Just like any other local business, a community hospital targets people in a local area. But if you’re in an area with a lot of competition, the difference between a potential patient visiting your hospital or your competition can come down to local directory optimization.
Since a search engine is the first place many of us go when looking for something online make sure your local listing is correct on Google, Bing and Yahoo. A properly optimized local search listing can mean having your business even show up on the results page above some of the organic search results!
For Google Places (Google’s Local Search Directory), you can add a detailed description about your hospital, up to 10 supplementary photos and even five YouTube video links, all for free! Once the page is verified and the updates go live, you can ask past patients to review the hospital. As the owner of the page, you will want to monitor the reviews (good and bad) and respond as necessary. This is a great way to publicly demonstrate your customer service skills.
While Google Places is one of the most important places to get listed on, you have to also build profiles on other sites, such as Yahoo, Yelp and Merchant Circle. The more consistent listings you have on additional local search directories, the better your local rankings on the search engines and the more leads you’ll get.
Let Wax Custom Communications help your hospital get noticed through a professional consistent message on the search engines by setting up and monitoring your presence on local directories. Learn more by calling 305-350-5700.
