According to a recent study, about 97% of people say they learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. Not only that, but, about 88% of searches for a local business on a mobile device like a phone or tablet result in either a call or a visit within just 24 hours.
In an increasingly competitive field like dermatology, it’s not about reaching the biggest and broadest audience with your digital marketing efforts. It’s about targeting the right one – meaning the people who live and work in the same area you do. The type of people who were most likely to become an ideal patient in the first place. Not someone who lives a state away that you were only able to reach because you got a “great rate” on an ad network that ultimately resulted in impressions that weren’t worth anything.
Localization is how you do this, but there is an important caveat to be aware of. Just like your dermatology practice is unique unto itself, you must acknowledge that no two audiences are created equally. You have to play to the strengths that make each one unique to attract their attention. That’s why there’s no “one size fits all” approach to localization.
So how do you make sure you’re putting together the most sensible, cost-effective localization strategy that generates results that only get better over time? Local SEO analytics for dermatologists can help you accomplish all this and more.
Understanding Local Consumer Behavior
First, it’s always important to make an effort to analyze and understand local customer behavior and trends. Again, every audience is going to be different so you can’t assume that what you know to be true about one will automatically translate to another. There may be similarities, but to be certain that you’re making choices based on the best information, you need to dive deeper.
Relying on local SEO analytics for dermatologists will help you identify popular local search queries so that you understand exactly how prospects are finding your business. That way, you can begin tailoring the content you’re creating based on those local customer preferences. Make sure they have as much of the content they like exactly when they need it to attract the maximum amount of attention.
Set Goals and KPIs
It’s equally important that you define what “success” looks like within the context of your dermatology practice. Do you want to increase the number of check-ins per month? Are you trying to increase the number of social media posts? How about the total number of photos that are being uploaded to your Google Business profile? Maybe you want to increase the number of new reviews that you’re getting.
The actual goal itself doesn’t matter – just that you know what “success” means in this situation. Once you do, you can identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to localization that will show you how you’re really doing. Establish measurable objectives and as new information comes in, make adjustments that keep you moving in that direction.
Track Local SEO Performance
Another powerful way to put analytics to work for you as a dermatologist involves using these tools to monitor local search rankings.
Always be proactive about measuring organic traffic from local searches to get a good idea of how you’re really doing. Based on the insight those analytical tools are providing you, adjust your SEO strategies. Your performance in terms of relevant local keywords should be getting better over time and if it isn’t, look at what you’ve recently changed to see what went wrong.
Analyze Customer Engagement
The chasm between a prospective customer and an engaged customer is a deep one, indeed. Because of that, you’ll want to track user engagement on localized content whenever you can.
It’s not enough for them to simply be aware that your localized dermatology content exists. Are they engaging with it in the way that you need them to? This is the type of question analytics can help you answer.
Likewise, monitor customer interactions on social media and review platforms to see how people really feel about your dermatology practice. Analyze factors like sentiment, click-through rates for local promotions, newsletters, ad campaigns, and more to get a better idea of campaign performance as a whole.
Assess Local Advertising ROI
Local SEO analytics for dermatologists can also be an invaluable way to measure the effectiveness of your local advertising campaigns. Based on the amount of money you’re spending on your local advertising and the revenue you’re generating because of it, you’re in an excellent position to calculate your larger ROI (return on investment).
If that ROI isn’t ticking upward over time, even slowly, something isn’t right and you need to address it. Over the long term, allocate your budget based on the campaigns that are performing the best.
Implement Geotargeting Strategies
Leveraging analytics can also help you be more precise than ever with your geotargeting. Sure, you may be targeting specific zip codes – but are they the right ones that are generating the customers that your dermatology practice needs? Analytics will tell you.
You should also tailor your promotions to specific local demographics to maximize engagement and reach as much as possible. This is a great way to do so without overspending on broad audiences. Your message is being exposed to a smaller number of people, but you’re generating a higher percentage of customers.
