Healthcare is a very competitive industry; especially if you’re working in a big city. But even smaller cities like Elmira, Horseheads, and Corning have a lot of medical offices and hospitals.
In order to rank well on Google and other search engines, you’ll need to spend some time on your SEO. Since 2012, we’ve worked with many medical clients, and there are several tips we’ve picked up along the way that we’re eager to share with you today.
Tip #1: Spruce Up Your On-Site SEO
On-site SEO refers to the words, code, and images that come together to make your site. It’s not enough to just have words on the page. There are a lot of things happening in the background that you’ll want to pay attention to as well, such as:
Page titles - This is what gives your site a clickable headline in search engine results.
Meta-descriptions - These are typically 160 characters or less, and they offer a summary of what your page is about.
Speed - How fast does your website load? Google uses this metric when configuring your site’s rank.
Mobile responsiveness - How does your site look on a cell phone or tablet? More people are using the keywords “near me” when searching for what they want. A mobile responsive site will give your website a better overall look when these types of people are on it.
Proper headers - Formatting your content correctly is vitally important for SEO. Your site should include the appropriate H1 and H2 headers in the text on all pages.
Tip #2: Don’t Forget Off-Site Medical SEO
Backlinks are links that send people back to your website and are also a critical part of your SEO strategy.
When other sites link back to yours, Google takes notice and ranks your site higher. That’s because backlinks give your site a lot more credibility and authority.
Here are some off-site resources you can begin utilizing right now to get backlinks:
Press releases
Healthcare directories
Blog posts and articles on other websites
Your hospital’s or medical clinic’s social media pages
Tip #3: Implement Local Healthcare SEO
It is of utmost importance for your site to be connected with Google My Business. Once you have this set up, it will be much easier for you to attract local patients or clients to your site. Once they’re on your site, as long as your content is good and informative, converting them will be quite simple.
Google My Business lends an element of authority to your medical practice or center as well. You definitely want to do everything you can to keep your business at or near the top of those search engine results. Here’s how you do that:
Optimize your homepage for local SEO.
Include relevant and high-authority links on your site.
Update your site regularly with blog posts and articles that people will want to read.
Contact Us for Help With Your Healthcare SEO
At Colwell Creative Content, Inc., we’ve been working with healthcare clients almost since we started the business. Our CEO, Nicole, is a Professional Member of the American Medical Writers Association, and many of our writers and editors have healthcare experience too.
We know that every client is different. That’s why we’re committed to creating a solid marketing plan to reach your target audience and help your business reach its goals.
Want to learn more? Contact us today, and Let’s Reach Your Patients Together!