A successful pharmacy ecommerce website often engages with a local community or acts as a complementary service to a physical store. Therefore local search engine optimization can significantly boost the online presence of the pharmacy and make sure that it is accessible to the right audience. Here are some tips to optimise your online pharmacy for local SEO.
Carry out local keyword research
Conduct local keyword research. There are plenty of free tools available such as Google Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer and Semrush. Focus on those ‘near me’ keywords that are relevant to your pharmacy’s location and services, and the products and services that are most in demand by your customers.
Include long tail keywords that address common health related queries or are particularly relevant to your business. Remember that using only the highest ranking keywords is not always the best strategy because they will be competing with more websites.
By using keywords that are less popular but more relevant to your business, over time you will be able to establish a stronger online presence. This will not happen overnight in most cases, but the effort should pay off in the end.
Claim your Google My Business listing
Google is used for 83.5% of all search engine queries, so it’s important to take advantage of all the features that they offer for local businesses. One of the easiest and most effective steps you can take is to claim your Google my Business listing. This will enable you to add contact information, images, announcements, offers, and a link to your website.
There are also hundreds of local online directories that are general or sector specific. Make sure that you add your website to all of the relevant directories. This will not only boost your local SEO but is also an opportunity to create backlinks that will drive traffic to your website.
Optimise the content and structure of your website
Every new piece of content that you post on your website is an opportunity to optimise it for local SEO. Include keywords when relevant in pages titles, URLs, headers, meta descriptions, and the main body of the copy. As well as blog posts and news articles, consider adding customer reviews, ‘how-to’ product guides, or case studies.
Create content that is relevant to your target area
When creating content for your website and social media pages, think beyond general topics and look at what is going on in the local community. It is helpful to build strong relationships with members of the community and participate in events, sponsorships, campaigns, volunteer days and so on.
This will enable you to generate local press coverage and raise brand awareness, which will all feed back into a stronger online presence.
Optimise the site for mobile users
Local searches are often made by users on the go, so it’s crucial that your website is fully responsive and offers a seamless user experience across a range of devices.