In this post, you’ll discover the essentials of how to promote your business locally through local SEO for podiatrists, so you can help more patients restore foot and ankle health!
Severe foot pain? Ingrown toenail? Sprained ankle? For these acute conditions as well as chronic ones (such as diabetes), or even just routine foot care, podiatrists are the best healthcare provider to consult. People’s foot and ankle health are essential not only for mobility and overall health but also for quality of life, making podiatrists essential in every city. According to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), there are now about 18,000 podiatrists practicing across the United States, providing care to a diverse patient population. If you’re a podiatrist or podiatric clinic manager interested in learning how to promote your business locally, this guide on local SEO for podiatrists is written for you.
When you do local search engine optimization (or Local SEO) right, you’ll help people quickly discover your podiatry clinic online. Since at least 75% of people use search engines to find local businesses (including health clinics), a good local SEO strategy can be very helpful to your practice.
This guide covers the essentials of doing effective local SEO for podiatrists. Step right in!
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What You’ll Get From Doing Local SEO For Podiatrists
Performing local SEO for podiatrists enhances a podiatrist’s search engine results page (SERP) rank, which means that people can see your website among the top results in Google, Bing, and other search engines. A high search engine ranking can bring tremendous growth to your clinic—especially if your website is the top result—because according to a study of billions of search results, more than 25% of people click the first organic result on Google!
In addition to that, at least 3 in every 4 local mobile searches result in offline conversions. Therefore, performing effective local SEO can dramatically grow your podiatric practice’s patient list, and ultimately, your revenues.
The benefits don’t end there. Being seen in the top local search results can help podiatrists gain the trust of people in that area. Whenever people see your clinic in the top results, they go from just being aware to gradually becoming at ease with your clinic (familiar things make people feel comfortable). As a result, there’s an increased chance that they would visit or recommend your clinic to other people for their foot and ankle conditions
Learning how to promote your business locally through local SEO can help your practice gain a lot more patients.
Now, let’s have a look at the essentials of doing local SEO for podiatrists.
A Vital Element of Local SEO For Podiatrists
Practically any person with foot or ankle discomfort would prefer a clinic that’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away (metaphorically, of course). Patients who need multiple treatments or check-ups—for conditions like plantar fasciitis or bunion corrections—would also prefer to consult podiatrists who are easily accessible to reduce their travel time.
With such preferences, doing local SEO for podiatrists can be very helpful to foot and ankle specialists. A podiatrist’s website that’s optimized for relevant keywords is more likely to catch the foot traffic of residents in that area who require podiatric treatment.
Drawing on our SEO agency’s decades of experience, the first step to ensuring your podiatric practice ranks high in local search results is to gain access to and optimize your Google Business Profile (or simply GBP). Previously called Google My Business, the GBP is a vital component of local SEO. Your clinic’s GBP should have an accurate and complete name, address, and phone number (or simply NAP).
We recommend uploading crisp photos of your clinic to your GBP. You can display your clinic’s welcoming doors, photos of your specialists and staff, clean treatment rooms, and more. In addition, make it a point to respond quickly to all the feedback (and, sometimes, questions) that patients post on your GBP. Engaging actively can enhance your clinic’s visibility on the web.
Claiming and optimizing your clinic’s Google Business Profile is a vital component of local SEO for podiatrists.
The Importance of Conducting Keyword Research
Without online ads, how can new patients learn about your practice online (this is also called organic marketing since you don’t pay for ads)? It’s simple: keywords.
Keywords are the bridge that connect people searching for something on the web to whatever it is they’re looking for; it’s what allows patients who need a podiatrist to see you or your clinic online.
That’s why keywords are so important. For instance, if you optimized your website for the keyword “bunion treatment san diego,” and someone searches that phrase online, you’re bound to appear at the top of the results—which means they’re more likely to consult you for their bunion.
Keyword research enables you to discover what terms your potential patients are typing into search engines. When doing local SEO for podiatrists, we recommend focusing on local keywords, which include your clinic’s location and the podiatric services you offer. Examples of keywords for podiatrists are “nyc ingrown toenail treatment,” “heel pain relief in LA,” “best foot doctor in chicago,” and “what to do ankle sprain houston.”
Google Keyword Planner is a simple tool for keyword research. It provides info on search volumes, related keywords, competition, and so on. Semrush and Ahrefs offer a deeper dive into keyword trends. For professional help on how to promote your business locally using the right keywords, you may reach out to a veteran local SEO specialist.
How to Promote Your Business Locally Through On-Page SEO
SEO typically involves on-page optimization and off-page optimization.
On-page optimization involves weaving relevant keywords into your website’s texts, pictures, and meta tags.
