Reaching Your Community
Given the very nature of home healthcare, most people are looking for a provider in their area when they begin researching home healthcare for themselves or a loved one. Not only is this type of business especially conducive to local search, but local searches as a whole are growing exponentially as people increasingly rely on search engines for the retrieval of business information.
Consider these stats: 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information, according to GoGulf, and these “near me” or “close by” (local!) searches have grown by more than 900% over the last two years, per Chat Meter.
Your customers are right there – quite literally, in the home healthcare business – but landing ahead of the competition in SERPs (search engine results pages) is the key to winning or losing business. Even if you have the best practice, the best nurse practitioners or the best reviews, if potential customers cannot find you, and find you easily, you are not likely to gain their business. 92% of searches will pick businesses on the first page of local search results, according to SEO Expert. Rather than let this be a hindrance, make it your secret weapon.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is an optimization strategy that takes a more localized approach (as you might have guessed) than other forms of SEO in that it works to build a website’s relevance to a certain geographical area. It is one of the most valuable tools businesses with a physical location can employ to increase both physical and web traffic and connect with customers new and old.
A Local SEO strategy that builds a foundation on the 6 points below will increase your local SERP rankings and ultimately win you more business:
Regularly maintain Business Location and Listings
- Making sure that all of your business listings are up to date and accurate is crucial to Local SEO performance. For starters, register your business with Google My Business if you’ve not already done so. This will allow your business to appear on Google Maps.
- Do the same for business directories like Yelp, Foursquare and Yellow Pages where people are likely to turn for information and reviews
- In addition to keeping business information (like address, operating hours, services provided, etc) current, use your Yelp page to feature photos of your facility or other relevant photos, and to list details about your business. This additional info is useful, both to potential customers and in improving your search rankings.
Location-based Keywords
- Using location-based keywords on your website, your Google Business page, Yelp page and the like will significantly improve your visibility in local searches. When creating headings, URLs and content for your website or blurbs for Business Profiles, use words or phrases – like the city or region you operate in or “home healthcare in Central New Jersey” – that people are likely to use when searching out a business like yours. The idea is to establish your business as a local authority in healthcare, and have the search engines recognize it as such.
- Build an About Page with location-based keywords on your Website
- Including key business information within a “Location” or “About” page on your website will also help with Local SEO and local traffic to your website. Such a page might include:
- A Google My Map with location info
- Unique content about your location
- A list of products or services offered at your location
- Hours, contact information and directions
- Reviews of location
- Photos of location
Like other forms of SEO, Content is Crucial
- Creating original, engaging, authoritative content is just as important to Local SEO as it is to Organic SEO. When creating this content within the context of a Local SEO strategy, try to create blogs, videos and more that address concerns, questions and interests of the local community you serve. The more accurately and completely this content fulfills the wants and needs of your local audience, the more your site will be viewed as an authority (hence visited more regularly!) by people and search engines alike.
Maximize Reviews
- Reviews, especially for local businesses, are incredibly valuable. Not only do reviews optimize your Google My Business presence, but positive reviews are one of the biggest drivers of new business. Research from a BrightLocal 2017 Consumer Review Survey showed that 85% of customers believe online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- Because reliability and trustworthiness are so important to individuals or families seeking home healthcare, positive reviews and testimonials from those who’ve worked with you are one of your most valuable assets. Encourage customers to leave reviews on Yelp and other platforms, and consider prominently displaying glowing reviews on your website homepage.
Optimize for Mobile
- People are increasingly using their mobile devices when searching for information – last year Google announced that more searches are now conducted on mobile devices than on desktops. As such, it’s vital that your site is mobile-friendly in it’s design and presentation of information. According to stats from HubSpot Marketing, 61% of mobile searches are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site.
Create separate Webpages for Different Services
- Since the goal is to establish yourself as an authority in a given area (or areas), if you can segment your services, and target each of them individually, you will have better results within search engines like Google that are searching out an authoritative source on a particular topic.
- Say your facility provides care from licensed healthcare professionals who provide medical treatment, as well as care by professional caregivers who provide assistance with daily activities in the home. You’d want to consider building separate webpages outlining each of these services.
Categorised in: The Shoreline Blog
This post was written by Shoreline Content Team
