20 Methods to Boost Your Website for Local SEO for Doctors

Local SEO for doctors can be an effective way to help drive patients through your door. Your website may be the only place that people can find information about you, your practice, and your products or services. If it isn’t optimized for local search, you’ll have a hard time reaching new customers and keeping them coming back for more.

Local SEO for doctors is a strategy that helps you get more business from people who are physically located near your practice. It involves optimizing your website and improving your search rankings based on specific information about your location and services. Local SEO for medical professionals increases the amount of traffic that flows through your website. It reduces the time it takes to find a doctor, makes it easier to schedule appointments, and increases patient retention.

Local SEO for doctors can be a challenging task, especially if you’re a new local business owner. However, there are many ways to increase your visibility on search engines. Keep reading to learn some of the best strategies and approaches that you can use to rank higher in the local search results.

What is local SEO (search engine optimization)?

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website for search engines to help drive traffic from local searches. Local search is different from traditional SEO because it focuses more on geography. It is when someone searches for something in their immediate area — like “dermatologist near me.” 

If you want to attract new patients and increase your visibility in search engines, take advantage of local search. The better you can rank in local search results, the more patients you can bring into your practice.

Why doctors should invest in local SEO

Local SEO has become a necessity for doctors. It’s no longer enough to have a website, social media presence, and business cards. You need to be found by people searching for your services in their area. Some of the benefits of investing in local SEO for medical professionals include:

• It helps you rank higher in search results, which means more people find you online.
• Traffic generated by local SEO converts at a higher rate, meaning you get more patients through your door.
• Local SEO can help you increase revenue.
• It helps build trust with potential patients.
• Your site will be seen as an authority in your niche or location.
• More referrals from satisfied patients.
• Gives you the chance to stand out from competitors by showing up in local directories and maps.
• Allows you to take control of your online reputation and ensure that it’s positive at all times.

Local SEO for doctors’ strategies

Local SEO for doctors can be a challenging task, especially if you have a new medical practice. However, there are many ways to increase your visibility on search engines. Below are some of the best strategies and approaches that you can use to rank higher in the local search results.

1. Claim and enhance your Google Business Profile (GBF)

The first step to getting found in local search is to claim and set up your GBF listing. This is an important step because it lets you control the information displayed about your practice on Google. It also gives you access to a variety of other tools that can help you improve your online presence. You can do this by going to Google Business Profile, clicking on “add or claim a business” and filling out the form.

2. Get listed on general and specialized directories

Once you’ve claimed your GBF listing, get listed on general directories like Yelp and Bing Places. You can also get listed on more specialized ones like Healthgrades. The good news is that these listings are easy to set up and maintain since these sites allow businesses to create their own profiles. 

You can also add photos and videos from your website. This gives you an opportunity to stand out from competitors who don’t have these options available.

3. Take advantage of Google Posts

Google has a feature for businesses called Google Posts which you can take advantage of. This local SEO for medical professionals’ strategy allows businesses to create short posts on their business page. These posts are displayed in the search results when someone searches for their company name. They will appear above organic listings and have an image that links back to the original website content.

4. Set health and safety attributes to your GBF Listings

One concern for patients when looking for a doctor is whether they are licensed and insured by their state’s board of health. To help address this concern, Google allows you to set health-related attributes to your GBF listings. For instance, “Medical Malpractice Insured” under the “Claims Made” section of Google Business Profile. 

5. Build reputation through online reviews 

Online reviews are also an important part of local SEO for doctors. Well-written reviews can do wonders for your medical practice. They give potential customers more information about your company. They also allow them to form an opinion about your services before they make the decision to visit your practice. 

To get more positive reviews, you should ask for them during client interactions. Also thank customers after they leave feedback on your Yelp page or other review sites. 

6. Create a strong website with a focus on local SEO

Your website is the foundation of your online presence.  So it’s important to make sure that it has all of the relevant information about your practice. This includes everything from opening hours and directions to all the services you offer. 

Your website should also be easy to navigate and must be optimized for mobile devices. The design of your website can also help determine how customers perceive your business.

