How This Innovative Vet Used Online Marketing to Dominate Their Market (And Four Tips for Optimizing Your Google My Business Page)

To dominate the booming market as a vet, you first have to spread your online presence.

The veterinary market is thriving across the nation. With the number of new pet parents skyrocketing each day, the competition for the best pet veterinarian is becoming fierce.

This is the problem that our client faced. 

He already had three locations for his vet practice, but he wanted to expand it further. To be precise, he planned to open two more clinics in new neighborhoods, both with highly competitive markets.

But this innovative vet found a way to dominate the market regardless of the competition. 

His secret?

He hired professional services to develop a robust online presence. 

Within three months of the digital marketing campaign launch, he achieved a record high click-through rate and call volume. His vet practice also earned over 2,500 offline purchases, building upon an already successful campaign. 

Here’s how it happened.

As a client of The Vet Marketing Firm, we helped him launch a digital marketing campaign two months before his new clinics opened their doors. We did this to ensure that they had a steady stream of customers from the moment they started operations and even beyond that. 

The whole campaign was about using different online marketing techniques. And one of the key milestones was crowning his business with a Google My Business (GMB) profile.

But why is GMB so important? 

Today, over 75% of Americans use smartphones to look for local businesses. Launching the GMB profile allows anyone looking for affordable pet care in the area to see this vet’s services at the top of their search results page. 

The good news is that you can achieve similar results for your vet practice.

By optimizing your Google My Business profile, you can make sure the potential customers find your business with ease. This article shares four easy tips on how you can do just that.

The Four Tips

Tip #1 – Claim Your Listing

The first step to claiming your own Google My Business listing is visiting this page: https://business.google.com/create. 

Enter all relevant information about your vet practice. After doing so, complete the verification process to prove that you’re the business owner. 

You’ll receive a postcard featuring a PIN to your business address. Use that PIN to log in to the site. 

As you update your business information, follow the guidelines below:

• Business name: Enter the business name exactly as you would list it on other online directories. Even a dash or a “The” are crucial. Make sure to be consistent across the web. 
• Address: Enter a physical address where you can receive mail, but don’t use P.O. boxes. You also want this information to be consistent with other online directory listings. 
• Phone number: Make sure not to include 1-800 numbers here. 
• Hours of operation: Be specific about your hours of operation. Mention late-night emergency shifts if you have them. And if there’s a 24-hour operator to answer the phone, set your hours to 12 a.m. – 12 p.m. Otherwise, your vet practice will appear closed for late-night Google searches. 
• Photo: Show personality with the pictures you upload online.  Using a picture of your team caring for a friendly-looking dog rather than the exterior of your clinic will create a trusting bond with clients who will see your vet center as friendly and approachable. 
• Introduction: Keep the introduction simple but descriptive. A good old “20+ years of veterinary experience…” will do. 

To stress, consistency is key. 

Google will want to see consistency in the addresses, phone numbers, and even pictures you provide across online directories (Yellow Pages, CitySearch, etc.).

Tip #2 – Focus on Reviews

A staggering number of customers (almost 90%) rely on online reviews when considering a service. Plus, they trust them just as much as personal recommendations. 

Online reviews are vital not only to your potential clients but also to Google. The fact is that positive reviews about your vet practice make the search engine algorithm rank you higher on the results page. 

So, what’s the secret to getting positive reviews?

We’re aware that having stellar customer service is no longer enough to entice clients to give your vet practice some positive reviews. Hardly anyone will set time off from their busy lives to help you boost your online reputation. 

However, there are a couple of things you can try to encourage happy clients to give your vet practice glowing reviews, such as: 

• Create a spreadsheet of your past clientele and email them a short message explaining you’re looking for feedback. Include links to the review sites. 
• Implement a process for garnering reviews. For example, have your receptionist hand business cards with notes that kindly encourage the departing customers to leave feedback. 

Tip #3 – Spread Your Name Around the Web

As a first step, spread your name across the standard online directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, Merchant Circle, and others. 

Then, move to citation data aggregators such as Infogroup, Neustar, Factual, and Acxiom. 

Finally, become a member of your local Better Business Bureau. You’ll have to pay an annual membership fee for this, but don’t worry. The directory is a trustworthy source for Google since it lets the engine know your business is up and running. 

Your local paper might have a business directory as well. If so, make sure to add your vet practice to their listing.

Tip #4 – Ensure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly

Most online searches are now done on mobile devices, and Google knows that. That’s why it’s essential to optimize your website for smartphones.

However, being “mobile-friendly” doesn’t stop at fulfilling the technical requirements of having your website show nicely on a smartphone screen. You need to dive deeper. 

Here are four ways to do that:

• Optimize your website for audio searches. Can your FAQs capture some of the questions a pet owner could ask through their digital personal assistant? 
• Start a blog. FAQ sections are often not long enough for pet parents looking for pet health advice. 
• Limit the number of redirects. This will boost the page load speed and ensure customer retention. 
• Prioritize visible content. Ensure the most relevant content loads as fast as possible, and it’s easily traceable by the user.

These are just some of the techniques that can help make your vet practice’s web page mobile-friendly. The more components you can incorporate, the better. 

Get Started With Online Marketing

Running a successful vet practice requires more than top-quality service. If customers can’t find you with a single Google search, you’ll have a hard time dominating the market. 

The best thing you can do for your vet business today is to start spreading the word online. You can do so by optimizing your Google My Business Profile. 

There’s no better way for potential customers to reach you than to see your business appear at the top of their search results page. 

If you have any questions about Google My Business or Google Map listings, contact us for a free consultation. One of our experts will be happy to walk you through the process.