A potential patient’s search for your podiatry services often starts online. The CDC found 58.5% of adults use search as the first step in finding healthcare providers. If your practice doesn’t show up when they look, you’re losing people ready to schedule an appointment.
A website is a good first step, but it’s not enough. A connected digital strategy establishes you as a trusted practice while you reach, engage, and convert. But knowing where to start and what to opt for can be tricky.
Let’s walk through the most effective podiatry marketing services to ground your practice’s digital presence. From your website to ads, each service plays an important role in your strategy.
[Related: The Perfect Blend of AI and Human Expertise]
1. Mobile-friendly website builds
Your website is your digital front door. And it’s often a patient’s first impression of your podiatry practice. A professional, modern website should do more than look sharp. It has to shoulder important duties such as:
- Load seamlessly on mobile devices
- Accommodate voice search
- Offer easy navigation
- List your services clearly
- Establish your credentials
- Show how to schedule an appointment
This list is only the beginning. Built-in maps, secure forms, intake tools, and educational content all boost usability and trust. Patient portals are major bonuses.
Equally important? Accessibility. Your site should meet ADA standards with features like alt text for images, legible font sizes, and keyboard navigation. And all these elements also support search engine optimization (SEO) performance.
Plus, patients who book appointments want to know their provider — they conduct three times more research than the average searcher. Ensure your podiatry website puts you in the best possible light as the anchor for your other digital marketing efforts.
[Related: Today’s Website: Free Guide for Small Businesses]
Take a tour of a Hibu smart website
2. Local SEO services
Your practice should be central when someone searches for “podiatrist near me” or “[podiatry symptom] care in [your city].” That’s where local SEO enters.
With local SEO, specialists maximize your digital presence across the board to rank higher in local search results. That means consistency. Your practice’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) should match across your website, business profiles, directories, and more. SEO specialists also fine-tune your info on social media and healthcare-specific sites like Healthgrades.
Search engines reward accuracy and intent with greater visibility (that is, higher rankings).
Specialists conduct local SEO in many more ways, including enriching your online footprint with location- and service-specific keywords. When that potential patient looks for “foot doctor in [your city],” your chances of appearing near the top increase.
SEO is certainly worth the investment. With local SEO, you ground your practice’s digital presence and increase your visibility where it matters most.
[Related: 7 Smart Podiatry SEO Tactics for Your Practice]
3. Reputation management
Trust is everything in healthcare. Something as small as one Google review of your podiatry services can make a big, big difference.
And patients are going to check your online reviews — on Google, Facebook, Healthgrades — wherever they can. Nine in 10 of them do.
A positive review sets your practice apart. But a few old or sour reviews can push potential patients away. Online reputation management is a crucial part of podiatrist digital marketing.
You aren’t just gathering good reviews; a trusted reputation management service does far more:
- Encourages patients to leave feedback and post reviews
- Monitors major review platforms for new comments
- Lets you respond professionally and promptly
- Presents your data in an easy-to-use dashboard
You can’t underestimate the importance of responding to reviews, good and bad. Even a quick “Thanks for your feedback! We’re glad we could help” builds confidence with future patients.
When you harness your online reputation, you protect the powerful podiatry digital marketing strategies you invest in.
[Related: Free Guide: Taking Control of Your Online Reputation]
Gartner recognized Hibu as a top review and reputation management provider.
4. Targeted digital ads
Digital ads give your podiatry practice a lift, especially when your digital marketing partner targets them well.
Search ads help your practice appear when someone nearby searches for podiatry care using terms relevant to you. (For example, the search results for “plantar fasciitis treatment near me” include your Google Ad.) Meanwhile, display ads visually keep your practice top of mind when someone’s visited your site but hasn’t taken the leap to book an appointment.
