This page was last updated on May 4, 2023.
Doctors who want to get more patients for their private practices or hospital systems need to be utilizing the various benefits of healthcare SEO to help potential patients find their specialty through online searches.
But First, What Is SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a digital marketing strategy that involves improving your website with keywords and relevant content in order to rank in popular search engines, such as Google and Bing. When you rank higher on Google, your business’s website is likely to see more interaction in the form of organic traffic, qualified leads, and, ultimately, sales.
Did you know that the first organic search that is listed on Google has an average click-through rate (or CTR) of 27.6%? That’s why it is so important to get ahead of these SEO best practices so you will see more people inclined to want to click on your website over competitors.
How Does SEO Apply to Doctors?
Though doctors operate in many different niches, the goal of SEO for doctors is to get their practice more recognized online. When your office’s website has more of an online presence, this visibility will attract patients who are looking for answers to their inquiries. In many cases, these are prospective new patients who will come to your practice if you give them a good initial experience online.
If your office is looking for a boost in SEO to increase the probability of receiving more qualified leads, our team has compiled a list of five of the best SEO tactics every doctor should be implementing:
Check Out These Ways to Improve Your SEO
Industry-Related Directories for Doctors
When potential patients are looking for new providers, or a doctor in a specific field, they will likely want to compare and contrast a variety of professionals before making a choice. One of the easiest ways they can do that is by looking at sources that list multiple professionals at once:
As you can see in the above example, there are sites that offer lists for users to browse. Being listed on these sites, with links pointing to your own website, can not only help you to be found more often, but can also improve your site’s backlink profile. Creating backlinks to your website is a key aspect of improving your own website’s overall SEO equity.
Google Business Profile Listings
Unlike many other industries, healthcare professionals are fortunate enough to have access to multiple listings on Google Maps, with areas for both themselves and the entire practice.
According to advice from local SEO experts, if you are going to have a listing for your office and also yourself, you should:
- List different categories
- ex: Dental Office and Orthodontist
- Link to different website pages
- ex: Main homepage and a doctor’s individual bio page
On the local SEO front, our company also recommends that you completely fill out your Google Business Profile with photos, hours of operation, services, FAQs, and more to achieve the best results for your practice.
If you want more information on the rules and regulations for practitioner listings on Google Business Profiles, be sure to check out these great resources:
- Google My Business Changes How They Deal with Practitioner Listings – by Sterling Sky
- Why You Cannot Ignore Practitioner Listings on Google My Business (Case Study) – by Search Engine Land
Improve Site Copy
When was the last time you really examined your website from a patient’s point of view? Take a step back and put yourself in their shoes, and really read your website’s copy – on the homepage, services pages, contact page, etc. – and see if the information you are sharing is helpful and clear, relaying key info prospective patients would want to know.
We often find that many doctors’ websites are very bare when it comes to copy. Having strong copy can not only help your SEO efforts, but it can also encourage patients to reach out for an appointment.
For more information on how to improve your site copy, check out our four tips for writing engaging content.
Provide Helpful Content
Having a blog on your site has been a longstanding SEO approach that can open the door to potential patients. Not to mention blogs can also help you get more backlinks to your site. You could write posts such as “5 Early Signs of an Oncoming Cold,” or do a write-up on anything you have been researching. Utilizing your knowledge and expertise can really pay off on the marketing side, as helpful content is deemed extremely valuable in Google’s most recent 2023 algorithm update.
Become a Credible Source
Did you know that journalists are always looking for quotes from reliable medical professionals to use in their writing? Not only that, but you can have their requests sent straight to your inbox so you don’t have to do the heavy lifting.
Thanks to resources like Help a Reporter Out (HARO), Qwoted, and many others, you can get more mentions (and links) in articles from great outlets across the web that can help improve your online presence!
Additional Doctor SEO FAQs
What is link building?
Link building is a common SEO strategy that involves getting outside websites to link back to your own website. When you secure links from more credible websites, Google will value your website more as they see you making your expertise more apparent to others. This will result in higher search engine rankings and overall domain authority.
How do I use keywords for SEO?
Using keywords for SEO is just one of the ways Google can recognize what the goal of your webpage is. So depending on what your office or hospital specializes in can determine what keywords you are going to sprinkle within your content.
For example, if you are a podiatrist, you could consider adding keywords such as “foot doctors in [city name],” “podiatrists in [city name],” or even “foot specialists” and other general terms in order to attract people looking for foot doctors.
Don’t know where to start when it comes to finding the best keywords for your doctor’s office? Check out our blog post regarding how to determine effective keywords for SEO purposes.
How long does it take to see results for SEO?
Once you have updated and further optimized the copy on your website to be SEO-friendly, it will take a couple of weeks for popular search engines to accurately crawl, index, and rank your new pages. So don’t be discouraged if you do not see results immediately! Though the process takes more time, the results of your efforts should produce leads, and help your site drive business for years to come.
Have any additional questions regarding SEO for your doctor’s office? If so, please contact our team directly and we can answer any of your inquiries. We look forward to hearing from you!
