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The Ultimate Guide to SEO for Wellness Practitioners

In today’s digital-first world, when someone is searching for a health practitioner—whether it’s a holistic nutritionist, acupuncturist, or physical therapist—their journey almost always starts with an online search. Even if they get a referral from a friend, their next step is to Google the provider.

Will you show up when they search, or will they find your competitor?

As wellness practitioners, you know that energy flows where attention goes, and in this case, attention means online visibility. If your practice isn’t appearing in searches, you’re essentially invisible to potential clients. This is where the magic of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. A thoughtful SEO strategy will help grow your health and wellness business by putting your practice or products in front of the people who need them most.

If you’re a small, local practice, you might wonder if it’s even possible to land on the coveted first page of search results. The good news? It absolutely is. In fact, it’s often easier for a local business to rise to the top than a larger, national company. Curious why? Keep reading to discover the simple yet powerful steps you can take to ensure your practice shines brightly on that all-important first page.

 

Understanding the Anatomy of a Google Search Results Page

 

According to Statista in 2024, Google accounts for 86 percent of search activity, with Bing ranking a distant second at 7 percent. So let’s start there.

Think of Google’s search page results like a digital guide—each result is carefully chosen based on various inputs to give users the most relevant and valuable information for their search. When a potential client types something like “holistic healthcare for women,” Google pulls together what it believes are the most relevant results. These results fall into several categories, and understanding these categories can help guide your SEO strategy:

 

AI Summary

This is a relatively new addition to search results, appearing at the top of the page. It’s a snippet of content summarized from Google’s most trusted resources and tailored to the user’s query. AI summaries are not included in local or intent-driven searches. For example, a search like “functional medical provider near me” will not result in an AI Summary. This is good news if you’re a local business because you have more control over showing up first.

 

Paid Ads

These are the “sponsored results” that appear at the top of the search results page if there is no AI summary. If there is an AI summary, these ads will appear directly below it. Paid search ads are a great tool to boost your business’s visibility. The cost will vary based on the competition for the search term you want to own. Of course, the real magic happens in the organic section, where trust and credibility shine.

 

Organic Search Results

This is the heart of SEO: results that aren’t paid for but earned. Organic results are ranked based on a combination of factors Google uses to determine the trustworthiness of your business and the quality and relevance of your content. A strong SEO strategy helps you rank higher here, ensuring that when potential clients search for the wellness services you provide, your practice is one of the first they see.

 

Local and Maps Results

As a wellness provider, your local community is your core client base. The map results—often referred to as Google’s “local pack”—are a powerful tool for clients looking for practitioners nearby. Being listed here can dramatically increase foot traffic and calls to your practice or business.

 

Improving SEO Page Ranking for Local Businesses

So, how do you set up your health and wellness business to land on the first page of Google? The process of SEO can feel as intricate as a client’s health plan, requiring attention to detail, regular maintenance, and a deep understanding of your clients’ needs and pain points.

 

The simplest way to think about SEO is this: It’s the process of addressing the inputs that create trust with search engines and your target audience. When these inputs add up to a high score, you’ll start rising to the top of search engine results. Like any practice, it requires consistency and commitment, and for most wellness providers, time is a precious resource. That’s why many choose to collaborate with SEO experts who can help map out and implement the core components of digital visibility. But whether you’re outsourcing SEO or doing it yourself, it’s important to understand the core components, so you’re empowered to optimize your site or ask your marketing partner the right questions.

Want to Know Your SEO Score?

So, what are those magical key components that will land you on page one of search results organically? Let’s dive in:

 

Choosing the Right Keywords: The Mantra of SEO 

At the heart of SEO are keywords—the words and phrases potential clients use to search for services. Like prescribing the right supplements for a client, selecting the right keywords for your business is a personalized process. It involves identifying the symptoms and services your potential clients are researching and incorporating them naturally into your content.

 

To truly connect with your audience, your keywords should mirror the language your clients are using when they search (not the medical or industry terms you might use). For a chiropractor, this might mean using terms like “can chiropractor fix pinched nerve,” “chiropractor near me,” or “chiropractor who uses activator.” Understanding your target clients’ pain points and why they come to you plays a big role in choosing the right keywords and search terms.

