![\"Large](\"https:\/\/beyondclix.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2026-11-03-digital-marketing-for-optometrists-nz-2-cost-barrier.jpg\"\n)
Cost is the barrier, so answer it up front<\/h2>\n
New University of Auckland research, published in April 2026<\/a>, puts a number on something practices already feel. The authors say as many as one in four Kiwi patients may skip or delay specialised eye care because of cost. They also note that routine exams and glasses are delivered almost entirely by private optometrists with very little public funding.<\/p>\n The same research looks at what free routine eye care might cost the country. That is a policy debate, and nobody can say how it will end. For your practice the useful point is simpler: the person weighing up whether to book is already worried about the bill.<\/p>\n So a website that hides pricing works against you. A page that states what a standard eye test costs, what is included, and what help exists lowers the worry before the patient picks up the phone. A person who is unsure will usually book the practice that answers the question, not the one that makes them ring to find out.<\/p>\n For children there is real help. The University of Auckland article notes that children of Community Services Card holders can get up to $287.50 for an eye test and glasses through Enable New Zealand, and Enable says its children’s spectacle subsidy covers children aged 15 and under who meet the criteria. Per Enable’s own page<\/a>, the child must be assessed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist who is an approved assessor registered on the DSS Accreditation Framework. Enable lists 28,099 claims approved in 2020\/21.<\/p>\n If your practice is registered, say so plainly on a page of its own: who qualifies, what to bring, and that you handle the claim. If it is not registered, you may be losing the parents who go looking for exactly that. Check current amounts with Enable before you publish a figure, because older notices quote different numbers.<\/p>\n The audience is online. DataReportal’s Digital 2026: New Zealand<\/a> reports 5.06 million internet users in October 2025, which is 96.2% of the population, and 4.24 million social media user identities. Almost everyone you want to reach is a search or a scroll away.<\/p>\n For an optometry practice, three channels carry most of the weight.<\/p>\n Paid search sits on top of that. Google Ads can put you in front of people searching for an eye test in your area, within weeks of launch. SEO takes longer, usually a few months before you see movement, but it keeps working after you stop paying.<\/p>\n Most optometry sites look like a brochure: a hero photo, a list of services and a phone number. The ones that book people share three habits.<\/p>\n If you are weighing a rebuild, our website design and build service<\/a> follows this pattern: mobile first, one clear action, and tracking so you can see which pages produce bookings.<\/p>\n Eye tests are a health service, so assume the advertising rules for health apply to you. The Advertising Standards Authority’s updated Therapeutic and Health Advertising Code covers, per its media release<\/a>, advertising for medicines, medical devices, natural health products, dietary supplements and health services. It applied to new advertising from 1 April 2026 and to all advertising from 1 July 2026. The release says the code gives clearer guidance on testimonials, including user-generated content, and strengthens protections for vulnerable audiences.<\/p>\n The sensible reading for a practice is cautious. Avoid promising outcomes for eye conditions or for a child’s vision. Be careful with testimonials that describe a health result, and keep evidence for any factual claim you make. Reviews about how welcoming the team was, how clearly things were explained and how easy it was to book are the safer kind. If you are unsure whether a particular claim is fine, check the code itself or take advice from your professional body.<\/p>\n Google adds its own layer. Per Google Ads Help<\/a> (vendor documentation), health is a sensitive interest category, and advertisers in those categories cannot use features such as Customer Match, audience expansion or lookalike segments. Keyword and location targeting still work, and for a local practice those are the targets that matter: people searching for an eye test, near you, right now.<\/p>\n Ask every patient who had a good experience to leave a Google review, and ask about the visit. “Friendly, quick and explained everything” is the review you want. Reply to each one, including the unhappy ones, in a calm and factual tone, and never share a patient’s clinical details in a reply.<\/p>\n Then build a recall habit. When someone leaves with a prescription, you already know roughly when they will need another exam. Use your practice software, or a simple email tool, to send a reminder before that date. Add a note for parents ahead of the school year. Keep it short, include a booking link, and send it only to people who agreed to hear from you. Our email remarketing service<\/a> sets this kind of sequence up so it runs without anyone remembering to send it.<\/p>\n This is the question to ask any agency, including us. For an optometry practice the numbers that matter are not clicks. They are bookings.<\/p>\n If a report only shows impressions and clicks, ask what it says about bookings. If the answer is nothing, the tracking is not set up properly.<\/p>\n You do not need to do everything at once. Fix your Google Business Profile this week. Put prices and the subsidy explanation on your website next. Then turn on tracking so you can see what is producing bookings, and only then decide whether paid search is worth adding.<\/p>\n BeyondClix works with New Zealand service businesses across Google Ads, SEO, websites and tracking. If you would like a plain-English view of what your practice’s online presence is doing, see our services<\/a> or get in touch, and we will tell you what is worth changing first.<\/p>\n Mostly through local search: Google Business Profile, a website with clear booking, and reviews. Recall emails to existing patients bring many repeat bookings without paying per click.<\/p>\n Generally yes. University of Auckland research suggests as many as one in four Kiwi patients may skip or delay specialised eye care because of cost, so clear pricing and help available can remove a reason not to book.<\/p>\n The ASA code covers health services and medical devices, so you should assume it applies. Avoid outcome promises and unsubstantiated claims, and check the code or take advice if unsure.<\/p>\n Not with advertiser-curated audiences. Google treats health as a sensitive category and does not support Customer Match, audience expansion or lookalike segments there, but keyword and location targeting still work.<\/p>\n Paid search can produce enquiries within weeks of launch. Local SEO usually takes a few months to move. Recall emails to existing patients can produce bookings within days of the first send.<\/p>\n Enable New Zealand administers it for children aged 15 and under who meet the criteria. The child must be seen by an approved assessor registered on the DSS Accreditation Framework, and the practice submits the claim.<\/p>\nExplain the subsidy that exists<\/h3>\n
Where new patients actually come from<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/k0gQOzW7ByapEALMYa\/giphy.gif\"\n)
Your website is the front desk<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/beyondclix.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2026-11-03-digital-marketing-for-optometrists-nz-3-claims.jpg\"\n)
What you can say in your ads and on your site<\/h2>\n
![\"Timeline](\"https:\/\/beyondclix.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2026-11-03-digital-marketing-for-optometrists-nz-4-recall.jpg\"\n)
Reviews and recall: the cheap wins<\/h2>\n
How you will know it is working<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/beyondclix.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/2026-11-03-digital-marketing-for-optometrists-nz-5-checklist.jpg\"\n)
Where to start<\/h2>\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
How do optometry practices get new patients online?<\/h3>\n
Should I put eye test prices on my website?<\/h3>\n
Does the health advertising code apply to optometrists?<\/h3>\n
Can I target ads at people with eye conditions?<\/h3>\n
How long does it take to see results?<\/h3>\n
What does the children’s spectacle subsidy involve?<\/h3>\n
Sources<\/h2>\n
\n