It is just as important for your medical practice’s blog to practice SEO techniques as it is for technology-based businesses. When using SEO techniques, remember Google is looking for active websites—meaning they are regularly updated with quality blog posts. Google also looks for the following key items to raise the website’s page rank.
- 1. Write for patients, not engines
When Google assesses your practice’s website, they are not going to be looking for content that is geared toward search engines. The higher-ranking webpages are ones that provide their customers with well-written, useful information.
Here’s a good resource for tips on creating great web content for your site.
- 2. Make a list of target keywords
If your website is not achieving the page rank you’d like, chances are you’re not highlighting the correct keywords that your patients are using to find you.
- 3. Titles should work for search engines and readers
To help search engines pick up your blog content, you should make sure that you place keywords in your titles, and are most helpful within the first words.
- 4. Place keywords/phrases in the opening sentences
This goes for both webpages themselves and blog posts. You should work hard to get keywords in your introduction paragraph.
- 5. Place keywords in your meta description
Moreover, it is recommended that your meta description keywords should be incorporated in the form of a question. No, you’re not on Jeopardy, search engines just read them better this way. Typically, the keywords are also bolded to enhance the visual focus and being a question can get people to click on and browse.
- 6. Place keyword(s) in your web page’s URL
Although search engines skip pronouns and articles, they will easily notice keywords. Placing keywords in your URL will increase the likelihood that your practice will be high on your patient’s Google search.
- 7. Add in keywords to article sub-headings
If you’re going to include a sub-heading to your articles, you should not only make sure to ad in keywords, but you also need to ensure that they stand out from both your heading and the rest of your text. You need to make sure that your sub-heading stands out because most readers are in fact, skimmers. If you set up your headings thoughtfully, you can direct readers where you want them to read.