In today’s competitive healthcare field, every practice looks for ways to stand out. One of the best ways for a doctor to make his or her practice stand out is to have an effective online marketing plan. An effective online marketing plan should always include Search Engine Optimization (better known as “SEO”). So learn some SEO Tips for Doctors and get more and more new and loyal patients at your door.

While SEO can often be a difficult process to master, here are some tips to help doctors build an effective SEO plan:

Set Up a Mobile-friendly Website

Websites are no longer optional. If you want to use SEO for doctors to your advantage, a responsive, mobile-friendly website is the first step. You want to make a professional first impression when people Google your name, and you want it to function well on a mobile device. Not only will this make your patients happy, Google will give you more clout in the SERPs.

Blogs are effective tools for SEO

Since the field of healthcare is constantly changing, doctors need to provide patients with useful resources and informative materials. For nearly every health condition, the patient will have questions about treatment options, medications, and diagnosis of the condition. Blogs are one of the most effective ways to provide patients with accessible, high quality information. Additionally, blogs are a great tool for SEO, since once a blog entry goes viral, a doctor’s reputation will too. Having an effective blog will also increase visitation to the doctor’s website.

Publish Engaging Content Frequently

 

In order to keep your website relevant in the eyes of Google, posting new content on a regular basis is non-negotiable. By offering educational, yet engaging, information on your website, you can garner web traffic and increase your views. When it comes to SEO for doctors, it’s also important to include local search keywords (ex: doctor in Connecticut, New Haven physician) in your content so that Google knows exactly who to show your website to.

Stay local

For most physicians, good SEO means staying local. Unless you want to encourage medical tourism, focus your efforts on reaching patients in your local area. Many doctors make the mistake of trying to reach patients who will have to travel to their practice, but when you have potential patients in your nearby area, there is no need to make patients travel a long way to find you. Instead, optimize your website using the name of your region and/or city.

Get a Google Business Page

If you have ever searched for anything local on your phone, you have likely noticed that a large map with featured locations is always at the top. If you want your practice to show up on this map, you have to create a Google My Business page. This is the most valuable real estate for local search and you don’t want to miss out.

Earn Positive Reviews

 

Yes, the majority of people these days are going to look for you online to check out your reputation. That is one very important reason to encourage your patients to leave reviews online on sites like Health grades, Google Plus, and Angie’s List. But online reviews also play a big role in SEO for doctors. As you can imagine, they will give precedence to doctors with stellar reviews.

Interact on Social Media

You know that trust is paramount in your success as a doctor, and interacting with current and potential patients on social media is a great way to earn this trust. Additionally, social media activity plays a role in SEO for doctors. When you post links to your social media sites, you will earn more website traffic, which may up your authority in the eyes of Google.

Integrate a PPC Campaign

Even with all of the above SEO tips for doctors, you will still want to integrate a PPC campaign into your efforts. Organic SEO strategies are extremely effective, but they are not instant. With a PPC campaign, you can earn some immediate traffic, which will positively impact your organic SEO for doctors while expanding your patient base.