Budget-Friendly Adjustments
Finally, always use local SEO analytics for dermatologists to make cost-effective changes that are based on what the numbers are telling you. Analytical tools help tell a very clear story. It is absolutely in your best interest to listen to it.
Avoid marketing waste through data-driven decision-making. As you do, make sure you’re remaining agile with your budget allocation. If the analytics present an opportunity to fix a mistake or to improve your campaign overall, you need to be able to capitalize on it quickly. That means staying agile whenever possible.
Surefire Local: Using Analytics to Your Advantage
More than anything, it’s important to understand that localizing your dermatology practice’s online marketing is something you do slowly over time. It’s not quite like flipping a light switch, so to speak. Yes, there are certain steps you can take immediately – like using location-specific keywords in any content you publish to your blog. But you need to see this kind of thing for what it really is: laying a foundation.
Analytics will quickly prove invaluable in your quest to localize your online presence without actually wasting any of your hard-earned marketing dollars. Very quickly, you’ll start to see which techniques are working and which ones aren’t. You won’t have to guess or rely on “instinct.” You’ll know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, and you’ll already be in an excellent position to do something about it.
Increasing visibility for your dermatology practice in specific zip codes. Generating better and longer-lasting customer engagement. Enabling superior growth for your dermatology practice. These are all things you can accomplish through effective local online marketing. You just need to choose the right analytics tools in order to do it.
To that end, there are a number of options available to you including Google Analytics, popular SEO tools like SEMRush, and all-in-one marketing platforms like Surefire Local. The number one lesson is that you should select tools based on your business goals and budget. No matter which tool you select, prioritize having a user-friendly interface that is easy enough for anybody to learn and use in your business.
Google Analytics will help you understand the traffic coming into your dermatology practice’s website, for example. But to act on that insight, you’ll have to go elsewhere. SEO tools are great for precisely that – search engine optimization. To handle anything else, you’ll need separate tools.
Surefire Local was designed as a one-stop shop for helping small businesses like your dermatology practice with all your localized online marketing needs. Since our inception, we’ve dedicated ourselves to helping smaller enterprises establish their online presence by creating local signals across various platforms and profiles. The techniques may vary, but the goal remains the same: we want to make it as easy as possible for people to find you, no matter what.
We do this in a variety of ways, including but not limited to ones like:
- Website/local SEO optimizations. Surefire Local can help you create geotagged content that will feel right at home on your website, your blog, and your social media profiles like Facebook and Instagram.
- Online review management. Want to get more reviews for your dermatology practice? Send review requests effortlessly. You can also write responses to reviews and properly analyze brand sentiment to help learn more about what real people think about the work you’re doing.
- Directories management. From a single place you can claim, edit, and even publish new content (think: photos and special offers) for your dermatology practice across more than 80 different online directory listings platforms.
- Content marketing. Surefire Local puts the tools at your fingertips to create locally targeted and highly relevant content for your blog, your Google Business Profile, those aforementioned business directories, and more. You can even publish content directly to social media.
- Local online advertising. Our platform gives you the tools necessary to design ads that will attract only the attention of customers who are already in your dermatology practice’s service area.
- Analytics and reporting. As previously mentioned, the right analytics tools can give you the type of transparency into your campaign performance that you wouldn’t have otherwise. You’ll know beyond the shadow of a doubt how much revenue those marketing dollars are generating and our AI-powered recommendations will even give you specific recommendations about how to improve things moving forward.
If all this sounds complicated, don’t worry – we also provide educational resources like webinars, blogs, and more that help small business owners like yourself learn and master all things online marketing.
So if you’re interested in learning even more about local SEO analytics for dermatologists, or if you’d like to overhaul your own approach to digital marketing but aren’t quite sure where to begin, please don’t delay – contact us today. You can also click here to attend a Surefire Local demo in your area to see what our innovative platform can do for you.