Local SEO for Pregnancy Centers?

[CGR-Creative]

So, the thing is, we don't want these websites associated with anything pro-life or Christian.  So, we can't list them in those directories.  And we can't list 
them in abortion provider directories because they don't do abortions.  The 
organizaitons are Christian, pro-life -- but the target audience is the complete opposite. 

How can I effectively market their services without crossing any boundaries? 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Jason,

I'm not familiar with the term 'pregnancy center', but Google has two pre-set categories for 'birth center' and 'midwife' if this describes what your company provides. If so, these are the main terms I would target in your optimization. If this is not your focus, please provide further details. Thanks!

[CGR-Creative]

Pregnancy centers need effective marketing
and communications strategies. But, as with
most small non-profits, pregnancy center
leaders are stretched thin with time and
marketing budgets are limited. Additionally,
most pregnancy centers do not have staff
with the professional training and expertise
necessary to design and execute
marketing/communication strategies that
will produce the outcomes you need to
impact lives and increase support.
As a pregnancy center leader, your
challenges are compounded by the
complexities of the abortion issue in the
church as well as in the secular community.
Your non-profit is not like other feel-good
organizations that work to end hunger, fight
poverty, educate children, and so on. These
organizations have broad Christian, or even
plain humanitarian, appeal. On the contrary,
your supporting “market” is polarized on the
issues surrounding your “products.” Yet,
you are in direct competition with these
warmer, fuzzier organizations for funding
and support.
As if all that weren’t enough to overcome,
you’re also in direct competition with
abortion providers actively marketing to
reach the same woman your ministry intends
to reach. Abortion providers want to pull
them in, pregnancy centers want to pull
them out. What other non-profit is engaged
in a tug-of-war for lives to impact like a
pregnancy center? Most non-profits do not
face such well-defined, governmentsanctioned,
and publicly-funded opposition.
In spite of the challenges, it is possible to
create effective strategies for success. Your
marketing and communications don’t have
to be a mystery or a shot in the dark.
By examining basic questions used
in professional marketing such as:
• what is the product,
• who is the customer,
• what does the customer value;
and
• what is our objective,
you can find answers that will drive
intelligent and effective marketing
strategies for pregnancy centers.
What is the Product?
All non-profits must develop
marketing and communications
strategies if they are to be successful
in generating impact and increased
support. For many non-profits,
marketing and communications are
purely a development activity. The
mission must be marketed to
potential supporters. Once they
engage, your new supporters should
then land in a communications
continuum designed to maintain and
build the relationship. But,
pregnancy centers must not only
promote their missions, they must
also promote their services to the
abortion-minded and abortionvulnerable,
thus creating two major
products to market.
Abortion Intervention as
a Product
Most pregnancy centers have a
mission statement in some shape or
form that positions them to deliver
Christ-centered ministry to their
communities through 3 types of
programs surrounding abortion.
1. Prevention. Pregnancy centers often
present an abstinence message whether
to individuals in counseling or on a
larger educational scale to churches or
schools.
2. Intervention. Usually a core program
for a pregnancy center that seeks to
counsel client(s) before they go through
with an abortion. With medical facts,
reason and compassion, the desire is to
encourage a choice for life.
3. Restoration. Showing compassion and
mercy to those suffering from a past
abortion and leading the wounded
through a structured, Bible-based
counseling program.
The resources pregnancy centers invest in
each of these areas varies. For most,
however, the Intervention arm of the
ministry is primary. Prevention and
Restoration have generally been adopted
over the life of a pregnancy center as offshoots
of the primary ministry. Some centers
have fully embraced these off-shoots and
seriously invest in developing them as fullblown
programs. Other centers focus only
on Intervention and do not offer Prevention
and Restoration as featured programs.
This article specifically addresses the
complexities you face in marketing abortion
Intervention as a product.

[CGR-Creative]

I've never dealt with a client of this complexity.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the definition. I recommend that you utilize Mike Blumenthals Local Business Center Category Tool (http://blumenthals.com/index.php?Google_LBC_Categories) and you will start to see why you are going to have difficulty marketing this business in a traditional local way. The term 'pregnancy care center' is associated with the following synonyms:

Pregnancy Care Center abortion, clinics, ob gyn, obstetrics

So, if the business chooses to market itself through typical local channels (Like Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing Places for Business, Yelp, etc.) there is a very high chance that your core term, Pregnancy Center, is going to be mistakenly associated with abortion clinics, which is clearly not what your client wants. I'm not sure this is avoidable, however the client chooses to market itself. Even if the website is 100% clear regarding what services are and are not offered at the center, people often fail to read website well and the center may end up fielding calls for services not offered. Of course, this is a risk factor for literally any type of business model. An auto body shop may get calls for muffler repair, even if they don't offer it, right?

If you are the marketer for the project, I believe your task will be to explain the risk/benefits scenario to the client. There is going to be a built-in grey area for the company. Some people may see their business on or offline and think it is an abortion clinic, a right wing organization, a birthing center, etc. I don't see a way around this and it is likely something the center is already dealing with. So, basically, they need to make an informed decision as to the amount of publicity they wish to earn, as this will likely be commensurate with the amount of traffic/phone calls, etc., they are receiving for services they don't offer, while at the same time, bringing them new business from the right types of clients.