As more patients turn to search engines to find and evaluate medical practices, SEO for chiropractors is critical to improving your online visibility and filling your appointment calendar. Effective SEO strategies can help you prominently appear in both map results and organic search results, ensuring your practice is the first one prospective patients see when searching for your chiropractic services.
So, what exactly is SEO, and where does it fall in line with other best practices in digital marketing for chiropractors?
At Sagapixel, we’ve helped chiropractic practices like yours fill their patient pipeline with qualified leads and expand their business through organic search traffic. In this article, we’re going to break down the top insights we’ve learned throughout the years to help your chiropractic practice thrive.
If you’d like to speak with someone about SEO for your chiropractic office, click here.
What Exactly Is SEO For Chiropractors?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a marketing strategy that enhances your chiropractic business’ visibility on search engines like Google. When you successfully optimize your website with SEO best practices, your website will appear higher in the Search Engine Results Pages (also known as SERPs). In other words, a successful SEO strategy for chiropractors will ensure your practice is among the first listings users see on Google.
When you implement a solid SEO strategy, your business will no longer need to rely solely on costly ads or patient referrals to expand your practice. With maximized visibility on the SERPs, your practice will naturally draw in more qualified patients through organic traffic.
The Three Pillars of SEO for Chiropractors
There are three primary pillars to any solid SEO strategy, which will help you build trust, authority, and relevance with both your target patient and the search engine’s algorithm. These foundational pillars are the driving factor behind where your page will rank on the SERPs.
- On-Page SEO: On-page SEO, also sometimes called on-site SEO, is all about optimizing the elements of your pages to improve their ranking in search results. It’s like giving search engines and users clear instructions on what your content is all about.
- Off-Page SEO: Off-page SEO refers to all the activities you do outside your website to improve its search ranking. These include link building, social media engagement, and overall brand awareness.
- Technical SEO: Technical SEO is all about optimizing the behind-the-scenes workings of your website to make it search engine friendly. It involves making your website easy for search engines to find, crawl, understand, and rank.
While crafting a website optimized for search engines is crucial, it’s important to remember that you’re not just catering to algorithms. The user experience (UX) is equally important. High-quality content that resonates with your target patient will transform passive visitors into new patients.
Strive to create informative, engaging content that compels users to linger and explore further. A well-structured website with clear navigation and fast loading times fosters a positive UX, encouraging users to return for more.
How Does SEO Work for Chiropractic Businesses?
SEO for chiropractors plays a crucial role in ensuring their practice surfaces at the forefront of local search results. Here’s how SEO functions to benefit chiropractic businesses:
- Increased Visibility: SEO strategies like keyword optimization and local listings management enhance a chiropractic practice’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). When potential patients search for “chiropractor near me” or specific chiropractic services, a well-optimized website and Google Business Profile are more likely to appear at the top, significantly increasing the chances of them booking an appointment with you.
- Targeted Reach: SEO allows chiropractors to target a highly relevant audience. By incorporating location-specific keywords and tailoring content to address common chiropractic concerns, you connect with individuals actively seeking chiropractic care in your area. This targeted approach translates into a higher conversion rate, meaning more website visitors will convert into paying patients for your practice.
- Building Trust and Credibility: Effective SEO goes beyond just ranking high. Optimizing your online presence with accurate information, positive patient reviews, and high-quality content fosters trust and credibility with potential patients. This establishes your practice as a reliable source of chiropractic care within the local community, making it more likely for searchers to choose you over competitors with a weaker online presence.
First, you need to understand a few key things to build a comprehensive SEO strategy for your chiropractic businesses, which will boost visibility, target highly relevant customers, and build authority in your space.
Understanding Your Target Patient
Before you rank highly on Google, chiropractors need to understand how their target patient is searching for their services. You could rank at position #1 on the SERPs for dozens of queries that will bring in traffic to your site, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those users are going to convert into paying patients.
