SEO for Urgent Care

If you offer urgent care, even if you also offer other services, you want to show up when people in your area search for “urgent care.” SEO for urgent care should be a top marketing priority.

People in need of urgent medical services will go to Google to find those services. SEO helps your website communicate well with search engines.

Certainly, SEO for urgent care has a lot in common with any other kind of SEO for doctors. But there are some special things about urgent care that will affect your strategy.

Pick the right keywords

Hint: “urgent care” is the right keyword.

Google Trends tells us how often people are searching for specific keywords. The blue line in the chart above shows recent searches for “urgent care.” The collection of lines way below it on the chart show searches for related terms, such as “emergency care” or “walk-in clinic.”

Patients needing urgent care are now most familiar with this term. And while “emergency care” brings up variations like “emergency pet care,” “urgent care” is used to look for urgent care specifically.

At the same time, people needing urgent medical care may also choose to look up the problem they’re facing: “sprained ankle,” “How do you know when a burn is bad?”, or “diarrhea treatments.”

Take the opportunity to address every problem your patients face in your blog. Seeing your website during the initial research and again when looking for “urgent care near me” will give prospective patients greater confidence in your facility.

It’s all about the mobile

In our experience, urgent care sites get way more mobile traffic than desktop traffic — even more than medical websites in general. Someone seeking urgent care may not be at home or in an office with rapid access to a desktop computer. They’re almost certainly feeling some time pressure. They’ll usually grab their phone to look for help.

Be sure that the mobile version of your website offers the information patients need quickly:

• Hours
• Phone number (with click-to-call at the top of the screen)
• Map and/or directions
• Insurance or other healthcare plans accepted
• Do you see children?
• Do you accept appointments?

Clearly state any limitations. For example, if you don’t accept Medicaid or don’t allow unvaccinated children in your waiting room, make sure visitors can see that information easily.

Make sure your website is ready

We’ve talked about the mobile experience. Make sure the desktop experience is equally good. Have all that basic information above the fold.

You should also make sure that your location is very clear. Google will identify a search for “urgent care near me” as a local search. They’ll try to connect the searcher with places that are geographically close. The searcher’s location will come from the phone or computer they’re using.

Your website needs to make it clear to Google where you are, too. Have your physical address on your contact page. Write it out just as you would on an envelope.

Urgent care facilities can’t fudge their locations. We know service companies that list the city they’re in and then all the other towns they’d like to have in their service area. We’ve also seen people list post office boxes or accommodation addresses in multiple areas. We do not recommend any of these shenanigans for urgent care facilities.

Great content, technical SEO, and a strategic approach will make your website a valuable marketing tool for your facility.