What You Can and Can't Say in Healthcare Ads on Google and Meta (UK Guide)
Healthcare is one of the most policed categories in paid advertising. Here's the practical version: what gets ads rejected, what regulators care about, and how to word ads that still work.
The short answer. Don't claim cures or guaranteed outcomes, don't imply you know the viewer has a health condition, don't advertise prescription-only treatments to the public, and be careful what health information passes into your tracking. Rules differ by platform and change over time, so check the current policy before launch. This is a practical guide, not legal advice.
Three layers of rules
Healthcare ads are judged by three separate sets of rules, and passing one doesn't mean passing the others:
- The ad platform's policy. Google and Meta each review ads against their own standards, mostly automatically.
- UK advertising law. Every ad in the UK, on any platform, falls under the CAP Code enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
- Your professional regulator and data law. Your regulator may have its own advertising guidance, and health information is special category data under UK GDPR.
Google Ads: the main points
- Healthcare and medicines policy. Google restricts prescription medicines, unapproved substances and some health services, and certain categories need certification before ads can run.
- Misleading or unreliable claims. Ads that promise guaranteed results or cures can be disapproved under Google's misrepresentation rules.
- Personalised advertising. Google restricts remarketing and audience targeting based on sensitive health information, so condition-level audiences aren't something you can build.
Meta (Facebook and Instagram): the main points
- Personal attributes. Ads must not assert or imply that you know something about the viewer's health. "Struggling with back pain?" is the classic example that gets flagged, because it speaks to the person's condition directly.
- Unrealistic results. Health and wellness ads shouldn't promise unlikely outcomes, and before-and-after imagery is restricted, particularly for categories such as weight loss and cosmetic procedures, which also face tighter rules on audience age.
- Tracking. Meta's business tools terms stop you sending sensitive health information through the Pixel or Conversions API. Events or page URLs that reveal a person's condition or treatment are a risk.
UK advertising law in practice
- Claims must be backed by evidence, and ads must not mislead about what a treatment can achieve.
- Ads shouldn't discourage people from seeking medical advice for conditions that need it.
- Prescription-only medicines can't be advertised to the public. Botulinum toxin is the common example, and the rule applies to naming the product in an ad, not just to promoting it heavily.
- Check your own regulator's advertising guidance too. Bodies such as the GDC for dentists and the GMC for doctors publish guidance on how registrants can advertise.
Instead of this, write this
| Risky wording | Safer wording |
|---|---|
| "Are you suffering from back pain?" | "Back pain physiotherapy in [your town]. Book an assessment." |
| "Cure your sciatica for good" | "Physiotherapy for sciatica, with a treatment plan built around you." |
| "Guaranteed results in three sessions" | "Evidence-based treatment, with a plan agreed at your first assessment." |
| Before-and-after photos of a procedure | "What to expect at your consultation." |
| Naming a prescription-only treatment and a price | "Book a consultation with a qualified practitioner." |
Examples of wording patterns, not a guarantee of approval. Platforms and the ASA judge each ad in context.
Landing pages and forms
The page an ad leads to is reviewed too. Show who you are and your registration details, be clear about what a consultation involves and costs where you can, and add plain consent wording to forms. Avoid passing condition details into URLs or form fields that your tracking sends to ad platforms.
What happens if you get it wrong
The usual outcome is disapproved ads and restricted delivery. Repeated violations can lead to account-level restrictions, which is painful if the account is how new patients find you. It's far easier to build compliance in from the first draft than to recover a flagged account.
Common questions
Can a clinic retarget people who visited its website?
It's restricted for health. Google doesn't allow personalised advertising based on health conditions, and Meta limits what health information can be used or passed through tracking. Retargeting general visitors can sometimes be done carefully, but audiences built from condition-level pages are the risk, so each set-up should be checked against the platform's current policy.
Can I name treatments in my ads?
Usually yes for non-prescription treatments, described accurately. Prescription-only treatments can't be advertised to the public in the UK, so name the consultation rather than the product.
Do these rules apply on Instagram as well as Facebook?
Yes. Meta's advertising standards apply across its platforms, so the same ad wording rules apply on Instagram and Facebook.
Who checks my ads?
The platforms review ads automatically and sometimes manually before and after they run. The ASA can also investigate complaints about any UK ad.