Running a local healthcare business can be challenging, especially if you have just started your practice and want to market your services to a local audience.
You have a monumental task at your hands.
Not only do you need to attract the right people, but you also have to persuade them to buy your services or products.
The right SEO strategy can help you get more eyeballs, footfall, and paying clients – all necessary to drive your business growth.
After all, 46% of Google searches are for local services or local businesses.
Let’s explore the best local SEO tips and strategies for doctors to increase patient volume and drive growth.
Why Does Local SEO For Doctors Matter?
Local SEO is a marketing technique that helps a business optimize its web presence to get more traffic, brand awareness, and leads from the local search.
While SEO helps increase your organic web traffic by improving search rankings, local SEO optimizes your website to rank higher in local SERPs (search engine results pages).
Oftentimes, local keywords appear in the Google Map Pack, because Google knows that the services offered by medical professionals are conducive to close proximity.
Here’s a list of Local SEO benefits for doctors and other healthcare providers:
- Higher ranking on SERPs means more patients (footprint) to your clinic
- Helps improve online visibility to attract new and more patients
- Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business) and Google Maps can help you generate more calls, leads, conversions, and sales
- Optimizing your web pages for local terms can help you attract the right traffic and leads
- Citations increase your website ranking and authority
- Blogging and content marketing can drive more web traffic and build trust among your audience
- Website optimization helps increase conversions, turning prospects into patients
- Reputation management improves brand awareness, recognition, and attracts more business opportunities
Leverage local SEO to increase your company’s online presence in local search results & get more in-person patients.
Believe it or not, local SEO can make or break your local brand.
So now that you know why local SEO for doctors matters, let’s delve into some industry-leading practices on how to get more patients.
5 Killer Local SEO Tips For Doctors
Listed below are the five best local SEO tips and techniques for doctors to find profit-driven and result-oriented online visibility:
Create And Optimize Your Google Business Profile
According to Hubspot, 97% of users search online to find local businesses.
Want your potential patients to find your business while doing a local search?
If so, create and optimize your Google Business Profile.
Sidenote: But, be sure to check out our video on, “What is local SEO?” before doing so to skip the aches & pains that come with trial & error.
Formerly known as Google My Business, it’s a go-to feature that helps you increase online visibility by displaying relevant business information in Google and other search engines to locals.
You can use Google Business Profile to show up on organic SERPs, Google Maps, and other relevant searches.
Make sure to optimize your profile as soon as you claim it.
Follow these tips to optimize your listing:
- Add your actual business name and address
- List contact numbers
- Double-check your visiting hours
- Write compelling descriptions
- Upload videos and high-resolution photos
- Setup an appointment link (you can use a service like calendly)
Get Your Business Listed On Local Directories
Directories help you broaden the number of acquisition channels your business has, & they also give your company a more legitimate appeal.
Get your healthcare business listed in multiple online directories such as Bing Places, Yelp, Healthgrades, and more.
You can seamlessly create your business profile on any of these listings, & it’s still one of the best local link-building strategies.
They often appear on top when users search queries related to doctors and healthcare providers, so it’s crucial to maintain these listings and provide relevant business information.
Otherwise, you’ll lose many quality leads.
Pro Tip: You can add quality videos and high-resolution photos to attract more clients and patients to your business.