Medical and Healthcare SEO
Mike Paffman, CEO, VIRGO PR
Whenever consumers are looking for any sort of healthcare information, the first place that they turn to is often a search engine like Google. In fact, one of the most common digital activities among users of all ages is looking up information regarding healthcare, and companies in the industry have to use medical and healthcare SEO to reach them and get new patients. Since a large number of people use the internet to look up information regarding healthcare, medical companies can use SEO strategies effectively, and should not overlook this important tool as part of a larger public relations program.
Relevant Search Keywords
Healthcare companies that are looking to improve their SEO efforts should first start by considering all of the different search terms that internet users are inputting when looking up medical professionals. Those keywords are an essential element to SEO across all industries. When search engines try connecting users with relevant information, they rely on keywords, which is why it’s important that healthcare companies choose the right keywords.
The first step in figuring out the right or relevant keywords is conducting keyword research and understanding user intent. There are plenty of tools available online that can help companies in conducting that research, and by using them , businesses can hone in on specific consumer pain points, as well as cross-reference potentially useful search terms from competitors.
High Ranking in SERPs
While choosing and using relevant keywords is important, that’s just one of the SEO strategies that are beneficial to companies. Businesses in the healthcare industry also have to focus on providing users with content that’s trustworthy, authoritative, and that shows a company’s expertise. The main goal of search engines is to provide users with this type of information quickly.
If a particular website has shown the search engines that it’s trustworthy and authoritative by having visitors stick around for longer periods of time, those same search engines are going to rank that website a lot higher compared to its competitors. Aside from that, all content on the company’s website should also be regularly updated and reviewed.
Content Marketing
When it comes to digital marketing, one of the most common terms that marketers use is “content marketing”, but it’s not without good reason. One of the easiest ways that companies can help and engage with consumers is by creating valuable content. A great way to start creating it is to begin regularly sharing blog posts with helpful information for buyers; posts which include relevant search terms and keywords. Paired with a company’s expertise, consumers are eventually going to see the value in that content as well as in the company itself, and become loyal buyers.
Aside from blog posts and other types of written content such as white papers, another element of content marketing is content that’s shared on social media. This is because social media content can indirectly impact a company’s SEO ranking– because it’s able to generate referral website traffic. Finally, with the changing trends in consumer behavior, video content - both long and short-form - has become incredibly popular with buyers, which makes it beneficial for companies too.
About the Author: Mike Paffman is CEO of Virgo PR, a leading PR agency.
