The substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation industries are incredibly competitive – and growing quickly.
As the U.S. starts to recognize the issues from the opioid epidemic, more addiction centers are opening their doors to help the public. If you are one of those facilities, it is critical that you make your center stand out in a sea of competition.
In this industry, you cannot rely on local marketing. After all, patients will come from all over the state – and sometimes out of state – to visit a well-respected addiction center for treatment. So, you need to think on a nation-wide scale as you approach your marketing plan.
The Competition Grows in Numbers Annually
Addiction and rehab facilities are opening almost daily in the U.S. In 2017 alone, there were 13,585 substance abuse centers in the country, and the highest concentration was in California. While this number was down from 2016 (which had 14,399), that is still a substantial number of competitors when you consider patients come from all over the country to use one of them.
So, how do you remain competitive against 13,585 other addiction centers? You may have a unique approach to treatments, but so could they. The only right way to stand out is to ensure when someone searches for addiction treatment centers, your facility shows up on the first page of the search engine results.
Your Patients Are Out There – They Need to Find You First
Approximately 10,000 Google searches happen each month for addiction treatment facilities. It is estimated that 21.5 million adults battle addiction in the country annually. You have patients out there; they are looking for you. But how do you make sure they find your addiction center and not the competition?
Today’s Addiction Center Must Embrace Digital Marketing and SEO
Patients today rely on the internet to find medical information and to choose their local addiction center for treatment. You need a digital marketing strategy that expands your presence online and drives patients to your facility.
Furthermore, you want the right patients to come to you. A patient looking at your addiction care center online should understand the unique services you offer, trust that you are experienced in the industry, and feel confident you can help them battle their addiction with drugs, alcohol, or another affliction.
Making sure a patient clicks the link and visits your website is not enough. You need to show them what makes your services better than the next, sets yourself apart from the wave of options, and highlights your reputation as a treatment facility.
All of this comes from well-written copy that is part of your digital marketing strategy.
The Problems Addiction Centers Face with Digital Marketing Today
Whether you have just opened your doors or you have been around for years, the shift to digital marketing over traditional marketing has created numerous issues for companies trying to build their presence online and remain competitive.
Heavy Competition
As you already know, the competition is fierce locally and nationally. You have addiction and rehab treatment facilities all trying to rank for the best keywords, reach the first page of the search engine results, and ultimately be the first company a prospective patient contacts.
Continually Changing Regulations
Addiction centers, like other providers of medical-type services, have restrictions on how they can advertise and present themselves to prospective patients. With more instances of treatment centers opening, the federal and state restrictions are more likely to increase than slow down. Therefore, you not only have to stay up-to-date with those regulatory changes and remain compliant, but you need a flexible digital marketing strategy that can adjust with each new legislation or regulation put into place.
Changes in Search Habits
Search habits of patients change continually. Before, it was all about browser searches, but today, more patients are searching for addiction centers via mobile devices. You need to anticipate changes before they happen and have a plan in place ready to launch when a search habit switches.
Reputation Building
With so many companies offering the same services, you need a reputation that speaks for itself. That means not only a significant presence online, but also a quality reputation with patient referral services, online review boards, and third-party websites that recommend addiction treatment centers by a ranking system. Monitoring your reputation online is a daily task – something you could not possibly tackle all while running a business.
Costs
Digital marketing does require and investment, but it is an investment that should provide you with returns. When done incorrectly, however, you could waste thousands of dollars on outdated marketing techniques, violate federal regulations, and harm your reputation. You need to know how to make the most out of your investment and not waste a penny on useless marketing tactics.
On-Going Digital Marketing Maintenance Demands
Digital marketing plans are not a set-it-and-forget-it situation. Instead, they are living strategies that alter their path frequently. The time it takes to research the industry, predict trends, and implement a new plan quick enough to keep you at the top is incredibly time-consuming.
Internet Marketing Geeks Gives You the Competitive Edge You Need while Saving You Time and Money
Internet Marketing Geeks understands the issues addiction centers face when trying to get more patients into their doors. You want to help people, but you are not sure how to target them or get them to find your facility and accept those services.
Our digital marketing team knows the addiction and rehabilitation industry, and we’ve built our internal strategy to focus on the unique factors that influence how successful a plan can be for that industry. Most importantly, we pride ourselves on continually improving our services for our clients so that each day we bring something new, innovative, and ahead of the curve.
SEO-Centric Web Designs
It starts with a custom-designed website that is SEO-optimized. We make your addiction center’s website welcoming, informative, and easy to navigate.
No cookie-cutter templates here. Instead, everything is tailored specific to your brand and company’s image.
SEO Content That Speaks to Your Ideal Patient
Next, we fill your web pages with content. Content serves two purposes: attracting search engines and informing prospective patients.
To help encourage search engines to review your pages and push you to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs), we use high-volume, low competition, and targeted keywords throughout your content.
To build trust with prospective patients, we use our talented copywriters to create content that speaks to your patient, highlights your services, and showcases what makes your addiction center genuinely unique. Most importantly, we continue to build on your brand and reputation throughout your content, which will help establish you as an authority in the industry.
Social Media Reputation Building and Management
Our team then takes it to social media. More patients are finding services from recommendations on social media and are less likely to use an addiction center that has no presence on social media platforms. We help establish your profile on platforms that make sense for your target audience, tailor messages to get attention, and continue to manage those profiles to deliver results.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising That Drives Patients to You
PPC advertisements are frosting on the top of your digital marketing cupcake.
When our team creates PPC ads, we not only implement our secret SEO techniques and integrate keywords chosen just for you, but we also write creative advertisements that convert readers into patients.
Throughout your PPC ad campaign, we monitor results and continually revise and revamp until the results start moving in the direction we would like to see.
Not every client requires PPC advertisements. Our team assesses your current market, the competition, and your performance online to determine whether adding PPCs into your digital marketing strategy will help achieve your goals.
Give Internet Marketing Geeks’ Team of Digital Marketing Experts a Try
Whether you have a digital marketing plan in place or you are fresh to the task, let the team at Internet Marketing Geeks guide you through the process.
We meet with prospective clients and work toward a customized strategy focusing on your goals. Do you want more local patients? Are you hoping to attract patients nationally? Let us help you achieve those goals by implementing a strategy designed specifically to reach them.
We have decades of combined marketing, content writing, and SEO experience. We leverage every day of our experience to bring our clients the very best results in their marketing plan. Most importantly, we work hard to keep digital marketing in your company’s budget while still delivering worthwhile results.
The only way to see how digital marketing can bring patients to your addiction center is to partner with a company that understands the industry. Why not give our marketing team a try? Reach out to Internet Marketing Geeks today to schedule your new client consultation, and we can get started on your custom marketing plan right away.