Search Engine Optimization strategies will improve your website visibility and help people to find it in SERPs. In today’s digital world, people are more dependent on the internet to find health-related information and services. When the right healthcare SEO strategies are implemented, people can easily find your services, access your information, and learn about your practice or healthcare facility. It will help them make an informed decision as regards utilizing your services.
SEO strategies are an important component to consider when designing and developing a healthcare website, just as they are for any other business website. They give your website excellent online visibility and enable you to rank higher for relevant keywords. If you are focusing more on local customers or you want to promote your business visibility on location-based searches, you need local SEO. People always prefer accessing services in their location and most of these searches happen through mobile phones. Local SEO solutions can help ensure fast and easy access.
According to a study reported in inc.com, 63% of all the respondents in a survey conducted by Doctors.com said that a strong online presence is the factor that will make them choose one provider over another – that is, the availability of relevant, reliable, and convincing information. According to nbcnews.com, 80% of internet users, or about 93 million Americans, have used the internet to perform a health-related topic search. It follows therefore that healthcare providers can reach out to more customers by marketing their services through the internet.
According to Google, 46% of all their search results are determined by the user’s geographical location. For a strong online presence, and to become visible for more local patients, you need to apply effective local SEO strategies.
Here are some local search engine optimization strategies you could apply to your website to help people in your area find your services:
- Claim Your Google My Business (GMB) Listing: You have to start by claiming your GMB listing if you want success with local SEO. To claim the business listing, open Google maps on your computer, enter your business name in the search bar and choose the correct business name. Then claim it by clicking Claim This Business. You can read the strategies needed to rank higher in Google Maps here.
- Reviews: For any medical service, constant positive reviews are vital. Review quantity, diversity, and velocity play an essential role in both research-decision process and in Google’s overall ranking factors. To generate more reviews, you can link to your review profiles from your website, instruct your staff members to encourage patients to write reviews after the treatment, or consider any other way. Reviews help patients as well as search engines, so be sure you offer several places online where patients can leave a review.
- Set up social media: If your business doesn’t have a Facebook business account you have to create it now. When it comes to ranking for local SEO, a social media account is an advantage. It will help you manage your business in multiple locations if it is relevant.
- Home page optimization: Your home page should be optimized, which means you should state clearly who you are, your purpose, and your location in your home page. Make sure your page header tag, title tag, and meta description clearly express this information. If you are using WordPress to build the website, your website title tag can easily be updated under Settings>General in the left navigation menu.
- Citations: Beyond GMB listing page, updating NAP citations have an impact on search engine rankings. NAP means Name, Address, and Phone number. Take a look at your business’ GMB listing and ensure that it is exactly the same on every page of your website.
- Use local keywords: You have to consider the various locations that you provide service and where your customers are from. So, optimize your content with keywords that resonate in specific locations. Thousands of locations in KWFinder will help you with local keyword research. You can enter the location and select the one you are looking for in the drop-down menu and KWFinder will show you the local search volume that includes all other metrics and the local search engine page result.
- Result monitoring: Monitoring your results is a part of a good marketing strategy. By continuously monitoring your results, you can see whether your efforts are paying off or not. Track your keywords to know whether they have improved your local rankings.
Every healthcare business should have a foundation with strong customers and a stream of patients. Make sure you apply the right healthcare search engine optimization techniques to boost your website visibility and traffic.
