A strong digital marketing strategy is absolutely imperative for any healthcare business. An essential part of that strategy is recognizing the importance of local search marketing. If you’re website is not optimized for local searches, you are missing out on an audience that is easy to convert. After all, local healthcare customers can’t find your practice if it is not optimized for local SEO.

Local SEO

Local SEO, also known as local search marketing, is the process of enhancing the performance of your website in local search engine traffic. The benefit of performing this form of SEO is that local searchers are more likely to convert into customers. For businesses with broader needs, enterprise SEO agencies can develop strategies that cater to both local and national markets, maximizing visibility and driving targeted traffic.

Local and organic SEO, while similar, require very different strategies for optimization. Where local SEO focuses mainly on location specific optimizations, organic SEO takes a more holistic approach, favoring overall content optimization.

With a marketing team that specializes in your industry, however, local search marketing can be far more potent. Possessing a strong understanding of the local audience will allow them to boost brand awareness, and improve your rankings in Google’s Local Pack.

By leveraging insightful blog posts like this one, they can craft tailored content that resonates with your target demographic, establishing your business as a trusted authority in the local market. This strategic approach not only enhances visibility but also drives relevant traffic to your website, ultimately translating into increased leads and conversions.

Local Ranking Factors

Results in the Local Pack rank at the top of 93% of all Google searches. This makes it the most important tactic for securing a high position in local searches, in order to secure greater numbers of calls, leads and appointments.

When a person searches for local healthcare practices, Google presents them with a small map highlighting three local businesses. Here are the three factors that decide how those businesses are chosen.

Proximity

How close your practice is to the searcher’s location.

Prominence

how popular your practice is among the locals.

Relevance

How appropriate your services are in relevance to the search query.

Local Pack ranking factors

There are a few factors that determine just how well your website ranks within the Local Pack. Here are the most important ones:

Google Business Profile

The Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free service offered by Google, that allows nearby customers to conduct a search, using keywords, based on their needs and learn about your services. With just a single tap, these searchers can then get access to your contact information.

On-page SEO

The search engine results page (SERP) places a great deal of importance in on-page SEO. Relevant keywords, phrases and NAP (name, address, phone number) can improve your performance.

Reviews

A review strategy is essential to ensuring you receive as many positive reviews as possible. The Google algorithm places great importance in reviews and a greater number of positive ones can increase the click-through rate for your website.

Links

Backlinks are important for boosting both organic and local SEO. Links from sites with high authority, which are considered respected and trusted sources of information, let search engine algorithms know that those sources find your content trustworthy.