5 Ways a Local SEO Expert Can Help Your Health Site Rank

The world of online marketing is opening doors far and wide for companies and consumers to make new connections.

A user can easily get on a search engine and within seconds find an industry expert in a variety of health specialties. However, it doesn’t necessarily help a user to get results for businesses miles away, as in another city or even another country.

This is why a local SEO expert is crucial to making search results the best they can be.

For users, it ensures a search comes up with the most relevant opportunities on the web.

For businesses and entrepreneurs, local SEO offers a direct line of communication to an immediate market. It boosts the chance to create brand loyalty and conversion rates by letting companies meet users where they are, virtually and geographically.

A Traditional SEO Provider vs. A Local SEO Expert

The main distinction between traditional and local search is content vs. location.

Traditional SEO providers will look at your industry in its entirety. They will analyze big competitors like worldwide providers or established experts, no matter where their brick and mortars are. This is because content is key, and industry content drives trends.

On the other hand, a local SEO expert focuses on an immediate area. He or she works to create engaging content based on a specific market.

In this case, geography is crucial to anything from deciding keywords to analyzing the competition. It narrows the focus for an SEO strategy, and the more focused, the better the results.

The following are five ways a local SEO expert can help build your SEO strategy and improve your health site’s performance.

1. Claim Your Business Listing

Google My Business is the free tool your health site needs in order to reach local consumers.

Optimizing your profile gives you a chance to appear on Google’s three-pack. The three-pack is a list of the three most relevant search results based on location and other information.

Google My Business allows your local SEO expert to add an address, contact number, photos, and reviews to your profile.

When all the information is uploaded, the listing feels almost like a company tour to the user.

Web visitors are able to gather a quick understanding of who you are and what you do, thanks to all the resources provided at the click of a button. This listing allows your health site to showcase your establishment’s quality of care.

Data ranging from your available operating hours to recent reviews on your health services help paint a picture for potential clients.

2. Write Targeted Ad Copy

Appearing on an organic search result is one thing, but enticing consumers to choose your listing is another.

This is why targeting your ad’s copy as much as possible is crucial, especially for local SEO success.

An ad’s copy includes the title and description.

Your title needs to be as direct as possible. Your local SEO expert will help you get to the point without wasting space on unnecessary words like “Home” or “Blog” – which are often the titles of the section your link is under.

Instead, you can incorporate local terms to show how relevant your ad is.

For instance, if you are a health provider in London, mention the kind of practice you do and include “London” as well.

3. Utilize Links Better Than Before

Links are what all SEO strategies come back to.

No matter how near or far, the kind of industry or the overall goal, the only way an online consumer has access to you is through links.

Some companies make the mistake of only using internal links on their site. This helps users navigate from learning about the company to scrolling through specific services.

However, a local SEO expert knows including your link on popular blogs and industry sites can significantly improve performance.

For example, featuring your health site on a page like UKHealthAlert.com can redirect users to your site. Often times, this increases the level of trust users have from the start and gets them excited to see what you have to offer.

4. Track Competitors

One of the main ways to build your SEO strategy is to see what competitors are already doing.

This can quickly become a confusing, daunting task when looking at all the health sites out there. However, if you narrow your comparison to what the trends in your area are, the process is much more effective.

A local SEO expert can do his or her job much faster when the list of competitors goes from worldwide to area-based. They can get an in-depth look at what nearby health offices are doing and better determine what your site needs to do to catch up.

Plus, having a geographical barrier on which competitors to focus on improves the long-term planning process.

On a global scale, new companies pop up left and right. This requires a higher sense of urgency and awareness when tracking organic search performance against other health sites.

However, it is not as common for new health offices to frequently open in your region. This lowers the need to be on the lookout for competing sites, which allows for more time to focus on your site’s success.

5. Choose Keywords with Proximity in Mind

Local SEO experts understand the micro-moments happening in your area.

They know keywords go beyond what competitors are doing or what industry standards are. Keyword optimization can be as simple as adding “near me”, or ” in (insert city or region).”

Adding this small detail can have large successes.

It responds to the immediate need of consumers to know, buy, or go somewhere in the near future.

This type of SEO strategy feels as natural for the advertiser as it does for the audience. It is a direct result of what we do every day — look for immediate satisfaction and convenient options for our needs.