Should veterinary clinics 'pay to play' on social media?
The days of Google's reliance on 'organic search'the number of times folks link to your website and how often people search for youcould be a thing of the past. The internet giant wants your advertising budget now.
Seventyfour/stock.adobe.com
If you think success marketing your veterinary practice is just a good-looking website with a few pictures of puppies and your mailing address, then digital marketing maestro and Fetch dvm360 conference speaker Bill Schroeder urges you to reconsider. He says that in terms of getting your clinic found, one type of search is pushing the other out of the picture.
First, get to know the kinds of search:
- Organic: traditional, unpaid posts
- Paid: well ... you can figure that one out
There was a time when loading your site with good material and pertinent search terms could get you found by search engines' spiders, crawling the web for relevant content. That's no longer true.
Bill Schroeder has your back ... digitally:
- Google reviews: Are they good for veterinary practices?
- Veterinary digital marketing: Know who you are, be who you are.
- Do you know your competition? Google 'veterinarians near me'.
"There are huge indicators out there now that organic is becoming less and less relevant and that successful practices are engaging in a robust pay-per-click plan," Schroeder says.
Case in point: Google has placed ads around the local maps that show up at the top of search results pages. You can try established methods of increasing the number and quality scores of your Google reviews and hence increasing your rank in order to be seen. Or you can simply pay.
How do you start this process? Schroeder suggests getting yourself a detailed analysis of beneficial keywords and phrases, so you know the right words to use in your ads. This will put your practice in the right space. Additionally, he says to be sure the copy in the ad itself is extremely clear, has a relevant call to action and links to a germane landing page. Once users click through, you can present relevant information and offer a digital form to collect a potential veterinary client's information.
You. Can. Do. This!
At Fetch dvm360 conference, we're the support system you need. With every conference this year, we intend to nurture your mind (meaning quality CE for days) while also encouraging you to take stock of your physical and emotional health. Register now.