For example, a query like “how to relieve back pain fast at home” has a monthly search volume of 3.7K. Ranking at position 1 for this query could potentially bring in thousands of visitors to your website every single month. But are they likely to convert into regular patients? Probably not.
Additionally, understanding who your patients are and the services they need is the cornerstone of effective SEO for chiropractors. Are they athletes looking for injury prevention? Are they older adults seeking pain relief?
Tailoring your practice’s website to the behavior of your target patient will help increase qualified patient traffic and convert users into regular patients.
Top Tip: Develop Patient Personas To Help Target A Precise Market
Creating detailed personas of your ideal patients can enhance your marketing efforts. These personas, or fictional characters, should reflect various demographics, interests, and common conditions treated. These personas will help you take the abstract idea of your target patient and turn it into something concrete. It will help you understand how your prospective patients are searching the web and how they will utilize your chiropractic services.
Common personas for chiropractors may include an office worker who sits at a desk all day, suffering from back and neck pain or an athlete who may need regular check-ins for injury prevention. While these two characters will require very different services from your chiropractic practice, you’ll want to create content that directly addresses the needs and concerns of both groups.
Conducting Keyword Research
Keyword research is arguably one of the most important parts of your SEO strategy. Your keyword research will help you understand exactly how users are searching for your chiropractic services. Your ideal patients could be searching for specific chiropractic services you offer or looking for solutions to specific pain points they are facing.
By conducting research with tools like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner, you can find the best keywords for chiropractors. In turn, this will allow you to optimize your key pages for specific queries that will get you in front of your ideal target customer on the SERPs.
What Keywords Should Chiropractors Target?
First and foremost, chiropractors should focus on bottom of the funnel keywords. In short, this means targeting queries that are the most likely to convert users into real patients. Some examples of bottom of the funnel keywords could be “chiropractor [City Name]”, “back pain treatment near me”, or “sciatica relief [City Name].” Users searching for these queries likely already know that they need to see a chiropractor.
After you have created pages targeting the relevant bottom of funnel keywords, the next priority should be targeting both middle and top of funnel keywords. These keywords are usually searched by users who are still on your buyer’s journey, but they have less intent to convert into regular patients.
However, that doesn’t mean that top and middle of funnel keywords aren’t important. Creating this content for your site can help drive discoverability, build brand awareness, and establish yourself as a trusted authority in the chiropractic field. It will also help Google identify your site as a go-to resource for chiropractor-related queries and help boost your overall rankings.
Some examples of middle and top of funnel keywords for a chiropractic practice could include “why does my back hurt when I breathe”, “How often should you go to the chiropractor” or “Do posture correctors work.” These are all high volume keywords that still fall on a chirpractor’s buyer’s journey. However, visitors from these queries may not be ready to convert into patients quite yet.
On-Site SEO Best Practices for Chiropractors
On-site SEO refers to all of the optimization techniques that you apply directly to your chiropractic website to improve its search ranking for relevant keywords. In simpler terms, it’s about making sure search engines like Google can easily understand your website’s content and recognize it as a valuable resource for people searching for chiropractic care.
By implementing effective on-site SEO strategies, you increase the chances of your website appearing at the top of search results when potential patients in your area look for chiropractic services. This translates into more website traffic and, ultimately, more patients for your practice.
Some best practices for on-site SEO for chiropractors include:
- Targeting local keywords
- Creating high quality content that is on your buyer’s journey
- Optimizing title tags, H1s, and meta descriptions for the right target keywords
- Utilizing internal linking
By implementing these on-site SEO strategies, your chiropractic website will become more visible to potential patients searching for the care you offer. Remember, SEO for chiropractors is an ongoing process, so stay updated on best practices and keep your content fresh to maintain a strong online presence.
What Is Internal Linking?