Targeting and retargeting focus your ads according to dynamic factors:
- Your location and service area
- Conditions you treat
- Seasonal needs and local events (like sports season)
Podiatry ads do more than fill gaps. With the proper strategy, they ground your digital presence by putting your practice in front of patients 24/7. That includes search engine results, websites, social media platforms, and apps.
Together, Google and Facebook account for 57% of all ad spend — their reach is huge. Ads there are direct paths to visibility and new patients.
[Related: The Complete Guide to Where You Should Advertise Online [Free Guide]]
5. Marketing automation
Not every patient is ready to book right then and there. And your relationships don’t end after initial visits. Marketing automation lets you connect with patients between appointments.
A robust marketing automation tool is a force to be reckoned with. It can:
- Send automated appointment reminders
- Offer follow-up guidelines
- Reconnect with patients you haven’t seen in a while
- Share foot care tips or curated content (aka email marketing, with an impressive average open rate of 41%)
And you don’t have to lift a finger. You can step in if you want, of course, tailoring messages by podiatry service or audience. Automation keeps your communication consistent, professional and HIPAA-compliant…while saving you a ton of time.
But it’s not solely about staying in touch. Marketing automation grounds your practice digitally, crafting long-term trust and patient retention. It also reinforces your total digital marketing strategy by keeping your patients engaged, informed, and coming back.
It’s an invisible engine behind your podiatry practice, always working in the background to foster growth.
[Related: How Marketing Automation Can Save Time (and Make Money!) For Your Small Business]
6. Social media marketing
You don’t have to go viral, but your practice needs to be on social media. It gives you places to connect with patients as part of your podiatry practice marketing.
Start with Meta (Facebook and Instagram) for maximum reach. Facebook has a massive number of active users (more than 3 billion). It’s a smart choice for local engagement with a verified profile and ongoing activity.
Speaking of staying active…post friendly, professional podiatry content like:
- Podiatric care tips and advice
- Before-and-after images and videos, with permission
- Community news, insights, and references
- Contests, quizzes, and surveys
Still, organic (aka self-made) posts only go so far. Social ads extend your reach. These targeted ads boost visibility beyond your followers, reaching new ones per their interests, behaviors, and locations. Your social ads land in front of the right people at the right time.
As a duo, organic posts and paid ads help plant your podiatry practice in the digital space. They help showcase that you're knowledgeable, kind, and human — just the kind of podiatrist people want to see.
[Related: FREE Small Business Guide to Facebook Marketing]
See how many users your podiatry Facebook ads could reach.
7. Listings management
Don’t overlook your business listings when building your podiatry marketing — they’re key parts. These entries, like your Google Business Profile (GBP), pack a punch. They’re essential for everything to move properly — 97% of people find out about businesses through search, mostly via GBPs.
Your practice may appear on dozens of platforms, from navigation apps to healthcare directories. Users can be confused, frustrated, or simply ready to skip you if any of that info is wrong or missing. And 62% of them lose trust in you.
Listings management services ensure your digital data is accurate and visible everywhere potential patients look. You get automated, ongoing updates that guarantee no incorrect tidbit slips through the cracks. Your practice’s details are consistent and up to date in an ecosystem of directories: Google and beyond.
Your practice stays trustworthy across GPS apps, voice search, and insurance portals alike. Being bona fide across the digital sphere is an especially good look for healthcare providers — patients lean on that trust.
[Related: 9 Tips to Generate Organic Visits for Google Business Profile]
See how your podiatry business listings look now.
Stay a step ahead with Hibu digital marketing
At Hibu, we make marketing for podiatrists like you simple, effective, and profitable. Our services and solutions synchronize to build your practice online. We don’t just offer digital marketing, we deliver a platform that seamlessly optimizes your entire online presence.
Let’s start growing your podiatry practice with strategic digital marketing. We’re happy to do it all for you, too. You focus on podiatric care, while we handle the rest!
Call 877-237-6120 or complete our Get Started form to schedule your free consultation. As your partner, we’ll build your podiatry marketing strategy on solid ground.
