PT Online Marketing Archives

Google’s Vicinity and Physical Therapy Private Practice SEO

Physical Therapy SEO – A Big Hit for Some in December, 2021

Back in end of November/early December of 2021, Google made some significant changes to the Google Maps ranking algorithm. Search Engine Optimization companies (SEO’s) termed this Google algorithm change – Vicinity. Sterling Sky was one of the first to write on this Google Vicinity update.

The update primarily impacted the proximity of the person searching for a particular business. For example, if someone is searching for physical therapy clinic south San Diego, Google Maps results favor businesses that are within/closer to south San Diego.

In other words, the Vicinity algorithm update was engineered to not only make it harder for physical therapy practices to rank when searches took place far away from their office’s physical location, but was also designed to penalize practices that were blackhatting, keyword stuffing, or adding in keywords into their Google Business Profile’s name.

Here’s an example of a hypothetical clinic that has an office in South San Diego. If your business name is Acme Physical Therapy and you entered the business name (in your Google Business Profile) Acme Physical Therapy South San Diego, chances are you would be penalized (i.e. your Google Maps ranking would drop down lower on the list).

In other words, Google has now given PT practices that are newer/less-established and closer to the searcher, a greater potential to rank higher than the older, more established physical therapy practices that are further away from the searcher.

How the Vicinity Algorithm Update May Have Impacted Your Business

Here are some examples reports of local SEO graphic reports. Each place you see a pin on this map represents where the practice ranks on Google Maps for a physical therapy search.

Here’s how this practice ranked before the Vicinity algorithm update.

Here’s how this practice ranked after the Vicinity algorithm update.

You can see that the PT practice isn’t ranking as often in the top 5 spots on Google Maps.

Not All Physical Therapy Practices Were Negatively Impacted

Here’s how this practice ranked before the Vicinity algorithm update.

Here’s how the practice ranks after the algorithm update – this PT practice actually improved.

Interpreting These Graphics

Note, that the further away the searcher is from the practice (represented as a pin on the map), the lower the practice ranks on the Google Maps results page (represented by the number within the pin). In other words, the closer the searcher is to the business (i.e. in the vicinity or proximity of the practice), the higher, in general, the practice ranks on Google Maps.

What Can be Done if You Were Impacted by Vicinity?

Right after major algorithm updates, many businesses (understandably so) end up in a panic.

Typically, you’ll see a flurry of ads and social posts from some SEO company(ies) advertising “the solution” to Google’s algorithm changes. Often those SEO techniques are blackhat methods. As Hubspot puts it:

Black hat SEO is a practice against search engine guidelines, used to get a site ranking higher in search results. These unethical tactics don’t solve for the searcher and often end in a penalty from search engines. Black hat techniques include keyword stuffing, cloaking, and using private link networks. ReferenceDebbie Millman

Try to Compose Yourself and Look at the Bigger Picture

There is always an element of uncertainty when it comes to search engine traffic and the numbers you find in your Google Business Profile Insights and your web analytics. Here are six things you can do to combat the Vicinity update:

Update your business name in your Google Business Profile – if you were one of the many that keyword stuffed your business listing, it’s probably a good idea to change it so it more accurately reflects your business name without the keywords.
Give it some time – if you were negatively impacted by the Vicinity update, it may not have as big an impact as you may expect. When searching for physical therapy, people use different search phases, different devices (mobile, tablet, desktop), and are searching from a variety of locations. While you may have fallen on Google Maps, it may not change the number of new patients that come into your office.
Take a look at your natural listings – even though you may have dropped in the Google Maps rankings, you may still rank well in the organic listings. If this is the case, you’ll still get some significant traffic from this search results page ranking. If you don’t rank well, consider hiring a company like us – E-rehab.com a physical therapy SEO company.
Don’t forget your Google Business Profile Insights – even if you did drop in the rankings, take a look at your Google Business Profile rankings for a quick reminder of how many people still see your business listing each month.
Stick to the core principles – no matter where you rank, you always want to continue to work on your Google ratings and reviews. Consistently obtaining Google ratings and reviews may help you recover your search rankings and will undoubtedly help convert some of those people that are already viewing your Google Maps listing.
Consider running Google Ads – yes, this is ultimately what Google wants you to do. If your maps listing has plummeted, there is always the option to run Google Ads. Yes, it’s a new cost to the business buy for some, it can still be fruitful.

As Things Unfold, We’ll Provide More Information

Having been in the SEO business for over 15 years, we here at E-rehab.com can tell you that algorithms will continue to change, Google will make modifications to the algorithm that may be in your favor in the future, and you have to move on.

As we discover new insights and strategies, E-rehab.com will continue to follow these new and best practices to improve the search rankings of our clients.

Hang in there for updates.

Were You Even Aware of the Vicinity Update?

If you were not aware of the update, chances are the changes in your Google Maps rankings didn’t negatively impact your new patient volume and/or you were too busy to notice.

If you were negatively impacted, you need a PT private practice marketing company that’s keeping an eye on these kinds of things and can offer you insight and solutions.

Need Help with Physical Therapy Marketing?

Call (800) 468-5161 or Click here to book a time on my calendar Thanks for reading – David Straight, DPT, Co-owner, Marketing Consultant

Thoughts on Physical Therapy Facebook Ads

Are you thinking about running Facebook ads for your PT clinic?

Here’s something that I really need to explain to practice owners:

Facebook ads are just the WORST marketing strategy to start with for physical therapy clinic owners. I’m not saying ads don’t work. But there’s just so much that goes into the success of Facebook advertising. There are just so many components of a good ad campaign that require hours of education and lots of variables that are outside your control.

What You Have to Consider with Physical Therapy Facebook Ad Funnels:

You have time hire an agency or dive deep spending hours learning about this yourself?

Then there’s the writing of the ads (ad creative).
Then you need to go through the ad approval process.
You’ll have to master the Ads Manager.
The you have to test various audiences depending upon your ad creative.
Next, you’ll need to decide what kind of offer you make to this audience and you’ll have to test those too.
Will you have enough budget to learn and pay Facebook? It will cost you hundreds to thousands per month.
What about Apple, IOS 14, and their new privacy rules. How will that impact your campaign?
Split test has to be part of the process.
Then you have to wait like 15-30 days for ads to fully optimize.

