With COVID-19 spreading throughout the country with only a few signs of hope, our daily lives are under tremendous uncertainty and stress. The pandemic has forced many to shut down their businesses – be it big or small- and many have also paused their SEO activities. Pausing your organic SEO or digital marketing campaign may seem to make sense, but remember, this current crisis will end and if you drop your SEO campaign all of a sudden it might pose a problem for your business. Your competitors may continue the SEO without you, you may fall behind and find it quite challenging to acquire clients when the industry is back on its feet. For instance, many plastic surgery practices had to shut down their practice or completely revamp their processes to sideline cosmetic procedures and focus solely on emergency ones. In such cases, many practices chose to hold back their medical SEO though temporarily. However, medical practices that continue with their marketing efforts may have a huge advantage over those that don’t.
Whether a pandemic or some other major crisis, some things never lose their significance, which includes SEO. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of rules for optimizing your website so that it can achieve higher rankings in search engines’ organic results. In today’s competitive market, SEO marketing is more important than ever, for all businesses. So, use SEO to effectively sustain your business in different ways.
Here are some ways that SEO could be helpful during this pandemic
Opportunity to show empathy: When a pandemic strikes, it’s the time to be an understanding friend and show empathy towards your customers through certain expressions such as we understand, we care, valued customers and so on. Show the human side of your business as it might make people happier when they know they can relate with a business and the business understands the situation. If your business is helping the community in some way during the epidemic, share that in a newsletter or find a way of including it in your content.
Audit the content on your site: If you are a medical related business, then it’s a good time for you to audit the content on your entire site. You can suggest topics and create custom pages that can help drop light on some of the current procedures and processes you are focused on during this pandemic.
Provides hope for long-term marketing: SEO done now is a seed for the future, as for many businesses, the future is uncertain. During economic downtimes, SEO is an especially smart investment in the future of your business. One of its key advantages is how cost effective it is compared to other channels, such as media. It will provide a way out after the pandemic.
Promoting your business: Even though people are quarantined in their homes, they still are searching for different things which include products or services that relate to making their life easy during the pandemic. You can modify your content so that your brand or service continues to show up in the content. Some businesses share safety messages with their audience, so even if you’re selling products that may be the last thing on anyone’s mind during a pandemic, your brand is still visible in searches. Optimize for certain keywords that may relate to safety during a pandemic.
Useful Audience Metrics: By noticing which keywords are trending or which of your site pages are reaping the most benefits from your SEO strategy, you’ll learn what your audience is searching for. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to adjust and provide other relevant content during this pandemic.
Stay relevant: As people are now spending more time online, it’s best to enhance your online presence. Pay attention to create SEO strategies for your business, as it gives you a chance to stay relevant during a lockdown and even if visitors to your site don’t make purchases, they just might when things get back to normal.
Maintain top-of-the-mind awareness: With a proper SEO strategy, your business can stay visible. Every business can use SEO to maintain top-of-the-mind awareness which will become an asset once this pandemic is over.
Provides analytical insight into demand: SEO analytics helps to predict the demand curve for your goods or services which can be vital information that can help plan for a possible slump. However, during the pandemic, people’s needs change but it’s not always drastic. Sometimes it may be according to the amount of money they still have at their disposal. A person, for example, may buy chocolates during the first and second week of a pandemic but later they may find it a luxury that they can do without. SEO analytics tools can show you how fast interest in your product or service is dropping and you can start planning your next move. (business2community.com).
Gain from searchers: Local SEO will help people (who still have the money but would rather not go out to spend it) find businesses that can provide for their needs within the area that they are in. SEO can keep commerce alive despite the hard times and if you ignore SEO, you will not find these people, and even if it’s a small revenue you might miss it.
Builds trust: Building trust with your audience in such a crisis is especially valuable and SEO hinges on that trust. Users tend to believe in Google’s ranking system. For instance, we all go for first pages of the search results, because we assume that Google’s assessment of the top few links is accurate. So, ranking your service or brand on the top page of search results gives you inherent trust in the eyes of consumers. With proper SEO, you will achieve it.
According to Search Engine Journal, “search is a proxy for consumer intent and behavior, and the COVID-19 crisis is having a dramatic impact on search behavior, consumer mobility, media consumption habits, supply chains, and budgets. With these changing circumstances, businesses need to adjust their next marketing campaigns to alleviate risk strategically”.
