Local SEO Tips for Veterinarian

Go Globe, in the latest infographic on marketing statistics, confirms 46% of all Google searches are local.Nobody searches for the best veterinarians 'in the world.' People always run to the "vet near me" for their pets' healthcare.

It's high time you double down the SEO efforts for your Veterinarian Clinic and 'get found' on the web.

10 Local SEO Tips for Veterinarians

 1. Use Localized Keywords

As per Moz, "veterinarian near me" is a popular keyword with 118,000-300,000 searches per month in the US. It's a good sign to start targeting local keywords for your area.

Not all keywords have local intent. Some are brands that use the city's name. For instance, 'Fitness Australia' has the country in the brand name, but it doesn't make it a local keyword.

How To Check A Keyword For Local Intent?

• Step 1: Search keywords in the Google Analytics tool and filter by location.
• Step 2: Select the ones with high volume and search for them on Google. Google uses location to personalize results. It shows different results for keywords with local intent.
• Step 3: See if a map pops up with other local businesses. It means that your keyword has search intent. For example, when a user searches “cheap veterinary clinics,” the map appears in results, indicating local SEO potentiality. 

2. Optimize Content For SEO

Whether you're posting blogs, images, or infographics, you must optimize them for SEO. Optimization goes further than adding keywords.

Your content should have enough dwell time, recent index date, fast page load speed, mobile responsiveness, and recent data. They work in the backend to help your blogs to rank higher.

How To Optimize Your Content?

• Title: A good title is almost 55 characters long. It contains relevant, non-branded keywords with targeted ones in the beginning.
• Meta Description: Meta-description is not visible on-page but is vital for SEO. The ideal length is 155 characters, so save up character space by using fewer punctuations like ampersands and hyphens. Include long-tail keywords with CTAs and USPs. 

The title and description give crucial information to the users that help enhance CTR, engagement, leads, etc. Below is an example of how it appears on SERPs.

• Website Content: Optimize your website content by improving site speed, getting backlinks, and adding keywords wherever necessary. You can use Google Search Console to see your site's performance online.

3. Publish Educational Blogs for Your Target Audience

Tap into your Target Audiences' queries using keyword research tools like Ubersuggest and Ahrefs. You can enhance your content based on this information. These tools provide trending keywords along with search volume, as shown in the below image:

Create educational blogs on the topics they're searching for. Focus on user experience - no keyword stuffing.

Blog Writing Tips for Vets

• Write Scannable Blogs: Readers scan a blog before reading it. They go through the contents to pick important information first. Bold the relevant points to catch the eye, so readers stay to read the entire blog.
• Provide Tips & Tricks: Post tips for pet owners. They're popular and can be your biggest tool to establish authority. Choose specific topics that go beyond generic content.

E.g.,

· 'Things to Keep in Mind while Buying a New Puppy'

· 'How to Take Care of a Pregnant Cat?'

•  Share Customer Stories: Everybody likes pet recovery stories. They trigger emotions and make you familiar with pet owners.

4. Mention Related Keywords Without Stuffing

A great way to rank higher is using related keywords. Although 'vet near me' has a relatively high volume, not everybody is searching for it.

Include diverse yet specific keywords in your content but don't stuff them. Stuffing happens when you play permutation-combination with your keywords and use all the variations you get.

For instance, if your clinic is in California, you can use Ubersuggest to target related and more specific keywords.

5. Build Credible Links

Google ranks pages based on the number of backlinks they have. More the backlinks higher the page authority.

Build as many as links possible from the high Domain Authority website. For example, here’s a veterinary website doing it.

Ahrefs suggests that your backlinks must come from sites with high URL ratings and numerous referring domains. But, link building involves prospecting, finding and sending e-mails, and following up. You can't possibly do this without tools.

Tools to Help With Link-Building

SEMrush: SEMrush has excellent features like the Competitor Gap Analysis tool, which lets you track backlinks on your competitors' websites. Steal the ones not linking back to you by pitching them.

Hunter.io: Hunter.io lets you hunt e-mails of your backlink prospects. Just enter the name and company, and it fishes the e-mail address for you.

Google: Google websites looking for guest posts and having them link back to your site. Just type 'intitle:' or 'inurl:' to extract the information.

6. Gain Positive Reviews

Google Support confirms that positive reviews push a site to higher rankings. It values the prominence of a business. So, if your clinic gets excellent reviews with keywords in them, you're likely to rank higher than your competitors. 

Here’s proof that businesses with more reviews are securing the top spot.

Review Score factor primarily works for local SEO, and Google considers relevance and distance to suggest closest vet clinics with great reviews.

Tips to Gain Positive Reviews

• Give Incentives for Reviews: Incentives increase motivation. You can grant points for each review which will be helpful for patients when they visit your clinic.
• Address Negative Feedback: People are sensitive regarding their pets. They take offense and drop a bad review. Address it politely and try to solve their problem. Ensure it’s not left unanswered. Here’s an example of how you can win customer trust:

• Ask For It: You can ask your favorite patients to drop a review. If you have a good rapport, they will oblige.

