Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of ranking higher on the search results of search engines such as Google or Bing. It is different to search engine ads, such as Google Ads, because the goal is for your site to appear in the REAL search results, not the sponsored search results.
By ranking at the top of search results, practices can significantly increase the number of patients who find them and subsequently schedule appointments.
Let me guess. You set up your medical practice with telemedicine software and the flood of patients you were expecting, well, didn’t happen. Am I right? Well, you are not alone. Thousands of doctors have recently (largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) added telehealth to their practices. This means that there is a lot of competition. So, when patients are Googling ‘telemedicine doctor’ (or something similar), HOW can you make it so that YOUR website appears top of the search results? This page will provide you with 5 ways to do this.
The challenge of marketing telemedicine is that it is inherently a service without borders. This is especially true during the time of the COVID-19 epidemic, when doctors are allowed to treat patients in any state, regardless of the state of their license. However, this means that, for keywords like ‘telehealth doctor near me’, doctors are now competing nationally.
So, how do practices stand a chance? After all, there are only 10 positions on the first page of Google.
Fortunately, there are still ways for practices to compete. The information below has been designed to help.
There is a joke for us SEO geeks. It goes like this: "Where is the best place to hide something?"
Answer? "On the second page of Google!"
So, when it comes to SEO for telemedicine, it's important that you choose keywords for which you have a realistic chance of positioning on the 1st page of Google results. You should make them as specific to your service as possible. So, instead of saying "telemedicine doctor" say "orthopedic spine surgeon telemedicine appointments", or even "telemedicine appointments for cervical disk surgery".
The general rule is: The more specific, the less competition.
It is suspected that Google's algorithm gives preference to websites which are interacted with most by users. By interaction here we mean clicks, time on site, etc. So, if your website provides the information which patients NEED, then they are likely to interact with it more and for longer.
To check what prospective patients (and people in general) are searching for, you can use sites such as Google Trends: https://trends.google.com/trends/
When it comes to backlinks, quality matters. In fact, some backlinks can even be BAD for your SEO. If Google sees that your site is associated with untrustworthy sites, then your site's SEO ranking will likely be negatively affected. This is why we recommend focusing on solid, quality backlinks.
Well over 50% of searches are now conducted on smart phones or tablets. So it's vital that your site is mobile-friendly. Here, 'mobile-friendly' simply means that your site should appear and perform well on mobile devices, notably smart phones.
Technical SEO refers to the 'backend' side of SEO. It includes things like meta tags (additional information for search engines), as well as site and page speed. It is important that your site accurately reflects to Google the information it has available to patients. It is equally important that the site works fast, so that patients do not have to wait long periods for the page to load.
If you want to get top of Google NOW, then Google Ads are a faster option. In fact, we recommend that medical practices simultaneously run Google Ad campaigns AND SEO campaigns, so that the website appears in both sponsored and real search results.
If you want to get top of Google NOW, then Google Ads are a faster option. In fact, we recommend that medical practices simultaneously run Google Ad campaigns AND SEO campaigns, so that the website appears in both sponsored and real search results.
If you want to get top of Google NOW, then Google Ads are a faster option. In fact, we recommend that medical practices simultaneously run Google Ad campaigns AND SEO campaigns, so that the website appears in both sponsored and real search results.
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