You’ll gain more website traffic, develop leads for your practice, and attract a larger number of patients by implementing healthcare SEO. But what is SEO? SEO is search engine optimization that functions to improve the positioning of a web page within organic search results based on the keywords used, links, and much more.
Search engine optimization is a great way to increase website rankings for organic search. Search engines such as Bing, Google, or DuckDuckGo process billions of searches every day; Google in particular processes 3.5 billion searches- making it critical to reach for SEO optimizing tricks so that your brand is noticed.
When it comes to improving your healthcare practice’s digital presence, revving up your marketing strategy using SEO is the ideal way to support your practice online. Read on to learn about how to support your healthcare practice with the latest SEO tips.
SEO Basics
You should include SEO in your routine for creating healthcare content for web pages, blog posts, landing pages, and more. Research healthcare keywords to determine the baseline of words needed for your niche, and determine what you will be writing about. Keywords are what will help your copy rank in search results.
- Make a list of keywords: Define your healthcare keywords and what short tail and long tail searches your audience will look for to find your business. Whatever your healthcare focus is, your search terms should reflect the same, using all different combinations and variations of the term.
- Create content based on search intent: When people search for information on the internet they have a specific intention in mind, whether that is to location information, access a specific website, make a purchase, or sign up for a service. Develop a content strategy based on your demographic of healthcare patients- and what might draw them to your practice.
- Create original content: Create healthcare content that is unique for your healthcare practice, helps you stand out as an authority in your field, and appeals to the reading level and interests of your target demographic.
SEO Focal Points For Healthcare Practices
Defining a healthcare brand online takes investment because in 2022 most brands are already online. SEO is a cost-effective tool when done correctly because it can target potential audiences based on your particular niche in the industry.
Below you will find three crucial elements to consider when creating a blog post or developing content for a webpage on your healthcare website.
SEO for Page Titles
According to databox, 36% of SEOs think the title tag is the most important healthcare SEO element. Every page on your website, whether you are creating content for an article, or a webpage, will have a title to introduce readers to the page. If you search online for a particular subject, you will find that when you click on a website you are presented with different titles including the URL, meta description, and title. Your page title will help you rank for a keyword and allow search engines to identify the subject matter to generate the page underneath a collection of relevant search inquiries.
The more engaging, eye-catching, and accurate to the subject matter your title tag is, the easier it will be to rank on search engines.
Make sure to:
- Include your keyword in the SEO page title.
- Develop a direct title page.
- Don’t be afraid to incorporate your brand name into the title.
Local and Longtail SEO
Your website may not ever rank above the Mayo Clinic or the National Institute of Health for regular search inquiries on Google, but your healthcare brand can make it to the top of organic search by utilizing longtail search terms, and local SEO.
According to Google, around 46% of all their searches are for something local to the user, which means utilizing local SEO will greatly benefit your healthcare business. Local healthcare SEO can help capture search traffic that populates for close-by doctor’s offices, healthcare professionals, or “near me” searches when leads are looking for local institutions or information.
Focus on keywords that connect to the town your business is located in, the city, the zip code, and the neighborhood with variations of searchable ways to find your practice. Using longtail search terms and keywords such as “Louisville Chiropractor” or “Chiropractor near Louisville Airport”, targeting local keywords will be a great way to reach the top ranking for your local area.
Website Updates
Healthcare practices often have a website that has hundreds of pages worth of navigation, are complicated and useful databases for patients and employees, and undergo plenty of maintenance.
Take the time to refresh your SEO because Google launches new updates regularly that may change the keyword ranks for your pages. It’s important to regularly test core pages for SEO rankings and update your pages so they reflect the most up-to-date information. Here is what you should look for:
- Update broken links. Double-check your internal and external links and ensure they are populating the correct page.
- Revisit Title and header tags. Make sure the keywords used are still useful for ranking your web page and update the page accordingly.
- Image text. The image included on your webpage should have an alt-text that defines the image to index it properly. Make sure all images are labeled with relevant, page-related information that links the image to the article.
- Clean up punctuation and grammar. Accuracy matters. Clean up any typos, errors, incorrect grammar, or inaccurate information to stand out as an authoritative business. Now is the time to correct any of the substance of your content and clean it up if necessary, as well.
SEO Help
Healthcare content creation and SEO for your medical practice take time to develop. If managing your healthcare SEO is not your strong suit, it may be time to enlist the professionals.
If you are looking for a healthcare marketing strategy, and need an extra hand NewGen Marketing can help with a variety of marketing concepts. From SEO to content creating, planning, and executing, social media marketing, or paid advertising – New Gen Marketing can help. Learn about what we can do for your marketing strategy today.