Over the past two weeks, I have searched three questions that capture the mental process of a normal healthcare customer from the moment they discover a problem to the point of treatment seeking.
I have only visited a doctor once thus far this year (turns out it had bronchitis and there's not much you can do except manage the cough); nevertheless, at least a dozen times I have turned to Google for health guidance.
The capacity of healthcare marketers to stand out in a congested online environment mostly relies on their ranking highly on search engines within the healthcare sector. This is easier said than done, but if you’re serious about creating an SEO keyword strategy to drive your healthcare content, here are six steps to get you started. To effectively navigate a healthcare SEO agency, understanding the unique challenges and strategies specific to the healthcare industry is crucial.
1. Talk to Consumers
You might have a good general idea of what your consumers need, but unless you ask, you’ll never know for sure. What are their biggest challenges or concerns? What online sources do they trust? What typically prompts them to look for a solution (whether it’s a doctor visit or new technology)? Do they read reviews?
Whether utilizing keyword research or casual dialogues, these are all questions you should endeavor to address. Formal research will help you best if you are offering a new good or service, joining a new market, or starting a new website or marketing plan. It will help you get buyer insights. This will assist you prevent basing your approach on misunderstandings.
If your company interacts directly with patients, it may not be feasible to talk with them directly due to HIPAA privacy laws. If that’s the case, consider asking for feedback through surveys or using other means to gain insight.
Identify Keyword Phrases through Keyword Research
Talking to buyers can be revealing, but it’s certainly not the only way. And sometimes, as we mentioned, it’s not an option. Fortunately, there are several other ways to find great keyword phrases, including:
- Patient search data
- Google AdWords
- Google Autocomplete
- The HubSpot keywords tool
- Quora
Google My Business can also be a valuable resource for identifying local keywords.
These tools should give you plenty of options. Local SEO strategies can help you target specific geographic areas effectively.
3. Determine Which Keywords Have the Best Ranking Potential
All keywords are not created equal. Some are so generic they’re nearly impossible to rank on; others are so specific that hardly anyone searches for them. The “sweet spot” keywords are those with a high monthly search volume but a relatively low level of competition.
Using the HubSpot keywords tool and healthcare SEO services is one of the best ways to pinpoint them. Within the tool, you can easily see where a particular phrase ranks in terms of monthly search volume, difficulty (the lower the better; aim for 60 or below), and how you’re currently ranking. Additionally, you might get recommendations for possibly more successful other keyword phrases.
Of course, if the best keyword phrases in the world are not related to your goods and services, they will not help your business very much. Assume your organization markets healthcare billing systems. More than 20 million results come from a basic online search, hence it will be difficult to place your SEO strategy on that term by itself.
Here’s a tip: Consider what makes yours unique.
Is it designed specifically for small physicians’ offices or large hospitals? Is it cloud-based? Does it allow patients to log in, view, and pay bills themselves? Here are some potential keyword phrases you might consider instead:
- Affordable hospital billing software
- Best medical billing software vendors
- Cloud-based medical billing software
- Self-pay medical billing services
We’ve found it’s helpful to maintain a list of strong keyword phrases for each unique product or service and update it often. Popular keyword phrases may change as you do.
Map Keyword Phrases to Your Buyer's Journey as Part of Your SEO Strategy
Given the popularity of Googling healthcare ailments, it’s clear many consumers begin their search long before they even know what their problem is. Once they’ve given their problem a name, they typically begin searching for solutions and finally, comparing options.
To be sure you’re covering every stage of the buyer’s journey, map it out with the most likely keyword phrases. This is especially important for a medical practice, as it helps attract new patients and improve visibility.
For instance, you might have a list that looks something like this:
Awareness
- Ensure medical billing compliance
- Converting to electronic billing
Consideration
- Medical billing software solutions
- Advantages of cloud-based medical billing software
Decision
- Medical billing software reviews
- Implementing medical billing software case study
Optimize Site Pages for Search Engine Optimization
Congratulations! You have a solid SEO keyword strategy in place! Now it’s time to deploy it.
Start by updating your on-page SEO. That means taking another look at your page titles, URLs, and meta descriptions (those short summaries that tell visitors what they’re going to find on the page when it appears in their search results.)
Each page should be optimized for a specific keyword phrase to improve visibility on search engine results pages, which should be carried throughout your:
- Page title
- URL
- Meta description
- Onsite body content
- Image alt text
Write Keyword-Rich Content for Search Engines
Once your website has been optimized, your work has just begun. Now it’s time to start promoting your pages in blogs, eBooks, videos, and any other online content you create.
Just as each of your website pages focuses on a single keyword phrase, your blog should call attention to one of those phrases as well wherever possible.
The same on-page optimization rules apply, with one addition: Use the keyword phrase in the anchor text that links back to your product or service page.
The key to doing this right is doing it naturally. Recall that search engines come second while you are first writing for people.
Google values keyword phrases, but the search engine's algorithm takes into account many more elements in deciding ranking in natural search results. Among them are quality and relevance; so, do not undervalue their importance.
If a keyword phrase sounds awkward, doesn’t add value, or makes your content confusing, you need to either rethink the keyword or reword the sentence.
A good healthcare SEO keyword strategy is like wearing cologne: When it’s done right, it should be a subtle way to draw people closer to you, not turn them off.
For more tips on creating helpful, engaging content that makes the most of your keyword strategy, check out our free wellness marketing eBook.
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