Internal linking is a fundamental SEO strategy that involves creating hyperlinks between different pages on your chiropractic website. This strategy will help Google find all of the pages on your website and understand how your services are related. By strategically linking your content, you create a clear hierarchy and demonstrate the depth of information available on your site.
However, internal linking goes beyond simply connecting relevant content; it strategically distributes a website’s link equity through PageRank. Developed by Google, PageRank measures the importance of a web page based on the quality and quantity of links pointing to it.
By strategically linking high-authority pages on your website (like your chiropractic service pages) to other relevant content using targeted keywords as anchor text, you can distribute this “link juice” and signal to search engines the thematic connections between these pages. This not only enhances user experience by guiding them to relevant information but also strengthens the overall authority of your website for those chiropractic concerns, potentially boosting their ranking in search results.
Off-Site SEO Best Practices for Chiropractors
While on-site SEO focuses on optimizing your chiropractic website, off-site SEO involves building your website’s authority and credibility in the eyes of search engines through external practices. More likely than not, the driving factor behind an off-site SEO strategy is link building.
Link Building For Your Site
Link building is the process of acquiring backlinks, or hyperlinks, from another website that points to your own. These backlinks function as reviews or votes of confidence from other websites, signaling to Google that you are creating valuable content for users. In turn, this will help boost rankings for individual pages and increase your domain authority. While there are many link building strategies, these are a few of the most effective:
- Guest Posting: This involves writing informative articles for relevant websites in the health and wellness niche. By sharing your expertise and establishing yourself as a thought leader, you can earn valuable backlinks to your chiropractic website.
- Digital PR & Link Magnets: This strategy involves creating high-quality, informative content for your website that will naturally attract backlinks from other websites due to its inherent value. Examples could include research studies, infographics, or case studies.
- Local Business Directories: Local business directories are online platforms listing businesses within a specific geographic area. Chiropractors can claim and optimize their profiles to improve local SEO visibility and potentially acquire backlinks from these directories.
While all backlinks might seem like a win, quality plays a much bigger role than quantity in building a strong SEO profile. Search engines prioritize backlinks from high-authority, reputable websites. Your link building efforts should focus on acquiring links from established health and wellness websites or local news outlets to maximize the SEO benefit for your chiropractic practice.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to optimizing your website’s underlying structure and functionality to ensure search engines can easily crawl, index, and understand your content. Google prioritizes websites that deliver a positive user experience, and technical SEO plays a crucial role in achieving this.
By implementing best practices, you ensure your chiropractic website is technically sound. This allows search engine crawlers to navigate your site efficiently and interpret its content accurately, ultimately leading to better search engine visibility and improved organic rankings.
Here are some key technical SEO best practices for chiropractors:
- Mobile-Friendliness: Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search results, so ensure your website adapts seamlessly across different devices (desktops, tablets, smartphones) to provide an optimal user experience for all visitors.
- Fast Loading Speeds: Website speed significantly impacts user experience and SEO ranking. Studies indicate users abandon websites that take longer than 3 seconds to load. Utilize tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify areas for improvement, such as optimizing image sizes, minimizing HTTP requests, and enabling browser caching.
- Clean Website Structure: A well-organized website structure makes it easier for search engines to crawl and understand your content. Implement a clear hierarchy with logical navigation, ensuring all pages are accessible from the homepage within a few clicks.
- Website Security: HTTPS ensures a secure connection between your website and visitors. Not only does this protect user data, but Google also prioritizes HTTPS websites in search results.
- XML Sitemap Submission: An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your website, acting as a roadmap for search engines. Submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console helps ensure all your relevant pages are indexed and considered for search results.
- Structured Data (Schema Markup): Schema markup provides search engines with additional information about your website content, helping them understand the context and purpose of your pages. Implementing relevant schema markup can enhance search result snippets, potentially leading to a higher click-through rate.
By focusing on these technical SEO best practices, you create a solid foundation for your chiropractic website. This allows search engines to crawl and index your content effectively, ultimately improving your website’s visibility and attracting more potential patients searching for chiropractic care online.
