When potential new patients try to find a chiropractor in your area, there are three places that will pull up. The paid ads (usually on the top and right hand sides), the organic listings (the rest of the page), and the local search area (usually includes a map).

You can create a Pay-per-click (PPC) campaign if you wish, and that will mean that you pay for every person that clicks on your ad. (Prices vary by city, but typical prices seem to range from $.50 to $5.00 per click.) While these ads can show up quickly and give you an instant source of website traffic, it can get expensive fast while attracting the wrong type of patients.

Organic listings require work, but is usually well worth the time, effort, and investment. This is where I help my clients the most.

Local search is a whole ‘nother animal. Getting your business listed on the map has a few factors associated with it, and most offices do nothing to help themselves here.

While the default option on the map seems to be to show businesses that are closest to the city’s center, there is something you can do about it (other than relocated your office).

Below is a list of places you can either create a business listing or at least confirm that your information is accurate. I’ve worked with clients where at least one of these directories showed an old address or even that they had closed!

Take the time to make sure your business is listed correctly, but to take it up a notch, complete the business profile! Add your clinic hours, some photos, some videos… anything that will make your profile stand out. Since most offices don’t complete any of this information, you can stand out just by doing the minimum.

• Google Local Business
• Bing Local Business
• Yahoo Local
• Yelp
• AOL Local Search
• HotFrog
• Brownbook
• InfoUSA
• Openlist
• Citysearch
• Best Of The Web Local

If you want extra credit and want to find more help, just go to Google and type in your city name + “local directory” and see what pops up.

Some cities have a local trusted guide that you should make sure you’re on. Every one of these sites gets regular traffic and is just one more opportunity for people to find you, and to help your site become a more trusted site.

The main objective is to have you and your website show up as many places online as possible. All of it adds to your credibility and just helps to cement your listing on the front page of the search results.