Here are some tips to build a strong SEO program during this COVID-19 pandemic:
Continue the path of SEO and social marketing
Stay at the forefront of Google trends
Improve your website’s security
Reduce paid search and get ready for daily management
Maximize email and ensure your clients/customers that you are here to help
Don’t exploit and market efficiently
Don’t promote Coronavirus sale or deals
Help and support your community
However, from a personal standpoint, all you can do is stay indoors and practice social distancing during this pandemic, whereas from a marketing, business, and career perspective, you can make a great change during this period. As you may have more time now, use it as your advantage and put extra effort in ways of promoting SEO for your business so that you can grow stronger soon after this economic downtime. Make updates, do your research, collect data, keep up with the trends, and develop an SEO strategy. Healthcare mobile app development is one of the major aspects of SEO marketing, and you can develop apps that touch various aspects of people’s health. It also brings your technical capability before your target audience.
On-Page SEO or On-Site SEO is an important factor that influences your website’s rankings. It is the act of optimizing web pages to improve a website’s search engine rankings and increase organic traffic so that search engines can find and index them correctly. Be it medical SEO or search engine optimization for any other business, if you want your content to match user intent, then make sure to update the on-page SEO factors on your content at all times.
Why On-Page SEO Is Important
SEO can be split into two separate categories; On-Page SEO & Off-Page SEO. For years, we have witnessed an increased focus on off-page techniques and other technical elements. However, off-page SEO won’t do much good if you don’t pay attention to the fundamentals, that is, on-page SEO (searchenginejournal.com). It consists of all the elements of SEO you can control such as the technical issues and the quality of your content. So, focusing on on-page SEO will increase your page rankings on search engines and also the likelihood of successful off-page SEO strategies. Moreover, if done in the right way, on-page optimization can:
Boost your website traffic and bring in more leads
Save valuable time
Provide more organic traffic sources
Improve your click-through-rates and increase time on page
Reduce bounce rates
Match reader intent
Leverage long-tail keywords
And moreover, the use of On-Page SEO factors could contribute to the essence of uniqueness on your website too.
It’s very important to keep your webpage or blogs updated, especially the on-page SEO factors. Because, even though there have been a number of updates to Google’s search engine algorithm – be it minor or major such as (such as Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird) – on-page SEO hasn’t really changed all that much. That is, in 2020 Google still looks for a specific keyword on your webpage, to give you the most useful information, says Google’s own “How Search Works” report. And maybe because of this reason, traditional On-page SEO will still make a difference in ever-evolving SEO strategies.
To increase the chances of your article or blog ranking for relevant keywords, run it through an on-page SEO checklist. Here are 6 essential on-page SEO factors that you need to update constantly.
Keyword density, cannibalization and stuffing: Including appropriate keywords in your content is very important for you to come up in search engines when people search for the keywords or phrases that are relevant to your products or services. However, in this process, many make a mistake by overusing the keywords. This is not the right method to implement keywords in the content. You have to make sure that your keyword density is roughly 2-5%. Similarly, keep an eye on “keyword cannibalization” that is, targeting a specific term across multiple pages can have some potentially disastrous consequences for your SEO. So, identify whether keyword cannibalization exists on your website and resolve it (searchenginejournal.com). Another common practice we see is stuffing of keywords in content (which was a practice back in the early years of search engines, but not now) to manipulate a page’s ranking on Google’s SERP. However, Google and other search engines have wised up and begun filtering out offending keyword-stuffed pages. So, use keywords carefully and in a more natural way throughout the webpage, blog or article. Keep a few things in mind while choosing a keyword, that is, it should be
In line with the subject of the page
Easily searchable
Easy to use and works within the text
Image optimization: Images are important elements of content these days since they drive engagement and also give you an opportunity to connect with your audience much more than words could. Using images in your content can make your website more visually appealing and also helps in breaking boring, lengthy text. However, not all images can provide the same benefits – some can even slow down your website. So, make sure to include images that support your content and use descriptive titles and alt text, making them even more useful with SEO. For instance, this blog is about diagnosing and documenting Charcot’s foot and the image used here represents it.
First 100 words in content: Keyword placement plays a major role when it comes to on-page SEO, so include your main keyword in the first couple of sentences of your content, or at least in the first 100 words of your article or blog. The reason is so specific that the first 100 words are usually what can be seen before the reader has to start scrolling. Sometimes it doesn’t seem natural to shove a keyword in the first few words since you might want to set the scene first, so place a keyword effectively. For example, the blog mentioned below is about overcoming the key challenges in dental billing and coding and the main keyword is dental billing services, which is placed within the first 100 words effectively.
