Urgent care centers are vital to the U.S. healthcare system. They fill the gap between primary care and emergency rooms, offering fast, walk-in treatment for non-life-threatening conditions. By easing pressure on busy ERs, they help critical patients get the care they need, while also giving local communities a quick, affordable option for everyday health concerns.

But even with their value, many urgent care clinics struggle to attract new patients. That’s where local SEO for small businesses becomes crucial. When patients search online for “urgent care near me,” your clinic should be at the top. Without strong digital visibility, even the best services can go unnoticed.

Marketing Challenges for Healthcare Centers

The doctors who own and operate these centers lack the necessary marketing skills and don’t have big budgets to either hire full-time marketing staff or multiple specialized agencies

The doctors who own and operate these centers lack the necessary marketing skills and don’t have big budgets to either hire full-time marketing staff or multiple specialized agencies. 

That’s where local SEO for small businesses can make a real difference. It provides a smart, affordable way for urgent care centers to improve their visibility and attract nearby patients. By focusing on local SEO for small businesses, doctors can ensure their clinics show up when people search for immediate care in their area—without needing a large marketing team. In today’s digital world, local SEO for small businesses isn’t optional; it’s essential for growth.

How Dr. Tom Discovered the Power of SEO for Small Business to Revive His Urgent Care Clinic

Dr. Tom ran an urgent care center, not too far from a lakeside community in the suburbs of Chicago.  He and his partners bring over 50 years of combined patient care experience and their expertise is unmatched compared to other urgent care centers in the area.

The location of their clinic is easily accessible as it is very close to a freeway.
Dr. Tom and his incredible team take pride in providing fast acute care to patients who are often in and out within 40 minutes.

However, the urgent care suffered lowered traffic due to the pandemic. The number of patients visiting the center daily eroded significantly due to other competing alternatives.

Dr. Tom knew he needed help in marketing the medical services and additional services such as sports medicine, IVY therapy, and pre-employment drug testing for the center. He started looking into SEO for small business as a possible solution to improve local visibility.

Over the last few years, Tom engaged with several marketing agencies but saw no tangible outcomes. Dr. Tom was charged $3000 monthly by one of these agencies for a long time! 

The agency did not publish articles, blogs, or website pages, or run any email or social media campaigns. They merely set up the centre’s Google Search Console and sent periodic traffic updates. One would wonder, what did the agency charge $3000 for! Another agency wrote an article and “added keywords to it” for $3000! These were absolute rip-offs.

The agency did not publish articles, blogs, or website pages, or run any email or social media campaigns. They merely set up the centre’s Google Search Console and sent periodic traffic updates. One would wonder, what did the agency charge $3000 for! Another agency wrote an article and “added keywords to it” for $3000! These were absolute rip-offs.

The lack of real skills of SEO for small business frustrated Dr. Tom, who realized these agencies weren’t actually helping his clinic grow.

The doctors were frustrated and unsure what to expect and how to proceed. The center needed to attract more patients to sustain and grow its practice, but Dr. Tom was clueless about how to effectively market their services. Despite investing tens of thousands of dollars in marketing efforts, they saw little return on their investment.

He considered hiring a fractional CMO but that would incur an expense of $10,000 to $20,000! Instead, he began exploring affordable and effective SEO for small business strategies that could actually drive patient traffic.

It became clear that a targeted, local SEO for small business approach—not just surface-level fixes—was what the clinic needed to recover and thrive.

Turning Point with MarketEngine

Things took a turn when Tom attended a Digital Marketing Webinar hosted by MarketEngine. 

During the webinar, the speaker highlighted the importance of segmenting the audience, creating differentiated messaging, building a robust marketing strategy, and leveraging SEO for small business to improve visibility. They also emphasized the significance of creating quality, relevant content on the website and running email and/or social media campaigns to drive people to that content.

The webinar opened Tom’s eyes and he wasted no time to setup a discussion with MarketEngine experts to explore synergies. 

In the end, Tom made a swift decision to partner with MarketEngine. 

Key capabilities of MarketEngine:

Dr. Tom realized how MarketEngine could help his urgent care reach a wider audience in a short time through targeted campaigns with relevant and powerful humanized content.

MarketEngine accomplished all that a fractional CMO would do and more in less than 2 weeks and at a fraction of the cost. 

Leveraging differentiated messaging, MarketEngine produced powerful humanized blogs, articles, email infographics and social banners in a matter of few weeks.

By combining the power of AI and human marketing experts, the content was ready within no time, and the MarketEngine team ran campaigns that not only resonated with the audience but also aligned with best practices in SEO for small business, ultimately getting the center a 3% increase in their regular footfall!

Reasons why the Urgent Care owners chose MarketEngine as their marketing partner

Transforming Urgent Care Marketing: The Results in just a few weeks 

Within weeks of partnering with MarketEngine, Dr Tom and his team began to see tangible results. 

• Marketing strategy with differentiated messaging formulated
• Several blogs, articles, infographics and social media banners published
• 30+ Qualified Leads generated – people who had shown significant interest in the campaigns
• 100+ warm leads generated – people who had shown interest in specific campaigns such as sports medicine
• 500+ new patients learned about the services of the center
• 3x higher open and click rates to email campaigns compared to industry averages. 

These results were beyond the doctors’ expectations.

Previously, Dr. Tom Spent over $20K in 6 months on agencies without any real marketing activity or results.

Leveraging this powerful marketing engine, Dr. Tom spent less than $5K and saw clear, tangible results in just a few weeks!

MarketEngine expert strategists, with over 50 years of collective marketing experience, helped them refine their messaging and develop a strategic marketing plan. 

Their business process knowhow, and the expertise that they gained from working with more than 10000 startups and small businesses have led them to create a powerful marketing engine that creates amazing strategy at speed.

They quickly crafted powerful humanized stories in the form of blog posts, infographics, and social media banners.  

The exceptionally high open and click rates demonstrated that the content resonated with current and potential patients.

The exceptionally high open and click rates demonstrated that the content resonated with current and potential patients. 

With MarketEngine handling their marketing needs, Dr. Tom and his fellow doctors could focus on what they did best: providing top-quality health care to their patients.

Ongoing Partnership

Today, the urgent care center continues to thrive with its ongoing MarketEngine partnership. 

The doctors are no longer burdened by marketing challenges and can devote full attention to their patients.

While the healthcare system in the USA is complex and multifaceted, urgent care centers play a vital role in maintaining its efficacy. However, these centers often face significant marketing challenges that can impede their growth and success just like the urgent care center in the Midwest.

By leveraging MarketEngine’s expertise in marketing for small businesses, their AI-powered technology and knowhow in the healthcare industry, healthcare providers can drive patient traffic 5x faster, reduce marketing costs by up to 75%, and ultimately, focus on delivering exceptional care to their patients. 

Are you Ready to Boost Your Patient Foot Traffic? 

Contact our MarketEngine Expert NOW!

First published on marketengine.ai