Clicks to Recovery

Most marketing agencies high-five Google when the phone rings. Aaron Nelson analyzed $21 million in ad spend to prove why cheap phone calls are actually draining your treatment center’s profitability. Aaron is the Director of Paid Ads at Lever11, bringing 17 years of agency experience to the highly regulated behavioral healthcare landscape. He specializes in reverse-engineering patient admissions by turning raw, down-funnel metrics into predictable digital marketing engines. In this episode:* Why optimizing for cost-per-lead (CPL) is the fastest way to burn out your admissions staff* The hidden danger of Google's "Max Conversions" bid strategy in addiction recovery marketing* How to feed down-funnel data like beds filled and VOBs back to Google while staying strictly HIPAA-compliant* The 3-to-5 day window: How to restructure campaigns to capture high-intent prospects during critical moments of willingness* How a specialized agency leverages multi-client data patterns to train Google's evolving AI bidding systems* Why 61% of treatment searches still start on Google, and how to dominate that real estate effectivelyTreatment centers scaling efficiently aren't hunting for cheap clicks. They’re bidding on value, capturing immediate intent, and building closed-loop data systems. Weekly episodes on what’s working right now in addiction recovery marketing, admissions, and center operations.01:00 Meet Aaron Nelson01:59 Analyzing Millions in Ad Spend03:16 Aaron's Marketing Background04:26 Why Addiction Recovery Ads Are Different05:40 Policy Restrictions and Regulations06:38 Specialized vs General Agencies08:23 Beyond Lead Volume10:13 Tracking Conversions Back to Clicks12:54 The Problem with Standard Optimization15:34 Importance of Client Communication16:53 Two Approaches to Ad Campaigns17:55 Understanding Your Metrics and KPIs19:31 Understanding Bid Strategies20:20 Target CPA vs ROAS21:38 Max Conversions Explained22:54 Quality Over Quantity24:03 Cost Per Lead Myths25:31 Efficiency and Profitability26:40 High Intent Leads Matter27:34 AI in Google Ads29:34 Google Search Still Works31:47 Creating Holistic Visibility33:09 Starting with Sponsored Ads34:04 Budget Concerns Addressed35:16 Competing Without Big Budgets37:47 Final Advice for Centers

A family is searching for help right now, probably after the worst night of their life. If they don't find your center first, they find someone else's. That's the whole game.Your clinicians are great. Your outcomes are real. None of it matters if the mother searching at 2am after her son's overdose lands on a competitor's site instead of yours. Empty beds aren't a budget problem. They're people you could have helped and didn't.In the debut episode of Clicks to Recovery, host Tommy Anderson sits down with Cory McEwan, VP of Client Services at Lever11. Cory has nearly 20 years of paid media experience and has spent years helping addiction recovery centers stay full so they can keep saving lives.What this episode covers:- Why the person searching is almost never the patient, and what that means for how families find you.- How being the program a family lands on first changes who actually gets help.- Why staying at capacity isn't about revenue, it's about being open for the next person who needs you.- Why most agencies bury centers in junk inquiries that slow admissions down and let real families slip through.- What the first 90 days of a real campaign should look like.- How HIPAA and LegitScript shape what you can say to a family in crisis.If your beds aren't full, it isn't because families aren't searching. It's because they're finding someone else first.00:00 – Welcome to Clicks to Recovery02:15 – Why addiction recovery marketing is different from everything else05:30 – The mistake that costs centers the families who need them most09:00 – Why the family member is the one searching, not the patient14:00 – Speaking to a family in crisis without breaking compliance19:00 – Why a harder form means more of the right people get help23:00 – Filling beds with families who are actually ready27:00 – The first 90 days, and how to know when to grow32:30 – One piece of advice for treatment center operators