Recovery.com Launches Behavioral Healthcare Demand Index; Google Forecasts Sharp Q4 Jump in Addiction and Mental Health Ad Costs

New quarterly index tracks how many people are looking for treatment and what it costs providers to reach them.

MADISON, Wis., October 29, 2026: Recovery.com released the first edition of its Behavioral Healthcare Demand Index, a quarterly summary of demand for addiction and mental health treatment in the United States. The Q3 2026 beta edition finds that demand held steady last quarter while the cost of reaching people on Google is forecast to rise sharply in Q4.

The index combines Google ad click data for addiction and mental health treatment with visits to treatment center pages on Recovery.com. It is designed to give treatment providers a consistent, repeatable read on demand and likely ad costs each quarter.

Search demand for mental health and addiction treatment is up more than 24% from a year ago, but reaching those people on google ads is getting more expensive. For treatment providers, understanding both sides of that equation is critical to making smart marketing decisions. We created the Recovery.com Demand Index to give providers better visibility into these trends so they can plan ahead, invest confidently across their marketing channels, and ultimately help more people get the care they need.

Andrew De StadlerChief Marketing OfficerRecovery.com

Key findings

• Demand held steady. The Demand Index was 117 in Q3 2026, up 1.9% from Q2 and up 24.5% from Q3 2025. A score of 100 is an average month between January 2025 and September 2026.
• Summer peaked in August. The index reached 119 in August, then eased to 114 in September.

• Google costs rose slowly this year. Average cost per click is up 3.8% for Drug & Alcohol Rehab Programs and 5.4% for Mental Health Services from January to September 2026, compared with the same period of 2025.
• Q4 will cost more. Google forecasts cost per click rising 17.4% for Drug & Alcohol Rehab Programs and 13.6% for Mental Health Services in Q4 2026.

What else shaped the quarter. Demand for treatment doesn't move on its own. Holidays, school breaks, weather, the job market and major events all change when people look for care and when they're able to start it. The index reports these factors alongside the numbers so readers can tell a seasonal dip or a one-time event from a real shift in demand. Q3 2026 brought the hottest US summer on record, America 250 events and the World Cup final around July 4, and a softer job market, with unemployment rising from 4.1% to 4.2% and inflation reaching 3.7% in September.

The holidays are a slow season for admissions, but a strong season for the inquiries that turn into January admits. The people searching in November and December are the same people who start treatment in the new year.Providers who cut spend now usually feel it in Q1. With Google costs rising, the smarter move is to plan for higher prices, hold budgets steady, and judge results over a full quarter instead of a single month.

Dan GempMarketing strategist, analyst, and advisor

How providers can prepare

The summary outlines four steps treatment providers can take before year end:

1. Budget for rising costs. Build up to 17% higher Google cost per click into Q4 budgets so ads keep running through the end of the year.
2. Staff for the holidays. Plan admissions coverage so people who reach out are not sent to voicemail.
3. Talk about deductibles. Train teams to explain deductible resets. Anyone who has met their deductible has a reason to start care before January 1.
4. Keep January full. People who reach out in November and December often admit in January. Keep staffing and budgets steady so people looking now choose you in January.

Download the Q3 2026 summary , and see Recovery.com's treatment search seasonality guide.

About the index

The Behavioral Healthcare Demand Index is a composite of three metrics: Google ad clicks for Drug & Alcohol Rehab Programs, Google ad clicks for Mental Health Services, and visits to treatment center pages on Recovery.com. Each is scaled so an average month from January 2025 to September 2026 equals 100. Quarters are averages of monthly values. Other sources include Google Industry Trends, internal Recovery.com data, BLS jobs and CPI reports, and NOAA. The index is in beta, and methods may change in future quarters.

About Recovery.com

Founded in 2017, Recovery.com is the leading global platform for finding trusted mental health and addiction treatment. Each month, millions of people engage with us across our websites and social media platforms to search 25,000+ providers, compare treatment center details and reviews, read helpful recovery resources, interact with community content, and connect directly with the right treatment for them. We list all treatment options on our care navigation websites at no cost, while providing an ethical, best-in-class advertising platform for addiction treatment and mental health providers. Learn more at Recovery.com.

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