Let’s begin with a question: What are some of the biggest challenges that come with running your chiropractor business?
If you’ve been in the field for some time, you probably are thinking that it is getting consistent new patient inquries.
One way you are probably trying to keep those inquiries rolling in is by embracing digital marketing.
You are also likely trying to cram in a few social media posts between appointments, find some time to create new blog content to showcase your expertise or respond to that positive Google review. Perhaps you also want to improve your website rankings on Google.
As a chiropractor trying to build a better online presence in your area, you probably already know competition for first-page rankings in Google is fierce.
“How can you set your clinic apart from the pack and get the most visibility for your practice?”
The answer is to implement a local search engine optimization (local SEO) campaign following a proven step-by-step process.
So here are five important tips that you can use for your improving your local SEO. Each of these five steps will help you build your local SEO presence on Google and other search engines and in turn, generate new patient inquiries.
1. Optimize Your Business Listings — Focus on Consistency and Accuracy
For starters, it’s crucial to work towards optimizing your listings — this is precisely where NAP (name, address, phone number) comes into play. For those who might not know, NAP plays an increasingly important role in getting better local search engine ranking.
“You want to ensure all local online directories have the same business name, the physical location of your office, an active phone number, and of course, your practice’s website.”
NAP is an acronym for Name, Address, and Phone number. The NAP for your chiropractor business needs to be correct and consistent when optimizing your website and online presence for local search because Google values accurate information for its users.
Showing this consistent information across a wide variety of local websites is a good way to indicate to Google you have a strong local online presence.
This might seem like common sense, but a study by ConstantContact’s SinglePlatform division pointed out that approximately 50% of businesses fail to update their online listings when they change location.
That said, it’s important to always to check your local listings online and of course, correct any discrepancies with your business name, phone number or address accordingly. Failure to make necessary changes will only confuse potential patients and Google.
Just like your patients, Google values consistency in your listings. When all your listings say the same thing, Google can confidently display your contact information to customers on applicable queries. If your NAP is inconsistent across different listing sites, Google may give your site a lower ranking.
The Key Takeaway: both accuracy and consistency in NAP are crucial to the success of your local SEO campaign. That said, it’s in your best interest to ensure that your practice’s information is exactly the same as what you have online.
2. Look Beyond NAP
Now that you’re set to try out these local directory services, you should be aware that you need to provide more than your name, address, phone number, and website. In essence, you won’t be wrong to dive deeper and take full advantage of all they have to offer.
First off, it’s great to have an in-depth description of your business on directory listings — this is an effective way to boost website rankings. What’s more, you should provide unique attributes that can simplify the search process and ensure that potential patients have enough information about your chiropractor clinic.
So what kind of information are we talking about? Well, besides your physical location, potential patients are likely to search for:
- Hours of operation
- Patient testimonials
- Breakdown of services
- Accepted forms of payment
Essentially, these points of information provide relevant answers to customer queries, and that, of course, is a great way to capture new patients.
3. Don’t Ignore Your Google My Business Profile
To be successful in your local SEO efforts, it is crucial that you have a complete and accurate GMB listing, even if you have already an excellent website. GMB is, in fact meant to complement your website, with GMB information being what appears in Google searches and Maps.
After you’ve claimed or created your listing, it needs to be verified and optimized. You want to try and complete your profile, so it is 100% complete. To achieve that, you will need to include your business name, address, and phone number along with your service area, business hours, and engaging description of your chiropractic business.
It is important to log into your GMB dashboard regularly since other people (including competitors) can suggest edits to your profile that can result in unwanted changes to your business’s listing. If you do see changes, they could be because Google’s algorithm found the information they believed to be more accurate (perhaps from a directory listing elsewhere online) or because another user suggested edits that were then made by Google. You can change the information if you feel it isn’t accurate.
4. Reviews and Testimonials Are Important
As I’m sure you know, your business reputation is incredibly important.
What people are saying about your business dictates the first impression other potential customers have when they come into contact with your brand. This is especially true when it comes to what customers are saying about your business online simply because the internet is such a public thing.
“You need to be listening to the feedback you’re getting – like online reviews.”
Reviews may seem like they just make up a small part of the bigger picture of your online presence, but they can be some of the most important sales-drivers you have.
In fact, 93% of customers say that online reviews heavily affect their buying decisions.
The aim of reviews is to provide potential patients to your chiropractor business with accurate information before they dive in and book an appointment with you. This is where reviews start affecting SEO ranking.
Google and other search engines are in the business of providing internet users with the most relevant, informative content on the topic they have searched for. Online reviews are some of the most informative content you can get on the services you offer, so a heavy emphasis is placed on landing pages and websites that feature reviews.
5. Do Good Keyword Research
Having a good keyword strategy in place as part of your local chiropractic SEO efforts is essential. Have you ever checked that you are using the best, most relevant keywords on your site that will attract new patients?
If you aren’t sure then its time to do some keyword research and make sure you aren’t missing out on any opportunities. Here are a few keyword tools that will help with this keyword research:
Our favorite is KWFinder from this list, since it is easy to find new keyword opportunities in local markets using this tool, and you even get to do a few searches for free before you have to pay a fee to continue using it.
When creating your keyword list, you want to try and split your keywords into three categories: geo-targeted terms, commercial intent terms, and educational intent keywords.
Terms with educational intent are good for blogging and showcasing your expertise. Keywords with commercial intent, meanwhile, tend to convert at a much better rate because people are looking for chiropractor services, not just information.
Also, find keywords with research intent, ones where people are looking to solve problems. These terms often start with “why” or “how”.
As you add these keywords to your site, you ideally want to have a keyword tracking program available that will monitor the progress of the pages in the search engine rankings that you have added the keywords to.
Final Words
So there you have it! These are just a few local Chiropractor SEO tips/ practices that can help refine your lead generation efforts and set you up for success. We know for sure that it’s not an easy process but the good thing is, you’re likely to see great results if you put your mind to it. Good luck!