So far, our articles have explained the basics of search engine optimization (SEO). Now we are adding a new dimension to the topic: geography. This is what local SEO is about: getting found by potential patients in your area. In this article, we will show you how local SEO works and why it is beneficial for your practice.
How Does Local SEO Work?
The concept of local search came into existence when people started using their mobile phones to browse the internet. Modern smartphones have embedded GPS, which allows pinpointing the user’s location. Google decided to use this feature to help people find businesses close to them.
Soon enough, users started relying on this type of search and now many Google searches have the format:
- Chiropractor near me
- Chiropractic practice in X city
- Local chiropractic services.
In turn, this led to the development of a new type of SEO – local SEO. It relies on the same basic principles but adds pointers that help Google determine the physical location of the business whose website it crawls.
Why Is Local SEO Important for Chiropractors?
When it comes to going to see a doctor of any specialty, most people want to find a practitioner as close to their home as possible. Nobody wants to drive for hours when they are sick and in pain, right?
This is why clinics and practices of all kinds, including for chiropractic, really need to develop a local SEO strategy. Once it is in place, you can reap many benefits, such as:
1. Appear in Google Local Pack
The Local Pack for Google searches represents a box of results that appear at the very top of the page. This box features the best 3 matches for the user’s intent. To qualify for the Local Pack, websites must meet 3 key criteria:
Relevance with the user’s search query
Proximity to the user’s location
The reputation of good standing in business and high-quality products or services.
2. Have a Pin on Google Maps
Google requires companies to open a free listing on Google My Business and confirm their physical address by phone or mail in order to verify proximity to users’ locations. Once your business address is verified, your chiropractic practice will also get a pin on Google Maps.
This means that people who use this app for navigation will see the name of your practice on the map. At the same time, when they look for specific products or services in Google Maps, your practice will show up among other results.
3. Maximize the Efficiency of Your Marketing
The success of any marketing campaign is calculated in new patients for your practice. If you do not use local SEO, you may attract a lot of website traffic from people who live too far away to book an appointment.
High traffic by itself is a vanity metric because it is irrelevant. If you get 5 appointments from 1,000 website visits, this is not an effective outcome. However, if you get 5 appointments from 100 website visits, you can say that you have reached your goal.
4. Bypass Competition from Large Clinics and Practices
Local SEO is most beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses. They usually have only one location, so they want to get found by people in their area. Doing SEO without the geographical factor brings them in competition against large clinics, which invest in paid ads and hire specialized SEO agencies to promote the same keywords.
This means that they will not be able to reach the first page of Google search results because they do not have the financial strength to do so.
In the next article, we will show you how to create an effective local SEO strategy for your chiropractic practice.