Read: Reviews & Its Role in Local SEO

7. Make Your Website Mobile Friendly

As per HubSpot's Marketing Statistics, a mobile-friendly site increases the chances of conversion by 61%. Think with Google confirms that 18% of local smartphone searches convert to a sale within a day.
Most people search from their smartphones. So, it would be best to make their experience count. Use Google’s testing tool to check how mobile-friendly your site is. It shows whether or not your site is mobile-friendly in the below image type.

How to Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly?

• Include Interactive Design: The design of your site should be mobile-friendly. Ditch large fonts and buttons and prioritize simple design.
• Remove Pop-Ups: There's already lesser space on mobile. Pop-ups prevent the reader from getting to the crux. Save them for desktop.
• Load Faster: Your website should load in seconds. Visitors expect a site to load in 3 seconds or less.

8. Claim Your Business Profile on Google

You must register your vet clinic/hospital as a business profile on Google. It gives you access to agency-specific support. You also manage your profile with a single account and involve your team to manage as an agency.

How to Claim a Business on Google?

• Through Google Business: Enter information about your clinics like owner's name and business type. Select your business amongst other options and continue.
• Through Google Maps: Find your clinic on Google maps and click on 'claim this business.'

For both of these cases, you'll get a notification from Google along with a form. Fill it, and Google will approve your request to claim the business.

Your business appears on google results as in the below screenshot:

Read: Step-by-step Setup Guide for Google My Business Set up

9. Track Data & KPIs

Set Key Performance Indexes for your website. Keep tracking them so you have something to measure improvements or decline.

Google Analytics lets you see how visitors engage with your website. Without data, you'll keep shooting arrows in the dark.

Top KPIs for You to Track:

• Analyze Keyword Rankings: Keep checking for which keywords you are ranking. Use them more in your blogs. 
• Track Website Visitors: Track how many visitors you are getting each month. It helps you experiment better as you measure live results with each change.
• Examine Phone Calls: See how many calls you receive. Keep a tab on the number of people calling through the website and otherwise. You can measure various things through it, such as the days, time in a day, etc., that your business gets more calls. 

For example, in the below image, the business receives the highest calls on Friday, so you can leverage this to understand that customer interests increase engagement on other days.

• Online Leads: Track your online presence for ROI on your SEO strategy. See how many patients got to know about you online. Maintain an excel sheet to compare results each month.

10. Build Links Through Citations and Local Directories

Listing your vet clinic to a local directory or citation guarantees a boost in your online presence. You can use a listing service to distribute your information across various directories.

With this, you ensure that your data is regularly updated. It also gives a professional appeal to your hospital or clinic.

How to Get Quality Citations?

• Core Sites: Submit your clinic information to Facebook, Yelp, and Yellow Pages. Here’s an example of how a veterinary firm can earn links from these directories.


There are numerous directories like these on the web. You can find the best ones by searching for a business on Google. The directories that rank well are good enough to submit information.

• Popular Citations by Industry: Find popular citations on Google. Type this on Google - “[location] + vet directory or vet clinic directory.” The top sites are usually the best ones.


Local SEO for Veterinarians - FAQs

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Q1. Why is Local SEO Better for Veterinarians than Paid Advertising?

Local SEO is better for Veterinarians because it helps them show up for local searches. Website visitors are more likely to visit your clinic/hospital. Moreover, organic results make you trustworthy among your target audience. 

Q2. What Are the Best SEO Practices for Veterinarians?

There are numerous ways to rank higher for local searches. Begin with these:

• Optimize your website content for SEO
• Target local related keywords with high search volume
• Get your clinic registered in local directories and citations

Q3. How to Find Local Keywords for My Veterinary Hospital?

Use SEO tools like these: 

• Ubersuggest 
• Ahrefs
• Google Keyword Planner

Filter by location, and find high-volume related keywords. Avoid Keyword Stuffing. 

Q4. How to Generate Online Leads for My Vet Clinic?

Focus on customer experience online. Post educational content on your website consistently and use local keywords in blogs to rank higher for local searches. Ask pet owners to drop positive reviews, and try converting negative ones. 

Key Takeaways

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• Optimize your website content for SEO.
• Use free tools by Google to enhance your SEO efforts and website performance.
• Keep an eye on your Key Performance Indexes and track conversions.
• Build links through citations and directories.
• Search for keywords with local intent.
• Avoid keyword stuffing and use related keywords with high volume.
• Claim your business profile on Google and other social media platforms. Don't forget to add photos.
• Publish useful blogs to educate your target audience and be consistent with your content.
• Make your website mobile-friendly.

Rank Your Website

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