7 SEO for Doctors Myths Debunked…And Other Wisdom

You’ve created a stunning healthcare website and emailed everyone you know inviting them to stop by for a visit. Now all you have to do is sit back and listen to the cash register ring, right?  Not exactly.  If you haven’t optimized your healthcare website then it’s time to get going.  Every SEO for doctors professional knows that, without optimization, your healthcare website is only halfway complete. 

The problem is that there’s so much information available about SEO—it’s hard to know which advice to take and which to ignore.  Here are 7 SEO for doctors myths debunked to help you get started.

1.    Myth:  Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads will drastically hurt or help your organic rankings.
Fact:  PPC has no effect, either positive or negative, on your organic rankings.

2.    Myth:  Google bans healthcare websites that ignore its guidelines.
Fact:  Google does not ban websites that ignore its guidelines, but it’s never a bad idea to read Google Webmaster Guidelines.

3.    Myth:  Your healthcare website will be banned if you buy links.
Fact:  Google won’t ban your site, but it also won’t count your links.

4.    Myth: True optimization means that your copy includes a specific number of words, your keywords are bolded or italicized, and that you utilize a precise keyword density.
Fact:  SEO for doctors professionals used to believe that there was a “magic number” of words to include in copy and a specific number of times to use keywords.  None of this actually matters at all, even bolding and italicizing.

5.    Myth:  Google will penalize your healthcare website for duplicate content.
Fact: Google simply filters out duplicate content and pays no attention to it at all in rankings

6.    Myth:  Google doesn’t count reciprocal links.
Fact:  Google counts all links, although some are given greater weight than others.

7.    Myth:  SEO for doctors companies can guarantee better rankings for you without doing on-page work.
Fact:  Any SEO expert that tells you this is lying.

Now that you know the truth about many of the SEO for doctors myths being perpetuated in the online world, here are seven keys to getting traffic to your healthcare website by getting search engines to find and index it.

1.    Create one healthcare website with many domains pointing to the primary domain rather than creating several websites that have similar content. Search engines often view multiple websites with similar content as spam.
2.    If you choose to have several healthcare websites anyway, ensure that each one caters to a unique target audience and has a unique domain.
3.    Avoid JavaScript menus, drop-down menus, flash, and pop-up windows.  Search engines have difficulty with these.  Instead, use CSS menus, image links, text links, and tags.
4.    Make your keyword phrases relevant to your topic.  Think about which words you would use if you were a potential patient looking for your medical service.  Those are the words you should use.
5.    Use Keyword Discovery, Wordtracker, or Adwords to validate your keywords or phrases.
6.    Find out how competitive your keywords are.  Type allintitle: “your keyword phrase” into the search field to see how many other companies are using the same keywords.  As you’re checking out your competition, see if your competitors are larger or smaller than you. In this case, size does matter.
7.    Use your keywords in meta descriptions, title tags, body text, headlines, and anchor texts.

If you’re new to SEO for doctors, this may all be a bit overwhelming.  After all, everyone has a different opinion about what counts and what doesn’t in the world of optimization. If you find the process of optimization interesting and exciting, then chances are you’ll have fun optimizing your healthcare website.  If the thought of optimizing your website exhausts you or brings on an anxiety attack then you may want to consider hiring an SEO for doctors professional to do the work for you.  Either way, prepare for some hard work and great rewards!

6 Search Engine Optimization for Doctors Tips for Your Tight Budget

The beauty of search engine optimization for doctors is that it allows even the smallest medical practice to compete for the highest search engine rankings.  Unfortunately, some small family practices still don’t seem to understand that.  In fact, when it comes to search engine optimization for doctors, small medical practices have significant advantages. First, they don’t have to cut through a maze of red tape to get permission to try something new.  Second, they are more available to build relationships with patients in a way that large health care organizations simply cannot.  And we know that patients are more likely to to go to medical professionals they know and trust than from faceless names behind corporate logos. So even if you can’t afford to do everything right now, implementing at least a few SEO strategies is better than implementing none at all. 

1.      Find the right search engine optimization for doctors company.  If you want professional help with your search engine optimization efforts, you can certainly find a company that will work with the budget you have.  Some will even work with medical practices that have as little as $300 to spend each month.  Before you sign a contract, however, make sure you check references.  Call other physicians and medical clinics who use the SEO company you’re considering to make sure they’re satisfied with the service they’ve received.  If you’re going to shell out for professional services, then you might as well make sure they’re going to give you want they’ve promised.

2.      Customize.  When you’re looking for that perfect search engine optimization for doctors company be sure to look for one that will give you custom pricing.  Many SEO companies offer packages of services to choose from, but chances are that some of those packages include services that you don’t need.  So find a company who will gladly charge you based on the services you do want rather than making you pay for the services you don’t.

3.      DIY. Even if you’re more comfortable having a professional do your SEO, there are still some things you can tackle yourself. Try starting a medical practice blog. You should be doing that anyway as it’s a great way to connect with patients on a more personal level. Or you can try building some inbound links by submitting articles or commenting on other health professionals blogs.

4.      Do it Now.  Search engine optimization for doctors results take time, which means that the faster you get started the sooner you’re going to pull ahead of your competition.  The longer you wait the longer you’re giving your competition to snatch up your potential new patients simply because these individuals found your medical practice competition first.  The best time to consult with a professional is before you construct your website or anytime you’re redesigning your website.

5.      Read a Lot.  It may be that you simply can’t afford to hire a search engine optimization for doctors professional right now.  If that’s the case, at least consult with a professional once to have him review your medical facility site or give you some pointers that might be unique to your industry.  Then read as much as you can about the best way to go about search engine optimization for doctors and the most effective and efficient strategies you can use.  But be brutally honest with yourself when making this decision.  If you don’t really have the background and knowledge to do effective SEO then professional assistance is the very best gift you can give to yourself and to your medical practice.

When you decide that it’s time to hire an internet marketer or search engine optimization for doctors professional, contact other medical practices in your area for recommendations.  Find someone that has contributed to the success of others in your area and then put his or her skills to work for your own family practice.  When you see your increased search engine rankings and the increase in traffic to your site and your medical office, you’ll be glad you did it!