About 70% of American households own a pet. Just like us, animals run into health issues or need checkups from time to time. If you want pet owners to be able to find your practice, the first thing you need to think about is a professional veterinary website design and effective veterinary marketing.
To grow your veterinary practice, you need to get your service in front of potential clients. Veterinary digital marketing and SEO for veterinarians are two of the best tools that you can use to attract and convert potential clients into loyal customers.
But with so many options, techniques, and different social media channels out there, how can you choose the right veterinary marketing approach?
Here is a list of 10 great veterinary marketing ideas that you can use to drive more clients and appointments to your practice.
#1. Boost your appointments with professional veterinary website design
People love their pets. They treat them as a regular part of the family. As a result, they want them to get the best treatment possible.
For pet owners, one of the most significant parts of choosing the right vet is finding someone they can trust — which is why you need a professional veterinary website design.
Professional veterinary website design is essential. Your website is often the first impression a pet owner will get of your practice. If it looks outdated or hastily put together, they won’t feel comfortable using your services.
Your website is like a digital shop window. It’s where all your veterinary marketing will point to pet owners too. Additionally, It’s how pet owners will:
- See what services you offer
- Find out your rates, contact number, opening hours, and location
- Contact you to set up appointments
- See which areas you service
When someone comes to your website, they are a warm lead. Professional veterinary web design will give pet owners the confidence and trust they need to make an appointment.
#2. Connect with pet owners with keyword-rich veterinary SEO
Veterinary search engine optimization (SEO) is an absolute must for driving web traffic to your practice. If you work with specialists who know how to do SEO for vets, you can get your website onto the only place that matters: page 1 of the search engine results page (SERP).
Veterinarian SEO services can help you understand the keywords, terms, and questions that pet owners ask when they are searching for a vet. High intent users are some of the best web traffic you can get because they are highly motivated and therefore more likely to reach out and use your service.
Using veterinarian SEO services to help you drive traffic is highly recommended. These experts have the technology to stay current on search engine trends and identify keywords that will improve your ranking.
#3. Get a Google Business Profile
While we are talking about veterinary search engine optimization, we might as well talk about Google Business Profiles. Vets are a huge part of the local community, so make sure you appear on the map when people need to take care of their animals.
A lot of people use Google Maps to find services. You’ve probably done a “restaurant near me” or “cinema near me” type of search yourself.
It’s good veterinary SEO practice to make sure you’ve signed up for the Google My Business program. When people search your location, your practice will popup alongside your Google reviews, address, contact number, and more.
#4. Local SEO for vets
There is another aspect of veterinary search engine optimization that you should consider, and that is local SEO for vets.
Local SEO works a little differently from normal SEO. Google looks at certain search terms and contextualizes them based on what they call a “proximity factor.” In plain English, this just means that they consider your location when you’re searching for a term.
Basically, if someone searches the term “veterinary service,” Google serves them local results and not practices from the next state over. If you want to grow your veterinary practice, you need to think about local SEO for vets too.
Search engines like Google use a whole host of factors to rank local SEO. It’s worth speaking to a veterinary marketing agency to help you tap this rich source of traffic.
#5. PPC veterinary advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads should be part of your veterinary advertising strategy. While professional veterinary website design and SEO for vets are fundamental to getting a steady and sustainable stream of appointments at your practice, PPC is a great way to activate interest quickly.
Pay-per-click ads get your website to appear at the top of the SERP page, above the organic results. If someone Googles “veterinary service” in your area, your ad will be highly visible.
PPC is excellent for when you need to get interested fast. However, that’s not to say that it shouldn’t be used as part of a longer-term strategy too. When used in conjunction with professional veterinary web design, it’s a powerful way to win new customers.
#6. Social media
Social media is a great place for veterinary marketing. There are so many different ways that you can connect with pet lovers and owners that it’s an excellent way to grow your veterinary practice.
Setting up a Facebook or Instagram page for your veterinary practice is a great way to stay visible. If a pet owner likes or leaves a comment on your page, their friends and family will also learn about your business in their news feed. This process will help you expand your reach for free.
Additionally, more people are using social media channels to find and connect with businesses. Social media accounts should definitely be a part of your veterinary digital marketing strategy.
#7. Write a blog
Once you’ve got a shiny new website, you’ll want to fill it with information about the services you offer. But that’s not the only content you can add. Augmenting your site with a blog is one of the best veterinary marketing ideas out there.
There are two huge advantages to writing a blog as part of your content marketing strategy.
Firstly, it’s an opportunity to answer questions and talk about subjects related to your practice. That’s great for your veterinary SEO chances because you’ll match with people’s keywords and inquiries.
Secondly, producing great, relevant content helps you build trust and authority in your niche.
