According to Statista, over 239.1 million internet users will use search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo in 2020; the search engine optimization (SEO) industry is projected to reach $80 million. The concept of SEO is straightforward—optimize your website to ensure that your content is indexed correctly by search engines and displayed among the top search engine results.
For healthcare providers, SEO can raise awareness of a medical website, allowing physicians and healthcare centers to reach more patients. With that in mind, here are five SEO tips and tricks for healthcare providers interested in boosting organic traffic and driving local business.
Optimize Your Website
Optimizing your website requires staying up-to-date with the latest SEO trends. Before creating a website for your services, it’s essential to choose a distinct logo that sets you apart from local competitors. Next, choose a user-friendly web design, and make sure to include FAQ and contact information pages to make it easier for patients to find out more information about your business.
Additionally, optimize your website for mobile use. Google began mobile-first indexing in 2018, requiring businesses to create better user experiences for mobile users. Today, mobile devices account for approximately 57 percent of all web traffic, so optimizing your website for mobile use can help you drive in organic traffic from local patients.
Choose The Right Keywords
Although every specialization in the healthcare industry is different, most patients use search engines to look for local medical services. Keeping this in mind, you can build a strong foundation by choosing the right industry keywords. For instance, if you’re a dentist in Lakewood, OH, try using the keywords “dentist Lakewood, OH,” “dentist Cuyahoga County,” “dental specialist Lakewood, OH,” “teeth whitening Lakewood, OH,” “orthodontist Lakewood, OH,” and “crown Lakewood, OH.”
Post Relevant Content
Although search algorithms are constantly changing, content that is well organized, authoritative, and valuable to the consumer can help boost your search engine rankings. While elements like word count, keyword density, and backlinks can help, they’re less useful if the content itself isn’t relevant. Consequently, ensuring that your content is useful to your patients can improve your SEO. For instance, if you’re a dentist, try posting high-quality content about the signs and symptoms of cavities with links to high-authority sources like WebMD.
Video marketing is also becoming an increasingly popular way to consume content. On average, web pages with authoritative videos experience a 157-percent increase in organic traffic from search engine results pages. Additionally, a video is 50-times more likely to appear on the first page of Google than a traditional web page.
Create a Google My Business Account
Creating and completing a Google My Business (GMB) page for your healthcare services can boost your offsite authority and raise awareness of your business. Patients use search engines to find healthcare services that are close to home. As a result, searches containing the phrase “near me” have doubled since 2015.
But for patients to find your business, you need a GMB account. Google indexes four to five business listings to show up above organic search engine results. To show up in local searches, your GMB needs to include your company’s categories, phone number, description, hours of operation, address, and patient reviews.
Hire SEO Professionals
If you’re not familiar with HTML, CSS, or the basics of SEO, hiring a team of medical SEO professionals can give you an idea where you stand compared to the local competition. Although hiring a medical SEO professional might seem costly, incorporating SEO into your marketing strategy can promote the growth of your business and drive more business in the long run. The digital marketing experts at Peaks Digital Marketing can help medical professionals utilize medical SEO to increase their search engine rankings, traffic, and conversions.
Staying up-to-date with the latest SEO trends can help you gain an edge over local competitors. When done right, SEO can even help you become a leader in your industry. However, it’s important to keep in mind that SEO isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, and some business owners may need the help of medical SEO professionals to grow their business.
