As a busy veterinary practice owner or manager, you have more on your mind than boosting website traffic. However, a solid website that draws in clients, and encourages them to take action, does part of your job for you. You want to convince potential clients to visit your website and click on “Book Now.” But, how? Here are five simple ways to improve your website’s ranking, visibility, and value in the eyes of pet owners.

#1: Advertise your website on social media and search engines

According to BroadbandSearch, people spend an average six years and eight months of their life on social media. Comparatively, we spend only one year and 11 months socializing, three years and seven months eating and drinking, and one year and eight months doing housework. With potential clients hanging out on social media for more than two hours per day, increase your visibility where they are sure to see you. Paid advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, or Google are a great way to boost your brand and your practice, encouraging pet owners to navigate to your website for pet care tips, business hours, and to learn more about your team.

You can also use your practice’s social media accounts to link back to your website. For example, in honor of National Pet Dental Health Month, you could share a blurb about the prevalence of dental disease in pets. Add links to your online pharmacy for VOHC-approved dental chews, and to your website’s appointment request page, to urge clients to schedule a dental cleaning. 

#2: Rethink your SEO strategy

Are you sure that your website is SEO-optimized and primed to attract pet owners? A technical audit can help. An audit is the first step in creating an SEO strategy for your website, to find gaps in your website’s performance and structure. An SEO-friendly website has a fast page-loading speed, effective navigation, proper URL structure, and unique and engaging content. See if your website makes the cut, and then ensure your SEO strategy is the most effective for drawing in local pet owners. 

#3: Cater to area pet owners

What’s the point of building a fantastic website that does not target local pet owners? If your veterinary practice is located in Denver, you want to cater to pet owners in your area, not in a different part of the country. Using the right local keywords, or updating your Google My Business, will help increase your local traffic. Additionally, ensure your content is applicable to your area. For example, if you’re located in Texas, you don’t need to share winter safety tips for pets. Gear your content toward local pet owners, and search engines will recognize your website’s value, and rank it higher.

#4: Publish new content regularly on your website

Can you remember when your website was last updated? Too long, if you have to ask this question. Regularly publishing new, fresh content not only attracts pet owners, but also catches Google’s eye. Routine creation of brand-new content—no cut and paste allowed!—is one of the best ways to prove your value to search engines, and earn your place on the first page of search results. 

When writing a new blog post or updating your services page, ensure you add internal links to other areas on your website. (See what we did there? 😉) Not only will this keep clients on your website longer, but also serve as the SEO must-do for generating more organic traffic. You can also repurpose content to publish to different channels, reaching more pet owners. For example, if your blog post about giving your cat oral medication was one of your most-read posts, turn that information into a YouTube video that you post on your social media channels as well. Repurposing popular content is a fantastic way to save you time and effort. 

#5: Send out an email newsletter

Another great way to showcase your practice and deliver clickable action links to clients is by sending out an email newsletter. If writing a monthly blog post and a monthly newsletter is too much, stick to a quarterly newsletter that highlights your practice’s latest news and your website’s freshest content. If your newsletter is a hit with your clients, they’ll forward it to friends and family, gaining you new readers and clients.

If you’re struggling to think of a new topic each month for your blog post, or need help writing a newsletter that never sees a “Trash” folder, outsource these time-consuming, but essential, projects. Turn to our Rumpus team of veterinary professionals to deliver top-notch content that will not only draw pet owners to your website, but also attract new clients.