ALT tags: The keyword you want to rank on Google should also be included to the alt tag on images. Adding your keyword or keyword phrase to the alt tag on images sends Google a relevancy signal for your picture (blog.flightmedia.co). For instance, this blog is all about dealing with fake negative reviews about business, and if here the main keyword is fake reviews, the same keyword should be used in the file name of your images as well to improve your on-page SEO. That, is even if your image appears to you is this
Title Tag: The title tag is one of the most important SEO factors on your site. It is a bit of Meta data embedded into the HTML of each page that tells Google what to display in search results. So, here it’s important to have a unique title that includes the main keywords for that page so that Google can look at the title tag of a page to determine its relevancy to a subject. For example, you could write a blog post about quitting smoking and it is therefore important that you include ‘Quit Smoking’ within your post title. Perhaps “How to quit smoking” or “Things You Shouldn’t Do When You Quit Smoking” can be used for the title. This way, whenever someone searches for “quit smoking” in a search engine, your post has a better chance of showing up because you have included those keywords.
For example, you could write a blog post about quit smoking by including ‘Quit Smoking’ within your post title.
Meta Descriptions: Meta descriptions for pages are an important place to include relevant keywords for your content, as these are used within the search results when your page is listed.
Here when quit smoking keyword is used in a search engine, this particular blog from WebMD appears on second position of search. The Meta description of this particular blog is “Quitting smoking is not easy, but it’s worth it! We offer practical tips to help you break your nicotine addiction and kick the cigarette habit for good.” This description is good one as it contains a number of specific keywords, which might help in SEO.
For instance, if we continue to use the ‘Quit Smoking’ example, then a good Meta description for that page would include those keywords and related ones. So, “Quitting smoking is not easy, but it’s worth it! We offer practical tips to help you break your nicotine addiction and kick the cigarette habit for good” would be a great Meta description to use as it contains a number of specific keywords.
That is, using “How to quit smoking” or “Things You Shouldn’t Do When You Quit Smoking” or using any other title that have “quit smoking” along with it has a better chance of showing up in a search engine because you have included those keywords.
So, if you have included the title tag which is “Quit smoking” in this example, then whenever someone searches for quit smoking in a search engine, your post has a better chance of showing up.
Along with these 6 factors there are more techniques such as page speed, headlines, header tags, URL structure and so on that could help in improving your on-page SEO. Any one used independently of the others won’t make much difference to your site ranking. However, when used together, they can help improve your site traffic. Create your own checklist of everything you need to change and if possible, make sure you analyze all of these on-page SEO factors and how they perform on your own pages. Professional medical SEO companies stay updated regarding such factors and they can help online medical businesses to successfully meet their digital marketing goals.
Getting traffic online, and customers and conversions to their physical business location, is what physician clinics, healthcare practices and businesses are looking for. That’s what healthcare digital marketing aims at.
A Google My Business (GMB) profile significantly raises the visibility and the reputation of your practice or business. But while healthcare practices and physician clinics rush to get themselves listed, they need to ensure they do it well, to prevent their listings from being suspended.
The Horror of Google Suspending Your GMB Listing
Google My Business sometimes suspends listings, citing issues with quality. This normally happens when the algorithm gets updated. This is of course tough, because the business whose listing is suspended stands to lose a lot in terms of conspicuousness, reputation and publicity, which would inevitably result in loss of business. And once suspended, it’s been reported to be quite hard to make Google review the suspension. So in all circumstances, the first priority is to prevent this from happening.
Soft and Hard Suspensions
So let’s look at these kinds of suspensions in detail. You have the soft and hard suspensions. The soft suspension comes with a label saying “suspended” on the Google My Business homepage. You can’t change any of the details. But with a soft suspension, the listing will continue to be in Google search. Users would also be able to navigate to the physical location on Google Maps. What’s scarier is the hard suspension, under which you have your listing removed totally from Google Maps and Google search.
Avoid Fake Reviews
So, let’s look at what not to do to earn yourself a soft or hard suspension. The first thing you need to avoid, though we see this in many business listings, is fake reviews. If you find listings with fake reviews, you’ll eventually see them penalized by Google.Reviews are meant to give a genuine opinion of how a business works. Fake reviews mislead people and Google views them seriously. The best way to earn positive reviews is to offer good service to clients or customers. Don’t make someone churn out positive reviews for you.
Ensure Consistency in Details
The other aspect you need to ensure is that there isn’t any other verified business listed at your address. And you should keep the business address on your site similar to what you have on your GMB listing. Your phone number and address on online citations must be similar to what’s in your GMB listing. Don’t change your GMB profile information unnecessarily.
