Tell Me Where You Are

Here's a simple tip that many health practitioners and counsellors don't consider when putting together their web pages: Include some sort of blurb or mention about your office's geographic location.

I can't tell you how many times I've searched for a particular service on Google, found the web site of someone who sounds interesting, but then not been able to find where that individual works. Or it takes a lot of time and effort, which most of us don't seem to have these days, to find out that basic piece of information. If I'm looking for a naturopath, for example, come across the web site of one who sounds very good, but then can't quickly and easily see where they offer their services, I'm moving on to the next naturopath.

Now, if I'm looking for a naturopath in Vancouver, say, I'll enter "naturopath vancouver" as my Google search. Presumably, most people would think to do likewise. And, guess what? If you're a naturopath in Vancouver and you didn't mention the word "Vancouver" anywhere in your site, Google's not going to pick your site up for that particular search.

All you need to do is either work the name of the city (and/or outlying areas that you service) into the copy of your pages or, if that doesn't work naturally, include a simple one- or two-sentence blurb at the end of the page, along the lines of, "We provide naturopathic services to Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, including Burnaby, New Westminster, ..." Do one or both on every page of your site. It also helps to include your geographic area in your pages' title tags as well. Trust me, you won't be sorry. :)