Digital transformation has transformed the way consumers research and purchase products. In a world where everything from clothes to cars is equipped with digital capabilities, people expect a seamless online experience when researching anything from a new pair of shoes to a procedure for lowering your chance of getting wrinkled. With more than 300 million cosmetic procedures performed annually in America, the medical field is ripe for improvement as well.
Today, more than half of Americans have looked at plastic surgery on Google Images or other websites without seeing results in terms of search engine optimization (SEO). With improvements in healthcare marketing strategy and optimization strategies, including medical SEO, you can drive leads, appointments, and revenue. Read on to learn how medical SEO can drive conversion and generate ROI for your practice.
Goals of Medical SEO
When it comes to digital marketing, it’s important to remember that your objective is to get the most traffic possible to your site. Ideally, this is achieved by writing an effective, compelling content strategy that drives customers to take action, either by clicking on a link or making a purchase.
In addition to driving traffic, you should have specific goals in mind for your medical SEO strategy. While some goals are very specific, such as getting more specific search terms, others are a bit more general. Generally, the primary goals of medical SEO are to:
- Increase Traffic to Your Site – Through keyword research, you can find out which words are most likely to bring customers to your site. You can then adjust your strategy to include these terms.
- Increase Conversions – By crafting a strategy that focuses on high-intent keywords, you can increase the number of visits to your site and, therefore, the number of sales.
- Increase ROI – By monitoring your traffic, you can see which strategies are working and adjust your strategy accordingly. You can also look at the data to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.
- Reduce Cost – Certain strategies, such as creating a website, are expensive. With medical SEO, you can get a lot of bang for your buck. This means that even a small investment can yield a lot of results.
Strategies for Improving Medical SEO
There are certain techniques that can help you boost your rankings in search engines and increase traffic to your website. These techniques need to be incorporated into your content strategy to be most effective. It’s important to remember that there is no “one size fits all” type of medical SEO strategy. The best SEO for medical practices strategy will depend on a variety of factors, including your competitive landscape, your target audience, and your brand personality.
- Keyword Research – Keyword research is essential for any digital marketing strategy. When it comes to medical SEO, it’s likely the first step you take. In order to find out what keywords you should be targeting, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner to input your site’s main keywords and additional terms that you think customers might search for. You can also use the Keyword Planner to research long-tail keywords, which are less commonly used words that often have slightly different meanings from the main keyword. Depending on your practice type, you can also research alternative keywords to find out what people are really searching for.
- Copy Optimization – When you write content for your website, you want to ensure that you’re using the right words and that you’re conveying the right message. With SEO and digital marketing, this means writing compelling, SEO-optimized content that gets your message across to the readers and drives them to take action. One way that you can optimize your content for SEO and boost your rankings is through keyword usage. For example, if your blog is about plastic surgery, you can use more specific terms, such as avoiding the word “surgery” in favor of something more specific, such as “refined retouch.”
- Hrefting – With a lot of the top search results being paid advertisements, it’s important to get your website in front of as many potential patients as possible. One way to do this is by submitting your website to Google’s hrefting program.
Key Terms in Medical SEO
- Keywords – Search engine optimization is all about getting your content in front of the right people at the right time. The more specific and relevant your content is to your target audience, the better your chances of success.
- Headings – The headings on your website can play an important role in helping search engines identify the main topics discussed on your pages.
- URL Structure – With the vast majority of people searching online using a desktop computer or a mobile phone, it’s important to consider the structure of your website. For example, people often click the first link in a Google search result, so the URL for your website should include the most important keywords.
What You Need to do to Improve Medical SEO?
With all the information you just learned, it may seem like it’s easy to get started with medical SEO. However, it’s important to remember that you can’t just start writing blog posts and expect to see long-term success. It’s best to take the necessary steps to ensure that your SEO strategy is executed effectively and consistently.
- Keyword Research – First and foremost, you need to do keyword research. Keyword research is the cornerstone of any digital marketing strategy. It can be challenging to find the right keywords to target, but it’s worth the effort.
- Content Marketing Strategy – In order to drive more traffic to your site and achieve higher rankings in search engine results, you’ll need to have a comprehensive content marketing strategy.
- Website Structure – It’s important to have a site structure that’s optimized for SEO. A site structure that’s not optimized for SEO may hinder GoogleBot from crawling your site.
Bottom Line
With the ever-growing necessity of accurate, understandable information in the digital world, it’s vital to ensure that your website is ready for the medical SEO fight. There are a variety of factors that can negatively affect your SEO and hurt your rankings in search engines. Ensure that you’re taking the proper steps to ensure that your medical SEO strategy is executed effectively and consistently.
