If you don’t show up on Google, you’re cutting your client base in half. So the question is obvious… “How can you make your practice rank higher on Google without paying an arm and a leg?” 

Here are a few simple DIY steps that will work even if you aren’t already using Chckup.

Book More Appointments Through Local SEO

As consumer behavior shifts, it’s increasingly important that your veterinary practice is able to connect with new and existing pet owners online. When a new or existing pet owner searches Google for veterinary services, it’s critical that your practice is a top result. This guide demystifies much of local search engine optimization (SEO) to help you understand what you need to do to help your practice rank at the top of Google’s search results.

Why Search Engine Optimization Matters

Today, many new pet owners discover their veterinary practices online. In fact, over 50% of all website traffic comes from Google. As more people get comfortable with online search, they increasingly use Google to search for terms like “vet clinic near me” to find the practice of their choice.

Pick Your Top Keywords

If you don’t already know the search terms that drive the most traffic to your website, you should register your website for Google Search Console and look at the performance dashboard. Inside Google Search Console, you can find the search terms that new and existing pet owners most commonly search to find your practice. By looking through this data, you’ll find the keywords where you already perform well, as well as opportunities to capture more search traffic.

We recommend analyzing your Search Console data to find high-volume keywords where your website ranks well (inside the top 50), but does not capture a high percentage of traffic. These are the keywords you should start targeting with your SEO efforts to drive more traffic to your website.

Examples of good keywords might be:

• Veterinary Clinic near [your city]

• Vet Clinic near [your city]

• Best vet clinic in [your city]

• How much is a checkup in [your city]

• [Your city] pet vaccines

Create Authoritative Content

Now that you understand the search terms that your target audience uses in your area, it’s time to create content that targets those search terms and improves your rankings.

To create authoritative content that will rank well in Google, consider these tips:

• Create dedicated pages on your website where the URL and the page title target your specific search term

• Make sure that your page is a minimum of 1000 words

• Use a table of contents and section headers similar to what you would expect from Wikipedia to help readers and Google understand the contents of your content.

• Include media files such as images or video

• Ensure your web page loads relatively quickly. Google PageSpeed Insights is a great tool for measuring your page speed.

• Use a tool like SEMrush, Moz, or Ahrefs to find related high-volume keywords that you should include in the content of your article.

• Go In-Depth. Don’t be afraid to write lengthy articles that demonstrate how much you know about your chosen topic. People searching to understand certain treatments for their pets are looking for real answers. In addition, Google rewards web pages with authoritative content.

Get Backlinks

One of the most important SEO factors is backlinks. Although it seems like a technical term, a backlink is just another website that links to your webpage. There are numerous tactics you can use to get other websites to link to your content. 

Here’s three that work well for local practices:

• Partner with local businesses: 

  • Find other local businesses that are also focused on building their Internet presence. 

  • Partner with them on creating content, or create a case study of how your practice provides veterinary care to their business. 

  • Chances are that if you write about the business, they’ll backlink to your article and promote it through their social media channels.

• Offer a promotion: 

  • Let businesses in your area know that any pet owner who books an appointment through your web page receives a discount on their first appointment. 

  • Then encourage them to promote this benefit to their audience. If they advertise your promotion on their website, they’ll naturally link to your page.

• Get active in the media: 

  • Contact your local media to become a trusted source about veterinary care in your town. If local media companies come to you as an expert on veterinary medicine, you’ll get valuable backlinks.

Manage Your Business Listings

A recent study by Moz showed that the top SEO factor for local businesses is a company’s Google My Business page. Make sure that your practice has accurate, up-to-date information on Google My Business and other business listings. This will help Google gain confidence in your local presence. If you have 1-2 locations, you can manage this yourself. If you are part of a larger practice, check out services like Yext.

Get Online Bookings

Once you’ve done the work to drive Internet traffic to your website, you should be prepared to make it worthwhile. By partnering with a software business like Chckup, you’ll be able to convert traffic into appointments. These systems help you add clients to your schedule, even when your team is offline. To maximize conversion, focus on making your call-to-action (CTA) clear, and ensure that your calendar is up to date.