Healthcare consumers are, in many ways, just like any other consumer: When they have a medical need, they Google it. As hard as they might try, there’s little that medical practices can do to prevent their prospects and patients from Googling symptoms (the scariest thing in the world).
However, there are a number of SEO trends taking flight in 2020 that can help medical practices get more eyes on their web properties, grow their digital presence and bring more patients in as a result.
1. Focus On Intent
Search engines are getting really good at reading user intent based on the keyword phrases they use to search for content. Whether a person is looking for more information, to purchase a product or service, or to answer a question, search engines like Google do a really good job of connecting those users to the right content.
Healthcare marketers, for their part, should consider the intent of the various organic search traffic that they want to capture for their website. For example, is your target market typically searching for a specialty doctor within a specific locale? Or to get more information on a medical topic from an authoritative source? Your content can be optimized accordingly to make sure it ranks better for these different types of search intents.
2. Local Search
Ranking your website nationally for high-traffic keywords is all well and good, but it’s also a high-effort, highly competitive undertaking that won’t necessarily ensure quality traffic to your site. Instead, tap into the power of local search.
Think about the locations of your medical practice(s) and the people who might be looking for medical services within those locales. Instead of optimizing your content for “best chiropractor,” for example, try “best chiropractor in Atlanta.” While the latter might drive a lower monthly search volume, that search volume is more likely to include the people who will end up becoming patients.
3. The Prevalence Of Video
You’ve probably noticed that video is much more prominent in search results these days, often capturing the featured snippet over text or other media. Video continues to be an important ranking factor for various algorithms. It’s convenient, engaging and, in many ways, more inclusive than traditional forms of media.
A simple way to tap into the power of video SEO is to repurpose existing content into video form, then optimize the metadata and publish that content to YouTube or other video channels. Give your prospects and patients another way to consume your content while giving search engines more keyword-rich content to index in search results.
4. Reputation Management
It might be a new decade, but the importance of digital reputation isn’t going anywhere. A big part of your medical practice’s digital reputation — apart from strong reviews and testimonials — is domain authority. The more authoritative websites linking to your website content, the more signals being sent to search engines that your site is an authoritative source of information. Aside from helping your content to rank better in search results, this uptick in domain authority can help expand brand awareness for your practice overall, both in local and national markets.
I recommend having a proactive strategy in place for generating backlinks to your site content from other authoritative websites. To generate new quality links, consider joining local chambers, business associations or industry associations that have public-facing member directories. Also, look for opportunities to publish expert guest blog posts and articles on relevant industry websites. Additionally, sponsoring events, such as a cancer research walk or charity golf tournament, can often provide opportunities for link building when your website is featured with a link on the sponsor page of the event’s website. Lastly, make sure your third-party physician and medical practice directory listings are up to date with links to your website and staff pages.
5. Voice Assistants
Voice assistants such as Google Assistant, Alexa and the like are all the rage. However, think about their practical application within the medical field. If your prospects or patients are holding a child or are physically disabled or have limitations (such as being visually impaired) their first choice probably isn’t to pick up a phone or laptop to search. Voice assistants represent a hands-free way to quickly search for answers, make appointments and even have a telehealth visit.
Voice assistants represent yet another important channel you can optimize your content for. Voice assistants operate just like search engines, just a bit smarter. The answers they give back to users are bits of content retrieved from some database or search engine. Think about how your target market might use voice assistants to search for content and optimize your content accordingly.
A great way to plan for this is to have your website content set up to answer commonly asked questions. Typically, users of voice search technology are asking questions, so having content structured to answer questions is a great best practice. For example, if you deal with allergy treatments, you may want content structured to answer frequently asked questions about types of seasonal allergies or treatment options.
Think in terms of how people speak, such as: “Alexa, what time of year is tree pollen worst?” or “What are treatments for pollen allergies?”
Content Is Still King
Notice the common thread throughout these 2020 SEO trends? Rich, valuable content. Although you likely need to optimize and repurpose content to serve all of these various channels, good content is still the baseline.
As you consider your marketing and SEO strategy for 2020 and beyond, take a look at the content you currently have or plan to publish in the near future. Given the five trends above, how can you best optimize this content to maximize search visibility for your practice?
Source: Forbes
