Welcome everyone to Episode #68 of the Chiropractic Marketing Podcast.
I’m your host, Dr. Patrick MacNamara, and today we’re kicking off a three-part series on one of the most powerful yet underutilized tools in chiropractic marketing: video content for local SEO. Over the next three episodes, we’re going to cover YouTube optimization, Google Business Profile videos, and advanced video schema strategies. If you’ve been wondering whether video marketing is worth your time, or if you’ve been intimidated by the technical side of things, this series is going to change how you think about getting found online.
You know, I’ve been working with chiropractors for years now, and I keep seeing the same pattern. Practices invest heavily in their websites, they work on their Google Business Profile, they’re doing everything right with traditional SEO, but they’re missing out on one of the fastest-growing ways patients are finding healthcare providers. And that’s through video.
Here’s what’s interesting. When we look at the data, videos on Google Business Profiles get watched more than five times as often as photos get viewed. Think about that for a second. Five times more engagement. And yet, most chiropractors I talk to either don’t have any videos on their profile, or they uploaded one video three years ago and forgot about it.
But it goes way beyond just Google Business Profile videos. We’re talking about YouTube optimization, proper video schema markup on your website, and creating a comprehensive video strategy that works together to dominate your local search results. This isn’t just about making videos and hoping for the best. It’s about strategically using video content to show up everywhere your patients are looking.
Let me start by explaining why video has become so critical for local SEO, especially in the past year or two. Google’s algorithm has fundamentally shifted toward what they call “helpful content,” and video is one of the most helpful formats you can provide. When someone searches for information about back pain or headaches or sports injuries, Google increasingly wants to show them video content because people engage with it more and find it more useful.
But here’s where it gets really interesting for chiropractors specifically. When you optimize your videos correctly, you’re not just helping patients find helpful information. You’re actually building trust and authority before they ever walk through your door. A patient who watches your three-minute video about how chiropractic care helps with migraines has already started building a relationship with you. They’ve heard your voice, they’ve seen your face, they understand your approach. By the time they call your office, they’re pre-qualified and ready to schedule.
So in today’s episode, we’re focusing entirely on YouTube, and this is probably the most underestimated platform for chiropractors. Most people think of YouTube as entertainment, but here’s what they don’t realize. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, right behind Google. And guess who owns YouTube? Google does. That means when you optimize your videos on YouTube correctly, you’re essentially getting double exposure in Google’s search results.
Let me give you a real example of how powerful this can be. Let’s say someone in your city searches for “chiropractor for lower back pain near me.” If you’ve created a well-optimized YouTube video about treating lower back pain, and you’ve included your city and relevant keywords in the title, description, and tags, that video can show up in both regular Google search results and in YouTube search results. You’re literally getting two chances to be found instead of one.
But here’s where most chiropractors make their first mistake with YouTube. They create a video, upload it with some generic title like “Back Pain Treatment,” and wonder why no one watches it. YouTube optimization works very similarly to website SEO, but there are some specific things you need to get right.
Your video title needs to be descriptive and include your location. Something like “How Chiropractic Adjustments Relieve Lower Back Pain in Springfield” is going to perform way better than just “Back Pain Help.” You want people to immediately know what the video is about and where you’re located.
The description is where you really have an opportunity to provide context. This is where you can write a couple paragraphs about what the video covers, include links to your website and Google Business Profile, and naturally incorporate the keywords you want to rank for. Don’t just write two sentences and call it done. Give YouTube’s algorithm plenty of information to work with.
I see chiropractors all the time who treat the description like an afterthought. They write something like “Dr. Smith talks about back pain” and that’s it. You’re missing a huge opportunity. Think of your description as mini blog post. Explain what viewers will learn, why it matters, who this video is for, and what action they should take after watching. Include your practice name, your city, your phone number, links to your website and booking page, and relevant keywords naturally woven throughout.
Tags are important too, but here’s the key. You want to use a mix of broad and specific tags. Include your city name, your practice name, the condition you’re discussing, and related terms. So for that lower back pain video, you might use tags like “chiropractor Springfield,” “lower back pain,” “back pain relief,” “chiropractic adjustment,” and “Springfield back pain treatment.”
Now here’s something that surprises most people. The first 48 hours after you upload a video are critical for how well it performs long-term. YouTube’s algorithm is essentially testing your video with a small audience to see how people respond. If they watch most of it, like it, and engage with it, YouTube will show it to more people. If people click on it but immediately click away, YouTube interprets that as a signal that your content isn’t valuable.
So how do you make sure your videos perform well in those crucial first 48 hours? First, the thumbnail matters more than you probably think. It needs to be clear, professional, and make someone want to click. A blurry screenshot of you mid-sentence isn’t going to cut it. Consider creating custom thumbnails with readable text and engaging images.
Think about the thumbnails you see on popular YouTube videos. They’re not random screenshots. They’re carefully designed to grab attention and communicate what the video is about. You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create decent thumbnails. There are free tools like Canva that have templates specifically for YouTube thumbnails. Take a clear photo of yourself, add some text that highlights the main benefit or topic, and you’ve got a professional-looking thumbnail.
