Chiropractor patient acquisition is different today than it was even a decade ago. Digital presence has never been more important. And a large portion of your digital efforts should be focused on Google. With over 3 billion searches a day, the world’s largest search engine can be the backbone of your patient leads.
After all, when someone needs a chiropractor service, where’s the first place that they go? Google.
84% of people conduct three or more searches on the site per day. A lot of these searches are local searches for professional services, such as looking for a Chiropractor.
Since people on Google are already looking for a Chiropractor, this is the place you need to be. The more you can dominate the search results page, the more likely you are to pull people in that are already looking for Chiropractic services.
Google’s search results are broken down into 3 major buckets:
When you search for the term “chiropractor near me,” you’ll see a few listings right at the top of the page with a little “Ad” icon next to them.
These are Google Ads.
Google Ads are the first thing a user sees when they search for something on Google. About 19% of searchers click on these Google Ads.
Google Ads, as you may have guessed, are paid, and are based on search terms. Anyone can pay to have their ad listed for their targeted search term.
As a Chiropractor, you want to be targeting all the key terms someone might type in that need your service. By targeting these keywords, you’ll be able to show your ad at the top of Google when someone is actively looking for your service. This is prime real estate for your business.
Google Ads are charged on a “per click” model. You only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad – which is pretty awesome. The average cost per click will vary depending on the level of competition and the actual search volume in your market.
We typically see costs range from $3 – $10 per click. This is more expensive than what you probably see with other channels like Facebook or Instagram, but that’s okay because these people are much more likely to actually become a patient. Conversion rates are higher with Google Ads because these people have already made the decision that they need Chiropractic care and are actively looking for it on Google. So it’s worth spending a few bucks on getting them to your website and getting them to call you instead of another practice in town.
Group similar keywords together based on the service offering/symptom to create highly relevant ads.
Obviously, you have generic keywords like “chiropractor near me” or “chiropractor {insert your city}”. You can group these into a general campaign. Use broad language and position yourself as the best option.
But you’ll also want to focus on keywords for specific services or symptom treatments. Someone with back pain might type in “back pain treatment near me”. You’ll want all your “back pain” keyword variations into the same campaign so that you can serve them an ad that talks specifically about back pain. And when someone clicks on that ad, you want to push them onto a landing page on your website that is all about back pain.
This makes the ads that you are serving extremely relevant to the search term that was typed into Google.
Having highly relevant Chiropractic Ads will increase the effectiveness of your ads. More users will click on the ads, more visitors will convert, and you’ll get a lot more out of your campaigns.
The Map Pack, or Google My Business listings, is impossible to miss in the search results. Just underneath the Google Search Ads, you’ll see Google Maps embedded into the page.
This is the Map Pack. The map features little red pins and dots, which correspond to the locations of local businesses that match your search term. Below the map, you’ll find the top listings for local Chiropractors along with their contact information, website, and directions.
A whopping 52% of users click on Map Listings.
That’s not a typo. Over half of local business searches results in a click onto a Google Map Listing. If you want more patients coming to your practice, this is the absolute best place to be.
Claiming your listing is fairly easy. You’ll sign up on the Google My Business website and follow their instructions. At a certain point, they’re going to require a physical postcard be mailed to you so you can confirm your business address.
Once your listing is claimed, you’ll need to optimize your listing so you can get it ranking. Only the top 3 map listings show up in the map pack on a Google Search Results page (the rest are hidden behind the “more results” button). So you have to take this part seriously so you can earn those top spots. It will take some time, but it will be worth it. Getting into the top 3 Map Pack is incredibly rewarding for your practice.
Don’t skip sections. Fill in as many details as possible about your business. The more information you can provide, the better.
Upload your logo and a nice cover photo. Also upload interior photos, exterior photos, team photos, and a video if you can. Add these assets to the correct media categories so they’re placed properly on your listing.
The more reviews you can collect, the better. You want to maintain a good rating too so you come off as a reputable business. Make sure to respond to all reviews: positive and negative. For negative reviews, make sure you keep it professional and put a positive spin on it. Remember that other future patients are going to be seeing these and you want to seem pleasant and approachable.
Just like on Facebook, you can actually post different status updates for your business. Try to post on a regular basis to keep your listing active. We shoot for posting updates around once per week to keep fresh content pushed out there.
For a more in-depth deep dive into Google My Business, we wrote a guide just for this channel alone. And it’s worth the investment.
The final component on the search results page is the actual list of websites. These are the organic search results, and they include the top-ranking websites for the search terms typed into Google.
A lot of patient acquisition revolves around your Chiropractic website. Websites are your digital doorstep, working night and day to bring you new patients.
29% of users click on organic websites in the search results.
Your site can act as a portal for appointment bookings, patient education material, and filling your schedule for weeks to come.
Pretty much all your online and offline marketing efforts are going to end up with patients hitting your website, so this is a major asset that you need to make sure it representing your practice well.
When building your website, there are some very important factors to consider to make sure it’s serving your online visitors to get them to convert, but also to make sure you’re optimized to push your rankings higher on Google. It’s likely you’re working with a vendor to build your website, so make sure you’re having them focus on some key areas of your site so you can build your strong online presence.
Just like with Google Ads, you want to have a page that goes over each service you provide as well as all the major symptoms you treat. This helps you communicate to your patients how you can best serve them, but also gives Google all the information it needs about what you do so it can rank your site accordingly.
Keep your design minimal and easy to use. High contrast colors that make your primary call-to-actions stand out. You want it obvious to your website visitors the next steps you want them to take. your phone number should be big and easily findable. A large “Book Now” button that stands out on the page. No one should question how to get in touch with you when they are on any page of your site.
Make sure to use all the best practices when it comes to local search engine optimization. Whoever builds your website should be familiar with the technical ins and outs of website SEO: title tags, meta descriptions, schema markup, alt text, speed optimization, etc.
Create a monthly content creation plan that aims to educate your patients. This plan will allow you to optimize your site for keywords and phrases that your target audience is searching for in Google. Over time, your blog will generate a lot of organic traffic and make you into an authority figure in your industry.
Chiropractors must do their best to build an online presence and begin attracting new patients to their services. While there are a lot of strategies that you can use, focusing on Google as a source for traffic is the absolute best option.
Patients are already on Google looking for you, you just need to show up so they can find you.
You have multiple opportunities to leverage Google and the 3.5+ billion queries that the site processes every day. From Chiropractic Google ads to map listings and optimizing your website, you can begin generating a healthy stream of leads to your practice on a consistent basis.
Nick is the Founder of CHIROBASIX, a marketing agency that specializes in helping Chiropractors dominate their local markets and drive new patient acquisition.
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