This marketing tip is EXTREMELY important, if not one of the most important ones I have ever written. I continue to consult and do podcast interviews with nurse practitioners and continue to see the same problem over and over again: the nurse practitioner does not make their practice EASILY found in the marketplace. This should be your NUMBER ONE priority for your practice. Do not worry about paid advertising, discount programs, and so forth until you have made your practice easily findable. This is KEY.

So, how do you make your practice easy to find? 2 ways:

SEO and your Google Business Listing.

That is literally it. You need to ensure you optimize these 2 aspects in your business. It is CRITICALLY important. Remember, you are NOTHING unless you are easily found. Patients will not magically call you or schedule an appointment through your website unless they can FIND YOU. So, don’t give them a job: make it easy!

The first step is to ensure you have a solid Google Business Listing. I have written about this before. You need to ensure you create a Google My Business account as soon as you begin creating your practice. You also need to ensure you have as many reviews as you possibly can get for that listing. The more reviews you have, the more credible you look and the higher you will rank on Google searches. Remember, 90%+ of internet searches happen on Google, so ensure you have your business listing fully optimized through reviews, updated pictures, updated hours, etc…

The second step is to ensure you have a rock-solid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy implemented on your website because this will affect how you rank on Google. I have written about this before as well. The big thing here is ensure you have as many keywords as you possibly can through your websites content. You need to ensure the headings on your website are applicable to what you are doing as well.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to increase your SEO is simply by having a blog on your website. You need to post at least one new article WEEKLY. This only has to be 500 words, so do not complicate it. A very simple and straight to the point article about an aspect of your practice or a service that you offer is sufficient. Do not let this intimidate you because marketing is the number one function of your business, and as a business owner you need to be spending time on this, therefore get in the habit of sitting down for an hour every week and write a brief article to post on your websites blog. It WILL pay off, trust me.

Other ways you can make yourself easily findable is by having as many social media accounts as possible, listings on other websites such as Yelp, Bing, etc., and by always marketing in your region or towards your target market. Remember, the average consumer needs to see a product 8 times before pulling the trigger buying it. Medical services are no different. So, always be marketing and always be in front of the eyes of your target market!

If you do these 3 things (Google Business Listing, SEO, and always having at least one ad out), then people will be able to find you easily and you will see an increase in patient volume. I guarantee it.