Second, the first 15 seconds of your video are make-or-break. You need to immediately tell viewers what they’re going to learn and why they should keep watching. Don’t waste time with long intros or explanations about who you are. Get right to the value.
Here’s what I mean by that. Don’t start your video with “Hi, I’m Dr. Smith, and I’ve been practicing chiropractic for 15 years in Springfield, and today I want to talk to you about something really important.” By the time you get to the point, half your viewers have already clicked away. Instead, start with “If you’re dealing with lower back pain that won’t go away, I’m going to show you three specific ways chiropractic care can help, and why most people get relief within the first two weeks.” See the difference? You’ve immediately hooked them with a promise of value.
And here’s a pro tip that most chiropractors never think about. When you upload a new video, share it with your email list, post it on your social media, and embed it on your website. That initial burst of views and engagement signals to YouTube that your content is valuable, which helps it get recommended to more people.
This is where a lot of chiropractors miss out. They upload a video and just wait for organic views to trickle in. But you have an audience already. Your existing patients, your email subscribers, your social media followers. Let them know when you publish new content. Not only does this give you that crucial early engagement, but it also provides value to people who already know and trust you.
Let me talk about video length for a minute because this is another common question. For educational YouTube content about conditions and treatments, aim for five to eight minutes. That’s the sweet spot where you can provide real value without losing people’s attention. You want to be thorough enough to actually help someone, but concise enough that they watch the whole thing.
YouTube’s algorithm really cares about watch time and completion rate. If you make a 20-minute video and most people click away after two minutes, that hurts your rankings. But if you make a seven-minute video and most people watch all the way through, that signals to YouTube that your content is valuable and worth recommending.
Here’s another technical detail that matters. YouTube allows you to add cards and end screens to your videos. These are clickable elements that can link to other videos, playlists, or your website. Use them. At the end of your lower back pain video, add an end screen that links to your sciatica video and your neck pain video. This keeps people on your channel and watching more of your content, which again, YouTube rewards.
You can also add a subscribe button as an end screen element. When someone watches your video all the way to the end, make it as easy as possible for them to subscribe to your channel so they see your future videos.
Now let’s talk about creating a content strategy for YouTube because one video isn’t going to move the needle. You need consistency. I recommend starting with a goal of creating at least two videos per month. That’s totally manageable, even for a busy chiropractor, and it’s enough to start building momentum.
Here’s how I suggest approaching your content planning. Make a list of the ten most common conditions you treat. For each condition, create a video that answers the most common questions patients have about that condition. How does chiropractic help with this? What does treatment involve? How long does it typically take to see results? What should someone expect?
That gives you ten videos right there. Then you can create videos about specific techniques you use, videos addressing common misconceptions about chiropractic, videos about your approach to wellness care, videos about injury prevention, and so on. Before you know it, you’ve got enough content ideas to last you a year.
And here’s the beautiful thing about YouTube content. It’s evergreen. A video you create today about treating headaches with chiropractic care will still be relevant and driving patients to your practice three years from now. This isn’t like social media where a post disappears from people’s feeds after a day. This is content that compounds over time.
I worked with a chiropractor who started creating YouTube videos consistently two years ago. He now has about 40 videos on his channel. Some of them get a handful of views per month. But several of them get hundreds of views every single month, and he can directly track new patient inquiries back to those videos. He told me that his YouTube channel has become one of his most consistent sources of new patients, and he barely has to think about it anymore because the content just keeps working for him.
One more thing about YouTube before we wrap up today’s episode. Engage with your audience. When people leave comments on your videos, respond to them. Answer their questions. Thank them for watching. This not only builds relationships with potential patients, but it also signals to YouTube that your content is creating engagement, which helps your rankings.
And don’t be discouraged if your first few videos don’t get a ton of views. Building a YouTube presence takes time, but it’s absolutely worth it. Your tenth video will perform better than your first because you’ll have learned from experience, you’ll have a small subscriber base, and YouTube’s algorithm will have more data about what kind of content you create.
So here’s my challenge for you before our next episode. Create a list of ten video topics based on the conditions you most commonly treat and the questions you most often answer. Then, commit to filming your first video this week. Don’t overthink it, don’t wait for perfect conditions, and don’t let perfectionism stop you from getting started. Your first video doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to exist.
In our next episode, we’re going to dive deep into Google Business Profile videos and how they’re different from your YouTube content. We’ll talk about the specific types of videos that work best for your profile, technical specifications you need to know, and strategies for maximizing engagement. This is where a lot of chiropractors can get quick wins because Google Business Profile videos have such high engagement rates.
And if you’re serious about dominating your local market through video and you want help with the optimization side of things, that’s exactly what we do at DCRank. We can help you develop a comprehensive video marketing strategy that actually works while you focus on creating great content and serving your patients.
Alright, that wraps things up for today’s episode.
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