For a cash-pay or private-pay specialty practice, the clearest differences are price, commitment and fit. We publish a 30-day Proof Pilot for a flat $2,500, with the ad accounts in the practice's name. Cardinal's home page describes a focus on multi-location provider groups. We found no published price on its site (checked 16 October 2026), and its pages give a six-month minimum in one place and at least 12 months for custom programs in another.
We are Fill The Lobby, so read this with that in mind. Everything here about Cardinal comes from its own pages, linked where stated.
Cardinal Digital Marketing vs Fill The Lobby at a glance
| Feature | Cardinal Digital Marketing | Fill The Lobby |
|---|---|---|
| Who it says it serves | Multi-location provider groups; brands with 10 to 500 locations | Cash-pay and private-pay practices in the US |
| Price published? | No fee amounts found; terms refer to fees in your contract | $2,500 flat for the pilot; long-term price by clinician count, in writing before you decide |
| Commitment | Six-month minimum (contact page); at least 12 months for custom programs, auto-renewing (terms) | "Thirty days is the whole commitment" |
| Ad spend | Terms reserve the right to charge media markup fees of up to 25% | From the practice's own accounts to Google and Meta; never touched or marked up during the pilot |
| Who owns the ad accounts and site | "You own your accounts" (analytics page); website ownership not found | The practice, in its name from day one |
| Calls, follow-up and reactivation | Call tracking and call-quality analysis; no call answering or reactivation service found | Calls answered, follow-up and reactivation are each a named service |
| Specialty focus | Many fields, from mental health to veterinary medicine | Eight cash-pay specialties, each with its own page |
| Compliance stated | "Ready to sign BAAs"; no policy found on board rules or PHI in ad platforms | BAA before any patient data moves; no PHI in ad platforms; ads checked against board rules |
Cardinal column: its own pages, checked 16 October 2026. "Not found" means not on those pages, so ask.
What Cardinal Digital Marketing says it offers
- Services. Its mental health page lists SEO, PPC management, Facebook ads, web design, reputation management and conversion rate optimization.
- Not offered. Its dentistry and veterinary pages say it doesn't provide email marketing, social media posts or offline advertising.
Price and commitment: on the page, or in your contract
Our Proof Pilot is 30 days for $2,500: "One fee, no retainer behind it. Thirty days is the whole commitment you're making." Afterwards the practice chooses a long-term plan, priced by clinician count with the number in writing first, or walks away and keeps everything built.
We found no published price on Cardinal's site (checked 16 October 2026). Its published terms describe monthly fees "not to exceed what is stated in your most recent" contract, a 3% fee on card payments, and possible "re-initiation fees" after a late-payment pause. Ask for every fee in writing.
On term, its pages differ. Its contact page says "Our minimum contract length is 6 months," and its paid social and TikTok pages describe "an initial six-month contract." Its terms say "no less than twelve (12) months for custom programs," auto-renewing "at the then published service rates," with 30 days' written notice after the initial term. Ask which applies to you, in writing.
Ad spend: markup and billing
Ad spend sits on top of our fee. It goes from your own accounts straight to Google and Meta, and during the pilot we never touch it or mark it up.
Cardinal's terms say it "has the right to charge incremental media markup fees on any media accounts up to 25%." That is a reserved right, not a stated default. The pages we checked don't say how ad spend is billed (checked 16 October 2026). Ask whether any markup applies to you.
Time to the first booking report
The difference is timing. Cardinal's contact page counts from kickoff and says "Day 40 is usually around when the campaigns launch," within a six-month minimum term. Our ads go live in week 3, and in week 4 we report what was booked, where each booking came from and what each cost, before the 30-day commitment ends.
Ownership: what you keep if you leave
With us, ad accounts, data, pages and history are in the practice's name from day one, and a practice that walks away after 30 days keeps everything built.
Cardinal's analytics page says: "You own your accounts, and should you choose to opt out of your contract after the first six months, your data goes with you." Its terms say domains bought for you are released "within thirty (30) days after service has been terminated."
Its website page says it offers hosting. We found nothing on the pages we checked about who owns the website build or content, or what happens to that hosting when service ends (checked 16 October 2026). Get site ownership in writing before it is built.
