May 12, 2025 • 14 mins
Today, we're diving into how clinic owners can optimize for "near me" searches to capture high-intent local patients actively seeking healthcare services in their area.
Millions of daily searches like "chiropractor near me" or "acupuncturist near me" represent valuable opportunities to connect with patients ready to book appointments.
The big question is—how do you make your clinic show up in those results?
Let’s break it down.
💥 Episode webpage and show notes: How to Rank for “Near Me” Searches: A Local SEO Guide for Clinics
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to the Clinic Marketing Podcast, where
we help chiropractors, physicaltherapists, acupuncturists, med
spas and other clinic ownersattract more local patients and
grow their business throughsmarter digital marketing
efforts.
I'm your host, darci Sullivanfrom Propel Marketing and Design
(00:23):
, and today we're diving intoone of the most common and
powerful types of local searchthe near me search.
If you've ever pulled out yourphone and typed something like
gas station near me, restaurantnear me or anything of the sort,
(00:43):
you know how valuable it is.
And if we flip the script andlook at your patients, who go to
their phones or computer andusually type in something like
massage therapist near me orchiropractor near me, we know
how important it is to rank.
Millions of people search thisway every day, especially when
(01:07):
they're ready to book anappointment or visit a business.
The big question is how do youmake your clinic show up in
those results?
Let's break it down Near mesearches are intent driven.
Near me searches are intentdriven.
(01:27):
That means the person searchingis actively looking for a
solution, now usually close toeither their home, their work,
where they're staying, ifthey're on vacation or wherever
they're searching from, becausethey are looking for near me
results.
These types of searches oftenlead to action.
(01:49):
We're talking about phone calls, map directions and booking
appointments all within minutesof hitting that search button.
So if your business isn'tshowing up for these results,
you're likely missing out onsome real quality website
traffic.
Now, if you've listened to ourpodcast for a while, you know
(02:13):
that we talk a lot about SEO andwe had an amazing episode on
what ranking factors matter whenit comes to Google Map rankings
, when it comes to localrankings, when it comes to
organic rankings, when it comesto Google Map rankings, when it
comes to local rankings, when itcomes to organic rankings, when
it comes to a variable ofdifferent rankings and we're not
going to get into thatspecifically in this episode.
(02:34):
I will leave links in the shownotes that will guide you
towards some of those resources,but today I just want to give
you some tips for ranking forthat near me search.
It's important to understand howGoogle handles near me searches
.
When someone types inacupuncturist near me, google
(02:58):
just doesn't look for the wordnear me on your website, which
is what some people try to shovein and think is the right
answer.
Instead, it uses a combinationof factors to figure out who to
show.
Those include proximity howclose your clinic is to the
searcher.
(03:18):
Relevance, how well yourbusiness matches the search
query.
Prominence, how strong youronline presence is.
This includes content on yourwebsite, content on your Google
business profile listing,reviews, links and other things.
(03:42):
Again, you can look at thatepisode that we did that broke
down all of the factors if youwant more detail on specific
ranking factors for search, butright now we're just talking
about near me search, and withthis it means that ranking for
near me ranking for near medoesn't require magic.
(04:05):
What it requires is a solidlocal SEO strategy, and this is
starts with step one, which isoptimizing your Google business
profile listing.
We have tons of resources Again, we'll include those in the
show notes specific to yourGoogle business profile listing
but when it comes to ranking inthose near me searches, there
(04:28):
are a couple of things that Iwant to highlight.
Right now, you need to make surethat your Google business
profile is fully optimized.
If you are a member of our DIYSEO group, ready Set Rank,
within that program you'll findthe latest training on how to
optimize your Google businessprofile listing.
(04:51):
If you're interested in joiningReady Set Rank, you can find
out details by visitingpropellyourcompanycom.
But what we want to do is wewant to make sure that your
business name, your address andyour phone number are accurate
and consistent throughout theweb, that you've chosen the
right categories.
You want your primary categoryto be just that, whatever your
(05:13):
primary category is.
But don't stop there.
If secondary categories workfor you, make sure you add them.
For example, if you're achiropractor who also offers
massage therapy, list them both.
List your primary category aschiropractor, but massage
therapy as a secondary category.
(05:34):
We want to make sure that youadd detailed service
descriptions focusing on thosekeywords, that you upload real
photos, not stock photos, toyour Google business profile
listing and that you encouragethose positive reviews.
Those are all actions youshould take on your Google
(05:55):
business profile listing.
