How Clinics Can Rank in Nearby Cities (Even If You’re Not Located There) | Local SEO | Ep. 137

Learn how to improve your clinic’s local SEO and rank in nearby cities. Discover proven strategies to expand your reach, attract more patients, and grow your visibility beyond your location.

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Let’s say your clinic is based in one city, but many of your patients are willing to drive 20 or even 30 miles to see you. They know it’s worth traveling for high-quality care. The challenge is that when those same people search online, they often aren’t typing in your city’s name. They’re looking for services closer to where they live or work.

So how can your clinic show up in those searches and attract new patients from surrounding cities or suburbs?

That’s what we’re exploring today: how to expand your local SEO reach the right way. We’ll cover how Google determines local relevance, the strategies that actually help you appear in nearby city searches, and what to avoid so you don’t hurt your visibility.

By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap for building a stronger local presence that helps patients in your wider area discover your clinic and book appointments with confidence.

Episode webpages, blog, & show notes: https://propelyourcompany.com/rank-in-nearby-cities-local-seo-for-clinics/

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (01:10):
Let's say your clinic is based in one city, but
you know plenty of your patientswould happily drive 10, 15, 20,
even 30 or more miles away.
They're willing to travel forgreat care.
But when those people searchonline, they're not typing in

(01:32):
the name of your city.
They're searching for servicesthat are closer to them.
So how do you show up for thosesearches?
That's what we're diving intotoday.
How to rank in nearby cities andsuburbs the right way.
We'll talk about what to do,what to avoid, and how to create

(01:55):
real location.
We'll talk about what to do,what to avoid, and how to create
real local relevancy that Googleand your patients love.
Hello and welcome to thisepisode of the Clinic Marketing
Podcast.
I'm your host, Darcy Sullivanfrom Propel Marketing and

(02:16):
Design.
If you're like many clinicowners, your website probably
only focuses on your city.
But nearby towns and suburbs andother cities are full of
potential patients who areactively looking for what you
offer.
And here's the kicker.
Again, they might be willing todrive the 15, 20, 30, 40, or

(02:41):
more miles if they feltconfident you can help them.
That means if your SEO onlytargets your exact city name,
you're leaving opportunities andappointments on the table.
The key is not spamming yourwebsite with city names.

(03:02):
It's proving to Google thatyou're relevant to those nearby
communities.
Today I'm gonna walk you throughmy suggested seven-step strategy
for making the most of rankinglocally even outside of your
direct city.
Are you ready?
All right, let's dive in withstep number one.

(03:23):
Start with a solid local SEOfoundation.
Before you expand your reach,get your local business locked
in.
We have tons of resources thatrelate how to rank locally for
your city.
And I'll include some of thosein the show notes and the

(03:43):
website page associated withthis episode.
You are going to want to makesure that your Google Business
Profile listing is fullyoptimized with your current
name, address, phone number, andhours.
Your service areas include thenearby cities and suburbs you
want to rank for.
Your NAP information, that'syour name, address, and phone

(04:07):
number, is consistenteverywhere.
On your website, on Apple Maps,on Yelp, Health Grades,
Facebook, and other directories.
That your contact page, andactually, I even suggest your
footer on your website includesa clear map.

(04:28):
Your contact page can alsoinclude specific directions on
how to get to your location.
That's the foundation that helpsGoogle understand where you're
located and what areas makesense for you to serve.
Once you've done that, you canmove to step two.
Step two includes identifyingthe right nearby cities or

(04:53):
suburbs.
Instead of trying to rankeverywhere, you want to start
small.
Look at where your currentpatients actually come from.
If you were in Orlando, Florida,for example, and you see a lot
of patients from Winter Park orLake Mary, those are great

(05:14):
starting points.
Or maybe there's a nearby suburbthat's growing fast and doesn't
have many providers offeringwhat you offer.
And this is especially true ifyou offer some specific
modalities or services thatothers don't offer.
You can find these patterns inGoogle Analytics, looking at

(05:36):
your Google Business Profileinsights, or even on your intake
forms or conversations that youhave with people that come into
your clinic.
Pick one or two of these citiesand start there and grow from
there.

Step three (05:53):
show regional relevance naturally.
Here's where most clinics make amistake.
And I've seen it time and timeand time again.
Whether they do it or they werein talks with an SEO company

(06:13):
that was using strategies thatworked 18, 15 years ago, where
they create dozens ofcookie-cutter pages and just
swap out the name of the city.
That is such a big no-no.
And again, if you have done thisor you were guided into doing
this, I understand it's not yourfault.

(06:35):
But I want you to be on the goodside of Google because when you
do things right, Google willreward you.
So instead, you want to weavethose surrounding cities into
your content naturally.
Here are some ideas for doingthat.
Mention nearby cities on yourhomepage or your contact page,

(06:57):
like stating serving patientsfrom Orlando, Lake Mary, and
Winter Park.
You can add driving directionsor phrases like just 15 minutes
north of downtown Orlando.
When you include testimonials,you can reference a nearby area.
Michelle from Orlando foundrelief after years of neck pain.

(07:23):
You can feature photos orcommunity references that show
your connection to that area.
Doing this, you're showingGoogle and your website visitors
that you're genuinely part of alarger local ecosystem, not
thinking it just by swapping outkeywords.

