When someone in your area has a sick or injured pet, the first thing they’ll do to look for local veterinary services is turn to a search engine, like Google or Bing.
If you fail to prioritize local SEO in your veterinarian marketing strategy, you won’t show up in those search results, and you won’t be able to get in front of these high-quality leads actively looking for your services.
Local veterinarian SEO is a critical part of effective marketing for a modern animal clinic. In this blog, we’re going to cover seven tips to help you get found in local searches.
1. Identify local, long-tail keywords
The first step in optimizing your veterinary practice for local searches is to identify relevant keywords. But, instead of focusing on generic terms like “veterinarian,” you’ll want to focus on keywords that are more specific to your services and location.
These are called long-tail keywords, and it’s important to use them for two reasons. First, people searching for more specific keywords are more likely to be closer to actually scheduling an appointment.
Second, long-tail keywords are less competitive than broader keywords. This means you have a better chance of actually ranking for them on search engines.
Here are a few examples of local, long-tail keywords for veterinary practices:
- “Best veterinarian in [city]”
- “Pet care services in [city]”
- “Emergency vet near me in [city]”
Use a keyword research tool, like Google’s keyword planner, to identify additional local keyword opportunities that are relevant to your business.
2. Optimize your website for local searches
Once you have your list of local, long-tail keywords, you can start optimizing your veterinarian website for local searches.
Start by making sure your location is listed prominently on your website. You’ll also want to include your address and phone number on every page of your website. A good place to put your contact information is in the footer.
Next, you’ll want to incorporate your local keywords into your website’s content. This means adding them to your page titles and meta descriptions, as well as including them in the body of your pages.
Finally, make sure you’re optimizing your website for mobile users. Mobile searches make up the majority of local searches, so you want to make sure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly.
3. Claim and optimize your local listings
Google Business Profile is a free tool from Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence. You can use it to create a profile for your veterinary practice, and then add your address, phone number, hours of operation, and other important information.
You should also take the time to claim and optimize your business’s listings on other local directories, such as Top Rated Local®, Yelp and Yellow Pages.
These listings are important for two reasons. First, they can help drive more traffic to your veterinarian website. Second, they can help improve your local search rankings, which can help you get found by leads.
4. Create an active presence on social media
Social media is a great way to connect with potential clients and build brand awareness for your veterinarian business.
Start by creating pages for your veterinary practice on popular social media platforms, like Facebook, Google and Instagram. Then, create content that resonates with your target audience, like helpful tips and advice about pet care.
You should also use your veterinarian social media pages to share updates about special offers or promotions, as well as any news or announcements about your practice.
Finally, make sure you’re responding to messages and comments in a timely manner. This helps to create a positive impression of your veterinary practice and can help you build relationships with potential clients.
5. Ask for reviews
Online reviews are an important part of local SEO for veterinarians. They help to build trust with potential clients and can give your business a boost in local search rankings.
Start by asking your existing clients to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile and Top Rated Local. You can also ask them to post reviews on other relevant directories, like Yelp and Yellow Pages.
Be sure to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative. This shows potential clients that you value their feedback and are committed to providing high-quality veterinary service.
Reviews and average star ratings are ranking factors on many different local directories, which means that they play an important role in a local veterinary practice’s online visibility.
6. Create content that’s relevant to your community
One way to get found in local searches is to create content that’s relevant to your local community. This can include articles about pet care tips, local pet-friendly activities or events, or even stories about your veterinary practice’s staff and patients.
You can also create content about topics that are relevant to your industry, such as pet health or nutrition. This helps to establish your practice as an authority in the veterinary field and can help you get found in local searches.
Creating content on a regular basis is an important part of effective, local veterinarian SEO. And, it’s important to share your content across the web, from your veterinarian website to your social media profiles.
7. Build relationships and partnerships on social media
Another great way to get found in local searches is to build relationships and partnerships with other local businesses in your area.
Start by following and engaging with other local businesses on social media, such as pet stores, grooming services and animal shelters. You can also partner with these businesses by offering discounts or promotions to their customers.
This helps to build relationships and create new opportunities for networking and referral business.
You should also make it a point to engage with your clients and veterinarian leads on social media. When someone comments about your veterinary practice or posts a photo of their pet, be sure to respond in a timely manner.
This helps to create a positive impression and can help to build relationships with potential clients.
Optimizing your veterinary practice for local searches is an important part of effective veterinarian marketing. With these seven tips, you can get found in local searches and drive more high-quality leads to your practice.
Our all-in-one veterinarian marketing platform has everything you need to master local SEO and content marketing. Plus, you can develop a convertible website, connect with your community on social media, drive exclusive leads and so much more.
