5 Medical SEO Trends that Will Grow in Prominence in 2018

by | Last updated Dec 7, 2023 | Published on Oct 19, 2017 | Medical SEO

The healthcare business scenario at present is highly competitive and there is a growing emphasis on providing high levels of patient satisfaction. To stay competitive, digital marketing for healthcare is very important now. Today, increasing importance is given for online marketing because most people go online to find information about healthcare, and having your website show up among the top organic search engine results is vital. Optimizing natural SEO rankings is not easy. It involves considerable effort, time and expenses.

Google is well-known for changing its algorithm frequently to provide better user experience and wipe out spam. All businesses, including healthcare must be constantly on the lookout for the latest SEO techniques that can capture maximum consumers. In this regard, content is something that will continue to be most significant. If Google and other search engines are to consider you an authority, you must provide content that is beneficial to your target audience.

Over 60 percent of users now search online with mobile devices. Google’s Mobile-first Index will rank responsive websites higher than those that don’t have a responsive design. The main thing to focus on here is “responsive,” i.e. ensuring your website is programmed to respond to different mobile devices. So having a mobile-friendly website is crucial. Besides adhering to Google’s indexing requirements, it also increases engagement with 60 percent of consumers now using mobile devices over desktop for online search.

SEO experts believe that the following 5 Medical SEO techniques are likely to grow in prominence in 2018.

    1. Voice search: Spoken commands are quickly becoming the norm for accessing content from search engines. Optimizing your website for voice search will increase your chances of displaying featured answers. This will also increase your chance of getting a featured snippet on search engine results. This is the era of mobile searches and according to Google, 20 percent of mobile queries are now voice searches and this is set to increase by 2018. Featured snippet listings usually have a greater potential for voice searches. Google will read answers to the voice searches. In the US alone, almost half of the teens and 41 percent of adults use voice search daily. Tapping into this branding opportunity might be just what you need to excel in 2018. Following are the steps to take:
      • Start doing long-tail keyword research
      • Create content that answers a question directly
      • Create an article that is helpful and offers additional information on a subject
      • Make the content easy to find for both people and search engines.

 

    1. Optimizing for Google’s Quick Answers box: This new feature from Google scans the web for a quick snippet of content that will answer the user’s search query. These are usually in the form of bullet points, lists, or short sentences. To rank for this rich snippet box, you have to understand the queries and the intent behind them when performing your keyword research. Focus around the “how,” “what,” and “why” search terms and aim to directly answer these within your content. If you can answer the question, make sure to do so in the simplest form and in a mobile friendly way. Q & A pages are a great way to handle this. Users are happy with rich snippet information that answers their query because it rules out the need to scroll through lengthy articles. When optimizing for the Quick Answers box, make sure that your regular SEO efforts are also going on in full swing.
    2. Use of versatile tools for ranking and link building
      • Keyword tool: In order to increase your SEO ranking, invest time and effort in selecting a good keyword tool. Using this tool helps to maximize your ranking and for relevant keywords. This tool is useful because it helps to know what keywords you should be targeting in order to draw more traffic to your website. It also gives good insight about which keywords are generating more traffic, and which keywords your competitors are targeting.
      • Ranking checker: Another tool is ranking checker that helps to keep track of your SEO results. By being able to have the software or a free tool that can check your rankings, progress and how you compete with your competition in terms of ranking potential.
      • Links aggregator tools: The next important tool for website owners to invest in is link tool. This tool helps to create and optimize your links and generate the highest quality links possible. Just about every website could benefit from one of these tools they will allow you to optimize your links and generate strong links that will help to boost overall ranking.

 

    1. Geo-targeting: Geo-targeting means delivering results that are relevant to where a searcher is physically from. Special preferences are given to sites with local server IP and country-specific domain name extension. On an average, mobile users trigger 75 percent user sessions each and every day, resulting in approximately 3 hours of screen time. For digital marketing, this provides 75 different occasions that we can use to engage directly with consumers. This is where geo targeting comes into play. It is the process of sharing or promoting different content to website users based on their geographic location. This is beneficial for businesses with storefront. For example, it shows a special offer ad to local consumers within a five mile radius to ensure they convert and come to your store, rather than purchase something from a competitor. This is called geo conquest. Research shows that with geo targeting campaigns, the costs are generally lower and conversions rates are higher, enabling marketers to ensure their advertising budget is efficient.
    2. Chatbots will rise in popularity: SEO experts believe that chatbots will increase in popularity in 2018. Chatbot is a live chat box that performs using artificial intelligence (AI). This intelligent technology learns from user experience to build out answers and engage directly with consumers. Since chatbots are cost-effective and ensures increased online interactions, they will be used increasingly in 2018. Reports say that it will power 85% of customer interaction by 2020.

The 2018 healthcare business scenario will be highly competitive. You just can’t remain complacent, but strive to utilize the best medical SEO services available. Proper planning and implementation of the right SEO strategies will ensure optimum performance. You can continue to rank highly on Google and other prominent search engines. Make sure that you perform proper and comprehensive research when creating content. A Long Island SEO company with long-term experience in the field will identify who is ranking the highest in your niche, and what is unique about their SEO, content, and website. With this information they will employ better marketing strategies that will help you to outrank them.

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