After the click: calls, follow-up and reactivation
We run eight services as one system. Ads bring the patients; the other seven stop them leaking on the way to the calendar: a missed call, a thin Google profile, an inquiry nobody followed up. Calls answered, follow-up, reactivation and reviews are all in scope.
On its pages we found no published service for answering the practice's calls or recovering missed ones, and no named reactivation service (checked 16 October 2026). For a cash-pay practice, a call nobody answers is a click already paid for. Ask who picks up when the ads make the phone ring.
Built for groups, or for one cash-pay practice
Cardinal's home page says it focuses on multi-location provider groups, and its analytics page says it specializes in brands with 10 to 500 locations. Its mental health page speaks to "multi-location mental health providers," and its RevRx page lists paid-media spend above $70,000 a month as one fit criterion for that product. We found no statement on its site about taking single-location or solo practices (checked 16 October 2026), so ask.
We work with cash-pay and private-pay practices and price by clinician count, with a page for each specialty: private-pay therapy, psychiatry, ketamine and Spravato, IOP and PHP, concierge and DPC, functional medicine, weight loss and GLP-1, and gastroenterology. Every tactic we sell runs first on Shifa Therapy and Counsel Clinic, the two platforms our founders own and run, with their own money.
Compliance: what each one puts in writing
Cardinal's patient acquisition strategy page addresses HIPAA and says it is "ready to sign BAAs." We sign one with every client before any patient data moves.
Our compliance page also sets out: no PHI in ad platforms; patient lists never uploaded for targeting; ads reviewed against APA, ACA, NASW and state board rules; no patient testimonials or outcome claims.
Cardinal's TikTok page says it can help source content from your patients for patient testimonial campaigns. We found no stated policy on its pages about board advertising rules, PHI in ad platforms or patient-list uploads (checked 16 October 2026). That doesn't mean it has none, so ask. We're a marketing company, not a clinician and not your compliance officer.
Questions to ask Cardinal Digital Marketing before you sign
- Price. What is the monthly fee, and what does each analytics package cost? Can I have both in writing?
- Term. Is my initial term six months or 12? At what rate does it renew, and what notice ends it?
- Ad spend. Is it billed from my card straight to Google and Meta? Will any media markup apply?
- Ownership. Who owns the website and its content? What happens to hosting and tracking numbers if I leave? Does my data come with me if I leave before six months?
- Calls and follow-up. Who answers the calls the ads produce? What happens to a missed call, or an inquiry that doesn't book?
- Data and rules. Is the BAA signed before any patient data moves? Does any patient information or list reach an ad platform? Are my ads checked against my board's rules, including on testimonials?
- Contract party. Which company's name is on the contract, and do the terms on your site apply?
Ask us the same questions. Our answers are on the pilot and compliance pages.
When Fill The Lobby isn't the right fit
We're the wrong choice for hospitals and health systems; pharma brands; and practices that mostly bill insurance and want volume.
Try the 30-day Proof Pilot: $2,500 flat, with the accounts in your name. Or start with a free audit, or book a 30-minute call.
Sources
- Cardinal Digital Marketing home page, checked 16 October 2026
- Contact us and FAQ, checked 16 October 2026
- Terms and conditions, checked 16 October 2026
- Reporting and marketing analytics, checked 16 October 2026
- RevRx, checked 16 October 2026
- Healthcare specialties, checked 16 October 2026
- Mental health providers, checked 16 October 2026
- Dentists and DSOs, checked 16 October 2026
- Veterinary medicine, checked 16 October 2026
- Website design, checked 16 October 2026
- Paid social advertising, checked 16 October 2026
- TikTok advertising, checked 16 October 2026
- Patient acquisition strategy, checked 16 October 2026
- Announcement dated 21 January 2026, checked 16 October 2026
- Also checked: About, paid media, specialty practice and privacy policy, checked 16 October 2026. Some pages, including its services hub, didn't load, so "we found no" means on these pages.
We checked Cardinal Digital Marketing's site on 16 October 2026. If something here has changed, email sales@fillthelobby.com and we'll correct it.