Three easy ways to boost your practice’s search rankings

As a physician, you know that a large part of successfully marketing your practice is dependent on how easily new patients can find you when searching online for the best local doctors in your specialty. If your practice’s website does not rank in the top three results on search engines like Google, you are missing out on valuable leads and new patients.

Below are the three most important 2021 SEO tactics that you can implement on your website today to improve your patient acquisition rates.

1. Optimize for Your Practice’s Specific Location

Most new patients search by the city when looking for healthcare providers in their area. Therefore, develop a location specific SEO strategy that optimizes your websites content to include geographical location by geotagging office photos. For example, make sure your city is mentioned at least one time in all your blog posts, page titles, and URLs. You may also want to make sure your practice location and contact information is registered and up-to-date on Google Maps and other local directory websites, which will improve your visibility in local searches.

2. Research SEO Keywords for the Healthcare Industry at Least Every 3 Months

The most successful practices revisit and update their SEO strategies at least every three months. The healthcare industry is constantly changing—especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—which means updating your website content is essential for staying relevant and attracting new patients.

Tailor and update your practice's website content as needed based on the latest healthcare related keywords and your competition's keywords as well. For example, many people are now researching at-home telemedicine appointments for common, straightforward requests or illnesses which eliminates visits to your practice. To capitalize on this specific trend, write blog posts about the risks of telemedicine treatments and the benefits of in-office professional treatment. This ensures you capture traffic from both search variations about telemedicine appointments.

3. Focus on Low-Competition Keywords with High Search Volumes for your Practice's Specialty

This is one of the best ways to stay on top of SEO trends and rank above your competitors. Low-competition keywords are those that are not yet widely used on other doctors’ websites. Focusing on low-competition keywords that are just starting to gain traction can put your healthcare practice at the top of the search results and boost your reputation as one of the leading industry experts for that specific trend.

Next, write and publish content featuring those keywords or topics before the competition has a chance to jump on them. Using low-competition keywords also results in a higher number of original, organic content on your website that is generally favored by Google’s algorithm.

A sound SEO strategy has been proven to significantly grow your online presence with increased organic traffic which in turn will grow your new patient appointments. With so many other medical practices vying for a spot on the first page of Google, it’s important to continually refine your SEO strategy. We know it can be difficult to rank in the top 3 spots on Google for certain keywords, but by implementing the three tactics outlined in this article (such as optimizing your website by including key words and phrases) you will see your page rise above your competition over time. Many physicians across all specialties use these same expert tips and achieve their goal of seeing new patients come through their door.

_{About the Author}

_{Jon Luehrs, MBA is the Co-Founder of Data Driven Marketing Group.}