Dream
‍‍‍smiles

How we helped a premium clear aligner brand grow treatment starts by 72% and halve cost per booking.

About

Urban Smile is a premium clear aligner company operating across three studios in Melbourne and Geelong: Hawthorn, Brunswick, and Waurn Ponds.

Led by Specialist Orthodontists and backed by smart dental monitoring technology, Urban Smile offers expert-designed clear aligner treatment at a price point that sits competitively amongst traditional orthodontists and providers like Invisalign, while maintaining industry-best treatment planning and teeth straightening results.

With a growing reputation and a clear ambition to scale, Urban Smile partnered with Clearwater in July 2025 to sharpen their digital performance. The brief was focused: drive more qualified free consultation bookings from paid channels, lift conversion of those consultations into treatment starts, and build the organic search presenceneeded to sustain long-term growth.

Activities

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Google Ads (Search & Performance Max)

Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)

Facebook & Instagram Ads

Key results we achieved
for Urban Smile

+72%

Increase in treatment starts YoY

+32%

Increase in free consultations YoY

-50%

Reduction in Google Ads cost per booking YoY

+45%

Increase in organic website traffic YoY

Objectives

Increase free consultation bookings across all three studios (Hawthorn, Brunswick, Waurn Ponds)
Drive a measurable increase in treatment starts month on month
Improve organic search visibility for clear aligner and orthodontic keywords across Melbourne and Geelong
Reduce wasted paid media spend and improve cost efficiency across Google and Meta channels
Improve website conversion rates to maximise the return on paid and organic traffic

Strategy

Paid Search

Clearwater restructured the Google Ads account with dedicated campaigns targeting high-intent clear aligner and orthodontic searches across each studio's local catchment.
Search and Performance Max campaigns were built with geo-specific asset groups for Melbourne and Geelong, and competitor targeting was incorporated to capture demand from patients researching alternatives to Invisalign and traditional orthodontists.
Ongoing optimisation of bidding strategy and negative keyword management, alongside post-click UX and conversion rate improvements through tailored landing pages, have progressively driven down the cost per booking and lifted conversion rate to a campaign-best in March 2026.

Paid Social (Meta Ads)

A full-funnel Meta strategy was implemented across Hawthorn, Brunswick, and Waurn Ponds, with location-specific lead campaigns running simultaneously. Top-of-funnel awareness ads were layered with middle-of-funnel retargeting to re-engage warm audiences and drive consultation bookings.
Creative was refreshed regularly by the in-house Urban Smile team, with Clearwater's strategically written ad copy designed to speak to Urban Smile's key differentiators: Specialist Orthodontist-designed treatment, no waitlists, and competitive pricing.

SEO

Clearwater undertook a comprehensive SEO strategy targeting commercial and informational searches across clear aligner treatment, orthodontics, and teeth straightening in Melbourne and Geelong.
Location page and Google Business Profile content was improved across all three studios, technical SEO and mobile UX issues were resolved, and revitalised service page content targeting traditional search, AI-search, and local GEO queries was implemented to build sustained organic visibility.
Organic search users have grown 45% year on year over the partnership period, with the trend line continuing upward.

CRO

A series of conversion rate improvements were made across the website, including mobile UX optimisations on all location pages, new dedicated landing pages for the Waurn Ponds, Hawthorn, and Brunswick paid campaigns, and improvements to the consultation booking flow to reduce friction and increase booked appointments from paid and organic traffic.

Outcomes

Across all three studios, free consultation bookings grew by 32% year on year and treatment starts by 72% year on year in the 10 months since Clearwater came on board (Jul 2024-Apr 2025 vs Jul 2025-Apr 2026).
Hawthorn was the standout performer, growing treatment starts by 127% year on year while also lifting consultation volumes by 27%. Brunswick contributed strongly with a 62% increase in consultations and a 52% lift in treatment starts over the same period.
Google Ads cost per booking reduced by 50% year on year to $275 in April 2026, reflecting improved campaign efficiency following the transition to targeted Search and Performance Max and ongoing bid strategy optimisation.
Organic website traffic grew by 45% year on year over the 10-month partnership period (5,162 sessions Jul 2024-Apr 2025 vs 7,466 sessions Jul 2025-Apr 2026), with monthly organic traffic increasing consistently from 680 sessions in July 2025 to a peak of 938 in January 2026 and sustained growth throughout.
The partnership's strongest months on record occurred in March, April and May 2026, with the 3 month window registering a 49% increase in free consultations and a 134% surge in starts compared to the same period in 2025 — the three strongest months for Urban Smile to date.

HELEN CRAIG

Marketing Lead

Clearwater is an extension of our small team, with consistent support and a strong focus on performance. Zach, our account manager, has been great to work with — responsive, proactive, and brings thoughtful, data-driven insights."