Veterinary practices often connect with new clients in a number of ways. Many clients may come to you through referral traffic, for example, after being recommended by someone they know or trust like a friend, dog rescue, or breeder. 

But what about the clients who are searching on Google to try to find a practice to take great care of their pets? These clients are still up for grabs, and the practice with the best and highest-rated website is likely to be the one who gets their business. 

This is why search engine optimization (SEO) is so important. By consistently taking the right steps on your site and overall online presence, you can increase the chance that your practice’s site will rank well for relevant searches. This can bring traffic to your site, and new clients through the door. 

While SEO does require ongoing effort, let’s take a look at 4 steps you can take right now to optimize your veterinary site for increased SERP rankings and a boost in online traffic. 

Conduct Thorough Keyword Research & Optimize Your Content With It 

Keyword research is a crucial part of search engine optimization. It will allow you to identify low-competition, high-volume keywords that you can then optimize your content with to hopefully rank for.

You can use a keyword research tool like Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find valuable keywords. If you research keywords like “Orlando vet,” for example, you’ll see a list of relevant searches that show you exactly what phrases people are using to search for services like yours. 

Using location-based keywords with your city or region is typically a good call unless you offer telehealth training services. 

Once you find a list of strong keywords, you can optimize your content by doing the following:

• Adding keywords to different site pages and mentioning it in the site copy. Use the same primary keyword on the page’s meta description. 
• Including keywords in alternative text for images.
• Adding keywords into your page titles and tags. 

Improve Your Google My Business Profile 

Your Google My Business (GMB) profile is a listing that you can create to appear in Google’s local directory. You’ll enter information like a description of your business, contact information, and location. This will help you appear in local searches, and can drive traffic to your site accordingly.

To get more visibility with GMB, take the following steps:

• Choose the right category for your business on Google to ensure you come up for the right searches.
• Include high-intent keywords in the “About” section of your brand.
• Collect as many reviews as you can from existing clients. Listings with a larger number of higher rankings will get priority with GMB, and it will also attract user attention, too. 

Create Valuable Resources 

Content marketing is all about creating valuable resources that would bring your audience to your site and start to build a relationship with them. Content marketing can include writing blog posts, creating lead magnets like a checklist of what new pet owners need to purchase, and strong FAQ sections on your site to answer questions like “what age should I spay my dog?”

For best results, keep the following in mind: 

• Content marketing should take long-tail keywords into consideration, like “why does my dog need a heartworm preventative” or “best brands of cat food.” These terms often have lower competition, making them easier to rank for.
• Your content should always match search intent. Don’t try to twist a keyword to mean something you want just because it’s got a high search volume; it won’t be useful to readers. 
• Link to relevant pages on your site in your blog post to encourage potential clients to get in touch.

Monitor & Improve Traffic with Google Analytics Insights 

If you want to drive more traffic to your veterinary website, it only makes sense that you need to know what traffic you already have and what’s bringing it to you.

Google Analytics is wildly helpful here. It’s a free analytics tool that you can quickly install on your site with just a few clicks. It will show you how much traffic you’re getting, which channels are bringing in the traffic, and even what keywords are bringing you the largest share of your traffic. 

Pay close attention to your analytics. If you are only seeing traffic from a few keywords, it may mean that you need to re-optimize your site with new terms. You might also realize that your GMB listing is driving more traffic than standard SERP clicks. Optimize what’s working, and try to improve what isn’t.

Looking to drive more traffic to your veterinary website with organic SEO traffic? Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help.