Healthcare SEO: 4 Keys to Growing Your Practice Online

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Published by Isaac Hungbeme on June 23, 2021

Healthcare SEO: 4 Keys to Growing Your Practice Online

1. Include Appropriate Medical Keywords

Let’s start with what is perhaps the most important point we will make here. Your website content needs to target those keywords most appropriate to your industry. Start with your specialization – examples include cosmetic therapies, paediatrics, or dermatology – because this is what most Internet users will include in their searches.

A keyword planner can help you identify additional words that are most prevalent for your searches. But don’t abnormally “stuff” keywords into your content. Do so in a way that flows as naturally as possible while reading. This alone will help separate you from the pack and attract more patients.

2. Keep Adding to Your Content

Many healthcare providers pay for a website design and then leave it stagnant. But content is an ongoing process, and your goal should be to produce it on a regular schedule: weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. The point is to stick to your schedule and develop content that arms your audience with real knowledge.

Again, the best place to start is by describing your services. Then move onto high-quality blog posts that incorporate keywords. Google enforces a much greater standard for medical webpages than those of other industries; these have the power to influence the long-term decisions of patients. We recommend you write long-form educational content that demonstrates your knowledge and helps Google recognize you as an authoritative figure.

3. Include Videos

Today, your audience is looking for more than written content. They also expect videos, and web pages that contain these will see greater organic traffic. People also spend more time on these sites because they’re occupied with watching. This suggests to search engines your site contains valuable information, and your rank will naturally improve. Some ways to easily incorporate video include:

A virtual tour of your facility
Testimonials from other patients
Introductions to staff
Information on a medical condition

4. Speed and Mobile Use

Factors like your site’s speed and mobile accessibility influence your search engine ranking. To be specific, your website needs to load in three seconds or less; otherwise, users will leave and visit a site that moves quickly. Google doesn’t punish sites the load slowly, but your audience will. Two seconds is the max it should take your website to load, but under half a second is the ideal to shoot for.

Your site also needs to be mobile-friendly. Most of your audience will conduct searches on a tablet or phone, and if your site doesn’t load appropriately on these, you’re losing a significant number of people.

A healthy SEO strategy can work long-term to grow your practice. You’ll outrank competitors and draw patients looking for your exact services. And we can help by creating a viable plan that meets your exact needs. Call Maris Digital Agency today to speak with one of our digital marketing experts.