By now, you’ve probably heard that Google AdWords recently added the option to target users with their email addresses. Customer Match, as it’s called, has huge implications for anyone with an online presence, and healthcare is no exception.

If you’re already using pay per click ads to reach prospective patients, Customer Match has the potential to really boost your results with custom ads for people in the email list. Here are five things to know about what it could do for your hospital.

1. Your email list is more valuable than ever

Email is an indispensible piece of digital marketing, so hopefully you’ve already compiled a solid email list. There are many ways to consensually acquire email addresses from patients and prospective patients, and with Customer Match, you can use them to customize each user’s search experience.

In one test, more than half of all uploaded emails were matched up with Google accounts, edging out the match rate for Facebook custom audiences and several times the rate for Twitter tailored audiences. And since many of those users sign into Google on multiple devices, you’re not just targeting them on desktop searches. If you’re not already seeking to expand your email list in every way possible, highly targeted custom search ads are just another incentive.

2. Segmentation is even more important

The more you know about the users you’re targeting, the better. By segmenting your email list, you can add the most customization to your ads and send patients and prospective patients directly to a landing page optimized specifically for them. That way, users find their answers as quickly as possible and you eliminate intermediary steps that could cause them to leave or otherwise keep them from converting.

3. It’s another point to reach people along the patient journey

We know how, in general, people do research online and choose a doctor or hospital. We also know that it can be awfully hard to compete with WebMD and healthcare leaders like the Mayo Clinic in organic results for non-branded search terms like symptoms and conditions. You could already get your foot in the door with pay per click ads, but Customer Match lets you refine your efforts for optimal results, like targeting people who signed up for a heart health seminar for cardiac-related keywords or people who attend parenting events for common pediatric health concerns.

4. “Similar Audiences” could expand your reach even further

Much like Facebook custom audiences, Customer Match also lets you target audiences that are similar to users in your email list. This has the potential to expand your reach many times overs in certain cases, especially for general health and wellness search terms. It’s likely less useful for targeting users with specific conditions, but could help you raise awareness of other services at your hospital.

5. Don’t forget about YouTube

YouTube has more than a billion users who watch hundreds of millions of hours of video every single day, and Customer Match lets you target users with email addresses there as well. Presenting users with helpful, informative videos when they search for health and wellness topics could greatly increase your influence on this platform.