Local SEO for chiropractors: Techniques to relieve your digital pain points

When patients look for chiropractic care online, their needs are often very specific yet also varied. They’re looking for relief from sports injuries or chronic pain, or to get spinal adjustments, a specificity that makes it challenging for you—the owner, manager, or marketing professional of a chiropractic practice—to effectively target potential patients through traditional SEO. But a little knowledge goes a long way. By understanding the nuances of how these patients search, you can craft a local SEO strategy that meets these needs and gives your practice a competitive edge.

Did you know that 5% of all online reviews are healthcare related? And according to Google, “Search drives nearly 3x as many visitors to hospital sites compared to non-search visitors.” Yet another report by Software Advice dictates that 94% of healthcare patients use online reviews to evaluate providers. 

These insights show how important it is to optimize your practice’s online presence not just for visibility but also for trust and engagement. Using local SEO strategies that match how patients search—like focusing on keywords that reflect their specific needs and creating location-specific pages—can make it much easier for your practice to stand out and connect with potential patients in a crowded market.

A search on Google shows many chiropractors in Lincoln Nebraska

What is local SEO for chiropractors?

Local SEO is like a digital compass that guides possible nearby patients to your chiropractic practice. It’s all about making sure your practice stands out when people in your area search for chiropractic care online. Making the most of this online presence ensures you can secure a prime spot in local search results and on maps, boosting your visibility and driving more patients through your doors. Think of it as your practice's way of saying, "Here I am, ready to help you!" when someone nearby is looking for relief.

To get your chiropractic practice to stand out in local search results, it's important to know how search engines decide which local entities to show. Three major factors—relevance, distance, and prominence—play an important role in this process. These factors are like the building blocks of local SEO, and understanding them can help you connect with more patients in your area. 

The three key factors to consider for chiropractors looking to rank high with local SEO

Relevance

Relevance in local SEO is all about ensuring your chiropractic practice matches what people are searching for online. When probable patients type in queries like "chiropractor for back pain near me" or "sports injury chiropractor," search engines assess how closely your practice aligns with those. This is where optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) becomes crucial—we’ll cover that in more detail later. 

By including detailed information about your services in places such as your GBP, for things like spinal adjustments, sports injury treatment, or chronic pain management, you make it easier for search engines to recognize your relevance to specific patient needs. The more relevant your practice appears, the more likely it is to show up in search results when potential patients are looking for the exact services you offer​.

Distance

Distance is also a key factor in local SEO for chiropractors. Search engines will give priority to results based on how close a searcher is to your practice. For example, if someone searches for "relieve back pain near me," Google and other search engines will display practices that are geographically close to the user. This is why it’s so essential that you keep your clinic’s address and location information accurate and up to date across all authoritative platforms. Having precise location details on your website, GBP, and local directories can significantly increase your visibility to nearby patients in immediate need of chiropractic care​.

Prominence

Prominence refers to how well-known and reputable your practice is online. When determining this, search engines consider factors like the number and quality of online reviews, your website’s domain authority, and the presence of backlinks from other respected sites. For chiropractors, maintaining a strong online reputation through positive reviews, engaging in local community events, and being listed on authoritative medical directories can boost your prominence. The more prominent your practice is, the higher it can rank in local search results.

Pro tip: Participate in local online forums, social media groups, and community websites related to health and wellness. Engage with users by answering questions and sharing your expertise. This can help build your prominence and potentially earn you high-quality backlinks.

Tackling the top local SEO challenges for chiropractors

Getting your medical business seen on search engines is definitely worth it, but it’s not easy. You’ll need to crack several challenges to ensure you’re in perfect local SEO alignment. Some of these are:

Competition

Standing out among numerous chiropractic practices can be tough in densely populated urban areas. With so many options available, making your practice the first choice for potential patients is challenging.

Pro tip: Use Semrush’s Competitor Analysis tools to monitor the performance of other local chiropractic practices. This will help you identify gaps in your own strategy and find opportunities to outshine your competitors.

Resource constraints

Many chiropractic practices, especially smaller ones, struggle with limited resources—in terms of both time and expertise. Effective local SEO requires consistent effort, from managing online listings to creating content, which can be overwhelming without a dedicated team. This is especially true when juggling patient care and business operations. About 15.3% of small business owners—including chiropractors—manage their own digital marketing, often without adequate SEO knowledge, which can restrict their ability to rank well in local searches. 

Review management

Keeping a positive online reputation while navigating the necessary marketing regulations of the healthcare fields is essential but can be time-consuming. Patient reviews play a more-than-noteworthy role in how search engines rank your practice, and managing these reviews requires regular attention. Healthgrades states that nearly 75% of patients turn to online reviews as the first step when searching for a new physician.

Content creation

Creating high-quality, relevant content that attracts local patients is one of the most challenging parts of local SEO, especially for practices with multiple locations. Content needs to be tailored to each location while also being engaging and informative. But websites that regularly update their content see 434% more indexed pages says TechClient—definitely worth the effort!

Pro tip: Implement schema markup on your website to help search engines better understand your content and improve how your practice appears in local search results. Semrush’s On-Page SEO Checker can help you add the correct schema markup for healthcare providers.

Aligning your chiropractic practice with local SEO 

Getting your practice noticed online is just as important as making in-practice adjustments to get new patients coming in and old patients coming back. Local SEO helps you stand out and though it may seem intimidating, plenty of strategies can keep your practice in alignment with the needs of your community—and your business goals. Here are the ones we recommend you start with:

Free listings audit

This is a quick and easy way to identify any discrepancies in your business name, address, or phone number across different platforms. Since these can confuse search engines and potential patients, leading to lower rankings, we recommend using Semrush Local’s Free Listings Audit to help you identify inaccuracies and gaps in your online presence. 

Semrush Local’s Free Listings Audit can help you find and fix inaccuracies in  your online listings.

Google Business Profile optimization

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is extremely important to your relevance, prominence, and distance (the key factors of local SEO). To make the most of it, ensure that every section is filled out accurately, from your clinic’s NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) to your operating hours. High-quality images of your practice and staff can make your profile more inviting, while allowing appointment bookings directly through Google makes it easy for potential patients to take the next step.

An optimized Google Business Profile from a Nebraska based chiropractor. 

Accurate citations

Citations are mentions of your business’s NAP on other websites, and they play a critical role in local SEO. These citations can be structured, like in directories such as Yelp or Healthgrades, or unstructured, like mentions in local news articles or blogs. Consistency across all platforms is key, as search engines use these citations to verify your business’s legitimacy and authority.

Pro tip: While Google is crucial, don’t overlook platforms like Bing Places, Yelp, and Healthgrades. Use Semrush Local’s Listing Management tool to manage and optimize listings across these platforms.

Local keywords

To attract high-intent patients—those actively searching for chiropractic services—you’ll need to add local keywords into your content, like your website homepage and blog articles. Consider what queries potential patients might be entering into Google. Incorporating these into your content, meta descriptions, and GBP can also boost your visibility.

Patient reviews 

Positive patient reviews play a big role in helping others trust your practice, and they’re also key to boosting your online visibility. After providing patients with a great service, be sure to encourage them to leave a review on Google and other platforms. Staying on top of these reviews and responding to them strengthens your reputation as well as improving how your practice appears in local search results.