### What does Türkiye's ban on doctor and clinic advertising cover?

Open or hidden advertising of healthcare services is banned; promotion and information are allowed under conditions. Claims of superiority, unproven methods, prices and offers, and posts built on patients' thanks can't be used inside Türkiye. In a separate channel aimed abroad, prices and patient reviews are allowed under conditions. → [Health advertising regulation 2026](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/health-advertising-regulation-2026)

### Google Ads or Meta?

They do different jobs. Google catches the patient searching for the treatment in their own language; Meta creates demand and explains the process. At Royal Hair, Google meets ready demand while Meta carries cold audiences to the decision point with a multi-stage funnel. Which one gets more weight depends on search volume and decision time in the market.

### Which country and language should we start with?

Start from your own patient records: which countries send inquiries, which turn into treatment, which languages your team can answer in? Niche markets with less competition are worth a look too; in a case we published, the cost per lead from niche countries was 60% lower than in the main markets.

### How do you track WhatsApp leads?

In Meta's click-to-WhatsApp ads, the click ID (ctwa\_clid) arrives with the message and is sent back through the Conversions API. The WhatsApp button on the site carries a page-specific reference code. That measures the source; the message itself is health data and never enters the tracking. → [WhatsApp lead tracking in health tourism](https://www.roicool.com/en/blog/whatsapp-lead-tracking-health-tourism)

### How do you measure lead quality?

Each inquiry gets a stage in the CRM: reached, qualified (sent photos or reports), quoted, deposit paid, patient arrived. Qualified stages go to the ad platforms as offline conversions. Campaigns then learn from inquiries that reach a pre-assessment, not from the number of messages.

### Can before-and-after photos be used in ads?

Not as sponsored posts inside Türkiye. In a channel aimed abroad, with Türkiye excluded and automatic audience settings turned off, sponsored visuals are allowed. The patient's written consent, the same shooting conditions and the date are needed in every case. Meta also accepts before-and-after images only for audiences aged 18 and over.

### Can health ads use remarketing?

Google treats health as a sensitive interest category; cosmetic surgery, surgical procedures and injections fall under it. In this category, Customer Match, data segments, audience expansion and lookalike segments can't be used. On Meta, building audiences from treatment page visitors is risky under its health data rules. The setup should lean on search intent and location.

### What proof should we ask an agency for?

Published case studies in the sector, the period each figure covers and how it was measured, an example of the CRM and offline conversion setup, and how rule checks are done. A report that shows only clicks or lead counts doesn't show how many people became patients.

### Do Türkiye's health tourism incentives cover advertising?

The Ministry of Trade's service export support can cover some promotion costs of health tourism businesses. Confirm which costs, at what rate and with which documents against the current rules and with your adviser.

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**Let's see in which market, and at which step, you're losing patients.** Tell us about your target countries, your licence status and how inquiries reach you today; we'll prepare a roadmap with the campaign, page and tracking steps. [Get a proposal](https://www.roicool.com/en/get-a-proposal?sektor=saglik-turizmi-reklam-ajansi)

Source: https://www.roicool.com/en/industries/health-tourism-marketing-agency · Last updated: 2026-10-20