So why would you ever start with Facebook Ads for Physical Therapy?

You should start with a marketing strategy that goes after the lowest hanging fruit first.

In other words take fastest path to generating new patients, revenue, and most importantly, profits.

For Clinics That Have Been in Business – Physical Therapy Patient Reactivation is First Priority

We recommend marketing to your past patients and reactivating those that are in need of your care. It’s called PDR or Patient Database Reactivation.

For clinics that have been in business for 3 years or more, it’s always the first place to start your marketing.

It’s one of the easiest ways to get new patients and generate a positive ROI.

With one simple campaign, you can fill your calendar, without Facebook (or Google for that matter) ad spend .

While I can appreciate the willingness to spend money to generate more business, many small practice owners (those with < 3 locations) spend thousands or even tens-of-thousands without any success.

Don’t Make the Same Mistake – Get Your PT Online Marketing Right

I’ve heard it over and over…and so many times they say, “Well, I learned a lot.” While I can really appreciate the positive perspective, small practices simply can’t afford to waste money in a hyper competitive market like physical therapy.

In conclusion, if you are searching for an affordable marketing strategy that generates new business fast, make sure you incorporate Patient Database Reactivation into your marketing mix.

Click Here to Schedule a Free Assessment of Your Physical Therapy Marketing and Let Us Help You Get It Right!

Use Storytelling for a Better Physical Therapy Blog

In ancient times, a powerful king oppressed his people. The citizens of the land feared the king and begged the gods for help. So the gods created a wild man that could equal the king and stop his misdeeds.

The wild man and the king fought a great battle, but the king showed superior strength. After it was all over, the two men became friends and began a grand journey together that would see triumph, heartbreak, and the search for eternal life.

This is the Epic of Gilgamesh, the earliest surviving work of literature, written around 1800 BC.

Human beings are natural storytellers. We’ve been sharing tales around the campfire since the invention of the campfire! Even ancient cave paintings from 30,000 years ago tell stories of the hunt.

So what does the Epic of Gilgamesh have to do with blogging?

Turns out, a lot!

How Do Stories Draw in Readers?

Stories help your writing to stand out. In the unending ocean of blogs (over 500 million of them!), interesting stories share personality and entertain the readers. While viewers may be searching for answers to their problems, they also want to have a little fun!

Clever storytelling also helps the writer to connect with the reader. It shares your unique voice and displays your personality. Telling stories is how you can get people to look forward to your content eagerly, instead of reading a blog once and never coming back to your site.

One study showed that a blog post that opened with a story saw nearly 300% more readers scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. Since the call to action in a blog post is usually near the bottom, that’s 300% more people with a chance to convert!

One of the masters of blog storytelling is Laura Belgray of Talking Shrimp. She uses clever storytelling to draw in readers to her blogs and emails. She’s been featured in Business Insider, Fast Company, Money, and Forbes, and she uses the same storytelling techniques in these major publications.

Where Can You Find Physical Therapy Stories?

Everyday in your office!

Even simple, everyday events can be repurposed into interesting anecdotes that illustrate your point.

Laura Belgray once used a story of her search for basil for a recipe to demonstrate how important it is to build an online community. The story was funny and engaging. And while it wasn’t clear at first how it was going to relate to her final point, the eventual connection made perfect sense.

You may find that when you’re sitting down to write, you have a hard time coming up with a relevant anecdote. This is a common problem. That’s why it’s helpful to create a “story bank.”

Note the wins, failures, and funny events in your daily life. Then when you need a story for a new post, you can refer back to that bank to find an appropriate tale. These don’t have to be major, dramatic life events. A simple metaphor can be enough to draw in the reader.

Also — stories don’t have to be true!

Now, this doesn’t mean you should make up a case study or testimonial. Falsifying results is unethical marketing. But you could absolutely invent a story to illustrate a point.

For example, let’s say I wanted to write a post about a fictional patient that didn’t do their home exercises or modified their daily activities according to your recommendations.

This patient may end up back at the doctor having unnecessary tests, taking opioids, or even having unnecessary surgery. You could certainly bolster this story with the plethora of research articles supporting the use of physical therapy first and how following through with PT care can save money, time, needless expenses, and risk.

Additionally, you might tell a story about a patient that chose physical therapy first over seeing their doctor. Elaborating on the fictional experience that one might have when making this choice.

Again, there’s good support for this story. A 2014 study suggests that patients who received physical therapy through direct access, i.e. directly from their PT (vs. physician referral) had a higher level of satisfaction and better outcomes at discharge.

Where Do Stories Fit In?

The best way to use storytelling in blogging is right at the top.

The purpose of your headline is to get people to start reading. And the purpose of your blog’s introduction is to get people to keep reading. So hook them with an introductory story.

The story should have a main character, a problem, an action, and a solution in order to be interesting for the reader. Remember that without a problem, there’s no story!

After you’ve told your story, you’ll need to transition into the rest of the blog post. A smooth transition will make it easier for the reader to flow from the introduction into the rest of the piece. Your transition should connect the two, making it clear why your story aligns with the article’s message.

You may want to use a transitional phrase like, “What does this have to do with ____?” or “Why does this matter? Because…”

You can also split your story between the introduction and the conclusion of the post. Introduce your main character and their problem at the top of the blog post. Then get into the “meat” of the article, explaining ways to resolve it.

In the conclusion, return to your story. Share the action the character took to solve their problem (using one of the methods you explained), and how that action led to a solution.

Practice the Craft and Share Your Passion for Treating Patients

Storytelling takes practice, and it will take some time before you have a robust story bank to pull from. But start putting one idea in the bank daily, and soon you’ll have a wide variety of options.

Try adding stories to some of your old blog posts to see if the reader’s time on page increases. You might be surprised by what you find!

Don’t Have Time to Write?

Need help with blogging? We offer blogging services as part of our physical therapy marketing services. Contact us for more information at 760-585-9097.

12 Versatile Marketing Approaches To Consider When You Need To Do Something Different

The world has changed over the last several months, and businesses of all kinds are trying to figure out marketing strategies that will work going forward.

There are lots of options and while we will outline several below, there are some that are higher priorities than others. To find out what’s best for you, we recommend you…

click here to schedule some time with us.