Those are just some of the fewactions you should take on your
Google business profile listing,but if you're just getting
started, those are some reallygreat steps.
But we also havelocation-specific keywords on
your website To help Googleconnect your website to local
search queries when somebody'ssearching online.
(06:17):
You need to includelocation-based content
throughout your website.
This does not mean that youjust put together a page that's
about the city where your clinicis located.
I've seen those pages.
Those pages might rank for afew keywords, but they're never
usually related to the servicesor what somebody is searching
(06:41):
for.
For example, if you're achiropractor, let's say you're a
chiropractor in Boston and thatdoes not mean that you need a
page on your website that's justabout the city of Boston,
because somebody looking forinformation about the city of
Boston is probably eithervisiting there or looking for
(07:04):
other specific information, notinformation related to
chiropractic care.
We want to make sure that youadd keyword what I would call
amplifiers that relate to yourlocation.
So your city or yourneighborhood should be on your
homepage.
Right, it could bechiropractorcom in Boston or the
(07:30):
leading sports chiropracticcare in Boston.
We want to make sure that we'reincluding those location-based
keywords, or keyword amplifiers,because they're going with the
other keywords.
Right, the keywords thatidentify the services that you
offer.
We want to make sure that we'reincluding those in the headers,
(07:51):
that we're including them inyour meta descriptions.
Service pages can includephrases like chiropractor or
chiropractic adjustment inBoston, or whatever city you're
referring to, or acupunctureclinic near, and then list the
(08:12):
landmark or neighborhood.
See how we're not using thephrase quote unquote.
Near me we do see people tryingto do that, that they're just
trying to type in the phrasenear me, thinking it's going to
help them rank, and it doesn't.
You also want to embed a Googlemap of your location.
(08:32):
You can do this in your footeron your homepage, on your
contact page or on your aboutpage Whatever makes the most
sense for your business.
You also want to build localauthority through reviews and
citations.
I think everybody knows howimportant it is to gather
reviews these days, and it'sreally good to gather them on
(08:56):
Google.
We also suggest that you try togather a few reviews on Yelp,
because Yelp reviews do display.
Yelp reviews will display on afew other listings, like your
Apple Maps listing or your Bingbusiness listing.
Those usually pull in some ofyour reviews from Yelp.
(09:18):
So we do suggest that you graba couple reviews on your Yelp
listing, but mainly that youfocus on gathering reviews on
your Google business profilelisting, because those will
display on your Google Mapslisting.
Now for citations.
These citations are listingsonline and we want to make sure
(09:38):
again that your NAP your name,your address and phone number
matches congruently online.
This includes your Googlebusiness profile listing, your
website, yelp health gradesbeing places and more as you go
about creating a contentstrategy for your website.
We want to make sure that ithighlights local relevance, and
(10:02):
you can do this through a numberof different ways.
You should get creative withthis right.
Maybe you blog about localevents that you partner with.
Maybe it's 5k, charity run,health fair or school ties.
You can create specific contentlike how to stay pain-free
(10:24):
during Fort Myers marathonseason.
See, when you create contentlike that, you're addressing
your target audience whileadding quality and value.
This kind of content signals toGoogle that your business is
deeply rooted in the community.
(10:45):
As always, we want to make surethat your website is mobile
friendly.
Most near me searches happen onsmartphones is mobile friendly.
Most near me searches happen onsmartphones.
If your website takes foreverto load, it's hard to navigate
on a phone, or somebody justcan't figure out how to book an
appointment, people will move on.
So check your website for fastload speed, easy navigation,
(11:08):
clear, call to actions and makesure that it's easy for them to
click to talk, meaning they canclick on the phone number on
your website and call you, andthat they can easily find your
address and get directions fromyour website.
So, to recap, what actions canyou take this week to help you
(11:32):
start showing up in near mesearches.
Focus on these five thingsFully optimize your Google
business profile.
Use local keywords throughoutyour website.
Collect and respond to reviews.
Work on building thosecitations and creating local
(11:52):
content.
And make sure your website ismobile friendly.
Even if you only have time toimplement one or two of these
strategies this week, you canstill make a difference and see
notable changes in yourvisibility online.
Showing up for near me searchdoesn't require a massive
(12:13):
marketing budget.
It just requires a focusedlocal SEO strategy and, as a
clinic owner, ranking higher inthose results can mean more foot
traffic, more phone calls, morebooked appointments from people
who are ready to take action.
