Conversion tracking for hospices, measured in gifts and referrals

The complaint we hear: Google Ads reports a steady number of calls, the admissions team says almost none of them were new families, and the referral report shows 'internet' against admissions that a liaison worked for weeks. Families of current patients search the hospice by name at night and tap the call ad because it sits above the listing; bereavement callers, volunteers and nurses asking about openings do the same. Each one passes a duration rule, so the call conversion fills with people the hospice already serves and Smart Bidding learns to buy brand clicks.

The ten-minute check: list last month's admissions with their referral source and count how many say family or self against physician, hospital or facility. Then take the ad-call log for the same month and have intake mark each call as new family inquiry, current patient family, bereavement, volunteer, job seeker or professional referral. If the new-family share is small and the brand campaign carries most of the calls, the account is paying to answer its own patients.

Fixed looks like this: a new-family inquiry as the primary conversion, current patient calls routed to a separate after-hours line that is not in any ad, and admissions reported by referral source so liaison work and paid search are judged apart. A hospice is typically a HIPAA covered entity, so the event leaves the hospice side keyed only to the click ID after counsel approves the data map, with no diagnosis, level of care or location of care attached. If the hospice also raises memorial gifts, those are a separate conversion. The free audit checks the call mix and the referral field.