It is estimated that about 80 percent of internet users rely on search engines when seeking out information or scheduling an appointment with physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. They look at reviews, social media pages, and the websites of medical practices to find relevant information about healthcare services. As traditional methods are no longer relevant, healthcare websites need to include the right search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to improve online visibility to the targeted group of patients. This can be achieved with the support of reliable search engine optimization services.
Importance of Optimizing Web Pages for Search
Optimizing web pages for search brings different benefits. Just as other industry sectors, healthcare providers also have competitors, which are other nearby medical organizations that offer similar services. Therefore, the main goal should be to attract more patients than your competitors. Creating and optimizing high-converting web pages that contain actionable content is the perfect way to achieve this goal.
As most people use Smartphones more than desktops nowadays, at any moment or from any specific location, they are able to search for healthcare information like physicians or medical websites. Therefore, it is important for your website to have certain unique characteristics to engage website visitors (including information about the services offered and how they stand out from competitors). Search engine optimization services are one of the top ways to lead potential patients to your medical website. SEO works to improve the website’s visibility in search engines so that patients can see your website first before competitors’ websites. Incorporating the best medical SEO tactics can make your healthcare website stand out in major search engines like Google, Yahoo and others.
Here discussed are some important SEO tactics that medical practices can use or implement to acquire new patients –
- Determine Specific SEO Goals and Identify Target Market – People who visit healthcare websites are those with specific healthcare needs. Initially, it is important to determine the specific target market in terms of the services offered. It is also important to determine what kind of information potential patients are looking for. For instance, let’s take the example of a dental clinic. Patients while searching for such clinics always look for the basic services offered and other additional specialized services like dental surgery and orthodontics. Identify the most vital information potential patients may search online and ensure that these details are provided on your website. Some examples include types of services offered and their rates, clinic schedules, and contact details. Providing patients with clear details about professional experiences is also essential. In short, medical websites with relevant and well-written content always attract more visitors.
Link source – https://www.newyorkdentaloffice.com/ - Use the Correct Keywords – Keywords play an important role in SEO marketing as these are the words or phrases most potential patients use when searching for information online. Many people believe that plugging keywords on a webpage is quite easy. But if you do it incorrectly, it can hurt your medical practice rather than help it. Therefore, using appropriate keywords in important. To ensure that the right keywords (both competitive and popular) are used, regularly perform keyword research. Make a list of keywords that you think may work for your website and compare them with the keywords your competitors are using. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help identify the top keywords that are best to use on the page. Also, try to include the keywords organically in the content. This means, the keywords should not seem forced into the text, but should be included naturally. Incorporating the right keywords will enable Google and other search engines to easily locate your website.
- Focus on Local SEO Aspect – Connecting with local people within the area of your clinic is crucial. For instance, if your health clinic is located in New York, majority of patients will come from that specific area. Adjust your website’s local SEO strategy to get the right people to access your website. Apart from the complete clinic name, the website should also indicate name, full address, contact number, and business email. Putting a Google Map on the “Contact Us” page also helps. If there are local listings and review sites in your area, sign up with them, and collect reviews from satisfied patients. Post this feedback on your clinic’s social media pages. Incorporating professional and affordable local SEO services can help patients easily locate your website and the services offered.
- Define Title Tags and Meta Descriptions – Never use SEO just for content pages, use the right keywords naturally in the title tags and Meta descriptions too. The website’s title tag and Meta description displayed in the organic search results are essential factors that cause people to either click to the page or bypass it. Create title tags and Meta descriptions that will persuade people to click. The title tag shouldn’t contain more than 65 characters and it should include keywords relevant to the specific area of business or service. Meta descriptions should not exceed 150 characters and should accurately describe the content of the page. The metadata also provides information to the search engines so that they can understand the main theme of your website quickly.
- Create Unique and Engaging Content – Search engines like Google give more relevance to a web page that publishes unique and engaging content. Creating and publishing content that provides users complete confidence about the healthcare services offered is crucial. Publish content in various formats like – blogs, articles, case studies, patient testimonials, physician interviews, images and videos that are unique to your area of business – as these types of content are magnets for generating qualified leads through organic search. Another way to increase the credibility of a website is to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the website, or even on social media channels.
Link source – https://www.newyorkdentaloffice.com/blog/ - Use Backlinks to Establish the Website’s Credibility – Backlinks are links that come from trusted websites that point or link to a page or some pages of your site. It works the way recommendations do. When somebody finds a link on your page, they will immediately know that it is an authoritative website. Posting well-written and detailed content helps attract valuable backlinks.
- Build Trust through Expert Authors – Paying close attention to the validity of health content published is important, especially in the case of medical websites. Make sure that the content posted is written by professionals with solid experience in the field. Make sure to provide adequate information about the physicians or specialists in the area who write the articles (including their education, certifications, publications, professional associations, and any awards they have received). This shows the audience that quality content from trustworthy sources is provided. Search engines like Google also appreciate knowing the source is credible and will reward those websites with a higher search ranking.
- Include a Sitemap on the Website – In simple terms, a sitemap explains the structure of a website and includes all of the web pages. It also helps improve crawlability on the website. This is vital information for search engines and helps them to quickly scan and identify the information that the website contains. This also helps them answer queries more quickly and in turn rank your page more favorably and generate more leads.
- Diversify Online Presence – Diversifying your online presence is an important strategy that helps drive more quality results. In certain cases, a single web page may not be enough to catch users’ attention, especially when it comes to health issues. Since fake pages exist online, patients concerned about their health will seek answers from different sources and go with the most relevant, trustworthy healthcare provider. The use of social media networks is also very important. Social media signals correlate with other factors to improve your search visibility. By creating social media network pages on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and others, you can promote and position your healthcare website well and get it recognized by a wider group of audience.
Search engine optimization (SEO) has become an important element of digital marketing today, especially for healthcare organizations. As medical website development process is a challenging task, it is best to incorporate the above-mentioned SEO tactics with the efficient support of trained SEO professionals. Publishing useful, high-quality content consistently will help build the authority of your healthcare website and attract more patient traffic.
