Drug Rehab SEO for Rehabilitation Facilities

Do you own or manage a drug addiction rehabilitation facility? Would you like to spread the word about your treatment services to many people? If you answered yes to the two previous questions, you may want to learn more about drug rehab SEO.

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Optimizing your facility’s website with drug rehab SEO can help increase web traffic, and in turn, increase the number of patients interested in your business. There are many elements of SEO, especially as it relates to addiction treatment centers, so it can be hard to know where to start.

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Here is some basic information about drug rehab SEO and how it can help businesses in the drug treatment industry:

What Is Drug Rehab SEO?

Search engine optimization, abbreviated SEO, is the science and art of getting websites to rank higher with search engines. Search engines are tools that help individuals discover content online, and the higher your website is ranked on a search engine’s results page, the more visitors you will get. Search engines such as Google, display paid advertisements at the top of results pages, followed by regular (organic) results. Traffic that comes through paid search is different from organic search traffic. Paid search is usually referred to as pay-per-click (PPC) or search engine marketing (SEM). Users tend to trust organic search results significantly more.

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SEO is a key component of online marketing because the majority of consumers now use search engines to navigate the internet. Search engines display results in an ordered list, and the higher up on the list a site is, the more traffic it will typically receive. Very few consumers will take the time to view a search engine’s second or third results pages, so investing in SEO can ensure more patients find your drug rehab facility. In other words, if you want to rank higher than other drug rehabilitation centers, you will need to utilize a variety of drug rehab SEO techniques to help your website do so.

How Do Search Engines Determine Rank?

Popular search engines, such as Google, utilize a unique algorithm or set of rules to decide what pages to show for a particular query. These algorithms are exceptionally complicated and factor into account thousands of different ranking criteria to determine the rankings of their results pages. Despite their complexity, there are only three primary metrics that search engines use to evaluate the quality of a website and how it should rank:

1. Page Structure: Page structure is important because webpages are written in HTML; how the HTML code is structured can affect a search engine’s ability to rank it. Search engines will examine the page’s URL, the number of keywords in its title, and the headers of the page to see if the site is crawlable.
2. Links: Links to and from other websites are highly important for any site. These links help determine a site’s ranking because they are seen as a vote of quality from other sites (website owners typically don’t link to poor-quality sites). Sites that accumulate links from many other sites are considered the most authoritative from the perspective of search engines.
3. Content: Search engines analyze the content of a website’s pages to determine its ranking. Search engine optimization using high-quality content that targets specific “keywords” can help your site rank higher and establish you as an authority.

A website's search engine optimization process includes optimizing the three components listed above to achieve a higher search engine ranking.

Common Drug Rehab SEO Techniques

There are many drug rehab SEO techniques facility owners can use to optimize their sites. To reach more potential clients and prove to search engines your site deserves to rank higher, you can utilize the following SEO tactics:

• Link Building: Since backlinks (links from external websites) are among the most important components of ranking to Google, you must obtain high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites. To acquire more backlinks, you should promote excellent content, create relationships with other sites and webmasters, submit sites to relevant web directories, and attract attention from other websites.
• Keyword Research: For many, keyword research is a foundational point for drug rehab SEO, and most researchers strive to find out what keywords a site is already ranking for. They will also look at which keywords your competitors rank for and which keywords potential customers are using when searching. By identifying these terms, you can write strong new content and improve the existing content you may have.
• Content Marketing: Once keywords are identified, you can craft a content marketing strategy, which may include adding new content or updating the content you have. Since Google places so much emphasis on quality content, you should research what type of content other sites in the same industry post and work to create a piece that compels site visitors to come back. Great content is also more likely to be shared on social media and attract links.
• Site Architecture: External links are extremely valuable, as are internal links (links from your website). The right search engine optimizer can help you ensure important pages are linked to, and that relevant anchor text is employed in those links to build upon a page’s relevance for certain terms. Building an XML sitemap can be an effective way for larger websites with multiple pages to help search engines discover their content and crawl all their pages.
• On-Page Optimization: Off-page factors, such as links, are important for drug rehab SEO purposes, but so is the actual structure of your web pages. Common on-page optimization tactics include optimizing a page’s URL to include certain keywords. A skilled optimizer may also update a page’s meta tags, which can boost the click-through rate from search results.
• Semantic Markup: You can improve your ranking by optimizing your site’s semantic markup. Semantic markup is typically used to describe content’s actual meaning and can help identify an author or the type of content on the page.

