Is Your Data Driving You Up a Wall, or Providing Data Driven Patient Growth?

Roar Iverson
Jun 18
5 min read

Most Practices Think They Know Where Their Patients Come From… But The Data Usually Has Another Story.

Every week, we talk to practice owners and office managers who feel pretty confident in their marketing. We hear the classics:

Our patients come from Google.
It’s all word of mouth.
My cousin’s friend set up our website in 2014 and we’ve been solid since.

But then we actually look at the data…

Cue the awkward silence.

Doctor and Practice manager sad about their Practice's metrics

The Big Problem: Gut Instinct Isn’t a Growth Strategy

Most practices are flying with one eye closed - or worse, blindfolded with two hands behind their back and still trying to steer the plane.

What you think is driving new patient growth likely is… but more than likely not as much as you think. In almost every case, we find that what’s being credited isn’t what’s actually doing the heavy lifting. Meanwhile, thousands of dollars are quietly leaking out of the budget every month.

Let’s put it this way... If you’ve ever:

Spent thousands on SEO without a single report you actually understood,
Watched your schedule fill up and told yourself, “It must be working!” (whatever it is),
Or assumed “referrals” were just magical gifts from the universe…

Then you’re probably misreading your own growth engine.

And hey - you’re not alone. You're just human. But unfortunately, your budget doesn’t care how charming you are.

The Hidden Cost of Guessing

When you don’t know what’s working, you run in circles. Or, you start pulling plugs at random hoping to be profitable.

Here’s what happens:

You can’t double down on the stuff that is working
You keep funding the stuff that’s definitely not
You lose revenue every single week
And the kicker… you might cut the only thing that’s actually driving results

Let’s be real: marketing without tracking is like talking to a patient that refuses to admit that they grind their teeth. Their anecdotal “I don't grind my teeth, I would know if I did” doesn’t mean much when you can see the wear on their molars.

The Fix: Source Clarity

Let’s talk about one of our favorite before-and-after stories.

We worked with a dental practice that was this close 'holds fingers 1cm apart' to killing their Google Ads. It “wasn’t performing”... or so they thought.

We set up a dashboard to get a clear picture of where their new patients were actually coming from. Here’s what we saw over one month:

37% of new patients came from Google Ads (11 patients)
17% from local map listings (5 patients)
10% from a Facebook post they boosted (3 patients)
20% from a referral form sent via text (6 patients)

So far, so good. Google looked to be their strongest driver of new patients.

But then we asked the next question…

Cool Story. But What’s It Costing You to Acquire a New Patient (CPA)?

This is where things get spicy, and we started to understand their position.

Google Ads spend: $5,200
→ CPA = $472.72 per patient
→ 😬 Yikes.
Google Ads + Map Listings combined: $5,200 for 16 patients
→ CPA = $325
→ Better, but still not where we want to be.
Facebook Boosted Posts: $500 for 3 patients
→ CPA = $166.67
→ Honestly? Impressive. Especially because their content was warm, inviting, and didn’t feel like an ad. (We’re fans.)

But here’s the mic-drop moment…

Those 6 patients who came from the referral link? Cost = basically zero.

Of course, the original ad spend played a role in getting the referring patient in the door, but those referrals are free-ish money. And they completely change the equation.

The Math That Provides Data Driven Patient Growth

Let’s give Google some credit.

If just 4 of those 6 referrals were triggered by patients originally acquired through Google Ads, then Google actually influenced 15 new patients… maybe more.

Let’s include the Map Listings, which are also from Google and say 20 came from Google’s efforts (direct + maps + referral effect).

Now we’re looking at:

$5,200 for 20 patients
CPA = $260

Cue the confetti. Now we’re talking.

Doctor and Practice Manager celebrating data

And remember, they were that close to pulling the plug on the one channel doing the heavy lifting. That’s what happens when you don’t see the full picture.

What Happened Next: Smart Scaling

Armed with clarity, we helped them pivot.

Here’s what we did:

Refined their referral process.
- We tweaked the text and email follow-ups to make referrals feel natural, not awkward. Think “happy patient energy,” not “used car pitch.”
Boosted only what works.
- We analyzed Facebook content performance and doubled down on what was already converting. No more guessing, no more boosting just because it “felt good.”
Tracked every channel.
- No black boxes. Every dollar had a job, and every patient had a paper trail (a digital one, but still).

The Results:

Monthly new patients: 25–30 → 35+
Google Ads spend: increased to $6,000
Facebook spend: held steady at $500
Blended CPA: under $200
Staffing: now hiring another DDS to meet demand

This is what happens when you go from “I think” to “I know.” You can reliably scale your practice, by doubling down in the areas that are bringing in new patients at lower costs.

Why Most Practices Aren’t Doing This

Spoiler alert: it’s not because they’re lazy.

It’s because the infrastructure just doesn’t exist in most practices. They’ve been handed dozens of marketing tools… but no real plan, no real integration, and no one to help pull it all together.

Here’s what’s usually missing:

No UTM tagging strategy
No behavioral tracking
No event-based reporting
No front-desk-to-dashboard connection
No idea what to do with the data (even if they had it)

In other words: they’re playing the game without a scoreboard.

Which can be fun, but I am positive that they did not start their practice to just have some fun...

That’s Where UATTR Insights Comes In

We’re not just another agency pushing traffic. We’re your analytics partner, your data hygienist, your data-driven suggestion machine - helping you see what’s working, why, and what to do next in order to make data driven patient growth a priority.

We help private practices: