As medical businesses compete to offer the best products in healthcare, medical SEO is growing in importance and becoming the new standard for medical companies striving to rank above their competition. Marketing in the medical industry is often very similar to that of traditional business marketing. However, because of the complex nature of healthcare, developing high-performing medical content can be highly challenging.
The healthcare industry operates in a highly competitive market, significantly impacting the U.S. economy with constantly escalating costs. With healthcare costs amounting to nearly 18% of the American economy, the healthcare industry affects almost everyone, making it difficult for medical businesses to remain competitive without a robust digital marketing strategy. Committing to creating high-quality content and implementing an omnichannel marketing strategy can help you yield the best possible results when tackling the complexities of healthcare marketing and medical website visibility.
Here, we will discuss and explore a few considerations for search engine optimization (SEO) and maintaining the visibility of your medical website. By understanding your business needs and optimizing your digital marketing strategy, you can effectively reach your target audiences and improve your overall business performance.
Understanding Google’s Medical Algorithm Updates
Google's search algorithms prioritize credibility when ranking healthcare websites. If your website is perceived as unreliable, even strong performance in areas like page speed and readability may not be sufficient to achieve high search engine rankings. Building and maintaining trust with Google is extremely important in maintaining the success of your medical website in the competitive healthcare niche.
As the world’s most-used search engine, Google issues multiple algorithm updates daily that impact how businesses rank alongside user search queries. While many of these updates represent minor tweaks and have minimal impact on your business, these updates represent more significant shifts that can significantly impact your business’s Google page ranking over a more extended period.
Due to the unpredictability of these algorithm updates, creating relevant and high-quality content that solves users’ queries is crucial in maintaining your presence on the web. Content should be well-researched, optimized with proper keyword implementations, easily readable, and compatible with common search queries. Adhering to higher quality standards when creating content ensures that your website is prepared to withstand Google’s next algorithm update and maintains your visibility and authority during even the most turbulent update.
Adhering to Google’s E-E-A-T Content Model
Google’s search algorithm prioritizes E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) when ranking Your Money Your Life (YMYL) topics in healthcare. This means that Google favors websites and content creators who demonstrate a high level of expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness in their field.
Healthcare providers must provide content that adheres to the E-E-A-T content model. Patients rely heavily on online information when making healthcare decisions, and high-quality content ensures that they are presented with accurate, reliable, and trustworthy content from trusted sources.
Including research, statistics, and quotes from respected universities, institutions, and medical journals will help to legitimize your content and boost your authority and trustworthiness in Google’s eyes. Furthermore, supplementing your website content with backlinking opportunities allows your business to be its own source of authority by landing prestigious blog spots on industry-leading websites and creating fresh and organic content on trending topics.
Developing Inbound & Outbound Links
Increasing your medical business’ visibility can also be supplemented by incorporating both inbound and outbound linking opportunities. If your website is directly linked to other high-quality and authoritative websites, your E-E-A-T rankings may be more heavily considered, improving your Google ranking.
Inbound links are acquired through strategies such as guest blogging and direct traffic from external websites to your company's website, enhancing its visibility and credibility in search engine results. Social media pages, quotes in local media, and other strategies are also effective inbound links and can diversify your content output to meet a broader range of internet users.
Outbound links play a crucial role in enhancing user experience and demonstrating credibility. By strategically linking to authoritative external sources, such as reputable medical journals or research institutions, you provide valuable resources for your visitors and signal to search engines that your website is a trustworthy source of information. Support your information with credible evidence instead of simply stating claims on your website. For example, instead of writing, 'Our XYZ treatment has been proven to work,' link to peer-reviewed studies substantiating your claims. This approach strengthens your credibility and enhances the overall user experience by providing valuable resources for further exploration.
Creating an Omnichannel Marketing Strategy
As medical businesses tailor their strategies to stand out, a multi-channel marketing approach is essential. By diversifying your online presence through various channels, such as blogging, guest posting, social media marketing, and other online platforms, you increase your reach and create multiple pathways for potential patients to discover your practice.
Furthermore, it's crucial to recognize that SEO is an ongoing, dynamic process, and maintaining a strong online presence requires continuous effort. Suppose your website currently ranks well in search engine results and maintains consistent results. In that case, it's still highly beneficial to consistently create new high-quality content and update existing pages to adapt to the evolving needs of search algorithms and maintain your competitive advantage.
Drive Your Medical SEO Strategy With Peaks Digital Marketing
While developing a worthwhile medical SEO strategy remains a reasonably straightforward process, successful implementation requires significant time and effort. Given the complexities of the healthcare landscape and the ever-evolving nature of search engine algorithms, many medical practices find it advantageous to partner with a specialized medical SEO firm, such as Peaks Digital Marketing.
By outsourcing their digital marketing efforts, healthcare providers can leverage the expertise of professionals who possess in-depth knowledge of the industry and the latest SEO best practices. Through high-quality content development and innovative medical SEO strategies, Peaks Digital Marketing delivers promising results that help healthcare providers improve their presence on the web. For more information or for a free proposal, visit our website or call us at (720) 432-7115.
