Do you know that in 2019, almost 80% of all patients went online to search for medical practices and information? If you are a doctor with either a small setup or starting brand new, it is high time for you to pitch your core services online. It is where Medical SEO comes in to benefit you. It is the search engine optimization strategy meant for medical practice.
By investing in medical SEO, you will be able to attract and convert new patients to your medical practice via Google search. Through the use of medical SEO, your website will rank higher on the first page of a Google search. It will increase your website’s visibility, leading to more appointments and more people leaving glowing reviews on your website. SEO for doctors is very doable. In the past, you needed backlinks, clout, and excellent website traffic to compete and outrank your colleagues in the medical practice.
However, now medical SEO requires knowledge, consistency, and time. With these three elements, your medical setup can show up pretty quickly at the top on Google. Showing up on top means top rankings that will include your website as a top suggestion to the patients looking for online medical appointments.
With the right knowledge, the doctors ranking in search results will improve, leading you to new calls, direction requests, and website visits. Here is a quick SEO guideline for doctors:
Medical website design
As a doctor, your medical website design must have all the relevant and correct information. Ensure that you add a dedicated page on your website with information such as name, address, and phone. The pieces of data can be useful on all other review sites and listings. Add all the contact details in the universal footer of your website. Nestle all the pieces again on the contact page of the site. It is essential because it will be the first place referred to by Google.
Testimonials and reviews
When implementing SEO for doctors to rank first on Google, testimonials, and reviews are very important for your website. For instance, if healthcare professionals are looking for online degree programs, they will choose the best site or go for some rankings guide to enroll themselves.
Also, make sure that the first party writes the testimonials or reviews. First-party reviews are written by the people directly to the practice. However, third-party reviews get pulled off sites such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp. Blend the two reviews for your website. As far as Google is concerned, reviews will play a crucial role in determining the page rank.
Get yourself on Google My Business
To be a top-ranked doctor on Google, you need to get listed on Google My Business. The process to do this is simple. You must claim, verify, and update the listing regarding your medical practice. The chances are that your medical setup gets listed in Google Maps already without you ever doing it. That is why you should be proactive with SEO, as Google might already be doing it for you. After claiming the listing, take control of it and remove any incorrect information from it. Complete the verification process of the listing, as this will unlock several critical analytics for you. After your verification process gets completed, complete your listing profile with the same contact information you have on your website.
Make your Facebook page
If you haven’t created a business Facebook page for your practice, you are way behind the curve. Do you know that Facebook has the ultimate clout in search ranking? If you search for your competitive doctor, a 9/10 search will show that doctor’s Facebook page as the highest-ranking listing on Google’s first page. So it is time for you to increase your visibility by creating a Facebook page for your practice.
Be part of third party reviews and listings
The next step should be to enlist in 50 additional reviews and listings directories. Claim, verify and complete the listings by using the same contact details you have on your website. Uniformity is very critical as far as the contact details are concerned. It is because Google will show more confidence in your practice and return the queries if it confirms the same information on all listings. You can start the listings from Healthgrades, CareDash, and Vitals.
Develop trust with video content
As far as the content is concerned, start with the video content to increase engagement and develop trust with your potential patients. Patients who prefer online consultation take a keen interest in hearing directly from the providers. You can add the video to your blog post. It will increase the on-page time and improve ranking on Google since Google owns YouTube, so you should launch a YouTube channel for your video content.
Extensive keyword research
Do not miss keywords for your medical practice, as they are the backbone of excellent search engine optimization. Try including long-tail related keywords on your website page. Google will grade your content better due to the inclusion of long-tail associated keywords.
Conclusion
Following these steps will help you get your medical practice on the path to perfect medical SEO, ensuring success. Claim listings, develop a proper structure on your website and stick to the SEO strategy. It will help if you are consistent in following these steps. There is no overnight fix to increase your website’s organic traffic. Invest more time and energy in the SEO for your practice as it will increase website traffic, overall new patient leads, and more phone calls!