There is a growing need for medical practices to have a strong digital presence as patients have become more reliant on the internet to choose where to go for healthcare services. 77 percent of patients conduct an online search before making an appointment with a physician making medical search engine optimization (SEO) is a core component of a long-term healthcare digital marketing strategy. To help guide your decisions on how to be more competitive in this digital landscape, this guide will show you how healthcare SEO helps medical practices achieve digital dominance.
Why SEO Matters for Healthcare
Whether it’s the patient who heavily relies on digital tools to find medical services or the occasional user of search engines like Google, most healthcare consumers will eventually search for services online. The key question is: will your medical practice be easily found when they start their search? Healthcare SEO is about increasing the chances of your medical practice being discovered by potential patients searching for health services online.
Understanding How SEO Works
Imagine you’re a patient looking for the medical services your practice offers. What do you find? The medical practices you see in these searches aren’t there by chance. Each featured website has demonstrated to Google that it’s trustworthy and provides what patients need. In the search results, there is usually a mix of paid (Google Ads) and “organic” (SEO) results.
With the help of technology, Google is constantly scanning websites to determine if they meet quality standards, and which search queries each should appear for. When your website is structured according to Google’s standards, provides a great user experience, and contains helpful content, you send a strong signal that your website deserves a higher ranking over your competitors.
Where Will My SEO Search Results Appear?
If you search for healthcare services in your area, what you will see all depends on the search terms. When Google assumes a user has the intent to secure services, this generates a localized search featuring a map-based directory, some “sponsored” listings, and toward the bottom, other matches for the inquiry (“organic” results).
Ideally, a medical practice appears in the business listings and in the “organic” links area as well. The more coverage your medical practice has on the results page, the better, meaning that if a patient sees your medical practice listing once, then scrolls down to see a link to your website, this reinforces that your medical practice matches what they are looking for. Where your website appears in search results with respect to medical SEO marketing boils down to:
- Website quality: Medical practice websites that are in “good shape” and provide relevant content for patients will end up at the top of the initial search results.
- Paid search: Some search terms will be associated with paid search or pay-per-click (PPC). These are typically “high competition” keywords. Because these paid search ads take priority, this “pushes” organic results down the page. However, keep in mind that many consumers have formed the habit of skipping past ads and will scroll down to see the organic results.
- Google Business Profiles: If you have ever searched for local services, chances are you have seen directory listings and a map for businesses in the area. Notice how much space this tends to take up on the screen. This feature also takes priority over “organic.” listings.
Because of how search results are “shuffled” around, healthcare digital marketers recommend that medical practices include paid search and Google Business Profile optimization alongside SEO efforts.
Local SEO Strategies for Healthcare Providers
Local SEO is a subset of healthcare SEO that focuses on improving visibility in search results that are oriented to consumers based on their location. This is especially important for healthcare providers, as most patients prefer to seek treatment close to home, work, or school. One key aspect of local SEO is managing your Google My Business profile, which can significantly enhance your practice’s visibility in local search results. For this reason, it is strongly encouraged for every medical practice to fully complete any associated profiles such as multiple locations or providers who practice there.
Reputation Management for Local SEO
While many well-known websites and platforms allow patients to leave reviews about providers, Google Business Profiles will have the most direct impact on SEO because of how this digital directory feeds directly into Google search results. Actively soliciting reviews from patients helps your practice achieve a high star rating that will be displayed in your Google profile.
Crafting an Effective Content Strategy
Again, Google chooses which websites will be given top rankings in organic search based on the contents of each respective website. This begins by filling each page of your website with keyword-rich paragraphs that communicate exactly what your medical practice is about and where it is based geographically. By publishing high-quality, relevant content – such as blog posts on medical topics – you signal to search engines that your site is a valuable resource, worthy of a high ranking.
Crafting Quality, Educational, Healthcare Focused Content
Creating high-quality content requires a strategic approach. Focus on developing educational materials that address common patient questions or concerns in detail. Additionally, having content authored or reviewed by medical professionals can enhance credibility for a positive impact on your medical website SEO.
Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) in SEO
YMYL stands for “Your Money or Your Life,” a term coined by Google for websites that can significantly impact users’ health, finances, or well-being. Medical websites are classified as YMYL since they can influence health and medical decisions. Google holds YMYL pages to high standards to ensure accurate, trustworthy information. Maintaining high-quality standards in healthcare SEO efforts is necessary for optimal results in healthcare practice.
Medical websites must adhere to strict guidelines for content quality, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T). However, another “E” has been added to this acronym to include the value of “experience.” To meet YMYL standards, they should provide accurate and current information, reference credible sources, and have content created or reviewed by qualified healthcare experts. Following these standards maintains the integrity of medical information online, building user trust and enabling well-informed health decisions based on reliable sources.
Accessibility and Compliance
In addition to improving user experience and search rankings, your website must meet accessibility standards and comply with regulations such as HIPAA. Though your website may seem separate from your healthcare business, government regulations regarding healthcare providers still apply to your website.
As advancements in patient data security continue to develop over time, the overarching best practice in electronic patient health information (ePHI) handling is to never store patient data anywhere on your website. Instead, route any information the patient provides via the website to secure electronic health records (EHR) storage.
Technical SEO: Optimizing Healthcare Websites for Search Engines
Technical SEO involves optimizing your website’s architecture and design to ensure that it’s user-friendly and easily navigable by search engines. This includes improving site speed, ensuring mobile responsiveness, and using HTML tags effectively.
Enhancing Site Authority Through Backlinks
Backlinks, or links from other websites to your own, are another key factor in healthcare SEO. When other trustworthy websites link to your website, this signals to Google that others can vouch for your website as being a credible resource.
Digital marketing experts practice “white hat” SEO by carefully monitoring and disavowing low-quality sites that link to their website. Google considers irrelevant links from various sources as illegitimate and does not rank websites that take such shortcuts.
The Journey of Continuous SEO Efforts
SEO for medical practices is not a one-time project, but an ongoing effort. It requires regular updates and adaptability as search engine algorithms evolve. Moreover, it’s important to set realistic expectations; SEO takes time, typically 6-12 months, to yield noticeable results.
Summary: How To Enhance Your Digital Competitiveness Through Healthcare SEO
Healthcare search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful and essential tool for medical practices today. It helps enhance competitiveness in the digital space, where healthcare consumers make many medical decisions. It encompasses a range of strategies, from optimizing a website’s content and architectural design, to managing an effective online reputation, to crafting educational content, to building a robust network of backlinks.
Local SEO is crucial in healthcare marketing because patients typically search for providers in their area. Many local businesses—medical practices, especially—can take advantage of Google’s localized search enhancements through local SEO. This strategy boosts digital visibility, builds trust, and enhances credibility within the local community, contributing to the success of healthcare providers in the digital landscape.
Healthcare SEO requires consistent efforts, living up to quality standards and ethical responsibilities, as well as adaptability in line with evolving search engine algorithms. Given the increasing number of patients seeking health information online, a well-executed SEO for medical practice strategy can significantly increase a healthcare provider’s visibility, leading to more website visits, patient appointments, and ultimately, a more thriving practice.
Gain the Competitive Edge Online Through the Power of iHealthSpot’s SEO Strategy
Despite healthcare providers’ efforts, standing out in a crowded online market remains a challenge for medical practices as they get lost in Google search results. iHealthSpot’s customized SEO services and expertise in healthcare digital marketing can help your practice gain a competitive advantage.
Our services include high-quality website design, keyword strategy, blog writing, and reputation management services for better SEO results. With our proven expertise, we can develop a tailored digital marketing strategy to bring in qualified patient leads for your medical practice.
