Rocket Chiropractic Podcast

I'm going to make this short and sweet (and harsh). New chiropractors have NO IDEA what they are doing in terms of running a chiropractic practice. Chiropractic College did NOT prepare you.

Your lack of knowledge and bad habits are going to cost you a LOT of money. And if you don't start taking steps to change it, there's a better than 50/50 chance you will fail as a chiropractor.

If you don't outright fail, you may be just successful enough that you don't quite (which would be better), and stay stuck in a stressful, low-profit chiropractic practice. You'll constantly be frustrated.

You will probably get angry about the fact that you get better results with your patients than other chiropractors in your area, but they are successful and you aren't. But here's the thing, they aren't more successful than you because they get better results with their patients.

They are more successful than you because they know things about running a practice that you don't know, and they have good habits that you don't have.

If you want to be successful, have less stress, and help the number of people that you say you want to help, you need to start learning things about running a practice that you don't currently know, and you need to start developing habits that you don't currently have. There's no way around it.

I don't care if you were the youngest person in your chiropractic class or you were the oldest. Time is NOT your friend. If you keep lying to yourself about needing help, you will fail. You're not going to "figure it out" with time.

The only thing that the passing of time will do is make you older. So stop thinking about doing something. Stop talking about doing something. START DOING SOMETHING. You desperately need help.

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Google Ads Management for Chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/google-ads-management-for-chiropractors

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

Search engine optimization (SEO) is incredibly valuable for chiropractors who want to attract more new patients. If that's you, the reality is there are people in your area who are actively searching for their next chiropractor. The difference between your practice showing up on the second page of Google and showing up on the top of the first page can be the difference between thriving and barely surviving.

But I don't think that "SEO is important" is shocking news to most chiropractors. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that people aren't going to the Yellow Pages looking for a chiropractor. They are going to the internet. What they find or don't find determines who their next chiropractor is going to be.

Although most chiropractors understand that SEO can be very valuable for their practice, that's about where their SEO knowledge stops. Sometimes I'm shocked at the basic lack of understanding chiropractors have regarding SEO.

It's not that I expect chiropractors to be SEO experts, but it's impossible to make good decisions about something that you misunderstand. Many chiropractors are in a position where they want to improve their SEO, but their ignorance about SEO makes them susceptible to dishonest SEO services.

Many chiropractors think that their chiropractic website company is doing ALL their SEO for them. (They aren't.) Other chiropractors are paying for expensive SEO, but they don't even know what is being done for them. Ignorance may be bliss, but it's not helpful when making business decisions. SEO is no exception to that rule.

As I said, I don't expect chiropractors to be SEO experts. But I do want to give you some basic information that will help you make better SEO decisions when deciding how to spend your chiropractic SEO dollars. Here are 2 things you really should know about chiropractic SEO.

1. SEO is Just Relationship Building with Google Chiropractors understand referrals, so I'm going to talk about referrals to better explain SEO. When someone refers a potential patient to you, it's because the referring person trusts you and believe you will do a good job. They have most likely come to that conclusion through conversations and personal experiences with you.

The simplest way to think about Google is as a referral source. When someone goes to Google and types in "Chiropractor near me" they are asking Google for a referral. They are asking Google who the best chiropractor near them is.

The order in which Google ranks chiropractors in a search has to do with trust and proximity. The chiropractors in the area who Google trusts the most are the chiropractors who will rank the highest. If Google doesn't trust a chiropractor or is unsure about a chiropractor, those chiropractors will rank the lowest in the search results.

Google wants to give the best answer to every question that people ask. So if Google doesn't trust you and isn't sure that you are going to treat people well, your chiropractic practice is not the one Google is going to refer people to. You won't rank well.

That's why the purpose of good chiropractic SEO is to build trust with Google. But Google doesn't build trust through conversations and experiences the way that you and I do. Google builds trust through data and analytics.

Google looks at things like structured data, metadata, image tags, and internal linking. Google looks at backlinks, citations, website authority, and reviews. Google is constantly gathering data about a chiropractor to determine if that chiropractor is trustworthy. Building trust the way that Google understands it and communicating who you are and what you do to Google in a way that Google understands is what quality SEO is all about.

This is also why trying to trick Google with shady SEO hacks isn't a good idea. Is that how you would treat a person who you want to trust you and refer people to you? Hopefully, not. You don't build relationships with people by being shady and you don't build trust with Google that way either. Trying to hack Google is bad SEO practice.

