iVET360 Releases Veterinary Ads Report
New Data Reveals Major Google Ads Gap Between Independent and Corporate Practices
iVET360, the leading marketing, analytics, and bookkeeping partner for veterinary practices, has released The Veterinary Ads Report, a new industry benchmarking study analyzing Google Ads adoption across more than 29,000 veterinary hospital websites in the United States and Canada. The report reveals a striking competitive imbalance: only 14.6% of independent veterinary hospitals are currently running Google Ads, compared to 80.2% of corporate-owned hospitals.
The findings arrive at a critical moment for the veterinary industry. According to data from the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA), new client counts declined 10.1% in 2025. In a market where fewer new clients are entering the system, visibility in Google search is no longer an optional marketing tactic — it is a core requirement for stable growth.
“The gap in Google Ads adoption between independent and corporate practices isn’t about whether independent owners believe in paid search,” said Justin Vandeberghe, Co-founder of iVET360. “It’s about measurement. Corporate groups have built systems that directly connect advertising spend to booked appointments and collected revenue. Without that infrastructure, independent practices are making decisions in the dark — and often pulling back on advertising at precisely the wrong time.”
Key Findings from The Veterinary Ads Report Include:
- Independent hospitals are largely absent from paid search. Only 14.6% of independent practices run Google Ads, versus 80.2% of corporate hospitals — a gap that directly translates to lost visibility during high-intent patient searches.
- Google Ads adoption is growing industry-wide. Across all 32,800+ practices reviewed, 36.6% are actively using Google Ads. Among practices with active websites, adoption rises to 40.2%, reflecting the channel’s growing role across the competitive landscape.
- Some markets have reached saturation. Washington, D.C. leads all markets at 73.5% adoption, where Google Ads have shifted from a growth accelerator to a baseline competitive requirement. Non-participation in these markets results in near-total invisibility during high-intent searches.
- Practice type determines urgency. Emergency and urgent care hospitals face the sharpest consequences from non-participation, as patient acquisition in those segments is almost entirely driven by immediate search behavior. General practice adoption remains lower, but is increasing as corporate groups expand their paid search presence.
- Conversions do not equal ROI. Most veterinary Google Ads reporting stops at surface-level metrics such as calls or form fills. Without revenue-connected attribution — linking ad activity to actual collected revenue through practice management system integrations — practices cannot evaluate true marketing profitability.
- Google Ads serve both acquisition and retention. Pet owners — including existing clients — routinely search Google for services rather than automatically returning to their regular vet. Independent practices that treat Google Ads as a new-client-only tool are missing their role in client retention.
About the Report
The Veterinary Ads Report is based on iVET360’s proprietary dataset of more than 29,000 veterinary hospital websites across the United States and Canada, plus a broader review of over 32,800 practices overall. Google Ads activity was validated using Google’s Ads Transparency Center, limited to campaigns active within the past six months. iVET360 maintains the industry’s only direct integration framework connecting marketing activity to collected revenue through 25 live practice management system (PIMS) integrations.
“Availability without visibility does not produce growth in a declining demand market,” added Vandeberghe. “Independent practices that prominently state they are accepting new clients while remaining invisible at the point of search are at a profound competitive disadvantage. This report exists to close that gap — starting with the data.”
The full Veterinary Ads Report is available at ivet360.com/ads
