When it comes to finding physician practices, most patients are looking for somewhere local, and close to where they live.
Optimizing your practice’s website for local searches is the next step that you can take in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to help your practice stand out in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) so patients can find you.
How Is Local SEO Different from SEO?
The main difference between Local SEO and SEO comes down to geography and what you’re trying to accomplish.
For example, if you have a pediatric practice in Scottsdale, AZ, you wouldn’t care about ranking well when someone searches for an “Pediatrician in Dallas, TX.” However, you would want to rank well when someone searches for an “Pediatrician in Scottsdale.”
That’s Local SEO.
An example of general SEO would be if you were trying to rank for “pediatrician” regardless of where the person is searching from. This would be if you had an informational/educational site, and weren’t concerned with driving patients to a specific practice location.
Most practices should be focused on optimizing for Local SEO as the goal is to attract patients to a specific location.
Basics of Local SEO for Physician Practices
The basic SEO principles and practices are still important to follow. Optimizing the practice’s website for local search is just the next step.
NAP (Name, Address, Phone)
Having the practice’s Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) listed may seem basic, but it trips up a lot of ObGyn practices.
The key here is consistency across all websites, social media profiles, and directories.
For example, the official Name, Address, and Phone Number of a practice might be:
ABC Pediatrics, Inc.
123 Main Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 555-5555
That practice may have the information listed exactly like that on their website, but their Google My Business shows:
ABC Pediatricians
123 Main St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-555-5555
Now, the information is pretty much the same, but just those slight differences can cause a practice to not rank well, due to the NAP being “inconsistent.”
It’s vital for success with Local SEO to have the same NAP structure across all online properties and directories.
The easiest way to think about this is to picture Google having a “digital file” on your practice. Consistent information across multiple sources is considered proof positive that your practice is a reliable location (i.e. actual local medical practice).
Multiple Locations
Many practices have multiple locations. So how do you address NAP consistency in this scenario?
The key is to “silo” each practice location. To do this, you would essentially create a separate listing for each location.
For example, a Pediatrician in Scottsdale may have locations in Old Town Scottsdale, and one in North Scottsdale. On their webpage, they should have a “Locations” page, and a sub page for each, with the appropriate NAP for each.
Locations > Old Town Scottsdale
ABC Pediatrics, Inc.
123 Main Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 555-5555
Locations > North Scottsdale
ABC Pediatrics, Inc.
456 First Street
Scottsdale, CO 85268
(480) 555-5555
Each location should have it’s own Google My Business listing as well.
What Are The Most Important Factors For An Practice To Rank Well In Local Search Results?
According to Moz, there are eight general ranking factors for Local SEO. In our experience, these apply to most cases when it comes to succeeding with Local SEO for physician practices as well.
Link Signals
This relates to the inbound anchor text, plus the quality and quantity of domains that link to the practice, etc…
On-Page Signals
NAP, keywords in the title of the webpage (i.e. “Pediatrics Scottsdale”) domain authority of the practice, etc…
Behavioral Signals
How long do visitors spend on the website? How many clicks do they take when they are there? How many “click to calls” happen? Check-ins on social medial, etc…
Personalization
Citation Signals
What domains and directories link to the practice? NAP consistency. Citation volume, etc…
Review Signals
Yes, online reviews play a role in how well a practice shows up in rankings. This is one of the reasons it’s crucial for a practice to have an online reputation management strategy.
Social Signals
How much are patients interacting with a practice’s social media properties? Are patients sharing information about the practice to their networks? etc…
Local SEO Is The Most Important Marketing Need For Physician Practices
With 81% of patients now using online search before scheduling a
The higher a practice ranks in Google, the more likely it is that a patient will visit that practice’s website, and schedule an appointment.
Ranking well is important, but it’s important to not overlook the patient experience once they get to the website.