When you start a business, such as a healthcare practice, you want to shout it from the rooftops to make sure that anyone and everyone knows about what you do and how you can help them. Even though you want to broaden your reach as much as possible, narrowing your focus to your surrounding communities is more likely to get you the metrics that you’re hoping for.
Local search engine optimization (SEO) means trying to get to the top of the results pages and maps for users in your surrounding areas. But getting your brand in front of potential patients who are close by does more than increase your traffic. It can help your practice in a variety of ways, leading to long-term growth.
Here are four reasons why local SEO is important for your practice growth:
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Boosts quality lead conversions
As nice as it is to just get a ton of clicks from everyone who comes across your site, you want traffic that leads to conversions. That means appealing to people who are actively searching for your treatments at that point in time. You want them to have high intent so they will fill out a contact form or book an appointment.
Local SEO can increase your quality lead conversion rate because if people in your immediate area are searching for healthcare, they are genuinely interested in finding a provider and are more likely to engage with your listings.
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Establishes trust in the community
Trust is a significant factor in acquiring and retaining a patient. People want to know that they can trust you with their health and wellness before even booking an appointment. By creating a credible site with high-value content, you’re able to rank high on local pages and automatically be associated as a trustworthy provider.
Local SEO also helps to build your reputation in your community, giving you a competitive advantage.
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Increases brand awareness
People can’t book an appointment with you if they don’t even know that you exist. The point of all SEO efforts is to get your business name in front of the right people. But it’s also important that you become a name that sticks in their mind when they have a concern that needs professional insight.
Brand awareness can be boosted by local SEO by keeping your name high up on search engine results pages. So even if they aren’t ready for treatment at that exact moment or they are still weighing their options, users will still be aware of who you are and what you do.
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Provides opportunities for niche keyword research
Targeted keywords are at the core of SEO, both nationally and locally. The best part about doing keyword research on a local level is that you can go incredibly niche to appeal to the exact concerns and demographics in your surrounding communities.
For example, if you serve a town that’s big on college sports, you can focus on keywords for student-athlete injuries. If you serve in an area that gets plenty of snow, then your keywords can revolve around common winter injuries, such as slipping on ice.
Try to prioritize long-tail keywords, which are three words or longer. These allow you to focus on specific healthcare-related questions that people are searching for, as opposed to broad searches that bring up dozens, if not hundreds, of results.
Want to attract new patients to your website with local SEO? BURG+CO. can help
No matter what type of growth you hope to accomplish with your practice, whether it involves opening multiple locations or expanding your scope of treatment, local SEO can help get you there. If you’re unsure how to approach the process, BURG+CO. is here to help.
Our SEO team can help you dive into the local side of digital marketing and learn how to reach the people who are most likely to bring you traffic and help grow your business. We also provide content marketing services to connect relevant community concerns with your treatments through quality, keyword-based blog posts.
Our team has years of experience in helping healthcare brands improve their digital presence to attract new patients and retain existing ones. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results and attract more potential patients to your site, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help.
Want expert support with your digital marketing? Connect with BURG+CO. today to explore how we can help your healthcare brand grow.