SEO keywords on your website are an important factor in driving potential clients to your website. Learn how to choose the ideal keyword mix by learning different keyword themes you can use.

While returning clients play a role in a successful veterinary practice, getting new clients through the door will take your business to the next level. Search engine optimization (SEO) uses a deep understanding of search engine algorithms to ensure that your website appears on the first page of a search engine results page, which means tailoring your site to particular queries or veterinary SEO keywords.

Are Keywords Still Important in Veterinary SEO?

Keywords still form the foundation of any SEO campaign, as they provide the main way in which your site communicates with search engines about its content and purpose.

While Google's algorithm doesn't weigh keywords as heavily as it once did — primarily because of keyword stuffing — keywords are still an essential component that will help dictate the rest of your content creation and website development strategy.

Keyword Themes

An important part of SEO for vet practices is choosing the ideal keyword mix for your site.

Keyword themes are groups of similar keywords that let you cover multiple bases at once, and you can pick and choose several themes while developing your SEO campaign. 

Location-Based Keywords

As a vet practice, you operate out of a specific location. This means that you will want to follow the best practices for local veterinary SEO to increase traffic from pet owners in your local area rather than from the entire world.

Pet owners in Colorado won't get any benefit from finding a website for a vet practice in Ohio.

While Google may have started defaulting to local areas, location-based keywords can still give you a leg up on your competition.

An important note on location-based keywords is that you still need to consider grammar and readability. Some keyword tools will suggest the "vet clinic Austin" format, but this tends to sound inauthentic. Rather keep the preposition "in Austin" to make your content more natural to prospective patients. 

Service-Related Keywords

Using service-related veterinary SEO keywords makes sense for a service-based profession such as veterinary medicine. Consider using at least one keyword per service you offer, but be careful of potentially competitive keywords, such as "checkups" or "annuals."

Instead, focus on services that make your practice unique in your location. 

Veterinary Problem Keywords

Potential clients usually look for a veterinary practice when their pets have a particular problem. Including these problem-based keywords in your strategy will establish your practice as a thought leader for that particular problem, especially if you use these keywords in blogs and other informative content.

Be very careful when choosing veterinary problem keywords. Some people may be looking for a DIY solution or getting more information about their condition rather than explicitly looking for a veterinarian, making them a low-quality lead. Consider combining veterinary problem keywords with service or location-based keywords for higher-quality traffic results. 

Choosing the Right Veterinary SEO Keywords for Your Site

Keyword research can be intimidating, especially in a competitive industry such as veterinary medicine. The most important thing to remember is the buyer journey and what people type when looking for a vet for their pet. However, you can use several free and paid tools to narrow your search for the optimal veterinary SEO keywords.

A great place to start is through Google Analytics. This tool lets you see what keywords and phrases people used to get to your site, and you can use these as a baseline for further keyword research. 

Also, consider using Google's free Keyword Finder. This tool provides a more nuanced breakdown of keywords by providing information on the search volume of particular terms and the competitiveness of certain options. All you need to do to take advantage of this tool is enter your website's URL, industry, and location, and Google will do the rest of the hard work for you. 

Using Keywords Optimally

Most websites focus on including keywords in content such as blogs or on the website itself. However, small tweaks can have a huge impact on how well keywords perform, such as:

• Using your top keywords in main headings and throughout your website's text while avoiding keyword stuffing.

• Using keywords in meta-descriptions, URLs, and image names and captions

• Keeping keywords grammatically consistent for more natural integration with your content

Choosing the right veterinary SEO keywords requires effort and care, but choosing the wrong ones can derail your entire SEO strategy. Whether you want more information about keyword research or monitoring leads and digital marketing strategies, don't hesitate to schedule a free demo with our team at Chckup today!