Geo Targeting Tips – Local Search Strategies to Gain New Patients

Healthcare professionals maintaining a local physical clinic have come to grasp the value of Local SEO to grow their practice. The need to thrive in the local community drives practitioners to maximise their SEO efforts in order to put their practice on the map, gain recognition of their service and most of all increase their acquisition and retention of patients.

Local search marketing has gone many transformations and come by many names (local area marketing, local seo). It has become a customary for dental practitioners to include local search strategies to help them grow their practice. Local search marketing is more of an integrated approach to marketing for local dental practitioners.

Local search strategies are implemented because local practitioners have a better chance of ranking in their area, than aspiring to be a nationwide dental service provider, unless of course, your patients include Gary Vaynerchuck and D’Rock.

The right local search strategy will be putting your business on the map in local searches, when patients are searching for dental practitioners or dental service providers. Or in simpler terms, local search strategies help your practice show up in relevant local searches.
Here’s some of the basic local search strategies to help you increase patients.

Do a Local Search Ranking Audit?

• Open an incognito page and go to Google.com or Bing.com
• Key in your profession + city or profession + state.
• Do another search for your practice name + location or practice name + phone number
• Were you on the list or did you have to click on view more?
• Were you able to locate your practice in local directories?
• Do a quick search of local directories – do the same process you just did in Google and Bing.
• If you are practice did not appear on any or appeared in some, then it’s time to act and make some noise, for patients to take notice.

Optimize ON-PAGE SEO Elements

• Know the keyword that best describe your practice
  • Dentist Adelaide, dental services Melbourne and the like.
• Optimise your website to include the correct:
  • Meta Title
  • URL
  • H1 tag
  • Summary
• Check that your pertinent practice information is complete and correct –
  • Practice Name
  • Full Address
  • Telephone Number
  • Email Address
  • Choose the right category. 

Build Your Profiles in Local Directories and Google Map

• Local listing directories derive information from various indexes, other than the main web searches. Google uses the following to index information about any local practitioner:
  • Google Places for Business
  • Bing Places
  • Yahoo Local Listing
  • Yellowpages
  • Yelp
  • Facebook, Web Local
• Keep your records updated in all your accounts to ensure that the information being collected is accurate.

Build your Profiles in Social Media Pages

• Secure a social media profile for your practice in the below platforms:
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • Foursquare
  • Instagram – the only caveat is that you must make sure that you can produce Instagram worthy content rom your practice.
  • Google+ – this is a great and undermined platform and perhaps, one of the reasons why it’s being removed.
• Big or small, social media profiles when used effectively can increase your engagement with patients and improve your local search visibility.

Create Locally Optimised Content

• Informational content
  • Service Updates
  • Service Promos
  • Referral Programs
  • Dental Cleaning Info
• Use visuals and graphics to convey your message or offer you value.
  • Proper Dental Care videos or Tips
  • Dental Maintenance Visuals

And should you find yourself, overwhelmed in personally doing your own local search marketing, remember 360° Dental Marketing offers a complete online and offline marketing solutions for dental practices.

Please note – We only work with one dentist per area.

Call us today to discuss your options at 1300 777 847.