Read on to learn about 12 versatile marketing approaches and which of them will work best for your practice.

#1 Cause Marketing

What values or beliefs are the heart behind your business? When you know what your business cares most about, you can use cause marketing to get your patients to kill two birds with one stone by purchasing your treatment or service. For example, for every new patient, your business will plant a tree. Not an environmentalist? That’s okay. For every new patient that comes in, donate to a local shelter or soup kitchen. No matter what cause you choose to support, this type of marketing goes far beyond brand awareness and reveals the heart of who you are as a practice.

#2 Close Range Marketing (CRM)

CRM allows you to send messages about your treatments or services to patients who are within close range to your business. When they’re passing by, why not take advantage of this quick and easy method to get them in the door?

#3 Relationship Marketing

Want to ditch all the cheesy sales tactics? Your patients base will likely thank you for it. Instead, opt for relationship marketing. Simply focus your attention on making connections with your patients — whether that’s through face-to-face relationship-building, through social media, or through email. Instead of focusing on how to get the sale, focus on the person behind it. You’ll be surprised how easily this method translates into patients’ loyalty (and even more sales) down the road.

#4 Transactional Marketing

On the other hand, maybe you’re finding that relationship marketing just isn’t enough cutting it. Transactional marketing could be the better option, as it focuses on maximizing individual sales transactions through coupons, discounts, and sales.

#5 Word-Of-Mouth Marketing

Everyone knows that word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. But how can you maximize it for the benefit of your practice? Put simply, when you wow your patients at every turn, you won’t have to ask them to share your practice with their friends and families. This means curating a stellar patient’s experience from start to finish. When you’ve got that down, word-of-mouth marketing is a natural result.

#6 Call to Action (CTA) Marketing

With so much dependence on technology these days, you can’t afford to neglect the web when it comes to your marketing strategy. CTA marketing is a method of getting your online visitors to engage with your brand through your ad or landing page design. Whether it’s to “click here for more information” or to “submit an email address in order to access a promo code,” your CTAs lead your web traffic to where you want them to go.

#7 Email Marketing

Speaking of technology, email marketing is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to reach many patients with just a few keystrokes. Through this avenue, you can offer discounts, convey new treatment or service info, announce upcoming events or treatment launches, or solicit sales.

#8 Event Marketing

Join or create your own event in order to create some buzz and invite potential patients to engage with your brand. Invite other businesses that complement what you’re trying to achieve, set out brochures and business cards, engage your patients face-to-face, and hype it up on social media. This is a trustworthy method to increase brand awareness and turn on-the-fencers into patients

#9 Inbound Marketing

If your business takes incoming calls for any reason, use this opportunity to sell your treatments or services. Of course, you’ll need to have a plan for meeting your patients’ needs so that you’re not trying to sell to the wrong audience. However, a little bit of script planning for diverse target audiences can make your inbound call marketing successful.

#10 Freebie Marketing

Everyone loves FREE. With freebie marketing, you simply promote free treatment or service giveaways to create a buzz around your business. Once your patients have experienced your treatment or service and come back for more, you can then sell additional treatments or services to meet their needs and boost your own sales.

#11 Content Marketing

Over the past couple of years, content marketing has become somewhat of a must-have for those wishing to boost online brand awareness. This method involved writing and publishing content (such as podcast articles, blog articles, expert interviews, or how-to exercises) to educate potential patients about your services. Of course, they don’t lead directly to a sale in most cases, but they do meet a real need for your audience.

#12 Social Media Marketing

People want to be social on social media. And it says a lot about your business and how much you care for your patients when you reply to your followers’ comments, concerns, or questions. Create that online relationship to boost patients’ loyalty.

And That’s Not All…

Of course, there are countless methods for marketing your business, and as technology changes, we can expect even more. However, the right combination of the methods covered above can take your marketing strategy to the next level. It may be time to shake things up and try something new!

6 Reasons To Include Physical Therapy Content Marketing In Your Strategy

You’ve heard it before: “Content is king.” And while other new marketing techniques may have your attention, content marketing is still a big player when it comes to bringing in patients and establishing credibility in your industry. Below, we’re going to talk about 6 reasons to include content marketing in your strategy. Let’s get straight to it.

#1 Build Trust and Credibility

Content such as how-to blog articles, podcasts, case studies, or interviews allows you to show off your expertise in your niche and help your potential patients at the same time. Content marketing will not only build your credibility as an expert, but it will also help you build trust with your audience which is essential for brand loyalty.

Make a list of the problems or pain points that your target audience experiences and develop content that helps them find solutions. And don’t use your content to sell, sell, sell. The purpose of content marketing is to help patients and establish your brand, which will lead to organic sales eventually anyway.

#2 Build Practice Awareness

Do people know about your products or services? Do you have a reputation in your niche? If not, content marketing can help you change that. When people land on your website to get answers or find solutions, you increase brand awareness organically. Use your content to showcase your expertise, as we said above, and to increase traffic to your website. It’s a win-win.

#3 Get More Leads, Keep More Patients

It’s all about generating leads, right? And content marketing allows you to reach a pool of patients who might have otherwise not engaged with your brand. When you provide relevant, timely, and helpful content, you draw in new leads. Plain and simple.

Content also keeps patients coming back for more. People are more likely to return to a resource that has helped them in the past. Once they begin to depend on you to provide relevant content as an expert in your field, your patients will think of you when they have a need related to your niche.

#4 Rank Higher in Searches

Your content affords you the opportunity to weave in keywords that will help you rank higher in Google search. The more you post relevant content, the higher your authority, and that means more traffic to your website. We all know that no one (well, almost no one) ventures past the first page of search results, so the higher and longer you rank, the better!

Also, if you post quality content, other businesses will want to link to your website, which further expands your audience. Plus, these “backlinks” are great for your site’s SEO. Want to rank higher? Backlinks are a significant part of getting you there.

#5 Attract Your Target Patients

Yes, the purpose of content marketing is to attract leads, but you don’t want unqualified leads that will never result in a sale. Instead, you want to attract your target patients, your ideal buyer, so that you don’t waste time with the uninterested. So, how does content marketing bring in ideal patients? Put simply, only those who are interested in your industry will search out your content. And only those who search out your content will click your CTAs and end up perusing your landing page and viewing your products or services. This means that quality leads will be considering purchasing from you.

