Your front desk says the ads keep bringing people from cities too far away. Your agency sends a screenshot of a small targeting circle. Both observations can be true, and neither tells you how many people were actually willing and able to attend your office.
Before changing the campaign, review a defined group of inquiries together. The purpose is to separate a real location mismatch from an assumption, then make one measurable correction. This worksheet is for dental and orthodontic owners reviewing their own marketing. It is not a promise that an advertising platform can identify every person's residence perfectly.
Choose the group before reading the outcomes
Take the last 20 consecutive unique inquiries whose normal office-approved contact window has finished. Record the first and last inquiry dates, campaign, office, and review date. Do not select only the complaints or discard people you could not reach. If there are fewer than 20, use the available group and state its size. Twenty is a manageable starting sample, not a statistically representative benchmark.
The agency supplies campaign and form references. Your scheduling team supplies what the person actually said about location and attendance. Keep individual records in the practice's approved systems; the review can use reference IDs and a summary of reasons. Do not send a spreadsheet of patient information around simply to investigate the targeting map.
| Field to record | Who checks it | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiry date, reference ID, campaign, intended office | Agency and lead-system owner | Which campaign and office the review concerns |
| City or ZIP submitted by the person | Front desk or form record owner | What was supplied, not independently verified residence |
| Location confirmed in conversation | Scheduling team | Where the person says they live, work, or can attend |
| Correct office address understood? | Scheduling team | Whether the inquiry was based on a location misunderstanding |
| Travel works for the expected visits? | Scheduling team using clinician-approved expectations | Yes, no, or still unknown |
| Booked, declined because of distance, or unresolved | Scheduling team | The observed scheduling outcome |
| Next action and owner | Agency and practice manager | What changes and who verifies it |
Do not let weak signals become facts
Do not classify someone as out of area from their phone number alone. Ask about the location that matters to attending your office. A submitted city is more useful than an assumption, but it can still be incomplete or mistaken. If nobody has confirmed travel feasibility, mark it unknown rather than counting it as a location failure.
Keep platform-level delivery information separate from the person-level worksheet. An ad account's geographic breakdown and an individual's submitted location answer different questions. Ask the agency to explain the report's labels, period, and limitations. A targeting screenshot shows configuration at the moment it was captured, not proof of where every inquiry lives.
For orthodontics, attendance is more than a one-time drive. AAO guidance on choosing an orthodontist identifies location, hours, scheduling, and communication as practical considerations for multiple visits. Have the clinical team define expected visit requirements; marketing staff should not invent them.
Ask a neutral location question
This checks understanding without making a judgment about the person. Record 'distance does not work' only when that is the answer. The practice decides clinical suitability and its own service policies. A marketer should not infer clinical eligibility, ability to pay, or seriousness from a ZIP code.
Make the first correction match the evidence
- If people misunderstand which office they are contacting, make the real city and office location clear in the ad, destination page, and form introduction.
- If multiple locations are being mixed together, check office selection, form routing, and the scheduling team's handoff.
- If confirmed distance objections repeat, have the agency inspect current geographic settings, exclusions where supported, and the campaign's actual delivery reports.
- If most locations remain unknown, finish the normal contact review before describing the whole group as out of area.
Have the agency capture the current settings and date before editing anything. Platform options vary by campaign and can change, so this article does not prescribe a particular Meta switch, guarantee resident-only targeting, or recommend a universal radius. Agree on the exact adjustment and review its effects rather than changing geography, creative, and the form all at once.
Compare outcomes, not just a smaller lead count
The ADA's marketing measurement guidance recommends following interest through to actual practice visits. Apply that here: compare confirmed distance objections, unresolved locations, bookings, and attended visits in the next consistently selected group.
Fewer inquiries alone is not proof of better quality. Track campaign spend and any other changes alongside the outcome counts, using comparable review windows. Bring the agency and scheduling lead back to the same worksheet. The useful result is knowing whether more of the people you reach can take the next step at the right office.