SEO or search engine optimization is the process through which anyone can make their website stand above other pages on the search engine results pages (SERP). When it comes to how it is useful for doctors, using the magic of SEO correctly can make your noble attempts reach more and more people resulting in higher footfall and increased chances for you to serve more, and serve better. Through this blog you’ll learn how to do SEO for doctors online.
The 21st century is the era of the Internet and all the answers are just a Google search away. There has been research that states that 72% of the people looking for medical services go on the internet to search for a nearby clinic or doctor. This means that if you are a doctor and even if you offer the best of treatments if you are not on the internet available in front of your potential clients, then you are working on half of your target customer base. The traditional methods of word of mouth and print and media advertising are still available but what wonders can a digital presence do for your clinic in much less effort and time can never be done by traditional modes of advertising in such a short period.
Need of SEO for Doctors Online
SEO or Search Engine Optimization can provide you the chance to reach more and more patients. And attract especially those patients who are looking for your services/treatments. SEO is the process through which you can improve the visibility of your website. By making it stand first among search engine result pages. Businesses that want to grow exponentially both digitally and physically invest highly in SEO practices. So that they can gain profit from both channels.
A strong SEO practice can ensure your appearance at the top of related searches and can even make you the best among your competitors in your potential patient’s eyes.
Let us see some benefits that SEO tactics for doctors online can give to your practice:
1. Higher visibility: SEO is your chance to reach more and more potential audiences who are searching for your services.
2. Getting relevant leads: Those patients whose needs align with your offerings can easily contact and reach you.
3. Making a credible name: If your presence is high on search engine pages then that itself will speak about your expertise and good practice in building trust in your name.
4. Economical Marketing: Your SEO efforts can be at half the cost of your paid advertising efforts but can give you similar and at times even better results.
5. Positive Patient Experience: A user-friendly and easy-to-navigate knowledge providing website helps to create a better impression of your clinic.
Now, let us look at some more important aspects to be taken care of for your successful SEO efforts:
Understanding the WHY of your potential patient’s search:
Finding out the intention of the search tells you about the needs of your patient/ user. For effective SEO tactics, it is most important to understand the patient’s search intent. Once you understand the patient’s intent you can build your content accordingly so that it reaches them easily. The content should be highly informational because most patients look for information at the beginning of treatment. Specific keywords make you easily available to relevant searches.
At times when the patients are straightaway looking for an appointment or are in emergency conditions then they use transactional keywords such as doctor near me or urgent medical care. These searches tell us that the patient wants the service as early as possible.
The searches of potential patients tend to combine location-specific searches such as “best doctor in Delhi” which tells us that the patient is looking for a nearby doctor or clinic and you can act upon it if relevant.
Use of Local SEO for patient outreach:
The medical industry is one such industry where people’s word of mouth and trust play a huge role in increasing business. Your online presence is highly needed as a doctor, along with you need your local customers to identify you as the best doctor in the area. And that is where local SEO efforts for doctors online come into play. Local SEO for doctors online provides you with the reach of your nearby potential patients. Certain factors need to be taken care of in local SEO efforts:
Knowing the local search behavior:
If a potential patient of yours searches for a doctor or specialized treatment near them, they are searching for the services in their vicinity. With the help of local SEO, you can enhance your local presence in the search and you can be visible at the top once any potential patient searches for you nearby.
Google Maps and Local Visibility:
Google Maps and local searches work hand in hand and this is where if any potential patient searches for a doctor near you, your name should pop up at the top of the Google Maps list in their area.
Google My Business Listing:
Your first step in local SEO must always be to claim your Google My Business listing and verify it accordingly. GMB is a free-of-cost powerful tool that manages your online presence on Google Search and Maps. You can go to https://www.google.com/business/ and search for your clinic’s name. If it is there claim it and if not then create a new listing. After claiming, you can verify by a phone call.
Add your business name, phone number, address, certification of authenticity, services, and website URL to be visible. When you are adding the details make sure that you use the keywords related to your offered services searches in your locality or area.
Adding pictures and videos will make the site look more real and professional. It is a very good practice you showcase your positive reviews and patient appreciation on your website. By asking your satisfied clients to leave a positive review about your offerings. These efforts will make your clinic look more credible and potential clients will eventually be attracted easily.
Importance of Keywords and Contents for your website:
The SEO tactics for doctors online can only be successful if your selection of keywords is up to the mark. Finding out specific terms, words, and sentences used by individuals while searching for doctors and medical services is known as Keyword research for doctors. Keyword research includes identifying specific keywords or phrases that are relevant to your offerings. Using these keywords, you can make your content relatable to your potential patient’s search. You can use various keyword research tools such as Semrush and Ahrefs to get the right keywords. Once you understand these keywords then you can build the content of your website according to them to gain more and more audience. Keyword research helps you reach near to your target user’s minds. So that you come out to be the best in relevant medical services in their minds.
Now, when you are searching for keywords look for both broad and long-tail keywords. Broad keywords are generic terms that relate to your entire service offering like tax services, accounting services, etc. Long-tail keywords on the other hand are more specific words or phrases that are similar to specific services provided by your accounting firm. Long tail search volumes are low as compared to broad and thus chances of getting desirable results increase.
If you are working on local SEO, using location-relevant keywords is highly efficient.
As your keyword understanding is done, you should move towards building high-quality content for your website. Focus more on providing highly relevant and knowledgeable medical content on which your visitors can rely. Your website should always be looked at as a solution book for your target viewers. Using the target keywords enhances the visibility of your content.
Backlinks support and page SEO efforts for Doctors:
Today, most of the current population have now taken mobile phones as their source of information. And that is why digital presence is the need of the hour for accounting services firms. Your website must be highly mobile-friendly and easily viewable on a mobile screen.
You can determine SEO rankings of a website, by the speed the website is visible. If the loading time of your website is slow then this can frustrate user. And can move towards other websites leaving you with a lost lead. Google also looks for fast-appearing websites to rank high on their search engine pages.
Meta Description:
Meta Descriptions and title tags are the pathfinders for your digital window on search engine result pages. These tags are small information landmarks that bring the viewers to your page. Your title tags must always be small but informative having the relevant keywords. Also, work towards enhancing the image visibility on your website by using relevant alt text illustrator.
Backlinks:
Backlinks are the source of credibility itself because they provide the navigation from one site to your site as a favorable vote. The better the high-quality backlinks, the higher your website will appear on the search results. Earning backlinks from qualified, reputable, and trusted websites makes your website itself credible. Both in the eyes of Google and your target audience. Working with online communities and sending invites to reputed pages in accounting knowledge and business on the digital front can help you achieve backlinks from them.
You can use guest blogging where you can provide informative articles to well-known medical websites to gain backlinks. Provide a link to take your viewer to your website and explore more about you. Active participation in online medical discussions and forums will also make you a credible name among your potential patients. You can provide meaningful and useful answers to patient queries and attach a link for them to explore your page. It is very useful if you have a presence in known medical directories. And your name is present among industry awards.
By using the above strategies, you can establish yourself as a trusted medical services provider among your competitors and patients.