3 Reasons Why Blogging is Essential for Acupuncture Practices

Imagine you have a new patient. They are new to acupuncture and eager to find a natural solution for their allergies. When you ask them how they found you, they say, “I read your blog post on how acupuncture can help seasonal allergies and I’m tired of suffering with them.”

That’s the power of blogging.

Best part is, you wrote the post months ago and it continues to bring in leads.

Blogging can help you get found by future patients, establish your expertise, and give you something to share on social media.

Also, because so few local businesses blog with any type of strategy or consistency, it’s not that hard to establish yourself within the local blogosphere—and sometimes beyond.

What does this mean? If you establish a regular blogging schedule and base it on a strategic keyword plan, you can find your acupuncture practice at the top of the search results within a few months.

Whether you love the idea of blogging or don’t know what to write about, just take a deep breath. This post is going to fill you in on three blogging basics for acupuncture practices.  Let’s start with the why.

1. Blogging showcases your expertise

You’ve spent years honing your skills and knowledge. You’re a font of knowledge when it comes to how acupuncture works, Traditional Chinese Medicine and other natural healing remedies. Blogging gives you an outlet to share that wisdom with thousands of people.

You already know the internet is where people turn when they’re looking for a recommendation or information. When your blog post turns up when they google, “natural headache treatments” or “natural pain relief,” that positions you as an expert in the topic. Which you are.

Imagine doing this over and over for dozens of topics.

2. The SEO value of blogging

You realize there is tremendous value in being recognized as a knowledgeable resource by potential patients. That’s one reason to blog. But there’s also an SEO (search engine optimization) reason to blog.

As you probably know, when you use the terms and phrases your patients are searching for as blog topics, they’re more likely to find you. Using tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Google Trends, you can find frequently searched for terms and prioritize those for your blog topics.

In many parts of the country, other acupuncturists are not doing this so it won’t take long before your posts are at the top of local search. One practitioner I know publishes two blog posts/month on a topic his patients want to know more about and it keeps his website at the top of the search results.

3. Blogging gives you something to share on social media

Once you publish a post on your blog, then you can publish a snippet on your Facebook Page and other social media channels with a link back to your blog. You can also use a portion of it in your email newsletter you send out to your current patients.

Content is the fuel of the internet and blogging can give you a full tank to help you get found and attract new clients.

Tips for writing your first (or next) post

Just like there is a procedure for handling needles, there is a best practice for writing blog posts. Here are my top three tips.

1. Review keyword research for topic ideas: I look for frequently searched topics. You can also use common questions your patients ask.
2. Before writing: Ask yourself if you’re writing for past or current patients who have experience with your acupuncture clinic or to people who haven’t experienced acupuncture before. You’ll probably answer their questions differently. Keep them in mind as you write.
3. Stick to one topic per post: Keep it simple. You don’t need to share everything you know about acupuncture in one post.

Now that you know how blogging can help your acupuncture practice attract new patients by being a valued resource, your blog posts will be on the first page of Google search in no time.