Marketing for physiotherapists: getting found without breaking Ahpra's rules
By Seam Media · Updated
People looking for a physiotherapist usually want to know three things quickly: whether you treat their problem, whether you are close by or can come to them, and how soon they can be seen. A physio practice that answers those questions clearly on its website and Google profile will usually get more of the right bookings than one that relies on a long list of techniques.
Physiotherapists are registered health practitioners, so their advertising is regulated by the Physiotherapy Board of Australia and Ahpra. This guide covers practical marketing steps and the advertising rules that shape them.
Build pages around what patients are dealing with
Patients search for their problem and their situation, such as physio for back pain, post-surgery rehab, sports injury physio or home visit physio for an older parent. Give your main services their own pages and explain who they suit, what a first appointment involves, how long it takes and what to bring. Use plain language first and clinical terms second.
Describe what you do and how you work. Avoid pages that read as promises, such as claims that a treatment will fix a condition in a set number of sessions.
- A page for each main service or patient group.
- What to expect at the first appointment.
- Fees, rebates and funding options explained clearly.
Be clear about where and how you see people
Say whether you see patients in a clinic, at home, in aged care or by telehealth, and which areas you cover. If you are a mobile physio, list your real service areas rather than every suburb in the city, and keep your website and Google profile consistent.
If you work with NDIS participants, explain which funding arrangements you accept and what information you need with a referral. Mobile physio and NDIS work often come through referrers rather than search, so this detail matters to them as much as to patients.
If you offer telehealth, explain which appointments suit it and which need to be in person, and how a telehealth session works from the patient's side.
Get your Google Business Profile right
Choose the most accurate primary category, add your services, opening hours and booking link, and upload real photos of your clinic and team. Google says local results depend mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, so accurate details and a steady flow of genuine reviews both help. Keep your business name as it appears on your signage, without added keywords.
Reply to reviews professionally and never confirm that the reviewer is a patient or discuss their treatment in a public reply, as that can breach their privacy. Google reviews are written by patients on a platform you do not control. Ahpra's testimonial guidance explains when reproducing or sharing them in your own advertising becomes a problem, so check it before quoting reviews on your website or social media.
Know the advertising rules before you publish
Ahpra's guidelines for advertising a regulated health service apply to physiotherapists. Advertising must not be false, misleading or deceptive, must not offer gifts or discounts without stating the terms, must not use testimonials or purported testimonials, must not create an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment and must not directly or indirectly encourage the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of services. These rules apply to your website, social media and ads.
In practice, be careful about sharing patient reviews or success stories in your own advertising, avoid before and after claims that imply guaranteed results and make sure any offer, such as a discounted first appointment, states its terms clearly. Ahpra's advertising hub has checklists and examples. If you are unsure about a piece of content, check it against the guidelines before it goes live.
- No testimonials in your advertising.
- No promised outcomes or unreasonable expectations.
- Clear terms on any offer or discount.
Look after your referrers
GPs, surgeons, support coordinators, aged care staff and other allied health practitioners can be a steady source of patients. Make referring easy with a simple referral form, a named contact and a quick acknowledgement. Tell referrers how quickly you can see new patients and keep that information current.
Measure bookings by source
Record where each new patient came from: Google search, Maps, ads, referrers or word of mouth. If you run Google Ads, count calls from ads and completed booking or enquiry forms as conversions, and avoid sending any health information to ad platforms. Over a few months this shows which channels bring the patients you want.
Look at which services and areas bring new patients, not just total numbers. A mobile practice might find that one suburb or one service produces most of its bookings, which is useful when deciding where to focus the website, Google profile and ad budget next.
Seam Media's allied health page explains how we run Google Ads, websites and Google profiles for mobile physio, OT, speech and NDIS providers.
Sources and further reading
Choose your next step
Tell us which services and locations you want to grow. We can review the starting point and agree a practical scope for your website and local search.