Everyone knows that regardless of what type of business you’re running, search engine optimization (SEO) plays a pivotal role in connecting with new patients. But if yours is a professional services organization like a plastic surgeon, leaning into local SEO in particular is not a recommendation. It is a requirement.
Consider the fact that according to one recent study, the number of “open now” and “near me” searches have increased by literally 400% over the last few years. These types of local and organic searches taken together will make up roughly 69% of all digital traffic that you will receive.
Also know that when someone performs a local search that returns your plastic surgery practice on a mobile device in particular, about 80% of those searches will turn into paying customers.
Of the many techniques that you can use to localize your online presence, relying heavily on the power of visual content is among the most important. Human beings are visual learners – they always have been, and they always will be. In fact, another study revealed that about 91% of consumers prefer visuals more than just plain text alone.
That’s why using as many optimized images and especially videos in your localization efforts are pivotal. Don’t just say that you operate in a particular area. Show people using as many visuals as you can. For a plastic surgeon that is admittedly dealing with a lot of competition, this won’t just help attract a new local customer base. It will help retain them as well, turning them into a loyal army of advocates before you know it.
Understanding the Role of Visuals in Local SEO
According to one recent study, about 46% of the almost 8.5 billion searches happening on Google every day are local. A purchase of some kind tends to follow almost 30% of those searches – meaning that local SEO is absolutely something you need to pay attention to as a plastic surgeon.
So why does this matter within the context of visual marketing? Because content with visuals is twice as likely to be shared as those without. The more something is shared, the more people engage with it – and the longer they engage with it, too. That helps to increase your rank in the local search results, which brings new customers directly to your door.
If visuals are better than no visuals, you must also accept that high-quality visuals are better than “any old type of visual content.” How are we defining “high-quality visuals” in this context? Through images, videos, and other types of collateral with a decidedly local angle. This is why Visual SEO strategies for plastic surgeons are so significant.
Website & Blog Optimization Strategies
In a general sense, you should always be uploading high-resolution, relevant images on your website wherever possible. Again, plastic surgery is an inherently visual field. This is why “Before/After” photos make such a big impact – they show, not just tell, people the direct results you’re capable of achieving for them.
You should also include photos of your practice and your employees on areas like your:
- Home page.
- “About Us” page.
- Service pages.
- “Contact Us” page.
Leaning into the visual aspect of things, always create a visually appealing and locally relevant website design. Try to incorporate local colors if you can. If you were in Columbus, for example, you would lean heavily into a red theme because of the nearby Ohio State University.
Along the same lines, incorporate local landmarks, events, and even faces in visual content as possible. It all helps to establish you less as a plastic surgeon in a general sense and more as someone with a strong local presence.
Truly, there are countless opportunities to visually establish your local presence if you know where to look. Did you just participate in a great local charity event? Write a blog post about it and include a few videos from the event itself. Create visual content – including photos and videos – surrounding as many local stories and events as possible.
Leveraging videos in particular is a great way to enhance your storytelling and brand personality. If someone can hear the tone in your voice or see the look on your face as you tell a story, it becomes that much more compelling.
While doing this, make sure to optimize both file names and meta descriptions with location-specific keywords. The videos themselves can increase engagement, while the file names and meta descriptions can help with on-page SEO.
Directory Listings
Directory listings are another great opportunity to upload visually engaging images, including a lot of the same photos that probably live on your website.
You can showcase your plastic surgery services with photos of specialists, satisfied patients, and (again) “Before/After” photos. You can show off the friendly faces of your customer support staff. Photos and videos can also show off the quality of your skill.
As you do this, just make sure that you’re practicing consistent branding in visual elements across all directories. You should use the same logo on every directory, for example. Using multiple logos or other branding elements will do little more than cause confusion you want to avoid.
