Patients nowadays look through the internet to find healthcare providers. Being an active online presence is no longer a choice but a demand when one is a doctor or health care provider. And if something has to be selected when it comes to attracting local patients, then local SEO is the best friend indeed.
The local SEO is making changes to your online presence so that your practice appears in local search results when a user is searching for doctors or medical services in your area.
For Example: the user types in “pediatrician near me” or “dentist near me.” You want your practice to pop up on the top page, right? In this blog, we will be discussing some 8 proven Local SEO strategies doctors can use to bring more patients into their practices.
1. Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Profile
Claim and optimize your Google My Business (GMB) profile: This is one of the most powerful things you can do to help with local SEO. GMB is free for your practice to appear in the “Local Pack” on Google, Google Maps, and local searches.
Here’s how to optimize your GMB profile
– Claim your profile: If you haven’t already claimed your business in Google,
– Accuracy: Ensure all information concerning your practice is accurate, including your name, address, phone number, and even your business hours.
– Services: Ensure that all medical services you provide such as general practice, cardiology, pediatrics, or any other specialty treatment.
– Quality photos: Upload pictures of your practice, including the waiting area, the examination rooms, and the staff.
– Good reviews: Patients that give you good reviews positively enhance your reputation and boost up your search ratings. Even urge the satisfied patients to give reviews on your GMB profile.
So therefore, an updated and optimized GMB profile has increased the chance of showing up in local searches, which might be accessible for most to bring more traffic to your practice.
2. Optimize for local keywords
To attract patients in your area you need to input local keywords in the content of your website. Local keywords are search terms used to find services near them.
For example, it is not only targeting “dermatologist,” but also the dermatologists in (city name) or the best dermatologist near me.
Here is how you can effectively use local keywords
– Use location-based keywords on your site: Use “doctor in (any city name)” or “primary care physician near me” within page titles, headers, and of course, throughout the content.
– Location-based service pages: When in multiple locations, for instance, consider creating a separate service page for each location, optimized with location-based keywords.
– Update meta tags : Make sure meta titles and descriptions have local keywords. These tags tell search engines what is on your page; they help improve the click-through rate should a user encounter your page in search results.
You can now make it easier for Google and other search engines to match your website with local patients searching.
3. Get listed in online directories
Online directories and other health-specific websites such as Healthgrades, ZocDoc, and Vitals all put a lot into local SEO. By having the practice listed under these directories with proper information, you will be well on your way to an increased presence.
Here’s how to leverage directory listings
– Consistency rules the roost: Search engines aim to find out the consistency of your practice’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on all platforms. Then ensure that everything’s kept the same across the directories, social networking sites, and your website.
– More online presence: The more directories you are on, the more you will be found even if they do not Google you.
– Increase credibility: Being viewed both positively and negatively and keeping a profile current in health care directories also establishes more credibility about your practice and can stimulate even more patient contacts.
Choose appropriate health care directories for your location and your type of health care, and make sure you maintain updated and complete listings.
4. Collect Online Reviews
Online reviews are a strong force in local SEO and patient trust. And, of course, a good review can help build your practice’s reputation, also raising its search ranking. Google and other search engines appear to give a little more love to businesses with better reviews.
How do you get your patients to be reviewers?
- Ask patients to give feedback : Ask satisfied patients to leave a review on your Google My Business profile or other sites like Yelp and Healthgrades.
- Make it easy. Make it possible for patients to leave a review by providing direct links via email, SMS, or even on your website.
- Respond to reviews: Address your patients by engaging with their reviews, be them positive or negative. It shows you care about their feedback and can work on any issues related to it.
The more the number of positive reviews collected, the more a new patient is likely to choose your practice over the competition upon searching online.
5. Create Location-Specific Content
Some ideas are location-specific content such as blogs or articles that will focus on topics that are relevant to your community. Maybe it’s seasonal allergies specific to where you live or health tips for the climate you are in.
Some other things you might address include
– Blog about local health concerns: write about conditions or health issues that are common in your area, such as allergies or flu outbreaks.
– Highlight your community involvement: if your practice is involved in local health fairs or charity events, talk about these activities and highlight your connection with the local community.
– Local partnership integration: If you have other local businesses or experts that you work with, incorporate them into your content. This might really help build relationship awareness and really grow the local market for your practice.
Location-specific content can make your practice show up in search results in those locations and position you as a trusted service provider within your community.
6. Mobile Device Optimization
Finally, make sure your website is mobile-friendly, as more and more patients are searching for healthcare services on their smartphones. Google actually gives preference to mobile-friendly sites in its search rankings; therefore, optimization of a site for mobile can make all the difference locally.
Some of the features that users will expect from the sites they visit on their mobile devices include
- Fast loading time: Mobile device users expect fast page loading. Optimize your website’s speed with compressed images, removal of unnecessary scripts, and use of a content delivery network.
- Simplify navigation: For these features to be easily located by the users, the designs should be very simple with transparent navigation for efficient location of contents, contact information, services, and options for booking an appointment.
But you’re also enhancing local SEO by optimizing your site for mobile while making it easier for patients seeking your services on their phones, too.
7. Engage Locally Using Social Media
The final important local media component is social media. Engage your patients with high-value content that speaks to the needs and issues of your local community; increase visibility, and build stronger relationships with your audience.
Here are just a few ways in which you can use social media with a focus on local SEO
- Share relevant content on your local community: Share updates on events happening in your locality, and health tips related to your community, among others. Ask questions or poll at places on local events of interest to engage with local followers.
- Use location hashtags: Make a high possibility of getting discovered by location-specific users by using location-based hashtags like #NewYorkDoctor or #HoustonHealthcare, especially at places like Instagram or Twitter.
- Collaborate with the local influencers**: You can collaborate with local health influencers or community leaders to extend your network further and make it possible to reach a higher number of targeted prospect pools in your community.
Social media engagement, by incorporating SEO, completes the wholesome digital footprint that attracts more and more patients to your practice.
8. Local Backlinks
Backlinking forms the integral part of SEO, and the best part is that local backlinking will give a boost to your efforts in a better manner. Backlinking means links from other websites to your website. Local websites with reputation will increase your authority for which your SERP’s will improve.
Here’s how to build local backlinks
– Partner with businesses locally: Partner with local businesses or healthcare providers to exchange backlinks. For example, if you partner with a local pharmacy or gym, ask them to link to your site.
– Write for local publications: Write guest articles for local news websites or offer expert commentary on health-related topics and request a link back to your practice’s website in return.
– List your practice in local business directories: Some directories offer links back to your site, which can further aid in your local SEO efforts.
Building a good network of local backlinks can make you a better authority in your community and hence increase your practice’s rank on the search engines.
Conclusion
The following are some ways to implement Local SEO to get the practice seen more within local search results and acquire more patients: it starts from optimizing your Google My Business profile, right through to encouraging online reviews and creating location-specific content that will make your practice stand out during a search about healthcare services in your area.
As you work your way through the improvement process for local SEO, remember that consistency and patience are aspects of the journey. It will feel like forever sometimes before what you are doing starts to yield great fruit, but by focusing on proven steps, you will lay down a strong online foundation for your practice.