As a cosmetic surgeon, it’s great when patients recognize your fantastic work from across the country and around the world. But at the end of the day, it’s the people back home who matter. Local patients are more likely to schedule an appointment because convenience matters. They want to get their work done at the best plastic surgeon—but not if they’re 1000 miles away. You’ll get the greatest ROI on your marketing budget when you focus here. But small practices like yours often struggle to achieve the precision necessary to localize their presence.
A locally optimized website overcomes these barriers. With these local SEO website strategies for plastic surgeons, we’ll show you how it’s done.
All About Local SEO
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of strategies and tactics that help your website become more visible in local searches. This localized presence means that you are more likely to see your website and online presence more often without wasting your budget on people who are too far away to be considered likely patients.
It involves using online tools to track your website’s performance in your local area and capturing opportunities to appear in the most relevant local searches. While search engines like Google give preference to the local plastic surgeon within their area, you still have to take some steps to optimize your “localness”.
Several factors influence how visible a website can become, such as:
- Topics and terms on your website (in the form of keywords)
- Online reviews from people in your community
- Engagement within the local community
- Consistent citations
- Google Business Profile for Google Search and Google Maps
Local SEO website strategies for plastic surgeons are built around these factors. Using them helps you drive more traffic to your website and increases your potential to convert traffic into patients coming through your doors.
Building Content Around Real Searches
Keyword research tells you what locals search for related to your brand and services. It involves:
- Using a paid local keyword research tool to find the most relevant local topics to cover.
- Looking for higher volume lower completion terms to target first
- Finding relevant related terms to work naturally into your content
- Finding common questions about the topic that you can answer directly
- Using Google or a paid search tool to learn what types of content already rank well in those searches
- Developing an outline and content plan to produce content that will perform well in that search
Since this is local SEO, focus on terms that communicate where you are, like “plastic surgeon in [Your City]” or “cosmetic surgery near [a landmark].” You can apply the same technique for specific services, so why not brow lifts in [Your City]?
Of course, try to mix things up and make it sound as natural as possible. Ultimately, the location information should be helpful first.
On-Page SEO Optimization
On-page optimization includes what you do on your website to improve its visibility, click-through rate, and conversions.
Of these, meta-information is critically important. This text doesn’t appear directly on your website but helps search engines understand what the page is about.
Title Tags <title> are inserted into the code to communicate that certain text should be displayed as the title on the page. The title is the most important text on the page since it summarizes what the page is about.
Header tags (e.g, <H2> Text Heading </H2>) surround headings to make that content stand out on a page for skimmability. These also help search engines understand the structure of the page. This enhanced understanding can help search engines find relevant information more easily. They can then guide searchers to that section or display a summary in information cards or voice search.
Meta titles and meta descriptions appear with your website address in search results. Using words that communicate the value of clicking on your website can increase searchers’ click-through rates.
Use local keywords naturally in this meta information and on the page. Remember, if keywords make something hard to read or obnoxious, that defeats the purpose. Find that balance that puts people first.
Speaking of people, it’s time to commit to delivering an amazing user experience on all devices. Over half of the search traffic is now mobile. If your website can’t load quickly and perform well, it will be devalued by search engines because it’s annoying to people.
Localize Your Content
Once you’ve determined what people in your area are looking for through keyword research, find ways to create great content around those themes. This could include blog posts about local events, news, places, volunteer opportunities, collaborations with local businesses, or patient success stories (HIPAA-compliant, of course).
Develop dedicated location pages for each city or town you serve. Include clear contact information and embed a Google Map to make finding your practice easy. Not only is the one of the local SEO website strategies for plastic surgeons you shouldn’t be without. It’s better for people. You will have fewer patients calling the wrong office or arriving at the wrong clinic because contact information is specific to the location.
Once you’ve taken care of these core location pages, it’s time to write blog posts that address local interests and concerns. This positions you as a trusted expert in your community.
Showcase testimonials and success stories from local patients while being sure to mention their locations. This builds credibility and encourages new patients to trust your services. Future patients begin to see themselves in those who share their stories on your website.
We have one more local tip for you. Use images that reflect your local area. Landmarks, statues, iconic buildings, and more further solidify your localness.
This helps local visitors feel a connection to your practice that you can build on through your website and social media experience.
Build Local Citations
Citations are online mentions of your business that include your NAP (Name Address Phone). Each citation acts as a trust signal reinforcing your location with Google, building its trust that you are who you say you are. Checking these citations across platforms strengthens this signal.
Now, all reputable local directories can contribute to these signals, but some are very important. You should prioritize these and spend more time filling them out with not just NAP but other helpful business information like services, pricing ranges, hours, Images, video, and locally relevant content. These vital locations would be:
- Yelp
- Google Business
- Healthgrades
Connect your website to your business listings on these key directories. This reinforces your local presence and gives patients a direct way to visit your site from the review site. Start requesting reviews on these platforms. That’s more high-value traffic coming your way!
Next, in line of importance, you have social media sites. Ensure your social media profiles link back to your website. This drives traffic and signals to search engines that your site is active and relevant.
Sculpt Your Site with Structured Data
A search engine can’t physically see a website. It understands the information as an endless string of text unless you add structure. H2s can help. But you can take this further with structured data.
Schema markup helps search engines understand your content so that they can display it in the most useful way. For example, you could use bullet points to communicate the days and hours you’re open. But with structured data, search engines can display this information visually in both search engine results and key locations like your Google Business profile and Google Maps.
For local businesses, this means better search result snippets and increased visibility.
Did you know there is even Schema markup designed specifically for local businesses in different industries? It allows search engines to help you communicate industry-relevant and localized information visually. This can include information about services, specialties, location differences, and patient reviews.
Monitor and Analyze Website Performance
Use Google Analytics to track your website’s performance. Monitor user behavior, traffic sources, and conversion rates. Create custom reports to highlight the website metrics most important for website and business success.
Through this investigation, you learn how visitors interact with your site. Identify which pages are most popular and find pages you could improve to get better results. In the beginning of Local SEO website strategies for plastic surgeons, you’ll be creating new locally-relevant content. But as you progress, you may begin to revisit existing content to get the highest ROI out of your content creation budget.
Local SEO Website Strategies for Plastic Surgeons
Optimizing your website for localness is essential for reaching your business goals. It ensures you’re spending your time and marketing budget reaching people who are likely patients because they’re nearby. By implementing these strategies, you can improve your local search ranking and drive high-value traffic to your website. Curious about the easiest way to start implementing these strategies? Attend a Surefire Local demo.