When you’re a healthcare provider, it might be easy to assume that you’ll inherently get patients over time because people are bound to need your care at some point, regardless of what treatments you provide. However, you’re likely not the only provider in the area, meaning that you need to put in active work to bring in patients and stand out from the competitors. That’s where local search engine optimization (SEO) comes in.
Local SEO is a process that helps your practice’s website to rank high on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs) and map results by people in your served areas. It provides many benefits that can boost patient acquisition, including increased traffic and credibility. These ultimately lead to more conversions and appointments to move your bottom line.
By learning about how local SEO can attract more patients, you can ensure that it’s given enough prioritization in your digital marketing strategy.
Read on to learn about the ways local SEO can improve patient acquisition. Then we’ll talk about how BURG+CO. can help you put them into action. Local SEO:
1. Increases online visibility for medical practices
The main goal of every SEO approach is to get more eyes on your site. By being listed at the top of relevant SERPs, you’re increasing your visibility, meaning that more people in your community are seeing your name and connecting it with their concerns. Even if they aren’t ready to book an appointment at that exact moment, they can store your name away for later, and you’re more likely to pop back up in their mind when the time is right.
Search engines, especially Google, prioritize local results when people search for healthcare providers, as you are an important resource for your community. Plus, no one wants to travel far if they’re in pain or need immediate attention.
Using local SEO strategies, such as optimizing your Google Business Profile and using geographic-based keyword research, can increase your likelihood of appearing on local SERPs and Google Map Packs (top three local results).
2. Builds trust and credibility with patients
When someone books an appointment with you, there’s already an established expectation that you’re knowledgeable about their condition based on the education and training needed to become a doctor. While being a provider already makes people associate you with being a credible figure, local SEO helps you to present that credibility through your site’s content as a way to build trust with potential patients.
Local SEO helps to build credibility by having your site show up consistently across many relevant SERPs and platforms. Managing and replying to reviews are also an effective part of local SEO strategies that present reliability. People want to hear from fellow potential patients who are just like them.
Establishing trust online translates into more new-patient appointments in person. Engaging, patient-first strategies can make people feel more confident in their decision to trust you with their health and wellness.
3. Connects doctors with the right local audience
Every type of doctor can bring their own specialties to the community, whether it be pediatric physical therapy or infection treatment. That’s why it’s important for the people looking for your particular treatments to easily come across your site on SERPs.
Local SEO helps you to target your efforts specifically to nearby patients who are actively searching for care, increasing the quality lead conversion rate. By optimizing content and search engine listings, you’re increasing site visibility among patients most likely to book an appointment, as opposed to broad searches that don’t have a sense of urgency.
Examples of keywords used in local SEO include:
- “Orthopedic doctors near me”
- “Back pain treatment in [city/town]”
- “Nearby urgent care”
4. Strengthens the patient experience and engagement
Every part of your SEO strategy should prioritize your user experience and bring value to potential patients so that they are encouraged to book an appointment. Local SEO uses strategies that make it easy for users to learn about your practice and feel compelled to deepen their connection with you by engaging on your site. This means making sure that all of your information is accurate and consistent across the web, including:
- Phone number
- Address
- Hours of operation
- Provided services
Your Google Business Profile and FAQ site pages can play essential roles in making sure that patients have all the information they need before booking an appointment. Having a positive patient experience right from the beginning increases the likelihood of retention.
5. Supports long-term practice growth
When social media started to become more and more popular in the 2000s, we always heard, “Once it’s online, it’s forever.” That’s exactly what you’re hoping for with every digital marketing effort. With local SEO, every current strategy can help you years down the road and contribute to your practice’s growth.
By having consistent local SEO, such as keyword-centric content and a regularly updated Google Business Profile, you’re improving your visibility for sustainable growth, as opposed to short-term results that don’t move your practice forward.
Local SEO helps you to gradually climb the rankings on SERPs. And once you’re up there, you’re not likely to drop back down. High rankings can lead to a steady stream of:
- Organic traffic
- Referrals and online shares
- Retained patients
6. Provides actionable insights on patient behavior
As you start to hone your local SEO strategy, you’ll gain a more in-depth understanding of your patients and what they’re looking for when they’re doing research or interacting with your site. This insight into patient behavior can enable you to make tweaks to your outreach and personalize your efforts to the target demographic.
For example, if people are completing more conversions on preventative blog posts as opposed to treatment blog posts, that shows that the people in your community are trying to take steps toward a healthier lifestyle as opposed to waiting for a concern.
There are a variety of local SEO tools that can help you track search and engagement trends related to your specialty, including:
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- GBP insights
Patient behavior insight can help you make data-backed decisions for future digital marketing efforts to increase the likelihood of success.
Want to attract new patients to your website? BURG+CO. can help through local SEO for doctors
Every type of business can make progress toward their goals with SEO, including medical providers. Your services are essential for a person’s overall well-being — but people need to know that you exist in the first place. If you’re a doctor who is trying to bring more patients into your practice, understanding the importance of local SEO should be at the top of your priority list.
At BURG+CO., we are experts in SEO and know exactly how to appeal to both the algorithm and potential patients. We’ll collaborate with your team to pinpoint the strategy approaches that work best for your specialization, location and long-term goals. From Google Business Profile management to keyword-based content creation, we’ll help you boost your visibility, traffic and conversions.
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.