👉 Bulls are enraged by the color red.
👉 Shaving your leg hair will make it grow back quicker.
👉 The Great Wall of China can be seen from space.
Three things that many people believe that are unfortunately untrue.
Another big misconception is that the holy grail of marketing in the hearing care industry is to be number one on Google for “Hearing Aids” or “Hearing Aids [Your Location].”
If you speak to clinics, or even marketing companies that ironically sell SEO services, then they’ll tell you that being number one on Google for this search term is the most important part of your digital marketing strategy.
It’s all that matters, supposedly.
If you’re number one, then you’ll get all the leads that you’ll ever need, and you’ll be sipping piña coladas on a beach somewhere in no time.
But it’s simply untrue.
All you have to do is look at the data…
Here are 5 large parts of the West Coast (just a random example) and the average monthly searches for “Hearing Aids” and “Buy Hearing Aids.”
Surprised?
The harsh reality is that not as many people as you think are searching online for hearing aids.
Worst of all, from the data that we see, the large majority of these searches are rarely from people looking to buy but instead from existing hearing aid wearers that are looking for help with repairs or to troubleshoot challenges.
There is NOT a gold rush for “hearing aid” traffic.
Yet the large majority of this industry are blindly fighting for these search terms, being caught up in a vanity fight to be in the top positions and missing out on the bigger opportunities.
That’s because, if you look at the data, there are several areas where there are much larger opportunities where your future patients are actively searching that have little to no competition.
One of them is “Ear Wax Removal”
Let’s look at the data.
It’s open water. In every single area, “ear wax removal” receives significantly MORE traffic/searches … yet nobody is fighting for these keywords.
Look at Portland as an example.
Each month, a combined number of 3,190 people are searching online for “ear wax removal,” “ear cleaning,” and “ear candling” (compared to the 1,910 people searching for “hearing aids”).
Best of all, Ear Wax Removal is incredibly non-competitive.
Hardly anybody is chasing this.
Direct-to-consumer or OTC are not throwing money at it and your competitors are too busy chasing ‘Hearing Aid’ traffic.
It’s WIDE OPEN water.
In fact, it would only take 2-3 pieces of work to rank in the top positions for this search term, and you would be able to acquire hundreds of visitors that are looking for very specific help in your specific area.
Yet as everybody else is looking for people that have already decided that they want to buy hearing aids … you can tactically win this much larger group of traffic, have them schedule earwax cleanings, and know that a percentage of them are going to have a hearing loss that you can then convert to a hearing aid sale.
Can you see why this is a much smarter approach and would result in you WINNING the online battle against your competitors, and they wouldn’t even know what you’re doing or how you’re doing it?
Whereas everybody else is fishing in the same “red ocean” (where there isn’t many fish) – you’re going to be fishing in the “blue waters” (where there’s lots of fish and hardly any other boats!)
But before we jump into the implementable steps that you can take, let me dispel a myth about SEO.
❌ There is a belief that SEO is some form of black magic, and there is some secret wizardry that happens behind the scenes … and it’s largely BS.
✅ There are foundations that you need to do to ensure Google can effectively read your website, that your images are tagged correctly, and all your descriptions clearly articulate the information on your website. Yet the most effective way to win on Google is to have relevant content in your website that actually helps the end user.
✅ Google’s focus is on ensuring that their users have the best possible experience.
✅ If a user is looking for something, Google wants to present the options that will deliver on what they’re looking for.
✅ If you create the most helpful information, then generally, you’ll appear in the top positions.
✅ Look at it like giving evidence in a court case – the more evidence that you have, the more likely that you are to get the outcome that you want.
✅ Therefore, the real way any segment of search traffic is to do the work to create the assets within your website to PROVE that you’re an expert when it comes to what the user is searching for
The Three “Earwax” Assets That You Need To Create
There are three things that you need to build into your website to maximize your chances of dominating locally for all “ear wax removal” searches.
⚠️ But before you see them, there’s a big WARNING ⚠️
What you’re about to see are real-life examples – they’re not copy & paste templates.
If you copy the content from these pages and add them to your own site, then you’ll be duplicating content, which means that your website will more likely be punished by Google for stealing other people’s words and not being original.
Use this as inspiration and guidance.
With that said, let’s walk through the three assets that you need to create.
#1 – Provide Evidence That You Offer This Service With An ‘Earwax Removal’ Page
The first step is to ensure that you have a page dedicated to earwax removal.
This is the biggest piece of evidence that we can give to Google to show them that you offer this service within your area.
However, this isn’t a case of just listing this page on your website with 50 words explaining that you offer this service.
Instead, you need to comprehensively explain what these services look like, how they work, and how people can schedule an appointment.
This means that it needs to include:
- An introduction to what earwax is and why it can block ears
- An explanation of how earwax removal works
- The “Frequently Asked Questions” around earwax removal
- A demonstration of your testing process (and why a video otoscope is so important)
- Relevant imagery to show what an appointment looks like
- A testimonial that is relevant to earwax removal
- And a call-to-action to make the next step as simple as possible
The more proof to show that you’re trusted experts at delivering this service, the more likely you are to be favored by Google in key search positions AND convert the traffic that comes to your website toward an appointment.
#2 – Win The SEO Keyword Battle With A Comprehensive Myth-Busting Article
When somebody is on Google searching a problem like “Ear Wax Build-up” or “Unclog Ear Wax” – they’re more often looking for advice on what to do, more than looking to schedule an appointment.
This means that we have a duty to help in advance, educate, and help them to understand that the right solution is to visit an audiologist.
The way to do this is to create a comprehensive article within your website that shows that you understand their problem and shares the different ways that they can unclog their earwax.
This impartial article shares all the different things that they can do, ensuring we talk about all the most searched/talked about ways to win the SEO battle.
The article then clearly points to the safest and most effective approach being an appointment with you to have their wax professionally removed.
#3 – Show You’re The Experts (Rather Than Just Saying It) By Discussing The Difference Between A Video Otoscope And A Handled Otoscope
This is a very specific article around a very specific topic; however, people are only going to find this article if they’re:
👉 Heavily researching (down a “internet rabbit hole” so to speak)
👉 Are interested in earwax removal and are questioning whether they should schedule with you
In both instances, having an article like this develops HUGE trust that you’re an expert in earwax removal by geeking-out on a subject this specific.
For example, let’s say that you’re looking to hire a flooring company to replace your wooden kitchen floor with Moroccan tiles, and lots of different websites say they can fit Moroccan tiles. (weirdly, something that I’m researching right now – wife’s orders).
But you find one website that has an in-depth article talking about the best methods for fitting Moroccan tiles on kitchen floors and the equipment that they use to get the best result.
You’re probably going to choose them, as unlike everybody else, they’re not just saying they can do it, but they’re also proving that they’re experts at it.
This article is to prove the same.
Put Down Your Magic Wand, and Roll Up Your Sleeves
There’s no secret, no magic and no “hack” to win this largely untapped segment of traffic …
… the way to do it is simply to do the work.
👉 You need to write the copy
👉 You need to take some pictures
👉 Ideally a video of an earwax removal should be recorded
Whether you do it yourself or outsource it to a marketing group, my advice is to follow the framework outlined in this article and aim to comprehensively answer any possible question or objection that somebody may have in their mind when they come to your website.
Over to you.