Healthcare SEO

SEO for Healthcare Practitioners

Do you run a medical clinic, and you're looking to onboard new patients, but traditional marketing methods just aren't working for you anymore? Or maybe you know you need a healthcare SEO plan, but you have no idea where to start?

If you're ready to invest in search engine optimization practices guaranteed to increase your revenue, you need to partner with the right SEO company. One that consistently puts your needs first, and that can seamlessly integrate a medical SEO strategy with your existing branding. Your clinic will experience significant growth by developing a marketing plan where your target audience can find and book your services online using their smartphones, tablets and laptops.

At Digital Shift, we have the technology, years of experience and expertise you need to develop a digital marketing strategy that works for your medical practice. We're the top medical SEO experts in North America for a reason. We'll help you cut through the digital noise and put your clinic on the map—literally.

Why Choose Digital Shift?

Our digital marketing experts know everything there is to know about the search engine algorithms, and how to devise a unique SEO strategy that will help you increase your patient intake and ultimately reach your business goals.

Since 2007, our SEO agency has helped business owners across North America find the growth they need to succeed. We've spent years honing our methods, and are continuously staying up-to-date on Google's Terms and Services and monitoring algorithm updates. Through our constant engagement in best practices, we can provide an effective healthcare SEO service as your business grows.

When you partner with us, you will have access to a wide range of digital marketing services that will work cohesively to build your brand and get your ranking on Google's first page. We're in the business of building long-term relationships with our clients, and believe in transparency above all else. That's why we offer month-to-month contracts—so you're never locked in to a contract you can't change. We also provide 24/7 access to our client portals, so you can be as minimally or as highly involved as you want.

For proof of our outstanding digital marketing services, take a look at our client case studies. You'll be amazed at just how much our SEO strategies have helped business owners, just like you, experience significant growth.

Our Top Tips for Healthcare SEO

At Digital Shift, we're dedicated to helping business owners succeed. That's why we put together the following tips to help you on your way to healthcare marketing success. If you need help implementing these tips—which are designed to boost organic traffic and increase your digital presence's visibility—then please give us a call at (888) 380-2260 to book your free consultation.

Choose the Right Keywords

The cornerstone of an impactful SEO campaign is choosing relevant keywords. Either using a keyword research tool or doing a quick brainstorm via Google search, put together a list of keywords you think prospective patients will use to look for healthcare providers. You can work with your clinic's team to ensure you create as exhaustive a list as possible.

Then, once again using keyword tools such as Google's Keyword Planner—which is free for anyone who has a Google Ads account—research each keyword phrase. You're looking to see which phrases have a good amount of searches, but are not too competitive. The key here is balance. Competitive keywords might be searched more frequently by prospects, but they will be much harder to rank for.

Once you've narrowed down your list, it's time to start brainstorming content.

Top 5 Keywords for Healthcare Professionals

To give you a head start on creating your healthcare SEO strategy, we've done some of the legwork for you. Use this list to start ranking!

1. Healthcare company
2. Healthcare clinic
3. Healthcare near me
4. healthcare center
5. Healthcare + city name

Write High-Quality Content

The Google algorithm looks for keywords/search terms in content while scouring the web to pull up a response to a search query. This process uses Google's crawlers to quickly scan content, so it's important that your keyword appears enough times—and in the right places—so Google notices it.

However, keyword frequency is not the only quality Google is looking for. The search engine is smart, and it can tell poor quality content from content that's been written well. Additionally, the search engine will discern if your content is informative and if it follows Google's Terms of Use guidelines.

For instance, while writing a blog post about tips to stay healthy during the winter, you should be including relevant tips that would be beneficial for your target audience. Google will look to see:

1. How relevant your content is to a search term.
2. How useful your content is.

In time, you can turn blogging into a strategic content marketing plan. However, a blog post is also just one place where you can integrate short and long-tail keywords. Your site's content is also a great place to integrate best search engine optimization practices. For instance, each service page (such as prenatal care, women's health or pediatric care) should be tailored to a relevant search term. This helps potential patients find your website faster, thus improving your website traffic.

Don't Forget About Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

It's easy to write a blog post with a title, but did you know you also need to include a meta title and meta description? This is what shows up during a Google search, and helps convince potential patients to click on your content.

As a general rule of thumb, meta title tags and descriptions should be a bit more salesy than a standard blog title. You want to be persuasive. It's also important to keep in mind that each text box has a character limit.

• Meta titles have a 60-character limit (including spaces).
• Meta descriptions have a 160-character limit (including spaces).

Create a User Friendly Site Map

Web design can be tricky, so it's probably in your best interest to hire a professional digital marketing agency to ensure your site map makes sense, is easy to follow and also hits other targets that Google looks for. Poor user experience can really hurt your SEO—not to mention, consumers will likely skip your medical website in favor of one that's easier to navigate. You should ensure your healthcare website has the following:

• Lots of relevant images that include ALT text.
• Properly optimized for mobile devices.
• Quick loading times.
• Quality backlinks (invest in a link-building campaign).
• Clear, user-friendly navigation.

Experiment with Video Advertisements

Do your healthcare marketers have a paid ads campaign? Perhaps part of that is advertising on Google or Facebook? While traditional ads can be a useful way to encourage clicks and improve conversions, an under-utilized tool overlooked in healthcare SEO strategies is video ads. Video ads can appear on social media, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, and also on YouTube. Videos tend to retain consumer interest longer—and the longer you hold the attention of your target audience, the more likely you will be able to convert them into your patients.

Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Account

Your Google My Business account is a pivotal tool in garnering SEO leads, boosting search traffic and improving your search engine ranking. Why? Because Google looks favorably on businesses that have properly outfitted their GMB accounts. Not only does it demonstrate to the search engine that you're a legitimate organization, but it's also helpful for consumers. Your GMB account will help you be more easily found on Google Maps, and can be a tool to perfect your brand reputation management.

Potential patients will be sure to look at your reviews before contacting your clinic. They'll want to know the scope of medical services you offer, the approach/mission of your medical team and if there are any red flags other potential clients have encountered. This is why customer reviews are such an important part of marketing campaigns. You should be actively encouraging patients to leave reviews, and replying to all questions and comments on your GMB profile.

Use Social Media to Build a Community

Lastly, does your treatment center have a social media presence? If not, it should! This is especially important for organizations that work directly with people—such as a medical center. By putting a face to your clinic's name, you're able to build a genuine community, and provide basic medical guidance to patients online. A few social profiles you should consider having for your business include Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. These will help expand your patient base.

Join the Digital Shift Team Today!

Are you reading to take your medical marketing efforts to the next level? By partnering with Digital Shift, we'll help you develop a healthcare SEO strategy designed to meet, and exceed, your business goals.

Our team of qualified SEO experts, social media coordinators and content marketers are dedicated to our clients' success—which is why we offer free consultations for all our potential clients. During this consultation we'll establish your pain-points, areas for growth and what you're already excelling at to create a marketing plan unique to your needs.

To get started, give us a call at (888) 380-2260. Or, complete a no-pressure, no-obligation quote request form to get in touch today.