Have you ever worried that your marketing dollar isn’t being used to advertise your medical practice adequately? Geotracking is essential for effective local SEO for doctors. It ensures that your advertising is being seen by patients who don’t just need your care but are in your service area. Studies have shown that 72% of those seeking local medical care are within 5 miles of their selected provider. Geotracking makes it possible to direct where your advertising efforts are used, and to what degree.  Understanding how it works and how to apply it can supercharge your marketing strategy.

What Is Geotracking, and Why Does It Matter to Doctors?

Geotracking is a marketing strategy that leverages GPS data and other location-based technologies to determine where a user is located. This information determines whether they should receive ads from a particular marketing campaign. Medical practices can use this marketing technique to ensure their online presence is more prominent in the areas where they provide care.

Online searches have quickly become the most prominent method for finding medical providers close to potential patients. These searches can provide tailored recommendations quickly through phrases such as “doctors near me” and “best dermatologist in [city].” Medical practices that aren’t utilizing Geotracking in their marketing plans are doing more than missing out on their patient base. Their marketing dollar is wasted when their ads reach those outside their service area.

Leveraging Geo-Fencing for Broad and Narrow Targeting

Geo-fencing is a location-based marketing component used in local SEO for doctors that builds on the the information provided by geotracking. This process creates virtual “fences” around specific areas and ensures that your marketing efforts focus on reaching those in these areas. These ads can be tailored to capture their interest and direct them towards your practice.

Broad Applications

Campaigns designed to reach a wide audience are an effective approach for practices with multiple locations or providing a specialized service. Large hospitals or practices seeking to become a primary care option in these areas can also benefit from this marketing approach. These marketing campaigns are often restricted to cities, counties, states, or geographic regions. They’re an effective part of campaign strategies like these:

• Flu Shots Campaign: Advertise flu shot availability during flu season, ensuring residents know where to go for quick and accessible vaccinations.
• New Clinic Announcements: Use geo-fencing to create awareness about a newly opened clinic and its services, targeting surrounding neighborhoods to attract early adopters.
• Health Awareness Initiatives: Partner with local government or community organizations to promote citywide health checks or wellness campaigns.
• Specialized Treatments: Highlight services like fertility care or oncology expertise to attract patients seeking advanced or rare treatments.
• Travel Campaigns: Target ads to major transportation hubs like airports or train stations, emphasizing proximity and ease of access to your clinic.
• Out-of-State Referrals: Collaborate with out-of-state healthcare providers to geo-fence their offices and refer patients needing specialized care.

Narrow Applications

Narrow-scope geofencing can target areas where potential patients will likely gather, such as local events and near your competition. Local events can be outstanding marketing opportunities, especially health fairs and fitness expos that attract the health-conscious. Focusing your local SEO for doctors efforts on your competition’s locations can help give you an edge.

• Health Fair Participation: Advertise your services to local health fair attendees, such as free consultations or screenings.
• Fitness Events: Promote sports medicine or orthopedic care to participants in marathons or cycling events.
• Community Engagement: Showcase your practice’s sponsorship or involvement in local events to boost credibility and trust.
• Shorter Wait Times: Highlight immediate availability compared to competitors in the area.
• Advanced Services: Promote unique treatments or technologies that set you apart from nearby clinics.
• Patient Testimonials: Use ads featuring glowing reviews or patient success stories to build trust and appeal.

Medical Parks and Hospitals

Another effective area for geo-fencing is around medical parks, hospitals, or urgent care centers. Visitors to these locations actively seek healthcare and often must follow up with a specialist or primary care doctor.

• Referral Opportunities: Advertise your services to patients leaving hospitals who may need follow-up care, such as physical therapy or post-surgical rehabilitation.
• Collaborative Campaigns: Partner with other healthcare providers in medical parks to create co-branded campaigns targeting shared audiences.
• Convenient Location Ads: Emphasize your proximity and accessibility within the medical district to attract walk-ins and referrals.

Through effective local SEO for doctors, you can use precise advertising to reach those seeking care exactly when they need it most.  It ensures you don’t have to worry that your advertising efforts are reaching those who either don’t need your care, or aren’t in your service area.

Building Trust Through Local SEO for Doctors

Effective local SEO for doctors is multi-faceted and uses the tools to connect with its target audience. Medical providers often share a deeper connection with their communities; geotracking can help them build on that connection. You can personalize your content to keep it relevant to your patient’s unique concerns and needs. Effective local SEO for doctors through geotracking and geofencing can be combined to help drive:

• Community Involvement: Highlight local events your practice sponsors or participates in, demonstrating your commitment to the community.
• Targeted Content: Develop blog posts and videos addressing specific health concerns in your area.
• Patient Reviews: Encourage satisfied patients to write positive reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp to build trust and credibility.

The strength of your local presence can draw new patients to you while building relationships with those you currently serve. The trust that is developed helps drive patient loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising. Those who feel content with the care they receive are more likely to recommend your practice to friends and family.

Improving the Patient Experience Through Technology

Geotracking is also important for those looking to provide their patients with the best care. This tool can do more than target potential patients in your service area. It can refine how your website helps patients schedule appointments and use your services. 

• Optimized Appointment Scheduling: Analyze traffic patterns and patient proximity to recommend the best appointment slots.
• Navigation Assistance: Use geotracking to provide precise directions to your office, ensuring patients arrive on time and stress-free.
• Customized Marketing: Send targeted promotions or reminders to patients in your immediate vicinity.

This local SEO for doctors applications of geofencing technology focus on patient convenience and even safety.  They avoid mishaps by avoiding areas of high traffic during their commute or choosing low-traffic appointment times and dates. Further, it ensures they can reach their appointment comfortably rather than stressed by heavy traffic. Even better, they’ll arrive on time and without getting lost.

How To Get The Most Out of Your Geo-Tracking Efforts

As with any marketing strategy, some best practices will help you get the most out of geo-tracking.  You need to have your marketing goals clearly defined.  Is your goal to increase foot traffic? Do you want to get more appointment bookings or want to ensure people are familiar with your brand?

Regardless of these end goals, local SEO for doctors works best when leveraged with other marketing channels. Social media, email marketing, and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing can all benefit and synergize with geotracking to maximize results.  You must monitor your results and tweak your strategy at every step of the game to ensure you’re reaching your target audience.

Why Choose Us for Your Local SEO Needs?

Optimize360 constantly refining our SEO strategies in the marketing campaigns we build for our clients. From designing your site to maximizing SEO returns, you can rely on us to develop a campaign that will get the desired results. If you’re ready to experience what Optimize360 can do for your business, call for a local SEO for doctors consultation today.