SEO or social media: which one is better for your dermatology practice?
The truth is, each one does something very different, and in this article, I’m going to explain it all.
Here’s the short answer to your question: you really should be doing both. By the end of this article, you’ll understand why.
My name is Frank, and I’m the founder of Sagapixel, a leading dermatology digital marketing agency. Since 2017, I’ve worked with dermatologists across the U.S. to improve their SEO visibility, strengthen their social media presence, and create marketing strategies that consistently fill their schedules.
Want more patients to find you online and choose you over your competitors? Schedule a call with Sagapixel today. We’ll help you build a strategy that attracts the right patients, establishes trust, and supports long-term growth for your practice.
I also have a full playlist on digital marketing for dermatologists that you can check out here.
What SEO Can Do for Your Dermatology Practice
When someone performs a search like “dermatologist near me,” SEO can get you ranking:
- In the local map results
- In the blue link results below
I will say that this is going to be a lot more straightforward than social media. If you rank, you will bring in new patients. And over the years, to be honest, our dermatology SEO team hasn’t had a tremendous amount of difficulty getting our clients into the map results and the blue links.
What SEO Cannot Do
SEO cannot generate new demand.
If someone is Googling “acne scar treatment near me,” great—SEO can get you found. But if you bought a brand new machine that people don’t even know to look for in the first place, SEO won’t help.
Think back to when CoolSculpting first came out. Nobody knew to look for it, so ranking #1 for “CoolSculpting Miami” wouldn’t have helped if no one was searching for it.
That leads us to social media.
What Can Social Media Do for Your Practice?
Generate Demand
Social media is capable of demand generation.
How many times have you learned about a new product, restaurant, or something else you ended up wanting—something you didn’t even know existed until you saw it on social media?
That brand-new machine your practice just bought—the one nobody knows the name of—social media is often the best way to promote it in your local market.
Build Your Brand
Social media is good at brand building, something SEO doesn’t do particularly well.
SEO can get people to know you. Social media is better at getting people to know you, like you, and trust you.
Impacts the Patient Decision-making Process
Your social media (especially Instagram), combined with your Google Business Profile plays a substantial role in whether patients decide to go to you once they’ve found you, whether through SEO or word-of-mouth.
This is what I mean when I talk about your Google Business Profile:
A common dermatology buyer’s journey might look like this:
- Someone Googles a condition or treatment
- They land on your website
- They read all about you
- Your CTA encourages them to check out your results on Instagram
- They follow you, but forget to book
- After seeing your posts for a few weeks, they make an appointment
Over the years, we’ve found that Instagram often plays a pivotal role in the care decisions that patients make when it comes to aesthetics.
What Social Media Does Not Do Well
Here’s my answer: it’s really hard to get discovered organically on social media.
Don’t get me wrong, there are celebrity dermatologists on TikTok and Instagram. But the vast majority of dermatology accounts do not go viral.
Very often, if not most of the time, most patients who see your content already discovered your practice through:
- Organic search
- Paid search
- Paid social
During their decision-making process, they check your Instagram and follow it. Your followers end up being mostly current and past patients, which is still valuable for:
- Education
- Staying top of mind
- Getting them back in the door for other concerns you can help with
My Recommendations for Your SEO & Social Media Strategy
So, should dermatologists focus on SEO or social Media? My answer is both.
1. Start with SEO and Paid Search
I would start by getting my website found through organic search and probably running paid search ads. I have a full video on using these strategies to promote your practice on Google
2. Make High-quality Visuals A Priority
I’d set a major priority out of documenting before-and-afters and getting great photography that can be used:
- On your Google Business Profile
- On your results pages
- On your social media accounts
3. Use Social Media to Nurture Traffic from SEO
Over time, I’d focus on getting traffic from organic search over to social media, where you can better nurture them and get them to know, like, and trust you.
My strategy, frankly, would notbe to try to become TikTok famous.
My strategy would be to get discovered on search engines, and use social media to get people to trust you.
Grow Your Dermatology Practice with Sagapixel
At Sagapixel, we help dermatology practices like yours create marketing strategies that reliably attract new patients. Whether you need stronger SEO visibility, better social media engagement, or a strategy that ties everything together, our team knows what works for dermatologists.
We’ll help you:
- Improve your local SEO rankings
- Strengthen your social media presence
- Build content that earns trust
- Track what’s actually driving appointments
- Create a sustainable growth strategy
Schedule a call with Sagapixel today. Let’s create a marketing plan that fills your calendar with the right patients.