So take 15 minutes today, checkout your Google business
(12:39):
profile listing or look at yourservices pages.
Those little steps can help addup to big wins over time, and
if you need more help, pleasefeel free to reach out to us and
book a discovery call.
You can do so by visitingpropellyourcompanycom.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome back to the Clinic Marketing Podcast, where
we help chiropractors, physicaltherapists, acupuncturists, med
spas and other clinic ownersattract more local patients and
grow their business throughsmarter digital marketing
efforts.
I'm your host, darci Sullivanfrom Propel Marketing and Design
(00:23):
, and today we're diving intoone of the most common and
powerful types of local searchthe near me search.
If you've ever pulled out yourphone and typed something like
gas station near me, restaurantnear me or anything of the sort,
(00:43):
you know how valuable it is.
And if we flip the script andlook at your patients, who go to
their phones or computer andusually type in something like
massage therapist near me orchiropractor near me, we know
how important it is to rank.
Millions of people search thisway every day, especially when
(01:07):
they're ready to book anappointment or visit a business.
The big question is how do youmake your clinic show up in
those results?
Let's break it down Near mesearches are intent driven.
Near me searches are intentdriven.
(01:27):
That means the person searchingis actively looking for a
solution, now usually close toeither their home, their work,
where they're staying, ifthey're on vacation or wherever
they're searching from, becausethey are looking for near me
results.
These types of searches oftenlead to action.
(01:49):
We're talking about phone calls, map directions and booking
appointments all within minutesof hitting that search button.
So if your business isn'tshowing up for these results,
you're likely missing out onsome real quality website
traffic.
Now, if you've listened to ourpodcast for a while, you know
(02:13):
that we talk a lot about SEO andwe had an amazing episode on
what ranking factors matter whenit comes to Google Map rankings
, when it comes to localrankings, when it comes to
organic rankings, when it comesto Google Map rankings, when it
comes to local rankings, when itcomes to organic rankings, when
it comes to a variable ofdifferent rankings and we're not
going to get into thatspecifically in this episode.
(02:34):
I will leave links in the shownotes that will guide you
towards some of those resources,but today I just want to give
you some tips for ranking forthat near me search.
It's important to understand howGoogle handles near me searches
.
When someone types inacupuncturist near me, google
(02:58):
just doesn't look for the wordnear me on your website, which
is what some people try to shovein and think is the right
answer.
Instead, it uses a combinationof factors to figure out who to
show.
Those include proximity howclose your clinic is to the
searcher.
(03:18):
Relevance, how well yourbusiness matches the search
query.
Prominence, how strong youronline presence is.
This includes content on yourwebsite, content on your Google
business profile listing,reviews, links and other things.
(03:42):
Again, you can look at thatepisode that we did that broke
down all of the factors if youwant more detail on specific
ranking factors for search, butright now we're just talking
about near me search, and withthis it means that ranking for
near me ranking for near medoesn't require magic.
(04:05):
What it requires is a solidlocal SEO strategy, and this is
starts with step one, which isoptimizing your Google business
profile listing.
We have tons of resources Again, we'll include those in the
show notes specific to yourGoogle business profile listing
but when it comes to ranking inthose near me searches, there
(04:28):
are a couple of things that Iwant to highlight.
Right now, you need to make surethat your Google business
profile is fully optimized.
If you are a member of our DIYSEO group, ready Set Rank,
within that program you'll findthe latest training on how to
optimize your Google businessprofile listing.
(04:51):
If you're interested in joiningReady Set Rank, you can find
out details by visitingpropellyourcompanycom.
But what we want to do is wewant to make sure that your
business name, your address andyour phone number are accurate
and consistent throughout theweb, that you've chosen the
right categories.
You want your primary categoryto be just that, whatever your
(05:13):
primary category is.
But don't stop there.
If secondary categories workfor you, make sure you add them.
For example, if you're achiropractor who also offers
massage therapy, list them both.
List your primary category aschiropractor, but massage
therapy as a secondary category.
(05:34):
We want to make sure that youadd detailed service
descriptions focusing on thosekeywords, that you upload real
photos, not stock photos, toyour Google business profile
listing and that you encouragethose positive reviews.
Those are all actions youshould take on your Google
(05:55):
business profile listing.
Those are just some of the fewactions you should take on your
Google business profile listing,but if you're just getting
started, those are some reallygreat steps.
But we also havelocation-specific keywords on
your website To help Googleconnect your website to local
search queries when somebody'ssearching online.
