Veterinary Content & SEO: Another Expense or an Investment for Your Practice's Future?

In a world so focused on budgets and generating higher profit margins year after year, it's easy to fall into the trap of viewing key marketing and growth initiatives as just another line item expense eating up valuable dollars in your budget. For some veterinary practices, this reality has become especially true when it comes to content marketing and SEO.

Implementing content and SEO strategies and taking the time to execute them correctly and with best practices in mind will take up quite a few resources, and that's the part that too many practice owners and marketing managers get caught up on, leaving them to ignore content and SEO efforts in favor of other marketing endeavors. But that's where they're missing out. When nurtured and given the proper resources, content and SEO strategies can be marketing game changers for your practice, consistently providing value to patients, increasing your clinic's authority and visibility, and uniting your other marketing initiatives for a cohesive multi-channel approach. 

In order to see the true potential of SEO and content marketing for veterinary practices, we as an industry need to shift our mindset and begin treating both content and SEO as investments for our practice's future, rather than just another expense on a quarterly budget sheet. Let's take a look at how you can start embracing the power of content and SEO as necessary investments for your practice's future.

The Digital Shift in Pet Care Information Seeking

With increases in internet access for the average person, spreading adoption of mobile devices, and the ever-quickening evolution of technology, consumers have undergone a shift, becoming more empowered and capable of research than ever before. For the veterinary industry, this shift has had a profound impact on the way these consumers seek out information related to pet care and evaluate potential service providers and vendors. Practice owners have had to adapt to a new and more complex customer journey that does not always necessarily follow the traditional marketing funnel and engagement tactics that we've become so used to. 

Robust veterinary SEO and content strategies can help address the needs and desires of this newer breed of "always on" consumer while connecting them with accurate information that directly ties back to your practice.

The Relationship Between Veterinary Content and SEO

While content and SEO are technically two separate entities of digital marketing, they truly go hand in hand, and experts in both fields recommend building your content and SEO strategies in tandem to ensure they're working together to achieve superior visibility and ranking results for your practice and website. Think of it this way: your overarching SEO strategies and goals should inform what kinds and topics of content are included in your practice's content strategy and vice versa. These two elements of your digital marketing efforts should always be working in unison and supporting the success of the other.

The content you create as part of your SEO strategy serves as a valuable resource for pet owners. Whether it's tips for pet care, in-depth articles on common health issues, or downloadable guides, this content fosters a deeper connection with your clients, making them more likely to return for future veterinary needs.

While the initial investment in veterinary SEO and content creation may seem significant, the long-term benefits far outweigh the costs. A well-optimized website and a library of informative content continue to attract new clients over time, providing sustainable growth for your practice. But we'll dive deeper into that next.    

The Return on Investment (ROI) of Veterinary SEO and Content

ROI, or Return on Investment, is an often crucial metric for veterinary practices, allowing owners and their financial and marketing teams to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing initiatives, like search ads, email campaigns, or content marketing. It essentially measures the profitability and success of an investment relative to its cost. Traditionally, when calculating ROI based on content marketing or SEO efforts, you'll want to assign a dollar value to the conversions or actions that result from the content you create. This can help you calculate and determine whether or not the resources you are putting into content creation and SEO work are resulting in positive returns later on. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console are great for helping your team and leaders understand exactly how your content is performing and what kind of results you're seeing. 

Outside of the dollar and cents of ROI, there are a number of other tangible benefits your veterinary practice can reap from well-executed SEO and content creation strategies that can ultimately benefit your practice in the long run and contribute to brand awareness and conversion goals. These other benefits can include: 

• Increased Visibility: Veterinary SEO positions your clinic at the forefront of search engine results, making it easier for potential clients to find you and review if your practice is what they're looking for. According to research from FirstPageSage, over two-thirds (68.7%) of all clicks go to the top three organic search results, making good search engine results pages' (SERP) visibility crucial.
• Targeted Traffic: By utilizing SEO best practices and optimizing your content and website copy for specific keywords, you attract pet owners actively searching for veterinary services, which can be high-quality leads looking to convert and book an appointment quickly.
• Trust and Credibility: You've heard it before: Consistent, valuable content builds trust with pet owners. When your clinic consistently appears in search results and provides helpful information, it establishes your practice as an authority in the field, which can garner trust and respect from new clients.
• Long-Term Value: Once your website is optimized and content is in place, the ongoing maintenance costs are relatively low, making it a sustainable long-term strategy that yields benefits long after the initial investment is made.

Why You Need to View Content & SEO as Investments

1. Content Isn't Just "One and Done"

One of the greatest things about content, especially in the realm of veterinary medicine, is that once you have it, you can use it over and over again in new ways through repurposing. Content can be repurposed for a variety of other assets and be used across all of your digital marketing channels, contributing to cohesive and engaging campaigns. 

For example, if you create a video discussing the ins and outs of spaying and neutering, what starts out as one video that is posted on social media could be repurposed and transformed into several new assets, like a blog guide, social media graphics, a podcast topic, brochure copy, and more. The options for repurposing and recycling content can truly be endless, and can significantly cut down on the time and resources needed to generate other content assets months or even years later. 

2. Content and SEO Create Greater Adaptability for Industry and Marketing Shifts

The digital landscape is dynamic, and algorithm changes to search engines like Google have become increasingly frequent. With so many nuanced changes happening seemingly without notice, it can be incredibly difficult for practice owners and managers to stay on top of these updates and new best practices on top of their already full workloads. 

Working with an experienced SEO team can help build a resilient foundation for your website that can stand the test of time. Investing in veterinary SEO that is comprehensive and reaches every aspect and every web page better safeguards your website and visibility against the negative impacts of unexpected algorithm changes and slight shifts in consumer behaviors.

3. You'll Get Results Long After You've Hit Publish

One consideration those unfamiliar with content marketing often ignore is the shelf life of good content. Many practice owners may think of their content as complete once they've hit "publish" and the content is live on their website. But, in reality, that's just the beginning of your content's lifespan. 

4. Content and SEO Can Change Along with Your Practice

Thanks to easy-to-edit websites and accessible content composers, content doesn't have to be a static element anymore. Once you hit publish, that's not the end, and your content piece isn't necessarily set in stone. With online and digital content, we can edit, optimize, and refresh content whenever we want, giving veterinary blog content more versatility than ever before. In fact, 42% of respondents to a Semrush survey said that updating existing content has boosted their content marketing value, ultimately leading to a greater return on the initial investment.

We can update existing content to better align with changes in our brands, optimize blogs to rank for different keywords, or even engage in testing by trying out new things, like different meta structures or internal links. This adaptability of both SEO and content allows for practice owners to ensure that they are still seeing a positive contribution to their practice's goals, even years after a blog has been written or SEO tactics have been employed. 

Start Treating Content And SEO Like the Investments They Are

Remember, the success of your veterinary practice is not just about treating animals; it's about connecting with the pet-owning community and becoming their go-to resource for all things pet-related. So, when considering the cost of veterinary SEO and content, don't think of it as just another expense taking up budget. Understand the true potential of SEO and content marketing and think of it as an investment in the health and prosperity of your practice – an investment that pays dividends in the form of increased visibility, client trust, and sustainable growth. 

Want to learn more about the benefits of investing in veterinary SEO and content? Book a demo with one of our geniuses today to learn how these digital tactics can secure the future of your practice.