Hospital SEO is on the mind of every marketer. Getting to the top of the search engine results page (SERP) feels like trying to get a crying newborn to settle down—possible, but painstaking.
Just like the crying baby, your hospital’s SEO efforts simply can’t be ignored. Because if you don’t earn a top spot on the SERP, you’ll fail to attract new patients. In turn, you’ll start losing market share, and no hospital wants to miss out on helping those who need care.
How to Maximize Your Hospital SEO Strategy
Great SEO isn’t the result of some magical formula. Instead, high-impact SEO means deliberately applying best practices with patience. With this approach, your SERP rank and your leads will increase.
Users on Google select one of the top three search results about half the time, with the first search result earning a click 20% of the time.1 This means your hospital website needs to rank in the top three results for your target keywords. But how do you make sure your site gets there?
There are several ways to increase your rank on the SERP. Level up your hospital SEO strategy by:
- Paying attention to local search
- Maintaining online reviews
- Using online business listings
- Earning backlinks
- Improving your website
1. Pay Attention to Local Search
Chances are, most of your patients are locals. Most people want a hospital within 20 miles of their home, and in many cases, they have more than one option. So, when searching for “hospital near me,” is your website the first on the SERP?
To capture more local searches, target local keywords. This may sound obvious, but hospital local SEO is often an underutilized strategy by health system marketers. Optimize your website and content for phrases similar to: the best hospital in [town name], where to get a knee replacement near me, or top hospitals in [town name].
2. Maintain Online Reviews
Online reviews are an important hospital SEO ranking factor since 95% of patients read online reviews before selecting a provider.2 Are your leads getting a good impression?
Pay attention to your Google Business Profile reviews, as well as reviews written on Yelp and healthgrades.com. When a patient leaves a review (positive or negative), respond! Just over 50% of users expect organizations to respond to negative reviews.3 A professional, thoughtful response to all different types of feedback demonstrates your hospital’s willingness to engage.
And don’t forget to remind patients to leave positive reviews!4 Add a CTA to the bottom of your newsletter or post a QR code in your waiting rooms or lobby. The easier leaving a review is, the more likely happy patients will post positive reviews of your hospital online.
3. Use Online Business Listings
Online business listings are another part of an effective hospital SEO strategy. Google Business Profile and Yellowpages.com increase the number of times your hospital is mentioned online, reinforcing critical contact information for Google.
Not sure which listings to claim? A qualified digital marketing agencies helps hospitals determine which websites make the most significant impact on SEO.
4. Increase Your Backlinks
Backlinks are one of the most important aspects of SEO. When another website links to your site in their content, your authority gets a boost. The other website is vouching for yours, telling both users and search engines they think you have a specific expertise. So the more websites that reference your content, the more likely your hospital will earn a high rank on Google.
But to increase your backlinks, you need content worthy of being vouched for. Improve your chances of quality backlinks by regularly writing articles covering timely, relevant, engaging topics patients want to learn about.
5. Improve Your Website
All your hospital SEO efforts boil down to this—sending as many prospective patents to your website as possible. This digital asset is not only crucial for lead generation but also boosts your ranking on the SERP.
Design your hospital website for mobile devices first, as the mobile version is the most important to Google. Straightforward navigation, helpful graphics, original photos and videos, and quick load times improve your site’s SEO and give users an excellent experience.
Ready to improve your health system SEO strategy? Dreamscape Marketing can help. Call us at 888.307.7304 to schedule a discovery call and learn more about our customized SEO strategies and our full suite of hospital digital marketing services.
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