#6 Get People Marketing FOR You

When your content is valuable, relevant, and solves a problem, you can expect people to want to share it to benefit others in their social circles. And when that happens, there’s almost no limit to how many people can stumble upon your content in their feeds. Just make sure that, when you create content, you do so with purpose. People won’t share content that didn’t help them in any way.

Time to Create More Content

There’s no time like the present to start creating and posting quality content as a part of your marketing strategy. Add content marketing to your strategy, and welcome those organic leads!

For more information about content marketing and how we can help, simply schedule an appointment with us by clicking here.

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8 Free Physical Therapy Marketing Strategies That You May Have Overlooked

Trying to put together a solid marketing strategy with a low budget? Sounds too good to be true, I know, but it’s possible with some consistency and creativity. Below, I’ll go over 8 free marketing strategies that you may have overlooked, but that — when implemented correctly — can help you expand your reach.

#1 Market in a Local Social Forum

It’s free to share ideas, right? That’s why, whether your marketing budget is limited or not, it’s a great idea to find a local forum where you can share your knowledge and expertise. As an expert in your field, you can answer questions, which is a win-win because you’re helping others in the group and boosting brand awareness and credibility for your physical therapy practice.

Caution: this isn’t the place to throw out a sales pitch. That’s a sure-fire way to turn forum readers off. Instead, include your name and a link to your website in your profile signature. That way, if anyone wants to learn more about you, they can do so without feeling pressured.

#2 Ask for Backlinks

If you want to rank high in a Google search, you’re going to have to have solid backlinks to your website. It doesn’t cost a thing to email your service providers and ask them if they’d be willing to link to your website. You can even offer to do the same for them. You can also do a quick search of your brand or company name and see if you are being mentioned anywhere on the web. If you find that other websites have mentioned your PT practice, email their editor and ask them to add a link. Remember, the more backlinks you have, the higher you’re likely to rank on a Google search, so ask and gather as many as you can!

#3 Host a Webinar

Brainstorm diagnostic conditions that will interest a local audience and put together an intriguing webinar that not only informs but makes your audience aware of your company and your specialty. Then, invite as many people as possible to join. Send out, messages, emails and text and post to your social media accounts. Call others in the community and invite them to join as well. Not only will you expand your audience with a webinar, but you also remind people that you are an expert (a generous one, too!) in your healthcare niche.

#4 Cross-Promote With Other Businesses

Ever heard the saying, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”? Well, that’s the essence of cross-promotion. Think about your go-to doctors. Is there a surgeon who you think trumps all the rest? Or a doctor that has done an incredible job of referring for you in the past? In exchange for their referral to you, refer to them whenever possible. You’re rewarding stellar service, and so are they, and the customer gets to benefit from the best-of-the-best as well.

#5 Do Interviews

One of the easiest ways to get in touch with someone new is to ask them if you can interview them for your podcast, YouTube channel, or blog. It’s more exposure for them, and it’s an easy foot-in-the-door to new relationships for you!

#6 Set Up a Patient Referral Program

With a solid referral program, you get to let your customers do the heavy lifting. Incentivize them to pass on your information to others who would benefit from your physical therapy services, and watch as your patient base grows.

#7 Socialize on Social

Find local experts, follow them on social media, and communicate with them daily. Get your name out there and build practice awareness by becoming a consistent voice in your community. Do the same with your customers and prospects. Reply to their comments, retweet their ideas, and answer their questions. Show yourself to be the expert you are, and socialize instead of trying to push your marketing agenda. People will notice your confidence and lend you even more credibility.

#8 Get More Emails

Email marketing is free and effective. That’s why it’s important to try to garner as many email addresses as possible. Trade solid blog content, valuable diagnostic or treatment info, or a free consultation for email addresses, and then group emails into the demographics you’re trying to reach. Avoid sending out mass emails that don’t address a particular group’s needs or concerns. This will surely cause your potential patients to unsubscribe or scroll on past your messages.

Sometimes Hustle > Budget!

As you can see, it IS possible to market your practice without spending money. Of course, there are tons of marketing tools out there that will cost money and give you great ROI, but you can also get pretty far with the intentional and consistent free marketing tools that we talked about today. Give them a try today!

9.5 Marketing Tips You can Implement Right Now During The COVID Crisis

Tip 1: Update Your Website

Work on your message – is your home page optimized to convert viewers to patients? Are there calls to action?
Add a payment button – it’s an easy way to for patients to pay their statement online.
Add digital intake forms – these days, it’s much more convenient and saves time if you allow patients to fill out their forms on your website.
Add a store – this is a nice way to generate a little bit of revenue to cover some smaller expenses.
Update staff CVs – make sure that you have updated photos and biographies.
Feature areas of expertise, advanced degrees, board certifications, and specialized certifications.

Tip 2: Update Your Brand Materials

Refresh your logo – If you want to reopen with a more professional brand look, updating your logo is one way to do it.
There are a number of companies like 99 designs, Fiverr, or Logo My Way that offer various logo design packages.
Update your brochure – have you reviewed your brochures or rack cards recently? Consider refreshing them and clearly stating benefits and make sure you have a good call to action.
Take inventory of your referral pads
Create a digital business card – make it easier for people to connect with you. switchitapp.com/ is a unique service that provides digital business cards.

Tip 3: Use Social Media to Engage with Your Community Online

Create a series of posts to engage your community.
Boost posts to both your fans and the area 5-10 miles around your practice.
Post videos about home exercise types, home office setup, nonpharmacological pain relief.
Build your following with inspirational messages and a request to like your page.
Update your social media cover photos. Canva.com or snappa.com are good resources for this.

Tip 4: Create educational videos with your smartphone

What better time to shoot a video than now. Your practice is likely to be quiet so it’s a great time to shoot some videos. Here are some topics:
If you’re open, take some time to share how you’re keeping patients and your staff clean.
Create an expert interview video that differentiates you from the competition.
Discuss various conditions & demonstrate how you treat them.
Make a series of stretches and boost them out to your community – 1 per day for a month.
Contrast your service to other more aggressive treatments.
Here are a couple sample videos on the home pages of these websites:
GMSPT.com | Procarept.net | Ptcare.net

Tip 5: Review the patient value journey.

