There are several ways that your business can improve its search engine rankings and increase its visibility in the SERPs (search engine results pages):
Blog Posts
Look, blog posts are an extremely important part of SEO strategy. I tell my clients – to increase qualified leads and revenue, consistently increase the number of helpful and relevant blog posts on their websites. Blog posts help:
- Increase organic traffic to your website (organic means unpaid visitors who found you on the internet)
- Generate qualified leads of people searching for your specific services
- Increase visibility and footprint in SERPs (after all, there are over 2 BILLION websites on the web)
- Generate word of mouth marketing, because posts are shareable
- Increase brand trust & awareness by answering questions, providing tips and how-to content
For an in-depth reason on why blogs are important for showing in SERPs (and why blog posts are VITAL to your business), read the case study: Significant Drop in Calls from Patients/Clients: SEO Case Study Here’s a preview of the case study – the graph shows a tank in website traffic that was revealed during a website audit.
Optimize your website for local SEO
Make sure that your website is optimized for local search by including your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on every page, as well as adding your business to online directories like Google Business Profile.
Use local keywords
Part of optimizing for local SEO, is using local keywords. Include local keywords in your website content and meta tags to signal to search engines that your business serves a specific geographic area. For example, if you are a plastic surgeon in Atlanta, you could include keywords like “plastic surgeon in Atlanta” and “Atlanta plastic surgeons” in your website content.
Get listed in online directories
In addition to adding your business to Google Business Profile, consider getting listed in other online directories like Yelp and Yellow Pages. These listings can help improve your local search visibility and drive traffic to your website. There are hundreds of online directories – so concentrate on the top 25 and slowly incorporate others that are important in your line of work.
Encourage customer reviews
Online reviews from customers can help improve your local search rankings and provide valuable social proof to potential customers. Encourage your satisfied patients/clients to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile listing, HealthGrades, and other review sites.
Circling back to keywords, prompt your patients/clients to use keywords in their reviews “best plastic surgeon in Atlanta”, “how to lose love handles”. Keywords specific to your business help you rank higher than generic reviews like, “thank you, 5 stars”. This type of generic review doesn’t help boost you for specific keywords in SERPs. (below is a sample from google reviews – top of the reviews area show the keywords people often mention)
Build local backlinks
Acquiring backlinks from local websites and organizations can also help improve your local search visibility. Look for opportunities to get listed on local chamber of commerce sites, community directories, and other relevant local websites.
By implementing these strategies, you can improve your website’s search engine rankings and increase its visibility in the SERPs.