Using Drug Rehab SEO Tools to Improve Rankings

SEO is a technical discipline, and if you want to optimize your addiction treatment facility’s site, you have a plethora of tools at your disposal. Some of the most commonly used tools include:

• Google Ads Keyword Planner: Keyword Planner is a free tool offered by Google as part of their Google Ads product. The planner is designed more for paid search, but it can also help SEO professionals since it generates keyword suggestions and search volume, which can be immensely helpful during the research stage.
• Google Search Console: Previously known as Google Webmaster Tools, Google Search Console is a standard go-to in many professional SEO toolkits for search engine optimization. It offers rankings and traffic reports for top keywords and pages and can help you find and repair technical issues on your website.
• SEO Platforms: SEO platforms, such as Moz, help companies keep track of on and off-page SEO opportunities. They can also assist with keyword research and other SEO-related tasks.
• Backlink Analysis Tools: These tools allow users to analyze the websites linking to their own websites, as well as the websites of their competitors. They can be used to identify new links during the link-building stage.
• Social Media: Social media sites don’t directly influence SEO, but they can be great tools for networking with other webmasters. This networking can lead to guest posting and link-building opportunities.

Local Search Engine Optimization for Drug Treatment Centers

If your drug treatment center is like others, you probably have many local patients. For this reason, it is imperative you appeal to potential patients in your geographic area. Doing this is often easier said than done. Still, by utilizing local SEO techniques, you can target individuals living in the immediate area who may benefit from your drug treatment services.

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Local SEO is the process of improving a local brick-and-mortar business’s search engine visibility. By employing local SEO techniques, your business can increase organic traffic from searches conducted by potential patients nearby.

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Search engines depend on signals such as local content, links, citations, and social media profile pages to provide users with the most relevant local results. When you take advantage of local drug rehab SEO tactics, you can establish yourself as a lead provider of addiction treatment services in your city, county, and state.

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To improve your local search presence, you can utilize many of the following local SEO tactics at some point. These are not the only effective tactics, but they are some of the most frequently employed:

Optimize for Google My Business

If you’ve never heard of Google My Business, you could be missing out. Google verifies, supports, and shares its content extensively, and Google My Business is a great tool to ensure your rehab center meets Google’s needs.

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To optimize for Google My Business, you must create a Google Business profile. You will then want to use Google Posts within your account, encourage patients to share their reviews online, and respond promptly and authentically to reviews. Once Google verifies your facility as authentic, it will potentially reward it with a sidebar space in Google’s local search.

Optimize Online Citations & Directories

In the United States, map data aggregators such as Factual, Foursquare, Express Update, and Neustar Localeze provide location data to companies such as Apple, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Bing, and many more. To improve your SEO presence, you must take the time to ensure your citations are consistent and complete across the board with all data aggregators.

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Simple discrepancies like abbreviations, lack of a suite number, misspellings, and incorrect contact numbers can cause huge problems. In other words, if Google cannot decide which information about your treatment center is correct, it may not show any information about your center at all to potential patients in your area.

Conduct a Local SEO Audit

Once you understand drug rehab SEO concepts, it can be tempting to launch a campaign immediately. Still, since the world of SEO is ever-changing, it is most helpful to determine where your website currently stands and what you need to work on to achieve your desired ranking results. A comprehensive local SEO audit may include the following:

• Google Search Console Audit: Is your website crawlable? Does it have any mistakes that would prevent indexing?
• Google My Business Audit: How does your Google My Business appear in search engine results pages?
• Citation Audit: Are your site’s citations correct in the major business directories?
• On-Page SEO Audit: Can your site accommodate important on-page SEO elements that help it rank?
• Website Audit: How well is your site performing overall?
• Competitor Analysis: How does your site compare to your competition’s? How similar is your site to others regarding content, positioning, and design?

Once you understand your website’s current drug rehab SEO, you will be better positioned to plan and make changes. It’s also worthwhile to work with a professional SEO consultant who can help you reach your goals and avoid common pitfalls many businesses encounter when trying to begin using SEO techniques on their own. 

Improve Your Internal Linking

Your external linking structure is immensely important, but your internal linking structure can also impact your SEO rankings. An effective linking structure will support website navigation, distribute page authority and ranking power among your web pages, and assist with website hierarchy and information architecture. Simply put, don’t neglect your internal links.