This an often overlooked and a great exercise to map out all of the places/things that a patient might see as they move from awareness to patient ambassador.
Break down each touch point and examine where you might be able to improve the processes and provide a higher level of service.

Here’s a blog post where I discuss the patient journey in more detail:
https://www.e-rehab.com/2020/01/26/physical-therapy-marketing-strategy-part-3/

Tip 6: Review & Update Your Google My Business Listing

Review your process to capture Google ratings and reviews…one of the best ways to differentiate yourself. If you aren’t getting 5-10/mo (obviously this depends on patient volume), you are missing a big opportunity.
Review how it works – I did a blog post about Google My Business – click here to review it.
Add pictures – this is a great way to show others some of the unique features of your practice. Create a regular schedule to add photos and delegate it to someone in your office.
Update your listing – if things have changed in your office, update your listing. For example, update your business description and add in keywords. Add any additional business categories as well.
Respond to reviews – responding to reviews is a great way to show people that are considering your practice that you care. Even a thoughtful response to a negative review can generate more business. I did a blog post on this this with some additional advice. https://www.e-rehab.com/2019/05/24/physical-therapy-ratings-and-reviews/

Tip 7: Send Out Email Messages to Your Past List

Introduce the idea of telehealth and offer a free telehealth session. Limit the time of the session to maintain your value.
Keeping in touch with past patients is a great way to generate more new business. Past patients are more likely to consume your content too.
Give them a combination of good will information…wellness information as well as educational information about the conditions you specialize in treating.
On occasion, you should make offers to your past patients. The combination of email and direct mail can be more effective.

Tip 8: Educate Referring Physicians with Research

If you get referrals from physicians, then take the time to collaborate with your referring doctors. Don’t be what I call a “physical pharmacist” and wait for the referral. Physical therapy is the best first choice for some many neuromusculoskeletal conditions. Make a point of reaching out to your referring physicians and send them a copy of a research paper. Put a post-it note on it saying something like – I thought you might be interested in this and sign your name on it.
To find these studies, do a Google search for a reference, add in the words PDF and often you will find that the document is public. Make sure you follow the necessary copyright laws.
Shortcut: the New England Journal of Medicine published an article with this conclusion: Patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who underwent physical therapy had less pain and functional disability at 1 year than patients who received an intraarticular glucocorticoid injection.
Here’s a link to the article: https://www.nejm.org/do/10.1056/NEJMdo005728/full/
Look up additional authors like Julie Fritz, John Childs, or Gail Deyle to name a few.

Tip 9: Kill your Google Ads if They Aren’t Performing

I’ve run Google Ads for PT private practices since 2007.
One thing I can tell you, in my experience, most physical therapy practices are wasting their money on Google Ads because they aren’t managing them properly.
Don’t be afraid to either invest in having someone do them right or cut this cost and put the money elsewhere.
It’s highly likely that you’ll never notice you turned the ads off.

Tip 9.5: Look at your budget, ROI, and Opportunity Costs

In all of the years I’ve been marketing for PT private practices, I’ve notices that large percentage of practice owners don’t have a strategy.
They pick a tactic and spend some money on it…often not even knowing if they are getting anything out of it.
This is a good time to take inventory of what you are spending your money on and making sure you are getting value from it.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater but make sure you have some key performance indicators that suggest you are getting a good return.
If not, consider spending that money elsewhere.

If you need help with your physical therapy marketing, we have a variety of packages that will fit the budget of any practice. Click here for our package information.

Give us a call at (760) 585-9097 or Schedule a Time on David Straight’s Calendar by Clicking Here

10 Ways to Promote Your Small Physical Therapy Practice on a Budget

Whether you’re just starting your PT private practice or you’ve been running your clinic for a few years, during these times you have to be efficient with spending money on physical therapy marketing. For the savvy PTPP director who wants to save some money, here are some tips for marketing on a budget.

#1 Find Some Local Online Facebook Groups

You may be open and still treating patients, or you may be just doing telehealth; either way, you can leverage your community to market your business. Get your name out there by sponsoring local Facebook groups where moms gather, sports teams gather (e.g. a running club), or your neighbors gather. Get creative about offering value. How can you help members of the group? Offer to speak on a Zoom webinar where share your expertise. This will boost awareness about your practice help you make one-on-one connections.

#2 Be Ready with a One-Liner, Talking Logo, or Elevator Pitch

If someone asks you what you do, does your answer put them asleep, confuse them, or arouse curiosity?

A good one-liner as Donald Miller states, is one sentence that can grow your business (more here).

Another way to describe your business to another is with what John Jantsch calls, a talking logo. John describes a talking logo as follows: “a tool that allows you to communicate verbally the single greatest benefit of doing business with your firm. A talking logo is a short statement that quickly communicates your firm’s position and ideally forces the listener to want to know more.” (more here)

Yet another way to think about it is by simply following this formula: “I help x get y using z.” An example might be: “I treat people in pain naturally recover with nothing more than my hands and mouth.” If you were speaking with someone the first time, can you see how this type of answer invites additional questions? Fast, concise, and arousing curiosity are the keys to developing a good one-liner or talking.

#3 Network with Other Local Businesses

Find other businesses that you believe in and make connections with them. Offer them your willingness to promote them if they’ll do the same for you. You could even come together for a community event and refer potential customers to each other.

Massage therapists, yoga instructors, personal trainers, acupuncturists, running, swimming, and sports equipment stores and of course medical doctors are some examples of companies you can cross-promote. Make a list and start reaching out.

No matter how it looks, it’s a win for you and a win for the other businesses in your community.

#4 Take Advantage of Free Social Media

We all know that there are countless social media platforms out there, and it can seem a little overwhelming. But the good news is that it is either free or very inexpensive to market your business through this medium.

If you are looking to treat middle-aged and senior patients then Facebook is the platform you should use. If you are looking for the younger 20-35 y.o. crowd, then Instagram is a good place to start.