#8. Email marketing
No veterinary digital marketing strategy is complete without using email marketing. Even though email marketing has been around for a long time, it’s still a very effective way to communicate with your prospective audience.
However, to make it work, you need to concentrate on building an email list. Data privacy laws have made that more challenging in recent years, so you need to find ways to capture first-party customer data. Consult a veterinary marketing agency to discuss the best way to do this.
The good thing is that you’ll definitely have that for your existing customers. And they’re far more likely to return to your practice rather than sending out cold leads. We’ll talk about this future below in the section that deals with special offers and discounts.
#9. Get listed on online directories
Google My Business functions like an online directory. However, getting listed on other popular directories is a great way to expand your veterinary digital marketing.
There are two good advantages here that will help you grow your veterinary practice.
Firstly, people use these directories when they are trying to find a service. So, this kind of veterinary advertising should generate some new customers.
Secondly, getting your business on these directories can help you build backlinks that can improve SEO for vets.
Some of the directories that you can join are Yahoo Business listings, Yelp, Yell, and the Whitepages. It’s worth speaking to an agency that offers veterinarian SEO services because they’ll have a comprehensive list of directories and can help you get your business listed.
#10. Retargeting
OK, retargeting is getting a lot more difficult since Apple’s privacy update and Google’s promise to remove cookies from Chrome in 2023. However, that’s not to say that it’s a lost art.
In the past, if a person visited your website, you could basically follow them around the internet and serve them ads on participating websites. It was a great way to stay at the top of your customer’s minds.
Now, the practice is more difficult, but not impossible. Both Google and Facebook have good retargeting options for their paid ads. However, instead of using website cookies, you can advertise to people based on interests. Additionally, you can use your email list to retarget users via Google and Facebook advertising channels.
#11. Use video content
Everyone loves video. In fact, it accounts for about 80% of web traffic these days. But, with so much of it around, how do you cut through the noise?
The best rule for veterinary digital marketing and any type of content marketing is to provide value. Making helpful videos that answer common or specialist questions is the way to go.
The videos don’t need to be long. They don’t even need to be well-produced. People are more than happy to watch a lo-fi video or someone talking to the camera if it’s helpful to them.
#12. Social media groups and hashtags
One of the best things about the internet is that it lets niche groups and communities congregate together. If you run a veterinary practice, you’ve obviously got a love for animals and a whole load of knowledge about them too.
So use Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, or any other social media platform to join communities that are based around cats, dogs, or the other animals you treat.
These communities would be delighted to have an authority on animals to contribute. However, it’s probably a more slow-burn type of promotion than the other veterinary marketing ideas on our list.
Yes, it’s good to join groups to network and build your authority and profiles, but it’s not the time to be overly sales-focused. Use these forums to be helpful and provide advice. Good things happen to those who give their time to others — including more appointments.
#13. Use client testimonials
Client testimonials are very persuasive. People love social proof because it lets them know you are trustworthy and dependable.
Part of your veterinary web design should have a section where you can include comments from happy pet owners that talk about your service. You can ask your clients to leave them, or you can take them from, for example, your existing Google reviews.
You can also use client testimonials with some of the other veterinary marketing ideas. Consider adding them to your email marketing or making a social media post with this content.
#14. Direct mailers
Direct mailers are a veterinary marketing idea that has delivered results for decades. Flyers are definitely a less popular way to market your services these days, but if 70% of American households have a pet, you’ve got a good chance of reaching a potential client when a direct mailer goes through their door.
Of course, design, printing, and delivery are all costs you’ll need to consider. The Direct Mail Association suggests that you’ll spend about $51 per lead. However, compared to some channels, that’s not the most expensive way to reach a potential client.
#15. Send discounts and special offers via email
Another superb veterinary marketing idea is to send out discounts and special offers to your existing customers. You see, marketing isn’t just about finding new customers; it’s also about retaining your current clients.
Two important statistics to consider here are that:
- Acquiring a new customer costs about 5X times as retaining a current customer.
- The chances of successfully selling something to an existing customer are around 60-70%.
Email marketing to your current base is cheaper and easier. It’s an essential veterinary marketing technique.
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Professional veterinary web design is just one aspect of an excellent veterinary marketing strategy. A slick and stylish website that offers pet owners a way to sign up or contact your business is a great way to generate trust and assurance from your clients.
When combined with our other veterinary marketing ideas, like veterinary SEO, paid social media, and PPC ads, you should be able to drive enough traffic to your website to gain a steady stream of appointments.
Our helpful team at Townsquare Interactive specializes in
- Veterinary web design
- Veterinary digital marketing services
- SEO for veterinarians
- Veterinary advertising on social media
So, fill out the form today if you want to grow your veterinary practice!