The "secret" to SEO is that there is no secret. In order to build trust with Google and rank as high as possible, you have to do a lot of little things, consistently, and correctly (the way that Google cares about). If you do that, your website will build authority. It will demonstrate to Google that you are trustworthy. That authority and trustworthiness will be the reason you outrank the other chiropractors in your area.

2. SEO Is NOT Just Adding Words To Your Website There are a couple different extremes when it comes to SEO. Some people try to make SEO sound so complicated that no one short of a NASA engineer could possibly understand it. Other people try to make SEO sound so simple that a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal could do it and do it well. Both of those extremes are incorrect.

Any chiropractor who thinks they can just add a bunch of keywords to their website and rank well is living in a fantasy world. Google is NOT stupid. If there ever was a time when keyword stuffing worked, it was a VERY LONG TIME AGO. It doesn't work anymore. Frankly, if Google sees you doing it, it will undermine trust and hurt your rank.

Google looks at a lot of different factors to determine trust/rank. Some of the big things are your Google Business Profile, on-site SEO, online reviews, and off-site factors like backlinks and citations. I would argue that SEO is more complex than it is complicated. It's like an onion…there are lots of layers.

If a chiropractor wanted to improve their SEO, but they weren't in a position to pay for managed SEO, I would advise them to do a few things.

1.) Prioritize Online Reviews

Reviews aren't everything, but I've seen time and time again that chiropractors who have 2-3x more reviews than everyone else do VERY well in Google Maps results.

Also, getting more reviews is something that any chiropractor can do. Yes, there are services and software that make getting more reviews easier. But I've seen chiropractors do very well without them.

2.) Get The Basics Right

I don't recommend it, but many chiropractors choose to build and maintain their own website. If you are on a shoestring budget, I get it. But if you can afford $125/mth, I would be happy to do it for you and it will be MUCH better than what you are doing.

With that said, if you are doing your own website, the bare minimum for SEO is you have to get the basics right. Your site title, metadata, image tags, and headlines should include your most important keywords.

I'm continually amazed at the number of chiropractor websites that don't have the word "chiropractor" anywhere on the homepage. It's baffling to me. I'm even more baffled when I see it from a chiropractic website that a chiropractor is paying for. That should never happen, but it does.

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Google Ads Management for Chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/google-ads-management-for-chiropractors

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

I recently went on ChatGPT to ask about common objections to chiropractic. I ended up writing an article about the 9 different chiropractic objections that were presented. I wanted to write something from a chiropractor's perspective to either confirm or deny each allegation.

The 9 chiropractic objections were this:

• Lack of Scientific Evidence
• Overemphasis on Spinal Manipulation
• Risk of Injury
• Inconsistent Training & Standards
• Scope of Practice
• Promotion of Unproven Therapies
• Cost & Insurance Issues
• Alternative to Proven Medical Treatments
• Association with Anti-Medical Sentiment

So in this week's podcast, I decided to talk about these 9 chiropractic objections. I discuss which objections are fair and which ones aren't. I also talk about why chiropractors tend to be insecure and why they shouldn't be.

Let's talk about it!

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Google Ads Management for Chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/google-ads-management-for-chiropractors

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

I was talking with one of my clients the other day. He told me that he thought I was selling my NEXT Step (NS) membership a little short. He's a regular listener to my podcast, so he frequently hears me say that NS is great for chiropractors who are getting started.

While he agrees with that statement, he told me that my NS membership was extremely valuable to him even though he has been out of chiropractic college for over 15 years. He commented that just because a chiropractor has been able to keep their doors open for 10-15 years, that doesn't mean they know what they are doing.

I agree. A lot of chiropractors survive for years without ever thriving. They can't seem to get their practice to the level they want. They can't seem to put together consistent practice success. It's frustrating.

Over the years, when I speak to chiropractors like that, it's obvious that they never mastered the basics of business/running a practice. For some reason, the average person assumes if they know how to do a job in the business they would automatically know how to run the business itself. Chiropractors are no different.

Chiropractors make a lot of assumptions. Many chiropractors assume if they know how to take care of patients, they will know how to run a practice. They assume if they do a good job of taking care of patients, they won't have to worry about the business. Chiropractors assume that if they can just get through the 5-year mark or the 10-year mark in practice, they will be fine. Unfortunately, none of that is true.

If you are going to be a successful chiropractor, you are most likely going to have to own your practice. If you own your practice, you need to be a competent small-business owner in order to thrive.

No, you don't have to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. You don't have to know how to manage 25 different locations with 200 staff members. However, you do need to learn some small-business basics, and you need to develop some good small-business habits.

The future (more successful) you knows things that you don't currently know and has habits that you don't currently have.