But here’s a quick tip: your goal is to nurture relationships by showing interest in them, providing good content and by asking others how you can help them. One surefire way to kill your reputation is to look self-serving. Following someone else on IG hoping to get a follow back won’t likely foster your relationships. Social media is meant for socializing. Imagine if you were at a party and you approached a group of others, you would disrupt the gathering of people by trying to get everyone to focus their attention on you right away.

#5 Create and Publish Great Content

Sharing helpful content is important. As the saying goes, content is king. Not only does it establish you as an authority and increases practice awareness, but it also helps people. Of course, you don’t have to spend any money to create great content (if you someone at your practice is willing to do create the content on their own). If you’ve got older content, an easy way to get the message is out is by simply refreshing that old content. Add some graphics, update the content, add a new take on an age-old issue… whatever the case may be, don’t reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to.

#6 Call Up Your Referring Physicians

Believe it or not, many physicians are in the same boat as you are during this COVID crisis. Give your referring physicians a call. Ask them questions about how they are doing, their staff, their family. See how many patients they are seeing now. Offer to help them out. Ask how telehealth is working for them. Offer to help them promote their practice or find a collaborative opportunity. Offer to do a video conference call, record it and share it to your email list or Facebook fans.

#7 Email an Offer to Your List. You Could Offer a Free Telehealth Session

Many are just now experiencing how health care is delivered via remote video conferencing with systems like doxy, Zoom, Vsee, BetterPT, etc. When it comes to a hands-on provider like a physical therapist, the notion of communicating online assessments and treatment seems like a contradiction (when coming from a PT).

One way to start the conversation and to get people to consider your physical therapy services is to email them an offer. Here’s how you can do this:

Get a list of first names and email addresses. Go to your EMR system and download a list of email addresses and names. I am assuming that you have permission to email your patients.
Send out an email blast. You want to put together a personalized message, first name only, and use a subject line like this:

Remember, the goal of the subject line is to get them to open the email message.
Get them to “click” to the next step. In the body of the message, you need to make a compelling offer. Let your past patients know how you’re STILL able to serve them during this crisis – but it’s in a slightly different way. Remember, the goal of the email message, in most cases, is to get them to click on a link to do something next.
Give them something of value. Offer a free 15-minute “virtual” mini-evaluation to get them on the phone to see where they need the most help and let them know about your virtual services, or if you’re still open, to see if they are good candidate to come in for some therapy.

For some, this might be the solution they are looking for. If it is a valuable, compelling offer, your past patients will take you up on it. If not, think of another offer. Most marketing campaigns fail on the first try; so, don’t be afraid to try again.

#8 Ask Your Patients for Referrals

Whether it be during a video conference or in person, ask your patients for referrals. This is how you can accomplish this.

First find out if your patient is willing. Take their “temperature” by finding out how satisfied they are with your services. If you get a lot of positive feedback and you sense they are very pleased, then you can move to the next step.
Ask an open-ended question. Don’t make the mistake of asking, “Do you know someone else I can help?” That’s a closed-ended question that will result in a yes or no.
Take it slower with multiple, open-ended questions like:
- “Who do you know that has a problem like you?”
- “What have they done to deal with their pain?”
- “What are you thoughts about how they might respond to this kind of treatment?”
- “How could I work with you to see if they might benefit from what I’m doing with you?”

Knowing when and how to ask your patients for referrals will increase the likelihood of success. Give it a try and understand you’ll either get a No (in which case you’ll improve your ability to ask for a referral from your next patient), or you will get a Yes and you might be able to help them.

NOTE: if you do get a name from your patient, make sure you complete the process by having your patient make a warm introduction. Be willing to do a simple conference call with the patient and their family member or friend to take it to the next step.

#9 Increase the Value of Your Business Card and Add a QR Code

Business cards are cheap these days. Take a look at yours. Does it need a redesign? Can you add services on the back? How about a QR code that when scanned take the viewer to a video about you on YouTube or a web page where they can learn more about what you do, or perhaps to a page where you make them an offer?

QR codes were popular back in the 2008-2012 timeframe; but, the need for users to install a QR reader app on their phone made them a challenge to use. Back in September, 2017 when Apple released iOS 11, iPhone cameras became readers. Simply point the camera app at a QR code and it reads it.

Get creative with QR codes. Head over to QRstuff.com and create your own.

#10 Seek Out Recognition for Your Great Work

Believe it or not, it costs nothing to apply for business awards for your niche. If you are selected, you can tout that award on your website or on your front desk. This is a nice way to add credibility to your physical therapy services and it gives you another thing to write about in your social media posts.

#10.5 Bonus Tip

As of the date of this post, I’ve been in the PT private practice marketing space for almost 20 years. If there’s one thing I can share with you that is going to dramatically increase your odds of success it’s these 3 things: One, take action. Most just read about marketing and never take any action. Two, make sure you invest in your marketing. Marketing pays dividends and gives you returns. Sometimes your investments result in a loss but then you learn. Sometimes they provide you with a good profit. This leads me to my third point, persistence. Marketing is an ongoing process over time. It never stops. The more you do it, the more you learn and improve that process.

Working within Your Budget

You might think it is difficult to market your practice on a small budget. There is some truth to this. After all, you might be up against large hospitals, corporate big-box clinic chains, and POPTS clinics. The resistance is proportional to the reward though. If you want to generate patients that might net you up to $1000 when you complete a plan of care with them, it’s going to take some work.

Looking for the Best Online Marketing Services on a Budget?

E-rehab.com provides different packages of marketing services, training and tools to help you generate more new, repeat, and word-of-mouth business.

For more information about how we can help, click here to schedule some on my calendar and we can discuss your needs.

Google My Business Updates & Your Practice Listing

If you’ve closed your practice because of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be thinking about marking your Google My Business listing to closed.

We don’t recommend you do this at this time. This video will give you more details

Transcription of the video

Hi, this is David with the E-rehab. I hope you are well in this time of crisis. I wanted to do a quick video about Google My Business listings because we’re going to get questions about this and we’ve already had a few.

You’ll see here an example of Coast Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine and Chico. You can see it on a phone here and you can also see it on desktop as well. You’ll notice the COVID-19 alert, which is necessary, but I’m not a fan of it being associated with your business listing. There isn’t much we can do there to change it.

