The promotion of a medical website has its own specifics, different from other topics. Medical topics require a special approach due to their sensitivity and strict requirements for the quality and reliability of information on which the health of patients depends.
In this article we will consider the basic principles of SEO promotion of websites in the medical field.
Basic SEO Principles for Medical Websites
Competitor analysis: The entire promotion strategy is based on competitor analysis. The tactics here are simple – look, study, implement. I will add here that the UI/UX implementation should be at the level of your competitor or better;
Content quality: Medical websites must provide only verified and reliable information. Content must be written by experts in their field or with their participation, indicating the author of the article. Note here that the content must be written by experts in the medical field of services or with their participation, or be agreed upon and approved by the above-mentioned persons. This is extremely important! Expertise – not only significantly increases customer confidence but also improves ranking in search engines.
Compliance with legislation: Different countries have their own laws and regulations governing medical services and information provision. The site must comply with all legal requirements to avoid blocking or fines. The site must contain all the necessary legal information about the provision of all medical services by the organization without fail, including: licenses, certificates, regulatory documents governing the provision of such services, etc.
External optimization:
Link profile: Getting quality backlinks from authoritative sources increases the credibility of the site. These can be links from specialized forums, medical portals, and other relevant resources.
Social Media Engagement: Social media activity helps drive traffic to your website and improves its visibility in search engines. Social media activity is currently one of the key ways to get targeted queries/leads to your website.
Availability of a resource on Google Maps: Today, more and more Internet users are actively using these resources. In turn, which provide all the necessary information about the location of organizations and the services/goods they provide. I think it is very convenient, without leaving home and without digging through a bunch of information in the search, to look at such a map and determine for yourself the closest location from your place of residence, for example, a store or dentistry. View the list of goods/services, the presence of reviews of the above. Therefore, I consider the presence of your site on Google maps to be mandatory. As a rule, this is a mandatory requirement when promoting a site of this type of service from search engines.
The remaining principles should be considered from a basic SEO perspective.
The quality of content, compliance with legislation, and elements of external optimization directly depend on the ranking of a website that provides medical services in search engines. Since the requirements of search engines in relation to such resources are significantly overstated in relation to other niches.
Competitor Analysis Is Super Important for SEO
In my previous publications on the topic of SEO website promotion, I wrote that for successful SEO promotion, it is extremely necessary to study your competitors. Here is a brief summary of how competitors promote their sites, which in turn will help you develop your own effective strategy. Competitor analysis should include:
- Studying the content they publish.
- Analyzing their link profile.
- Assessing their activity on social networks.
- Studying their user experience (UX/UI)
Let’s look at an example of a competitor’s website related to this topic from the TOP-10.
“SM-Clinic” is a very serious representative in the medical services market. This is evidenced by the fact that the website of this organization is in the top 10 search engines. Let’s quickly analyze the site. What will we see from the point of view of an ordinary client!? The site contains unique and expert content, regulatory information, a list of services and specialists, availability of prices for services, branches in other cities.
Now let’s take a closer look at the website of this organization. As was written at the beginning of the article, the main principles of SEO promotion for medical websites consist of high-quality content, regulatory information and some elements of external optimization. Our main focus should be on content. What we will see on this website:
1. Content:
List of services provided with a detailed description and step-by-step actions, specialists providing this service, prices, photo gallery, equipment used and video materials;
- A complete list of specialists with a detailed description : specialization, work experience, photos, certificates and educational documents;
- Useful information for patients. A section with information for patients that provides answers to frequently asked questions from visitors;
- Regulatory information: licenses, certificates, regulatory acts related to the work of this organization;
- Prices . List of prices for services provided – both in a separate section and in the description of each service;
- Contacts. A complete list of addresses and contacts indicating the location of branches;
2. Internal optimization (UI/UX)
- Availability of a personal patient account;
- Availability of a personal patient account;
- Online chat for quick consultation;
- Form for calling a specialist to your home;
- Online appointment form;
- And others.
Key principles in promoting a medical website
All of the above should be on your website that relates to this topic. I have only touched on the key principles. The rest are elements of basic SEO that should be on the website. I wrote about basic SEO earlier in my previous materials. As I wrote above, the requirements for such web resources from search engines are much higher than in other niches. Therefore, if you do not have the above information – I am not taking into account UI / UX, all this can be implemented quickly and efficiently if you have the funds and programmers. I mean the presence of such content, the mandatory presence of licenses and certificates – without all this, not a single competent and experienced SEO specialist will undertake the promotion of a website of this type of service. And most importantly, the visibility of such resources in search engines will be zero.
To help my readers, I have prepared a checklist for SEO promotion of medical services websites , which can be downloaded absolutely free of charge at the link. I will briefly say that the implementation of this checklist allows you to optimize your website (meaning websites with medical topics) to the requirements of search engines.
Growth points of a medical clinic
Now, let’s look at the growth points in SEO promotion for a medical services website. Let’s say that we first carried out basic optimization of the website according to the checklist (content, UI/UX, etc.). Next, we need to determine the growth points. That is, what we will base our promotion on. In my opinion, there can be two growth points in such a resource and they should relate to the elements of external optimization, namely:
- Google Maps. The presence of your site on these specialized platforms is a key element in promotion. I wrote about this at the very beginning of the article in the section “Basic principles of SEO”;
- Link profile. The presence of your website or the availability of your services on specialized sites dedicated to medical topics. Participation in medical forums by your specialists on behalf of your organization, etc.
As you know, external website optimization is one of the key elements of branding your services. The main goal of promoting this type of service should be to create a brand for your organization. And it is your brand that needs to be promoted in search engines. So that its recognition on the network is high. I wrote about brands and branding of services in my previous publications.
As a result of a comprehensive approach to promotion based on recommendations and requirements, including the creation of high-quality content, technical optimization and active participation in social networks and specialized platforms, a website providing medical services can significantly increase its visibility in search engines and attract more patients.
Conclusion
Promoting a medical website requires a thorough and comprehensive approach. It is important to consider the specifics of medical topics, create quality content and comply with all legal requirements. Using the right SEO strategies, including the best SEO healthcare services, will help improve the visibility of the site in search engines and attract more patients.
Remember that successful SEO is a long-term effort that requires constant analysis and strategy improvement. Putting effort into promoting a medical website pays off, leading to increased user trust and an increase in the number of patients.