The Importance of Investing Time Into Local SEO for Your Chiropractic Business
When it comes to SEO for chiropractors, local traffic is paramount. Patients are not likely to travel very far to see their healthcare providers unless a service is highly specialized. Because of this, targeting specific geographic locations near your practice is one of the best ways to ensure your organic traffic is highly qualified and more likely to convert.
Users often search for certain services by geographic location to generate relevant results. For your business, a prospective patient may search for queries like “Chiropractor near me” or “Back pain treatment Cherry Hill.” With that being said, there are two primary ways you can gain visibility from local patients: Your Google Business Profile and location-based keywords.
Google Business Profiles
Formerly known as Google My Business, your Google Business Profile is the digital hub for managing your chiropractic practice’s online presence across Google Search and Maps. An optimized Google Business Profile increases your chances of appearing in top search results, making it easier for patients to choose your chiropractic office. This profile appears in local search results and Google Maps, granting potential patients easy access to your contact information, reviews, and location.
Businesses can optimize their Google Business Profile by claiming and verifying their listing, ensuring all information is accurate and up-to-date, including relevant keywords and high-quality photos. In addition, positive reviews will also foster trust between your business and prospective local patients. Responding to these reviews will also demonstrate responsiveness and build trust with your target audience.
These efforts combined will help ensure your business appears at the top of the map results for queries relevant to your business.
Focusing On Location-Based Keywords
Another way to target prospective patients is by creating location-based service pages that are optimized for highly searched queries. Oftentimes, these queries follow the basic formula of Service+Location. For example, a chiropractic office in Cherry Hill, NJ will want to target queries like “Back pain treatment Cherry Hill” or “Pain management Cherry Hill.”
These results, also known as “blue links,” are ranked based on the relevance and keyword targeting on each page. These location pages will present your business and services to the user while using location-specific terms throughout the content. For example, if you are targeting Cherry Hill, NJ, you’ll want the term “Cherry Hill” mentioned several times throughout the content.
This process can be repeated for a variety of different locations in your geographic area, but it is incredibly important that the content is unique to each page. Duplicate content across multiple pages can actually hurt your rankings.
How A Holistic Content Strategy Can Increase Patient Lead Generation
While high-quality content is the cornerstone of a strong chiropractic website, its impact on patient lead generation can be significantly amplified by adopting a holistic content strategy. This approach extends beyond creating high-quality blog posts and leverages the power of organic social media to strategically target potential patients across a variety of platforms.
While your website will serve as the central hub of in-depth information, social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, function as discoverability platforms to increase brand visibility.
Additionally, video content is a great way to increase audience engagement. TikTok has an impressive 2.65% engagement rate, making it the most engaging social media platform on the market currently. YouTube also functions as the second largest search engine on the internet, next to Google. By utilizing these platforms along with your SEO content strategy, you can boost brand visibility and potentially increase qualified patient leads.
Producing High-Quality Content Across A Variety of Platforms
While implementing a video content strategy may seem like a huge lift for your chiropractic practice, it is actually a lot simpler than it seems. Content that resonates on your website can be repurposed and adapted for effective engagement on social media channels, eliminating the need to create entirely new content for each platform.
With that being said, it’s important to acknowledge that tailoring content for each platform requires an understanding of their specific nuances. Understanding the preferred video lengths, optimal posting times, and trending hashtags for each social media platform is essential for maximizing its effectiveness in attracting new patients to your practice.
Get A Comprehensive Digital Marketing Strategy For Your Chiropractor Business with Sagapixel
If you’re looking to increase your business’ online visibility with chiropractor SEO, Sagapixel can help. Our digital marketing specialists will develop a tailored SEO strategy to drive leads to your website and grow your patient base.
To learn more about our SEO services for chiropractors, you can schedule a call with someone from our team by clicking here.