What we have noticed though is if you go into your Google my business account, there is a link at the top. I’ll learn more with limited Google my business functionality due to the coronavirus and COVID-19. Click here for details.

There are three things we’ve noticed and then one big one that we’re getting questions about.

The first is you cannot get new reviews.
The second thing is you cannot respond to reviews.
The third thing is, is that they have removed questions and answers in your Google My Business account.

The Most Important Question – Do I Mark My Business Closed?

The big one though is when people ask us if they should Mark their clinics closed because they have closed their practice in response to the crisis. Our answer is no.

Google reinforces this. If you click on this, learn more here. You can get to this page and you notice that they want you to do business edits. It’s gonna take them some time to verify new listings and they have removed the Q and A; but if you click here on this link, it goes to more specifics. What do you do if you have changed your hours?

They want you to update your hours. They want you to add in to your information under the info tab, that you have changes in your hours and they’re saying to create a post and then if you’re temporarily closed. They’re saying that they get information from elsewhere.

Basically they don’t have functionality yet that says they are temporarily closed in your Google my business listing. So that leads me to the next point – your INFO link in your GMB account.

If you wanted to click on that and you could go down here and you could change your information right here, but they also talked about creating a post.

So here’s what posts look like and what you do is you click add an update. And if I do that, I have that, uh, here. You would drag an image in there and then write your post where you could say that your, you things have been modified or you’re closed or when we get through this that, you would post that you’re open again and then you just simply click publish there.

In Summary

The question being, should I mark my business closed in Google my business? Do NOT do that. If you do, it could impact your search listings.

So, modify the information as stated above in the Info section of your GMB listing and/or create a post and put it up there under your Google my business account.

I hope this helps. If you have questions, let us know.

Images for You to Use on Your Google My Business Posts

Here are three images you can use to upload to your Google My Business account depending upon the status of your clinic. Simply right-click on the given image and save it to your computer. You can then upload it to your Google My Business post.

Inbound Vs. Outbound Physical Therapy Marketing Part 4

For the Most Effective Long-Term Strategy, Content Marketing is King

An essential recommendation that we’ve touched on several times throughout this blog series is to develop a better grasp of who is—and who isn’t—actively looking for a physical therapist, and how this should affect your marketing strategy. This is a universal concept that applies to all aspects of marketing your private physical therapy practice, so it’s worthy of a closer look.

To develop a clearer picture of the whole of society and how much the average person is considering the prospect of physical therapy, it helps to get acquainted with the 6-7%, which was created by marketing consultant Chet Holmes in his book, The Ultimate Sales Machine. The pyramid breaks down the consumers in any market into five categories based on their interest levels, and for physical therapy marketers, your audience looks like this:

About 3% of people are interested in starting physical therapy and looking to set up their first appointment right now
About 6-7% are open to the idea of seeing a physical therapist, but not actively pursuing it or looking into options
About 30% are neutral, meaning they probably have not given any thought to undergoing physical therapy, but might be interested in it
About 30% are pretty sure that they are good “as is,” and don’t need physical therapy, but they haven’t completely ruled it out
About 30% are certain that they don’t want or need physical therapy

It’s a Conceptual Model but Fairly Close to Reality

These statistics may appear to be discouraging, but they should serve as an important reality check. If you buy into this model, it shows that only about 10% of the public is actually receptive to physical therapy as a solution to their pain, and only 3% is at the point where they are actively searching for a therapist or practice to begin treatment with.

The research supports this as well:

Only about 7-8% of lower back pain patients see a PT, but the value proposition is clear [1]
Clinical guidelines suggest that seeing a PT early on for neck pain is of high value. [2]
Yet, referrals to physical therapy are declining according to some research. [3]

Example Patient in Your Community with Low Back Pain

Let’s consider an example. Let’s say that someone in your community has back pain. Who do they think of as the primary care providers for back pain? Most would say a medical doctor and others a chiropractor. The evidence supports this. This is the reality of most communities. Physical therapy is lost in obscurity.

How does a practice rise out of obscurity and become a treatment option for the average consumer?

Enter Content Marketing – An Affordable Method that Can Pay Off Down the Road

The remaining 90% of the people discussed above, is a portion that needs to be nurtured in the long term. Since these individuals don’t generally care much about physical therapy—or downright don’t want it—you need to work on fostering a relationship that will help them get to know, respect, and eventually trust you. With this approach, when the time comes that they do need a physical therapist, they’ll be far more likely to keep you in mind.

This is why traditional marketing may not be as effective for this population. Instead, you should focus your efforts on content marketing.

Content marketing is defined as follows: Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. [4]

Online or Offline – Content Marketing Applies to Both

Content marketing can apply to both your online and offline strategies. When devising a content marketing plan, it may help to follow the 80/20 rule:

20% of your content should be clearly self-promotional
The other 80% should be useful, interesting, and educational, thereby benefiting anyone that reads it

Educational content that covers a range of topics related to:

Obtaining value from healthcare providers,
Conservative care options
Sports health,
Fitness,
Exercise, and
Nutrition

Many of these topics will be immediately helpful to potential patients/readers and will also stand the test of time. In addition, by showing your audience that you are an authority source that provides reliable answers to some of their most common questions, they’ll keep coming back to you in the future to read more. This will in turn will help build trust and will likely place you in the running if—and when—a time comes that physical therapy might be needed.

We hope this series has shown that there is an abundance of options for both inbound and outbound marketing, and there are plenty of benefits of both approaches. Utilizing some of each and diversifying your tactics will likely yield the greatest return, but what works for your private physical therapy practice will be completely unique to your goals, message, and budget.

If you’d like some assistance in navigating this process, we are happy to help. Contact E-Rehab today to learn more.

Inbound Vs. Outbound Marketing Part 2: Outbound Helps You Cast a Wider Net

In our last blog, we showed you what an inbound marketing campaign can accomplish and walked you through the key steps needed to execute these types of strategies. An inbound approach can work incredibly well once someone finds you on the internet, but as we’ve pointed out, this isn’t always easy or likely. It also takes time, and lots of patience, which some private physical therapy practice owners may not have.

Enter Outbound Marketing.

Also referred to as “traditional marketing” or “push marketing,” outbound is more about casting a wide net with strategies that find your patients, rather than hoping that they somehow find you. It gives you more control over how to establish the first point of contact, and is, therefore, more direct and immediate than most inbound strategies.

