A step-by-step SEO framework you can implement this month

This checklist is designed for chiropractic practice owners, office managers, and marketers who want to audit their current SEO setup or plan a DIY optimization project. It assumes basic familiarity with your website platform (WordPress, custom build, practice management software) but doesn't require technical expertise.

If your practice already has an SEO agency, use this to understand what they're doing and why. If you're evaluating agencies, use the checklist to assess depth of recommended work.

This is an educational guide for initial assessment. Depending on your market competition, current website authority, and available time, you may need professional implementation. Many practices find the quick wins here take 20-40 hours spread over 2-3 months, while deeper technical and content work requires more resources.

Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

• Add patient-intent keywords to every title tag (e.g., 'Lower Back Pain Relief | Chiropractor in [City]' not just 'Home')
• Write unique meta descriptions for at least your top 15 pages
• Keep titles under 60 characters, descriptions under 155 characters

Header Structure & Content

• Ensure one H1 per page, matching the main topic
• Use H2 and H3 headers to break up content logically
• Front-load patient problems in headers (e.g., 'How to Treat Sciatica Pain Without Surgery')

Internal Linking

• Link from high-authority pages (home, services) to new content targeting patient problems
• Use descriptive anchor text ('learn about our whiplash treatment' not 'click here')
• Audit for broken internal links monthly

Content Depth

• Expand top 5 service pages to 800+ words with patient-intent sections
• Answer common patient questions in content (insurance, first visit, treatment timeline)

Google Business Profile Setup

• Verify or claim your Google Business Profile if you haven't already
• Add complete business information: hours, phone, address, website URL
• Upload at least 10 high-quality photos (office, treatment rooms, staff, patient testimonials if consented)
• Write a compelling business description emphasizing specialties (sports injuries, pregnancy chiropractic, etc.)
• Add attributes relevant to your practice (telehealth available, accepts insurance, new patient specials)

Local Citations

• Claim profiles on: Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Yelp, WebMD, Apple Maps
• Ensure Name, Address, Phone (NAP) matches exactly across all profiles and your website
• Add chiropractic-specific directories (American Chiropractic Association, state licensing boards)

Reviews Management

• Ask 5-10 satisfied patients per month to leave Google reviews
• Respond to all reviews (positive and negative) within 48 hours
• Monitor review sites for false or spam reviews and flag them

Service Area & Multi-Location Optimization

• If you serve multiple neighborhoods, add service area pages targeting each
• For multi-location practices, create separate pages and GBP profiles per location

Mobile & Speed

• Test your website on mobile using Google's Mobile-Friendly Test
• Ensure buttons, forms, and navigation are thumb-friendly (target size 48x48px minimum)
• Run a Core Web Vitals check via Google PageSpeed Insights; aim for 'Good' across all three metrics
• Compress images and enable lazy loading to reduce page load time below 3 seconds

Structured Data & Schema

• Add LocalBusiness schema to your homepage (your practice name, address, phone, GBP link)
• Mark up your team profiles with Person schema (name, credentials, title)
• Add FAQPage schema to FAQ content
• Implement HealthAndBeautyBusiness schema if applicable

Site Security & Indexing

• Ensure your site uses HTTPS (check the padlock icon in your browser)
• Submit your XML sitemap to Google Search Console
• Check Search Console for indexing errors or blocked resources
• Ensure robots.txt isn't blocking important pages

Compliance & Privacy

• Add a privacy policy that outlines HIPAA safeguards for patient data
• Include a disclaimer for before/after photos and patient testimonials
• Conduct an ADA accessibility audit and fix critical issues (alt text, color contrast, form labels)

Patient-Intent Content

• Audit your top 5 service pages and add sections answering: 'How much does this cost?', 'How many visits do I need?', 'Is this covered by insurance?'
• Create at least 3 new pages addressing common patient questions (e.g., 'What to expect on your first visit', 'Sports injury recovery timeline')
• Update 'About Us' pages to include practitioner credentials, years of experience, and specializations

Blogging & Thought Leadership

• Publish one blog post per month targeting long-tail keywords (e.g., 'how to relieve neck pain from desk work')
• Repurpose patient testimonials into case-study blog posts (with permission and appropriate privacy considerations)
• Link new blog content back to service pages and GBP

Technical Content Optimization

• Use tools like Google Search Console to identify pages with impressions but low CTR, then improve title tags and meta descriptions
• Identify keyword opportunities by searching 'chiropractor near me' and competitor analyses
• Ensure all images include descriptive alt text

Week 1-2 (Quick Wins — High Impact, Low Effort)

• Verify/claim your Google Business Profile
• Upload 10+ photos to GBP
• Ensure NAP consistency across your website, GBP, and review sites
• Add your top 5 service pages to Search Console
• Write/improve title tags for your top 10 pages

Week 3-4 (Foundation Work — High Impact, Medium Effort)

• Claim profiles on Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Yelp
• Add LocalBusiness and Person schema to your homepage and team pages
• Audit site speed and fix images/caching issues
• Create an internal linking plan for your top 10 pages

Month 2-3 (Scaling — Medium-High Impact, Medium Effort)

• Launch one patient-intent blog post per week
• Request Google reviews from recent patients systematically
• Expand service pages to 800+ words with patient FAQs
• Conduct an ADA accessibility audit and prioritize fixes

Ongoing (Monthly & Quarterly)

• Monitor Google Search Console for new ranking opportunities and indexing issues
• Respond to all new reviews within 48 hours
• Publish fresh content (blog or service updates) to signal active management
• Audit and update HIPAA and ADA compliance quarterly

This page covers the core framework, but a comprehensive chiropractic SEO checklist includes additional items for reputation monitoring, analytics setup, and advanced technical optimization.

What's in the full checklist:

• All 50+ items organized by priority and effort level
• Specific tools and resources for each task
• Monthly tracking templates to monitor your progress
• Red flags that indicate when to hire professional help

Many chiropractic practices use this as a shared reference with their SEO agency or as a self-audit before engaging a provider. The checklist format makes it easy to track completion and assign tasks to team members.