Boston Scientific accounts are for healthcare professionals only.
SEO is a digital marketing practice that can increase visitor traffic to your website by achieving high rankings on the search engine results page – often referred to as the “SERP.” Typically, the higher you rank on the results page for a query, the better chance you have of a user visiting your website to consume additional information. Think of your own user behavior when you enter a question into a search engine like Google: Which links do you tend to click most often when the results are shown? Including key terms that patients are searching for throughout your website is a great way to stay relevant and ensure you continue to rank high on the SERP. Your website is only useful to prospective patients if they can find it!
Include terms and descriptions (keywords) patients typically search online. Work with staff to compile a list of terms and phrases patients most commonly use to describe symptoms, conditions, and procedure options in everyday terminology. Focus on language a prospective patient would use when seeking information online versus clinical language.
Patients use a variety of devices to search for information. If you have flexibility to customize content for phone viewing, make it simple and clear. Use headers and bulleted lists to break up the content into relevant sections.
Use search engines such as Google to help ensure the website includes the most commonly searched terms and symptoms. Start a search with a term or symptom, and the search engine will present frequently searched terms, questions, and descriptions.
How to implement best practices on a website: Put yourself in the mind frame of a patient searching for additional information about procedures or solutions. Search queries are often posed as questions, including phrases like “what is” and “what are.” Including an FAQ page that uses similar language will help bolster your SEO and increase visibility to your page for prospective patients who are asking these questions.
Example: “What are the benefits of non-surgical weight loss procedures?”
Prospective patients want to learn how they’ll be treated, and by whom. Promote advanced technology as well as proven practices – using searchable terms as often as possible.
Use highly searched terms and descriptions. Content on web pages should answer patients’ questions in clear, simple language.
Staff biographies should be concise and reassuring. Emphasize the physicians’ qualifications and experience, as well as their personal, caring nature.
Example: Dr. L considers it a calling to become a physician. She joined the hospital after completing her residency. “I believe the needs of the patient must always come first, which is something I continue to implement wherever I practice.”
Include links to an email-style message form and an appointment-scheduling page. Include phone number(s) and physical address(es). Contacting the office via mobile device should be easy and immediate for patients.
Across the website, online directories, and Google profile, the office name, address, and phone number should be the same. Help both users and search engines understand where you are located, and bolster an internet presence.
YouTube SEO
YouTube is another key platform that is widely used to consume information in a visual format. If you have video content available to post on YouTube, there are a few key updates you can make to optimize for SEO as well:
Pro tip
When posting video content on YouTube, remember to include your practice name and location as part of your keyword strategy. Adding a link to your practice website can help make your website easier to find for users in your area.
