Every cosmetic surgery practice knows that their search engine optimization (SEO) ranking is vital for acquiring new patients. However, keep in mind that it is normally the local patients that schedule an appointment after a Google search, not those from the other side of the country. Therefore, ranking under the general search term ‘breast implants” is less important than the more specific term ‘Botox near me’ or ‘Botox specials in San Diego (or your city)’. You need to focus first on local customers that will visit your site and schedule an in-office consultation.
There are many options available for optimizing your online presence within a local search. MD Internet Marketing has put together six SEO opportunities designed to boost your local rankings:
1. Make Sure All of Your Business Listings are Consistent
When a Google search commences, the bots scan every time that your practice’s name, address, or phone number appears online; the more the better. But what if all of these business citations are not a perfect match? Google will automatically decide that your business is less than reliable, pushing your business down the list of search results. Do not confuse Google – make sure you have lots of correct and complete business listings across many platforms.
Your Google My Business listing is of the highest priority; this 750-character description can do wonders for your practice’s local SEO ranking.
2. Pump Up Your Online Reviews
There is no substitute for a positive online reputation. More than 87% of consumers report they trust online testimonials as much or more than word-of-mouth recommendations; plus, they feel more inclined to schedule a consultation with a 5-star rated plastic surgeon than any other. Multiple positive reviews not only draw in potential patients, but they also send important signals about your practice to Google, telling the search engine your office is trustworthy. The fewer the online reviews, the lower your local SEO ranking.
You can encourage customers to create an online review as they check out of the office, or through a follow-up email, text or phone call. Be sure to give specific direction and a link to the review platform.
3. Make Sure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly
Google is watching everything about your website, including the bounce rate (how many people immediately leave your site after landing on it). There are many reasons patients do not stay long on a site, including difficulty navigating the website. Remember, most potential patients are surfing the web on smart phones, so it is important that your website has a responsive web design, ensuring it is user-friendly from any device.
Test your website’s responsive web design with the Google Page Speed Insights Tool:
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/.
4. Resist the Urge to Stuff Keywords
Some practices cram as many keywords into their website as possible, without any thought to readability or usefulness. Not only will consumers notice this, so will Google. This practice can come with stiff penalties and elimination from valuable SEO rankings. While keywords are vital to your search ranking, the ones you choose should enhance the content and be relevant to the consumer’s experience. Ranking for general terms, like ‘cosmetic surgery’ will be highly competitive, so instead, turn your focus to the niche market with long-tail keywords like ‘best plastic surgeon near me’ or ‘top plastic surgeon in (your city)’.
Remember, keyword relevance is more important for your SEO rankings than keyword density. Tools such as Google Trends can help you find the keywords customers are using to find a practice like yours.
5. Increase the Number of Quality – and Quality Only – Links
Links are a great way to point at valuable, complimentary websites, giving your patients additional information. However, determining the best links to use is harder than it sounds. Never use link networks, private blog networks and link automation, or SEO agencies that promise to create tons of links, dirt cheap. Google has harsh penalties for the websites that try to outsmart the system; they are extremely adept at distinguishing organic vs. paid links.
Make sure you have links from valuable vendors, such as CareCredit and Botox Cosmetic. Also link to societies and boards like the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).
6. Focus on Important Content
The only way to truly engage visitors on your website is through adequate content. Make sure each page provides relative information, answering all of the basic questions a potential patient may ask. Have a complete business description and consistent blog posts so visitors can engage. To improve your SEO ranking, ensure each page contains at least 1000 words, has before/after photographs, a related video, one or more patient reviews, and a FAQ section to help the consumer fully process the information.
While your procedure information may be similar to that of other plastic surgeons, resist the urge to ‘borrow’ any text from another website; for a high SEO ranking, your content must be 100% unique.
Bonus: Upgrade Your Website with MD Internet Marketing:
MD Internet Marketing understands SEO rankings for plastic surgeons and can help you get the most out of your website or online brand. Speak with an expert today by calling our office at (954) 993-5154 or fill out our online Contact Us form. We are available Monday through Friday, as well as weekends by appointment.