Google Business Profile
Considering the fact that most people will find your plastic surgery practice via Google, it stands to reason that you’d want to pay attention to something else they’re likely to find – your Google Business profile. This appears alongside search results for your business in Google, making it as easy as possible for people to find and contact you.
Be sure to upload videos featuring your business and your employees around local iconography and especially at local events. For an added, personal flair, you should also encourage customers to include as many photos as possible in any reviews they leave you.
Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are already built for visual storytelling. Therefore, it makes sense that you’d want to lean into them as much as possible as you work to create visually appealing posts that are tailored to your local community.
You could take a number of short videos at that great local event and upload them in real-time to Facebook, while waiting a few days to edit them together into a longer one for your website. You could also encourage customers (and your community members as a whole) to engage with your plastic surgery practice by sharing photos and videos about your business.
Online Advertising
Even in terms of online advertising, you can still showcase your location by incorporating local lingo, landmarks, and other things that only those who live in a particular area would actually reference. You can get local both in the language you use and especially in the imagery you use for your ads.
You should run those ads on Google, Facebook, and as many other platforms as you can based on your budget.
Measure and Track Success
As is true with most elements of digital marketing, this type of localization through visual content will require you to prioritize continuous improvement. There are always things that you could be doing better, and you should track engagement metrics on visual content so that you can find out exactly what they are.
The bonus is that you can properly analyze the impact your visual content has on the customer journey and the long-term behavior of your audience members. Is there a particular type of content that people resonate with and that helps them build trust faster than average? You can easily adjust your visual content strategies based on performance data, but only if you’re tracking these types of metrics in the first place.
Surefire Local: Harnessing Visual Content to Your Advantage
As a plastic surgeon, you’re already operating in a field that is more visual than most. You could write 10,000 words about what a particular procedure does and what it helps someone achieve, and none of them will be as effective as one simple “Before/After” photo.
That’s why you need to incorporate as many high-resolution, relevant images into your website and blog strategies as possible. You need to apply the same logic to your directory listings and your Google Business Profile. Your social media channels and online advertising should all be filled with images that relate to not just your business in a general sense, but the important contributions you’re making right in your own backyard.
You need to capitalize on any opportunity you have to make a true connection with your target audience and visual content is one of the most effective, lasting ways to accomplish precisely that.
At Surefire Local, we pride ourselves on our ability to help small businesses like yours establish their online presence. We do this by creating local signals across various platforms and profiles, making it easier for new customers to find them. Surefire Local is an all-in-one marketing automation platform that can absolutely help you accomplish everything outlined above in terms of visual content creation, all from one easy-to-use solution.
It’s a tool that also includes a variety of other helpful features, too, including ones like:
- Website and local SEO optimizations. In addition to the aforementioned visual content, we can help you create geo-tagged collateral that is published on your website, your blog, and via your social media profiles.
Directory management. It’s never been easier to claim, edit, and publish new content (like photos and other visual collateral) to more than 80 different online directory listing platforms. - Content marketing. Create locally targeted and relevant content of all types that will be published on your blog, to your Google Business profile, and across social media.
- Social media management. Simplify the process of scheduling posts, tracking all essential engagement metrics, and responding to comments left by real customers.
- Local online advertising. Once we’ve defined your service area, the Surefire Local platform can help you get the right message in front of the right prospects at exactly the right time.
- Analytics and reporting. You’ll have a newfound level of transparency into your marketing performance so that you can see exactly what you’re getting in return for every dollar you’re spending.
If you’re worried that this might still be too complicated, don’t be. Not only do we provide educational resources like webinars and blogs to help you master all things local online marketing, but our AI-generated recommendations will tell you specific actions you should take to see the improvements you’re after.
If this sounds like the opportunity you’ve been looking for to take your plastic surgeon practice to an entirely new audience, great – click here to attend a Surefire Local demo in your area. If you have any additional questions about visual SEO strategies for plastic surgeons, or if you’d just like to discuss your own needs in a bit more detail, you can also contact us today.