(07:46):
Step four.
And I want you to be very, verycareful with step four.
And only use it if you can do itthe right way that we're going
to describe.
If not, skip step four and moveon to step five.
But step four would be to createcity pages only when they add

(08:08):
real value.
Sometimes it does make sense tobuild out a specific page for a
nearby city.
But again, it has to be doneoriginal and useful.
For example, if you are achiropractor in Orlando and you
regularly see runners fromWinter Park, you might create a

(08:31):
page titled Sports ChiropractorNear Winter Park for Runners and
Athletes.
This page could include drivingdirections from that area, why
runners from that area come toyou, photos of your team and
local events, testimonials frompatients specifically in that

(08:53):
area, and some information aboutyour experience helping local
athletes prepare for that annualwinter park road race.
That kind of page adds realvalue.
It's not just filler.
These are not pages that couldpass for tourism pages.
That's when we see problems, iswhen people go and they just

(09:17):
build out all of these crazypages where again they're just
subbing in out the city name,going to AI, having them write
them for them, or they're justvery basic location information.
That's the wrong way to do it.
If you do not feel like you cancreate city pages that truly add

(09:39):
value, again, skip that step andjust move on to step five.
Step five is when you start touse geotargeted content to build
trust.
So you can also create localizedcontent that shows your
connection to nearby cities andthey don't require separate

(10:01):
pages.
You can use blog posts, forexample.
If there's a popular marathonhappening one city over, like
the winter park half marathon,you could record a short video
or write a blog post about topthree stretches for runners
before the winter park marathon.

(10:24):
Mention your clinic works withrunners from that area and
include tips about avoidinginjuries before the race day.
Or if there's a well-known parkor trail one city over, you
could go to that location andfilm short stretching or

(10:46):
mobility routines there.
That way, when you create a blogpost around that content, when
you're highlighting thatcontent, let's say you upload it
to YouTube, you're starting theconversation by saying, Today
I'm at location, blah, blah,blah, blah, blah.
And then you're naturallyworking that not only into your

(11:06):
video content if you'rerecording a video, but then in
the text that surrounds it, youwould want to include that too.
Another way, if you're a sponsoror have a local event or health
fair in a nearby town, writeabout it on your blog or post
about it on your Google Businessprofile.

(11:27):
Bonus points if you can getother people to post about it on
your Google Business Profile.
In episode 135, we talk allabout user-generated content on
your Google Business Profilelisting to give you an edge.
You'll want to check out thatepisode and we'll include it in
it on the episode web page andshow notes.

(11:52):
All of these things send a verystrong signal to Google and
create reliability and reputableinformation, and you are
providing engaging content forpeople in those communities.
As you can see, there's a huge,huge difference in creating

(12:12):
content like we just talkedabout, that's geo-targeted that
adds value versus those basiclocation pages that don't add
value.
Step six, you can start tostrengthen local connections and
backlinks.
If you really want to rank inneighboring cities, one of the

(12:33):
best things you can do is earnlocal backlinks.
Now, a local backlink from apizza parlor isn't going to be
the same as a local backlinkfrom a Chamber of Commerce or a
youth sports team that you'responsoring, because those have
better link equity.

(12:56):
So try partnering maybe with alocal nearby gym or fitness
studio if you're a chiropractor,or if you are an acupuncturist
or physical therapist and thatmakes sense.
Consider joining the Chamber ofCommerce or networking groups in
surrounding areas.
Another example, if you're achiropractor, acupuncturist, or

(13:19):
physical therapist might besponsoring a youth sports team,
a 5K or community wellnessevents in that city.
You can also considercollaborating with local
bloggers or health coaches whoalready reach that audience.
We also see oftentimes wherethere's a chiropractor that

(13:44):
partners with physical therapistor with acupuncturists, think
about all the connections youcan make.
And these backlinks act as trustsignals, telling Google that
your clinic is known and trustedacross multiple cities.

(14:04):
Then we have the final step.
Step seven, track what'sworking.
Once you've started implementingthese strategies, monitor your
progress.
Look at Google Search Console,what city names are appearing in
search queries that lead to yoursite.
Look at your Google BusinessProfile Insights, where are
calls and website visitorscoming from?

(14:25):
Look at Google Analytics and seehow these targeted pieces of
content are performing.
If you start to see momentumfrom one area, that's a cue to
lean in.
Maybe more content or deeperrelationships or a new page that
fits your SEO goals.

(14:46):
There's also a really greatepisode that we'll link on the
web page that talks aboutpartnerships opportunities
locally and how those candirectly affect your SEO.
All right, let's do a quickrecap.
One, start with strong local SEOfundamentals.

(15:11):
Two, identify a few nearbycities to focus on.
Three, add those locationsnaturally to your website and
content.
Four, create unique, valuablecity pages only when it makes
sense.
And I'm gonna repeat that, onlywhen it makes sense.
Five, use local contentopportunities like marathons,

(15:35):
parks, events, get creative toconnect with nearby audiences.
Six try to build local backlinksthrough real relationships.
Seven, track and adjust based onwhat's working.
Remember, it's not abouttricking Google into thinking

(15:57):
you're in those cities, which iswhat I think some people try to
do.
It's about showing that peoplefrom those communities already
know, like, and trust you.
And if you're ready to take thenext step, be sure to visit
propelyourcompany.com and eitherbook a discovery call or check

(16:19):
out one of our recent webinars.
Thanks for your time today.
And remember, your next bestpatient might not live in your
city, but they're probablyalready searching for you just
one town over.