When doing local SEO for podiatrists, we recommend publishing optimized content related to foot and ankle health, preventive care, and treatment options (such as routine foot care, sports injuries, diabetic foot management, and corrective surgeries).
You may also boost your search engine rank by posting blog articles that tackle various podiatric conditions. Some ideas we have for topics are plantar fasciitis, bunions, heel pain, and athlete’s foot. If you have the resources, consider publishing foot and ankle wellness tips and descriptions of procedures you perform. Lastly, having a frequently asked questions (or FAQs) page that addresses common queries about your services and patient care can also add more stride to your content.
Meta tags, which contain info about your website, are also vital when doing on-page optimization. Your title tags (the headlines of your web pages) should be succinct and encapsulate your targeted keyword. They should ideally be no more than 60 characters.
All of your web pages should sport a compelling meta description that contains your target keyword. Limit each to 160 characters so that it’s shown in its entirety in search engine results.
To further enhance the effectiveness of your local SEO efforts, don’t forget to lace your website content (including your landing pages and blog articles) with header tags like H1, H2, and H3. These make it easy for people to read your pages while also helping search engines make sense of your website, which means it’s good for SEO.
Lastly, optimizing your images is another step that shouldn’t be overlooked. Make use of descriptive filenames and alt tags for all images on your website. Try to embed your target keywords into them as well.
How to Promote Your Business Locally Through Off-Page SEO
Off-page optimization entails getting backlinks from other websites that bring users to your site. But take note: search engines step up for high-quality backlinks—links from high-authority and trusted websites.
There are several ways to snag backlinks to your site, with content marketing standing as a top method. When performing local SEO for podiatrists, some effective content you might want to use for content marketing are videos demonstrating ankle exercises, eBooks about foot health, and blog posts tackling common foot conditions.
When you regularly publish helpful content, your podiatry clinic can establish its credibility as a specialist on foot and ankle health. This can encourage other sites to cite and link to your pages, which can step up your local search engine ranking. Sometimes, though, securing quality backlinks can be about as tricky as performing a delicate foot surgery. If you’d like to get more backlinks, you may want to connect with a local SEO expert like Zero Company.
Last but not least, social media also plays a key role in off-page SEO. Posting useful and captivating content on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter can drive more people to your site. And similar to GBP, actively and promptly engaging with your audience on social networks—much like how you would respond to patient inquiries in your clinic—by responding to their feedback and answering their questions—can further enhance your clinic’s web presence and reputation.
How to Promote Your Business Locally With Online Citations
Online citations are essentially mentions of your podiatry clinic on the World Wide Web, specifically your NAP (again, that’s name, address, and phone number). Citations help search engines confirm that your foot care facility is legitimate. So, aim to get your clinic listed (or cited) on as many sites as you can handle.
Effective local SEO for podiatrists involves creating citations in online local business directories. Some popular examples of these are Yelp, Yellow Pages, Foursquare, and Hotfrog. In addition to those, we also recommend getting your practice added on other web-based listings of medical service providers.
By the way, here’s a crucial step that many businesses and novice marketers are not aware of: When gathering citations, be extra careful so that the information on your GBP perfectly aligns with those in each of your citations. This uniformity helps search engine algorithms in verifying that those citations indeed refer to a single podiatry clinic: yours. Even tiny discrepancies—like ‘Boulevard’ being spelled out completely or shortened to ‘Blvd.,’ ‘Blvd,’ or ‘BLVD,’ can knock your local ranking off balance.
Here are a few directories you may want to have citations on:
Last Advice When Doing Local SEO For Podiatrists
By now you already know the essentials of how to promote your business locally through local SEO for podiatrists.
Before you go on your way, note that doing local SEO isn’t a sprint but a marathon. You have to constantly monitor and tweak various aspects of your campaign to get the best results.
For help on your local SEO campaign, consider tapping the expertise of the best local SEO agency in Orange County.
For support and guidance on your SEO journey, consider reaching out to the top local SEO agency in Orange County, California. Zero Company is a veteran digital marketing agency with over 20 years of experience specializing in local SEO. We’ve helped numerous healthcare providers, including podiatrists, enhance their online presence and establish lasting relationships with patients through effective digital marketing strategies.
Book a free consultation with our local SEO experts and learn proven tactics on how to give your podiatry business a leg up locally!
With more than two decades of track record as a local SEO company, Zero Company has helped over 2,500 organizations—including dozens of healthcare providers—rank higher on SERPs and serve more people in need.
Book a free call with our team of experts in local SEO for podiatrists to discuss time-tested tactics on how to promote your business locally!