 

Understanding On-Page SEO  

Once you identify the right keywords and search terms, it’s important they show up in the right places across your website. This is what on-page SEO is all about—refining the content and structure of each page to make it irresistible to both search engines and visitors. By optimizing elements like headlines, keywords, meta descriptions, and even the layout of your pages, you ensure your site not only looks good but also communicates clearly with search engines. The goal? To help search engines see and understand exactly what your content offers, so they can match it with the right people searching for services like yours.

 

The Role of Website Optimization 

As a wellness provider, your website should feel like a sanctuary—clean, inviting, and easy to navigate—whether users are searching on a phone or laptop. Website optimization focuses on ensuring your site runs smoothly, loads quickly, and offers a seamless user experience without broken links, clunky navigation, or frustrating delays.

 

If it’s not user-friendly, people will quickly use the back arrow to return to the results page and find a competitor whose website is faster and easier to navigate. When this happens, you’re not only losing business, you’re losing credibility in the eyes of the search engine.

 

40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load. A one-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.* – Neil Patel, SEO and Digital Marketing Expert

Search engines pay close attention to every detail of a user’s experience, including how long they spend on your site and how many pages they visit. When your website loads quickly and visitors are engaged, exploring multiple pages and sticking around, it sends a clear message to search engines: your site offers valuable, relevant content. In return, search engines reward you by boosting your ranking, making it easier for more people to find your practice.

 

Developing Your Business Profile and Listings for Local SEO 

Your Google Business Profile, along with listings on trusted directories across the web, signals to Google that your practice is active, reputable, and ready to serve your community. This is especially important for local search results. There are over 65 listing sites where your business can appear, each one building your digital presence and credibility. Not only should your business appear in as many directories as possible, but it’s also important that your information is identical across all listings. A discrepancy as small as your address including “N.” in one listing vs. “North” in another can lead search engines to flag your information as inaccurate and decrease your overall ranking score.

 

With the right tools, you can easily submit your business to Google and other directories while managing information accuracy. If you’re curious whether your Google Business listing is correct and how many directories you can be found in, request a report here.

 

Backlinks: The Backbone of SEO Authority 

Think of backlinks as a form of social proof and reputation-building for your business. Just as client testimonials build trust, backlinks from reputable sites boost your website’s credibility in the eyes of search engines. Backlinks tell search engines that you are the reputable expert you say you are. Securing links on well-regarded health and wellness platforms, blogs, and news outlets not only strengthens your practice’s reputation, it also propels you to the top of the search rankings.

 

When you’re a guest on a podcast, co-author an article, or get mentioned in the media or on another website, ask them to link back to your website—so the content you create is working to build both your reputation and your digital SEO authority.

 

Creating Content Drives SEO + Trust and Awareness  

In the wellness world, content is about more than putting out information—it’s your client’s first impression. Regularly posting high-quality content not only improves search rankings but also invites potential clients to get to get to know you, your approach, and your practice. It also serves as a way to help potential clients recognize that you can solve their problems. For example, if someone is experiencing acne and breakouts, their instinct might be to visit their primary care physician for medication. But if you’re a nutritionist, creating content that raises awareness about the correlation between food and skin health might bring them to you instead.

 

Search engines prioritize websites that consistently provide fresh, useful content, signaling that your site is active and valuable. Additionally, the more quality content you produce, the more opportunities you create for keyword optimization, helping search engines better understand and rank your site. Whether it’s wellness tips, success stories, or educational guides, fresh content keeps you relevant and engaging with your audience—and shows search engines that you’re offering timely, relevant information.

 

The Biggest Benefit of a Successful SEO Strategy

When you prioritize SEO, you’re not just optimizing for search engines—you’re aligning your digital presence with the needs of your clients. SEO is about showing up when they need you most, offering them a clear path to the wellness solutions they’re searching for. In a world where so many are seeking health solutions online, being one of the first results they see can make all the difference. Not only can it drive more clients to your practice, but it can also be the first step in building a meaningful, long-term relationship that leads to better health outcomes for your clients.

 

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