(06:17):
You need to includelocation-based content
throughout your website.
This does not mean that youjust put together a page that's
about the city where your clinicis located.
I've seen those pages.
Those pages might rank for afew keywords, but they're never
usually related to the servicesor what somebody is searching
(06:41):
for.
For example, if you're achiropractor, let's say you're a
chiropractor in Boston and thatdoes not mean that you need a
page on your website that's justabout the city of Boston,
because somebody looking forinformation about the city of
Boston is probably eithervisiting there or looking for
(07:04):
other specific information, notinformation related to
chiropractic care.
We want to make sure that youadd keyword what I would call
amplifiers that relate to yourlocation.
So your city or yourneighborhood should be on your
homepage.
Right, it could bechiropractorcom in Boston or the
(07:30):
leading sports chiropracticcare in Boston.
We want to make sure that we'reincluding those location-based
keywords, or keyword amplifiers,because they're going with the
other keywords.
Right, the keywords thatidentify the services that you
offer.
We want to make sure that we'reincluding those in the headers,
(07:51):
that we're including them inyour meta descriptions.
Service pages can includephrases like chiropractor or
chiropractic adjustment inBoston, or whatever city you're
referring to, or acupunctureclinic near, and then list the
(08:12):
landmark or neighborhood.
See how we're not using thephrase quote unquote.
Near me we do see people tryingto do that, that they're just
trying to type in the phrasenear me, thinking it's going to
help them rank, and it doesn't.
You also want to embed a Googlemap of your location.
(08:32):
You can do this in your footeron your homepage, on your
contact page or on your aboutpage Whatever makes the most
sense for your business.
You also want to build localauthority through reviews and
citations.
I think everybody knows howimportant it is to gather
reviews these days, and it'sreally good to gather them on
(08:56):
Google.
We also suggest that you try togather a few reviews on Yelp,
because Yelp reviews do display.
Yelp reviews will display on afew other listings, like your
Apple Maps listing or your Bingbusiness listing.
Those usually pull in some ofyour reviews from Yelp.
(09:18):
So we do suggest that you graba couple reviews on your Yelp
listing, but mainly that youfocus on gathering reviews on
your Google business profilelisting, because those will
display on your Google Mapslisting.
Now for citations.
These citations are listingsonline and we want to make sure
(09:38):
again that your NAP your name,your address and phone number
matches congruently online.
This includes your Googlebusiness profile listing, your
website, yelp health gradesbeing places and more as you go
about creating a contentstrategy for your website.
We want to make sure that ithighlights local relevance, and
(10:02):
you can do this through a numberof different ways.
You should get creative withthis right.
Maybe you blog about localevents that you partner with.
Maybe it's 5k, charity run,health fair or school ties.
You can create specific contentlike how to stay pain-free
(10:24):
during Fort Myers marathonseason.
See, when you create contentlike that, you're addressing
your target audience whileadding quality and value.
This kind of content signals toGoogle that your business is
deeply rooted in the community.
(10:45):
As always, we want to make surethat your website is mobile
friendly.
Most near me searches happen onsmartphones is mobile friendly.
Most near me searches happen onsmartphones.
If your website takes foreverto load, it's hard to navigate
on a phone, or somebody justcan't figure out how to book an
appointment, people will move on.
So check your website for fastload speed, easy navigation,
(11:08):
clear, call to actions and makesure that it's easy for them to
click to talk, meaning they canclick on the phone number on
your website and call you, andthat they can easily find your
address and get directions fromyour website.
So, to recap, what actions canyou take this week to help you
(11:32):
start showing up in near mesearches.
Focus on these five thingsFully optimize your Google
business profile.
Use local keywords throughoutyour website.
Collect and respond to reviews.
Work on building thosecitations and creating local
(11:52):
content.
And make sure your website ismobile friendly.
Even if you only have time toimplement one or two of these
strategies this week, you canstill make a difference and see
notable changes in yourvisibility online.
Showing up for near me searchdoesn't require a massive
(12:13):
marketing budget.
It just requires a focusedlocal SEO strategy and, as a
clinic owner, ranking higher inthose results can mean more foot
traffic, more phone calls, morebooked appointments from people
who are ready to take action.
So take 15 minutes today, checkout your Google business
(12:39):
profile listing or look at yourservices pages.
Those little steps can help addup to big wins over time, and
if you need more help, pleasefeel free to reach out to us and
book a discovery call.
You can do so by visitingpropellyourcompanycom.
Thanks for listening.
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