Regardless of how many years you have been in practice as a chiropractor, if you want to help more people and make a good living doing it, you need to start with the basics. Be honest about your shortcomings. Start learning new things about running a practice. Develop better habits. Get help.

If you aren't sure where to start, check out my NEXT Step program. It's an incredible resource for chiropractors who are getting started and for chiropractors who have been out for a while but still feel stuck.

If NEXT Step isn't a good fit for you, find something else that can help you. We live in an age where information is abundant. If you aren't getting help it's because you aren't looking for it. That's on you. It's no one else's fault.

The last thing I will say is this. There's a Chinese proverb that states, "The best day to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best day to plant a tree is today." If you have been out in practice for 10 years and you still aren't where you want to be, you can't do anything about the past.

Don't let your pride get in the way of your future success. Be honest about your situation and start making changes today.

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Google Ads Management for Chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/google-ads-management-for-chiropractors

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

The other day I was in a FB group and the topic of patient retention came up. I commented that many chiropractors don't focus on patient retention as much as they should because it doesn't produce immediate changes in their practice like outreach can.

It got me thinking about the differences between retention and outreach, so I wanted to talk about it on the podcast.

So in this podcast episode, I talk about the pros and cons of retention vs the pros and cons of outreach. I also discuss what chiropractors should do if they are getting started vs if they have a more established practice.

Let's get into it!

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Google Ads Management for Chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/google-ads-management-for-chiropractors

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

New chiropractors need to realize if they are going to be successful they are NOT going to do it alone. Success takes a group effort. Even if you run a micropractice by yourself, there will be others along the way that aid in your practice success.

So in this final podcast episode of the series, I talk about the importance of saying thank you. I discuss the type of people who will help you while you are in practice, and the ways to acknowledge them.

As a bonus, I also talk about the importance of understanding areas where you can be great. I talked about this more in episode 467: How To Be Great & What To Do When You Suck.

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Chiropractic podcast: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-podcast

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

Pre-suasion is a concept that's unfamiliar to most chiropractors. The concept is pretty simple. People don't generally make decisions in 1 big step. The decisions that people make are usually a series of small steps in a series. Small decisions have fewer steps. Big decisions have many steps. But the concept is the same.

If a chiropractor understands the power of pre-suasion, they can help create an environment that helps patients make better decisions. The more effective a chiropractor is as pre-suasion the easier patient decisions will be for them and patient complients (and retention) will increase.

So in this podcast episode, I talk about the power of pre-suasion. I discuss why it's important NOT to ask patients to make BIG decisions. I also talk about how environment and reputation impact pre-suasion.

Let's get into it!

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Chiropractic podcast: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-podcast

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

Consistency isn't difficult to understand. It's not an exciting topic. A seminar for chiropractors about consistency isn't going to put a lot of butts in seats.

However, consistency is a foundational element of a chiropractor's success. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who's is successful in any area of life who isn't being consistent in that area. It's VERY important.

So in this podcast episode, I talk about the role of consistency in success. I discuss hoping to be an overnight success is not realistic, how big change happens quickly, and the importance of making time for the important things.

Let's get into it!

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Chiropractic podcast: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-podcast

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

When I talk about authority as a chiropractor, I'm not talking about ruling your practice with an iron fist. I would describe a chiropractor with high authority as someone who is well known, admired, and trusted.

When a chiropractor has high authority, it's like a cheat code for their practice. It just makes everything easier.

So in this podcast episode, I talk about the superpower of authority. I discuss where people get authority, how to borrow authority, and what to do when you have it.

Let's get into it!

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Chiropractic podcast: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-podcast

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo

"It's not what you know, it's who you know" is a statement that has been around for years. The reason people say it is because relationships have always created opportunities. It's no different as a chiropractor.

Chiropractors who are well know and connected in the community tend to have larger practices. Chiropractors who are good at establishing a trusting relationship with their patients tend to have great patient retention. Heck, even SEO (search engine optimization) is just building a relationship with Google. The chiropractors who rank the highest in your area, they have the best relationship with Google.

So in this podcast episode, I talk about the importance of relationships and trust. I discuss how relationships vary, the types of relationships that are important, and why it's important to be have patience when building relationships.

Let's get into it!

Business & marketing training for chiropractors: https://rocketchiro.com/join

Free practice assessment: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-practice-assessment

Chiropractic podcast: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-podcast

Best chiropractic websites: https://rocketchiro.com/best-chiropractic-websites

Chiropractic SEO: https://rocketchiro.com/chiropractic-seo