Should I write articles for my vet practice?

When you’re a busy vet juggling the daily comings and goings of running a clinic, managing a team, keeping suppliers and outgoings paid and caring for your clients’ well-being and medical needs, thinking about writing articles for your website is a stretch. Even then, finding the time to write is enough to add to your already blurring headache.

The reality is that writing and posting articles is part of the game if you want your vet practice to be visible and reach new clients. An article requires a structure and a level of craft and must speak to three audiences. Audience one: Google (SEO), audience two: AI (GEO) and audience three: Human beings (Clients).

Articles, also known as blogs, are the SEO heavyweights. Search engines like Google will prioritise fresh, quality, consistent and relevant content when presenting solutions to customers’ problems, and articles fill this gap more effectively than any other strategy. Each new article creates a new index page on your website, increasing the number of entry points where a customer can find you. Articles enable you to target specific keywords or long tail niche markets. This opens your clinic or services to the broad spectrum of customer enquiries while giving you control over who you want to target.

Consistent and quality content signals to Google and other search engines that your practice is active and speaks with authority on many topics. This tactic is even more critical with AI’s rising influence in modern search.

Many vet clinics are tied to their local community. For vets in small towns or regional locales, it is understandable why articles for local reach may not be as essential as for vets operating in our cities and larger towns, where competition can be fierce. For vets in this situation, articles are vital for capturing the local market. Writing about local issues concerning pets, local events relevant to the pet industry, location-based services, and even local industry trends are very effective in growing a local SEO search base. The article must be crafted and structured correctly so the search engine algorithms can recognise it; however, when skillfully done, this form of local connection makes your practice the standout for your local area. Google and other engines support geo-focused content in local ranking factors, which is highly desirable when your practice relies on local clients.

As marketers, we talk a lot about trust. Trust in the online world is a valuable commodity regardless of your industry. While vets have a high-value position regarding trust, people still do plenty of research before committing.

Clients are more likely to trust a business that will educate, inform, and kindly guide them in decision-making. Articles are the most effective tool for making this happen. They offer the gateway to customers’ emotional triggers. They demonstrate your care, provide solutions to their problems, and understandably explain complex issues, speaking to them in a human and compassionate voice. In many cases, an article is where the relationship between you and your client begins and develops.

Articles invite interaction. They are the friend who always organise the next dinner party or get-together. They allow your audience to share and start conversations. “I recently read this article about cats on this vet’s website”, Sarah tells her friend, who is concerned about her cat. “Can you send me the website?” her friend asks. This begins a bond between your brand and the community.

The role of the article is multifaceted. It is a relationship builder, a trust vehicle and a connector between your practice, the complexity of the internet and ultimately the customer. They also nurture leads through a customer’s buying journey. Think of the following structure:

• Articles that create awareness. Informative and educational, they answer broad questions for pet owners and offer solutions.
• An article that creates consideration. Guides, case studies, and tips on what to do help the reader evaluate and understand their options.
• Decision making. Testimonials, client success stories and service offerings drive conversion.

An article offers customers a pathway to follow and a bridge to cross when deciding who best cares for their loved one.

Business people constantly focus on return on investment (ROI), whether a piece of equipment, a team member, advertising, or other outgoings. With tight budgets and a competitive market, vet practices are no different to other industries, and any spending needs to have a return.

Articles provide ongoing value, and their effectiveness can be measured using analytic tools. From an economic standpoint, they are a long-term investment, working long after paid advertising has dried up. A high-ranking article post can generate organic traffic, leads, and conversions months or even years after publication. They are a repurposable commodity and are often used to support social media, newsletters, and even local or national news exposure, adding multiple layers to their value.

The humble article is more than an add-on to your website; it requires effort and expertise. It can be done in-house when you know what you’re doing and have the time; however, outsourcing and incorporating it into a broader marketing strategy will maximise any marketing budget.

Our content team have the skills and expertise to create high-value articles for veterinary practices and specialised vet services. Contact us for a professional brand, website and marketing strategy audit.