Optimize Title Tags, URL, Headers, Content, & Meta Description

Regarding web content, each blog post functions as a new indexed page for your website. Each new page allows you to target a geographic search phrase and get discovered in the search engine results pages. Each time you create content, be sure you optimize it for search engines by incorporating high-volume keywords in the header, meta description, URL, and body. If you are struggling to create quality geo-targeted content, you may want to consider hiring a professional or underscoring customer success stories and case studies.

Tailor Your Content to the Local Area

As Google evolves, content creators now have the luxury of writing more for users and less to appeal to search engines. Creating general or generic content can attract a large audience, but when you need to appeal to a specific demographic, it may be best to focus on creating content tailored to your industry and the area in which your facility is located. Prove you are a local authority by promoting local industry news, gatherings, employees, and educational content when blogging.

Create a Mobile-Friendly Website

These days, very few people sit down in front of their computers to perform an online search. Most Google searches are now performed on mobile devices, such as phones and tablets. Users are also more likely to conduct “near me” searches on their mobile devices. In other words, if you want to appeal to potential patients, you must create a mobile-friendly website that is intuitive, easy to use, and visually attractive. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, many visitors will simply leave.

Acquire Inbound Links

The more inbound links you have, the more Google will consider you a legitimate company. Inbound links can also increase your domain authority. You can acquire inbound links through partnerships, sponsorships, and guest blog posts. To get quality inbound links, you must create relationships with other authoritative businesses, organizations, and individuals. Be comfortable reaching out to others to see if they can include you in their partner directories.

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Guest blogging can also help you acquire links. By positively talking about or to other leaders in your industry, you can function as a community resource. Become an active participant in community conversations and become familiar with social media.

Is Drug Rehab SEO Expensive?

At this point, you may wonder if you can optimize your treatment center’s website without outside help. The truth is, that larger and most medium-sized businesses will probably need professional SEO help to rank higher. A professional SEO company can help you effectively and efficiently define and reach your SEO goals in a reasonable amount of time. Most companies don’t have a budget dedicated to SEO, but if you are ready to expand your business and reach new patients, it may be a wise decision to spend money on professional SEO services.

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Before spending money on SEO services, it may be helpful to set your goals first. You will also want to consider how quickly you want to reach your goals. The more you spend, the quicker you will see results.

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If you want fast results and need a top-level company to work on your drug rehab SEO campaign, you can expect to spend at least between $2500 and $5000 a month. Some companies help clients save money by offering a trial package at a lower price. If you are satisfied with the company’s performance during the trial period, you have the option to upgrade to a full-time package.

Do Drug Rehab Centers Need SEO Services?

There is no way around it – you must focus some of your time and effort on drug rehab marketing if you want to reach potential patients at the national and/or local level. It may be tempting to pay for a website one time and hope it attracts a significant amount of traffic, but more than likely if you are a growing facility, you will need to adjust your site from time to time to rank higher.

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Websites for drug rehabilitation centers are unique and should be treated as such. You must appeal to potential patients who may be suffering from addiction and their loved ones, so you will want your website to be both informative and SEO-friendly. If you want to increase your site’s traffic volume while increasing your facility’s number of requests for information and call volume, crafting an effective SEO campaign is the way to go. An effective campaign can also help you rank higher for your major rehab keywords.

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Although SEO services may seem expensive, they can help you reach new patients and boost your revenue over time.

National vs. Local SEO

By now, you may be wondering what type of SEO services you will need to promote your facility. For some facilities, especially those with multiple locations and those who want to reach the most patients possible, you may want to choose a company that can help you launch a national SEO campaign. Although national campaigns are considerably more expensive, they can help you reach potential patients in all 50 states.

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If you are a smaller facility and don’t receive that many out-of-state patients, a local SEO campaign may be just what you need. You can reach patients in your city, county, or state, and you won’t have to spend as much. With a solid local SEO campaign, you can position yourself as a lead provider of drug treatment services in your area.

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If you genuinely can’t decide which type of SEO you need, it may be helpful to talk to a professional SEO company. Most companies can help you develop reachable goals and develop ways to meet them. They may also be able to help you determine an SEO budget suitable for your facility.

We Provide Exceptional Drug Rehab SEO Services

Here at elk Marketing, we specialize in providing exceptional drug rehab SEO services to facilities nationwide. We understand the needs and concerns of drug treatment facilities, and we tailor our SEO approach to help them expand and promote their services to potential patients everywhere.

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Our team of dedicated SEO strategists is ready and willing to help you take your addiction treatment business to the next level. Contact us today to speak with an SEO professional.