The primary objective of a an effective chiropractic marketing program is to to get new patients, and your online strategies need to be focused on making it easier for patients to find your office. This involves making sure you have your clinic information easily accessible to all potential patients, and a key part of this strategy is building a healthy online citation portfolio.
Key Takeaways
Citations, like business listings on major online directories (Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, etc.), can help your practice in four big ways:
- Boost exposure for your clinic
- Increase traffic to your website
- Facilitate more online reviews
- Improve search ranking in Google
Let’s go over each of these factors and see how you can use citation building for your practice.
1. Gains Exposure for Your Chiropractic Clinic
Over the last few years, Google has directed more searches towards local results. Google assumes that if you’re searching for the word “chiropractor” online, you’re going to want a doctor who is in your immediate area, and so it will display results relevant to “chiropractor” and your city.
The first results in Google’s results will be a map display of chiropractors nearby. After the map results, you’ll often see directory results, like Yelp!, HealthGrades, or Facebook. Citation building is the process of getting your business in those directories and keeping them up-to-date.
The more your practice appears in these directory Google search results, the more likely it is that patients will see your practice.
2. Improves Traffic to Your Chiropractic Website
You never know where a patient is going to find your practice when searching the web, and millions of people use online listings for information, reviews, and suggestions. Yelp alone has 145 million monthly visits. A good profile on all of the major directories will result in traffic from real patients as people will click through to your chiropractic website or call your office based upon your listing.
3. Generates More Online Reviews
Research shows that online reviews by patients are one of the most important factors that people use when choosing a doctor. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, 77% of patients read directory reviews before calling a doctor for an appointment. Reviews are critically important to your online marketing. By having quality citations, you provide more opportunities for patient reviews.
4. Boosts Your Search Ranking
Finally, all of the above factors are included in Google’s search algorithm when deciding how to rank local chiropractors. Google considers the following attributes:
Increase Quantity and Quality of Directory Listings
Search engines like Google look at both the quantity of online directory listings and the accuracy of the data within those listings. The name, address, and phone number (NAP) data need to match the information on your website.
NAP data consistency needs to be one of the most important pieces of your strategy while marketing your chiropractic practice online. If you have a good citation portfolio and your business name, address, and phone number are accurate and consistent, Google will give your business a better ranking.
Get Traffic to Your Chiropractic Website
The more traffic your website gets from legitimate sources, the more credibility your site has in Google’s algorithm. If you’re getting traffic from the major directories, Google will assume your business is worth ranking higher in search results.
Build Online Reviews
Google aggregates reviews from the major directories and its own review system in Google My Business to determine which chiropractors to include in the coveted Maps section of the search results. This is why it’s so important to solicit reviews from real patients.
A quality citation portfolio is only one part of a good chiropractic marketing strategy.
These are just some of the factors involved in a successful chiropractic marketing plan, and it can be a little overwhelming for many doctors who are too busy treating patients to spend time learning everything there is to know about marketing.
ChiroHosting is here to help. We’ve been helping chiropractors with their online marketing since 2000, and we have a variety of tools that are designed to make your life easier!
To get started improving your citation portfolio, scan your business listings to uncover inaccuracies.
For information about how we can help your practice get new patients, give us a call today at
(800) 295-3346.
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