Example Patient with Neck Pain

One way to understand the primary benefits of an outbound strategy is to think about the behaviors of an average individual who has neck pain. If this person is like most people with neck pain, he or she is probably not actively looking for a physical therapist, and may not even be aware that the option is available.

An inbound strategy probably won’t work unless they happen to be searching for terms related to neck pain and your area and you have pages that rank for these terms.

An outbound approach, on the other hand, is far more likely to bring your practice front and center through the use of advertising and other broad marketing tactics.

Getting to know the best outbound advertising options

Advertising is the most common and reliable form of outbound marketing, and there are numerous options available today. A selection of some that will be worth your time follows:

Paid Banner Advertising: this is essentially any type of advertising that’s used in a search engine; specific search terms are not always necessary, so these ads can pop up regardless of what’s being searched for
Social media advertising: these ads are paid for on specific social media sites, and are helpful for increasing awareness of your practice, better understanding your audience, and boosting your reputation; in general, it’s also less expensive than search engine ads
- Facebook advertising: one of the most popular options; ads are easy to create and can be segmented by interest, age, and other variables
- Instagram Ads: Instagram includes a number of highly engaged users, making your ads more likely to be seen by a larger number of individuals; these ads are also connected with those on Facebook
- Twitter Ads: promoted Tweets can use keyword targeting to go after specific individuals, and you only pay when you’ve achieved your marketing objective
- LinkedIn Ads: this type of advertising isn’t to generate new patients; rather, LinkedIn ads are typically used to attract new professional talent. While they are generally more expensive than on other social media platforms, they may yield better overall results than sites like Indeed.

Pros & Cons of Physical Therapy Outbound Marketing

As you can see, there are pros and cons to both inbound and outbound marketing, and that’s why we believe it’s best to spend time on each and find a balance that works for your practice and your budget.

Outbound marketing is usually far more expensive that inbound and also tends to be short-lived, but if you’re looking for more immediate results and have the funds, it’s certainly an option worth pursuing. In our next blog, we look into the role offline marketing can play in today’s times.

Outbound Marketing – A Great Way to Reach Referring Physicians

In conclusion, outbound marketing has its place. It’s often underutilized by physical therapy private practices and a quick piece of advice – if you still get patients from referring physicians, we definitely recommend you use this marketing strategy to reach them.

We offer a physician newsletter that is ideal and affordable for any practice. Contact us for more information.

References:

https://databox.com/outbound-marketing-tactics

35 Physical Therapy Blog Resources

Publishing content on your physical therapy website may often feel like a daunting task. Figuring out what to write about, how best to convey your message, and what elements to include in order to rank and attract readers can take some time to navigate. This tends to ring especially true for newcomers, but even seasoned bloggers and content creators can run into snags of their own.

If you are blogging, over time you may struggle to find ways to keep coming up with fresh ideas for content that will continue to engage readers without growing stale.

Coming Up with Physical Therapy Blogging Ideas Can be the Tough Part

If you handle any of the physical therapy marketing for your private practice with blogs or other content, you’ve probably run into issues like this in the past (or you may be in that position right now, which is what brought you to this page!)

It goes without saying that there’s so simple way to guarantee that you’ll never run out of ideas and always post the most riveting content, but it will be a major benefit to have some trusty resources to consult for topics, guidance, and writing assistance. Below are 35 essential tips and resources to help you become—or remain—an established physical therapy blogger in the long term:

Blog Topic Ideas

Statistics summary: write a post loaded with important statistics about physical therapy from across the industry, with commentary about how these statistics affect readers
Study summary: find a study that highlights the benefits of physical therapy and do a brief summary of its findings and why they show physical therapy is best
Success story: write about a patient at your practice that experienced a positive outcome after completing treatment; success stories are an incredible way to promote your practice, and you’ll never run out of them so long as you continue to treat patients
How-to guides: teach your readers how to get involved in a new exercise or activity with a step-by-step guide
Injury spotlight: pick a common injury or painful condition and explain why it occurs, what it feels like, and why physical therapy is the best treatment for it
Sport-specific injury guide: select a sport and describe the most common injuries that athletes experience, and how physical therapists can help patients return to activity
Body region injury guide: along the same lines, pick a joint or region (e.g. knee, back, ankle) and provide some details of what injuries occur most frequently, and of course, what physical therapy can do to address it
Services spotlight: promote a unique service you offer that’s not found at most other physical therapy practices, like the Graston technique, aquatic therapy, or dry needling
Seasonal blog: discuss how the current weather relates to exercise habits or common problems and provide tips on how to remain active while avoiding injury
Countdown list: readers love lists, so try creating a blog on “The 5 best stretches for shoulder pain” or “The 8 most common mistakes made when training for a road race”
Physical therapy news: link to an important development in the physical therapy industry and explain how it could affect patients in the future

Resources for physical therapy blogging or health topics to write on

General

Feedly: one of the many websites available for organizing RSS feeds
Healthline
Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic
WebMD
MedicalNewsToday
MayoClinic
The New York Times: Health
NIH

Physical therapy-specific

APTA: great for industry-related news and developments
ChoosePT: APTA’s consumer-focused website (formerly MoveForwardPT)
PT in Motion: APTA’s monthly magazine for physical therapists
GetPT1st blog: loaded with topics for physical therapists and patients
Evidence in Motion blog: industry-specific blog geared more towards physical therapists
Physiospot
The Physical Therapy Advisor
Athletico Physical Therapy blog

Resources to improve your writing and posting skills

CoSchedule: analyzes your headlines to ensure you’re using your words wisely
SEOPressor: a WordPress plugin that assists with search engine optimization (SEO)
XML-sitemaps: free service that creates a sitemap for your website, which helps search engines better scan each of your pages
Hemingway Editor: a grammar service that helps you improve your writing by avoiding sentence that are too long or wordy
Grammarly: another helpful grammar service to assist your writing
Quick and Dirty Tips: website that provides grammar tips and answers to your questions
Portent’s Content Idea Generator: enter a keyword and get topic ideas at this website
Hubspot: another helpful topic generator if you need to come up with new ideas