Why Medical SEO Is Important for Practitioners

SEO is critical for your marketing plans, whether you're a local barbershop or a large eCommerce company. The fact is that most people use Google to find solutions to their problems. So when you're producing content around the keywords people are searching for, you'll be the first site to appear at the top of SERPs (search engine ranking pages).

You want to be at the top of the SERP, although any improvement in ranking is excellent! So, is there any evidence to back up our claims? Is medical SEO that important? We'll discuss all of this in the article, so continue reading. But, before we get into the why, let's jump into the what.

Watch this video to learn more about the Digital Authority Partners approach to Medical SEO!

What Is Medical SEO?

Medical SEO (search engine optimization for medical practitioners) is the process of optimizing your site and creating high-quality content to drive organic traffic to your site for growth. Now that we know what SEO is, we'll answer how it works.

How Does SEO Work?

SEO is a complex process. It's a tricky question because Google's algorithm isn't open-source, meaning we can't see the coding behind the operation. That means we can't know with 100% certainty about every factor that goes into SEO, but we can make solid educated guesses. For instance, the sites with the most backlinks tend to rank high because of a metric called domain authority.

Additionally, sites with long, quality content rank the highest due to low bounce rates and high on-page time. So, essentially, you should aim to build your content around length and quality. That means omitting unnecessary words while maintaining the content's value to the reader.

The best way to describe Google's SEO process is through this analogy:

Google is like a history professor, and the internet is all of human history. Your website is like a college essay on a specific topic within human history.

SEO is the process of making sure your college essay is the best it can be so that you get an A+, or in other words, ranking number one on SERPs. Google does this by constantly updating its algorithm to find new ways to evaluate websites and figure out which are the most relevant and valuable for its users.

When you produce quality content, Google will see your site as more relevant and valuable, and you'll rank higher as a result. The Google database is a database of every student's papers, organized by keywords.

Why Should You Make SEO a Priority?

SEO helps you outshine competitors: In the age of the internet, people can find all of your competitors online. It's also likely your competitors are experimenting with SEO themselves. That means SEO should be a priority if your goals are to grow and outshine your competitors.

Another benefit of outshining competitors is your brand awareness. Word of mouth marketing still exists and is still one of the most potent forms. If your patients love you, they'll likely recommend your practice to friends and family.

An increase in organic traffic leads to several benefits: First, organic traffic is generally better than paid traffic. That's because paid traffic is usually aware you're selling something or calling the viewer to do something. You typically provide value when obtaining organic traffic and do not sell to the reader.

An additional benefit of organic traffic is the number of new leads and patients. Marketing is a numbers game, so you'll get more conversions when you increase the total number of website visitors.

More credibility and brand awareness: Many people underestimate the benefit of credibility. When your website appears at the top of SERPs (positions one, two, and three), you have a 75% chance of being clicked. However, that number drops significantly on the second page.

The reason is simple: people trust Google. They know that if you're appearing on the first page of SERPs, you must be a credible source because Google wouldn't put you there otherwise. That boost in credibility can also lead to better brand awareness.

Word of mouth marketing, more social media engagement, and more traffic are results of increased brand awareness.

It's cost-effective: The best part about SEO is that it's one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies. You're not paying for ad space or clicks; you're simply making your website the best it can be so that Google will rank you higher.

As a result, once you've put in the initial work, SEO will become the lifeblood of your medical practice. Additionally, the ROI on SEO campaigns can be high, meaning you can reinvest that money back into your business.

Should You Invest in Paid Advertising or SEO?

PPC (pay-per-click) advertising is slightly different than SEO. With PPC, you're essentially paying Google to put your ad at the top of SERPs. Then, when users search for keywords related to your business, your ad will appear before any organic results.

PPC can be a great way to jumpstart your traffic because it guarantees placement on SERPs. However, it's important to note that it's tough to scale PPC ads. If they're not profitable, then SEO might be the better option. With SEO, you're not paying for ads; you're simply making your website the best it can be so that Google will rank you higher.

Additionally, PPC ads generally have a lower click-through rate than organic results. That's because users trust organic results more than they trust ads. Users know that companies pay to get their site to the top of SERPs. That's why it's essential to have a well-rounded digital marketing strategy that includes both SEO and PPC.

We recommend you do both if you're starting and have the budget for SEO and PPC. PPC can help your business obtain success in the short term while you're building a stronger foundation with SEO. In addition, the paid traffic might help kickstart your SEO journey.

Takeaways

Medical SEO is important for practitioners because it can help them outshine their competitors, increase organic traffic, and build credibility and brand awareness. It's also cost-effective and has a high ROI.

Therefore, SEO should be a priority if you're looking to grow your medical practice. This article covered the most important reasons for investing in SEO for your medical business. However, if you'd like a comprehensive guide, check out our simple guide to medical SEO.