Local SEO: How a vet’s unique positioning led to a doubling of revenue

Most of our clients are in the finance and tech sectors.

Still, when Bronislaw, a local veterinarian in Zurich, knocked on our door looking for support, we didn’t hesitate to take on his project.

I am a dog parent myself and a huge fan of Bronislaw’s.

Taking on this project was a no-brainer.

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1. Understanding his unique business model

In early 2022, Bronislaw took the leap into self-employment, launching “HausVet” as a mobile veterinarian service in Zurich.

HausVet's business model offered a clear competitive edge:

He is the only mobile veterinarian in Zurich.

But he lacked visibility and wasn't showcasing this unique advantage effectively.

This presented our first clear opportunity.

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2. Exploiting existing optimization potential

Homepage

Many businesses fail to leverage their homepage's potential to rank for competitive keywords—missing a significant opportunity. HausVet was no exception, ranking almost exclusively for brand keywords.

We immediately optimized the homepage for the keyword cluster „mobile vet in zurich" and took over the top spot within weeks, as no one else claimed this service for themselves in the region. This improvement quickly led to more clicks and customer inquiries.

Google Business Profile

Since the keyword "mobile veterinarian" shows strong local search intent and typically triggers a Local Pack in the search results, optimizing HausVet's Google Business Profile for this keyword was essential.

Here's what we did:

1. Keyword in profile name: We added the keyword "mobile veterinarian in Zurich" to the profile name. Google doesn't always allow such additions. But the potential benefit was worth trying. I admit: It feels a bit like old-school SEO, but it still works.

2. Description optimized: We crafted the profile text to highlight that HausVet operates as a mobile veterinarian directly in the city of Zurich. This strengthens local relevance for users.

3. Business data added: We included all essential details: name, address, phone number (NAP), social media links, and operating hours to build a complete and trustworthy profile.

4. Google Business Category set: We selected the category "veterinarian" to ensure proper classification in Google's system.

Although the homepage and business profile generated new traffic, we soon realized this wasn't enough to achieve HausVet's long-term goals.

With only 200 monthly searches, the keyword cluster “mobile veterinarian” had too little search volume to generate the desired reach and demand.

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3. Making value visible

As a one-man operation, Bronislaw had limited time and money to invest.

We had one shot at getting this right and generating relevant clicks and inquiries.

Our goal was to find alternative topics that would resonate with the target audience and create a steady stream of new clients.

Working with Bronislaw, we identified two core services:

1. Emergency services

2. Pet euthanasia

Why choose these two? Because this is where he provides most value.

Unlike traditional veterinary practices, HausVet offers stress-free treatment of animals in their familiar environment—a particularly valuable aspect for both emergencies and end-of-life situations.

And we got lucky: Our keyword research revealed significant search volume for queries related to these two topics.

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4. Creating customer-focused service pages

To increase HausVet's visibility for emergency services and euthanasia, we created two specialized service pages and placed them right in the navigation to give them the best chances to rank quickly.

When writing the content, rather than just focusing on SEO, we put ourselves in the target audience's shoes, directly addressing their concerns and needs.

Emergency service: No, we didn't start with definitions or lengthy paragraphs just to rank. Instead, we structured the content on the landing page to answer critical questions about emergency veterinary care. This way, website visitors understand what to expect and how to act during stressful situations.

Euthanasia: We speak to pet owners with compassion and clarity on the subject of euthanasia. The landing page emphasizes HausVet's unique value as a mobile veterinarian—allowing the owners to say goodbye to their pet in familiar surroundings. The content was carefully crafted to offer both practical information and emotional support.

The new pages worked even better than expected. In early 2024, we further enhanced these pages by optimizing metadata and refining the content.

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The results: HausVet doubled its revenue within a year

Our measures quickly led to tangible results that

1. significantly increased the organic visibility,

2. drove traffic, and

3. increased customer inquiries for hausvet.ch.

The new service pages achieved top rankings for relevant search queries like "veterinary emergency service" and "cat euthanasia zurich" within no time. This led to a significant increase in organic visibility.

The improved visibility in turn had a positive effect on organic traffic: Organic clicks for the keywords we targeted rose significantly. In fact, the Emergency Service and Euthanasia pages now account for about two-thirds of the website's total organic traffic!

Finally, we're happy to say, our SEO strategy impacted not just visibility or traffic but had a clear impact on Bronislaw’s business and customer inquiries, allowing him to double the revenue he made before our collaboration.

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How would I replicate this (again)?

1. Clear positioning as a competitive advantage: The positioning of HausVet as a mobile veterinarian in Zurich was key to success and something that many other businesses lack. If you’re a small business just starting out, think first about how you can stand out and where you provide the most value before investing in SEO. Examples:

   • An optician focusing on sports glasses

   • A vegan bakery

   • A psychotherapist focusing on patients with ADHD
     

2. Focus on conversion-oriented keywords: By targeting keywords with clear intent such as "pet emergency zurich," we directly addressed the specific needs of our local target audience, leading to a high probability of conversions and revenue.

   Use one of the many free or low-cost keyword tools to figure out which topics to focus on and which content and pages to create. If we continue with the examples from above, it would mean:

   • “prescription sports glasses”

   • “vegan bakery”

   • “adhd coaching”
     

3. Strengthening local presence: For locally oriented businesses like Hausvet, visibility in the surrounding area is crucial. To boost your local visibility, make sure to optimize your Google Business Profile for a specific keyword and align your content with your target region.

   We also recommend adding the name of your city or region to the keywords you are targeting (e.g. “vegan bakery zurich”), whether that be on your website or in your Google Business Profile.