AVMA 2018: Updates on How Veterinarians Can Succeed Online

Amanda Landis-Hanna, DVM, senior manager of veterinary outreach for PetSmart Charities, talks about some of the new changes regarding online platforms and social media networks that she learned about at the 2018 American Veterinary Medical Association Convention that veterinarians need to be aware of.

"I've been really excited to be here and learning a number of different things that are kind of late and breaking when it comes to veterinary medicine and the internet. What I mean by that is Google has recently changed a number of rules. So, the way that veterinary hospitals or veterinarians used to be searched and found on Google no longer is the case.

The veterinary websites that are going to be most actively retrieved are going to be those that participate in social media or that have a very active presence on the web, say for instance on a mobile platform. So, some of our traditional home pages or landing pages no longer are enough when it comes to marketing or advertising a veterinary hospital. There's a number of different groups that participate in providing consulting for veterinarians who are interested in not only in learning more, but also participating potentially more aggressively, or have a more evident media presence especially within their community for local marketing.

A good example of one of those is Beyond Indigo Pets. Kelly Baltzell, who is the CEO of Beyond Indigo, presented several hours at the AVMA convention around some of those new changes and how that can impact veterinary practices. We all know that there is a variety of different competitors that are available within our local communities, so having an active web presence is absolutely important and being able to pop up to the top of a local Google search for veterinarians is also important."