7. Location-specific landing pages

Having geo-targeted landing pages is one of the best ways to rank well in local search results. It’s important to have separate landing pages for each city or area where you want to rank well. This can be done by creating different URLs for each page of your website which targets specific locations or cities. You can use geo-targeting techniques such as Google Analytics. 

8. Use the right keywords

Conduct keyword research to know what keywords are being used by potential clients in your area. You can do this by using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs and looking at the top organic keywords for your business. Then refine these keywords using Google Keyword Planner (for AdWords) or other keyword tools. Make sure your keywords have location modifiers like “dentists near me”.

9. Leverage content marketing

Another important aspect of local SEO for doctors is content marketing. A great way to attract traffic from local clients is by creating content that is relevant to your target audience. Also, focus on creating content like newsletters that include information about local events or news stories covering your industry. This kind of content will help build authority around your brand while also helping local searchers find what they need.

10. Gain backlinks from local websites 

You can get backlinks from websites that are relevant to you by participating in discussions related to medical issues. You can also gain backlinks by writing guest blog posts on other local sites. This not only helps build your reputation as an expert in your niche. It also attracts more organic traffic from search engines. So the best way to get links from local websites is by contributing content to them.

11. Optimizing your online citations

Citations are the references that appear with your name in search results. They include things like your address, phone number, and hours of operation. It’s important to update all your citations when you have made specific changes. For example, when you open a new location or expand into a new service area (such as eye exams).

12. Local SEO for medical professionals – social media marketing

Another effective local SEO technique is social media marketing. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great for connecting with clients and potential patients. 

You can share articles about health topics, post photos of your office or staff members, or post updates about your day. You can also use these platforms to learn about what your patients are interested in by checking out their profiles.

13. Add location on your title tags

The title tag is one of the most important elements of your website. It’s the text that appears on the search engine results page (SERP). As such, it is highly visible to potential customers. The location element in your title tag can help you get more local searches and increase your click-through rate (CTR).

14. Use schema markup to appear in the Knowledge Graph 

Google uses structured data markup to help it understand what type of business you are. It also uses this data markup to know how it should display information about your business when users search for it. This helps Google show cards with images, reviews, and other information directly in search results. 

Because of the markup, you will have more visibility than other businesses without this markup.  You can use Schema.org’s free tool to generate schema markups for various types of businesses (including doctors’ offices).

15. Build relationships with local media

Another effective local SEO for doctors’ strategy is building relationships with the local media. Local media includes newspapers, and TV and radio stations. Local media outlets can help promote your practice to local communities. 

They can do this by writing articles about you or mentioning you during broadcasts or news segments. The more coverage you receive from them, the higher your overall brand visibility will be.

16. Use video content

You can also include videos on your website as a local SEO for doctors’ technique. Video content is a great way to attract the attention of potential patients. Plus, you can use video to answer questions and provide information about treatment options or procedures. Videos can also be used for increasing time spent on site, which will help with conversion rates.

17. Use calls to action on your website

Include calls to action on each page of your website and make sure they are prominent. Calls to action encourage users to take a particular action. This could be signing up for an appointment, booking an operation, or even purchasing a product or service. 

If you have a contact form, include a call to action at the top. This helps encourage users to fill in the form before they go any further. Using calls to action throughout your site helps increase engagement and conversion rates.

18. Host an event in your community

Events are another great way to build relationships with prospective patients and gain exposure in the local community. Hosting events can also help you develop strong relationships with other businesses in town. You will also get free publicity from local media outlets and bloggers who may attend your event.

19. Add a Team page to your website, and include doctor profiles

It’s very important that you add a team page to your website, as well as individual doctor profiles. This makes it easier for potential patients to find out who works at your practice. It also gives them more information about each doctor’s background and experience.

20. Optimize your meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are the short snippets that appear under your URL in search results. They help visitors decide if they want to click through or ignore your listing. A good meta description should be compelling enough that people will click through. Ideally, it should be between 150-160 characters long and include keywords related to your business or site.

Conclusion

Local SEO for doctors should be an important part of your marketing strategy. It’s important to know how to develop your authority in the community as a medical professional. The better you rank in local search results, the more patients will come to your practice. So implement these strategies if you want to reach more patients in your area.

Contact now Mediaboom to boost your local SEO for doctors!