No Physical Address for Service Area Business
If it’s a service area business you’re running, it’s better not to use a physical address.Why is that? It’s because a service area business is one where the business owner or employee visits customers at their location to serve them. Such a business cannot use a physical address since it negatively interferes with the algorithm. A physical address should only be used if you have clients or customers actually visiting your location.
Keyword stuffing is something Google abhors in content, and it’s the same in your business name. Don’t unnecessarily stuff keywords to the name of your business.
No Forwarding URL for Your Website
Your website shouldn’t use a forwarding URL, which is basically a website URL redirecting to another website. This usually occurs when you change your website after listing your business on Google My Business and listing the website in your profile. But this usually invites a soft suspension rather than a hard one. Google verifies businesses usually with the domain email ID. Modifying this listing could result in a soft suspension being imposed. Google would then require your business license.
Ways to Get Your GMB Listing Reinstated
Though it is hard for businesses to get their GMB listing reinstated, particularly in the case of a hard suspension, legitimate businesses don’t need to worry. To get out of a suspension, Google requires you to offer proof of your legitimate existence, such as the license of your business mandated by your state, any professional licensing that is legally required, electricity or any other utility bills that prove your occupancy as well as rental agreements, if applicable.
Tax identification papers can also help. You also have to show photos of your business’ physical location. The business logo must be visible clearly along with the street address on your door. If applicable, you can provide photos of your business vehicles with your business logos. Videos are also useful.
You can head to Google My Business Help to appeal for reinstatement. This is truly an essential aspect of digital marketing and medical SEO. With the intense competition faced by healthcare practices, a great GMB profile is one of the ways to stand out.
An experienced hand in medical website design and SEO, MedResponsive has proudly announced the launch of the redesigned website for MOS Medical Record Reviews.
A service by Managed Outsource Solutions, MOS Medical Record Reviews is experienced in providing medical review solutions for diverse clients including the legal community, insurance companies, physicians, and private corporations among others.
Here’s what our team did to redesign this client website.
Made the Site Responsive with WordPress
Though this client’s old site was responsive, it was a static HTML site. So our team designed this new one responsive built with WordPress. Unlike HTML website, WordPress will let the users to access all the underlying code to the site, making code-free content management easy.
WordPress allows creating a simple website structure for users and most WordPress templates include a homepage with a navigation bar that links to the various pages on the website. Its layout also makes it easy for a website user to look for what they need and click through to the page.
Drastic Changes in Home Page
Compared to the old site, major changes were done in the home page.
With new page layouts, all the main services provided have been highlighted in the home page.
The home page also highlights MOS’ expertise in serving diverse legal entities as well as their clients.
Client success stories are also highlighted. Under Success Stories, website visitors can see how diverse legal clients are benefiting from the reliable medical record review services MOS provides.
Improved Navigation
A lightweight theme was created, as that can improve navigation and page speed for this website.
Engaging website layout and user-friendly navigation structure will help readers find what they want in the website without spending much time.
This new website also offers a variety of enhancements including secure browsing (HTTPS) and improvements to speed and design.
Social Media Icons
Our web designers placed social media icons on the header and footer to improve online visibility. An Instagram feed was also embedded in the home page which will be updated with recent images. This will expand our client’s social media reach.
New Sitemap
The newly redesigned sitemap has drastically improved user experience. This sitemap also organizes the site, helping users and search engine crawlers to find pages not accessible through links on other web pages.
Case Studies Section
We have added clear case study pages, which will instill more trust regarding our solutions in our potential clients. Case studies also help users meet our past clients, learn their issues and the solutions provided.
Quick Contact Form
Along with a dedicated Contact Us page, a quick contact form was added for the readers to reach the company as soon as possible.
Podcast Section
A podcast page was added, which includes a series of informative podcasts from MOS’ management team. Podcasting allows the company to communicate with their captive audience, and thereby establish authority in the medical review industry.
Reworked Old Pages with Fresh Content
Each page was reworked by our copywriters to include information-rich content with clear visual cues and graphics. The content is written in plain language, which is easier to understand and evaluate.
Our development team has tested the site’s browser compatibility and device compatibility. Website readers can also benefit from customized Content Management System, user-friendly pages and social media integration. Along with medical website design services, we are also providing MOS with medical SEO solutions that can highlight their website in the major search engines.
Whether it is medical SEO or SEO for other business sectors, creating optimized content is crucial to improve your SEO impact. Regularly creating fresh and attractive content is a difficult task. Instead of building content from scratch, you may consider repurposing your content online which maximizes SEO impact.
![Top 10 Tips to Repurpose Your Content Online [Infographic]](https://www.medresponsive.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/top-10-tips-to-repurpose-your-content-online-1-scaled.jpg)
