Your patients are changing how they do business with health care providers, and having your thumb on the pulse of this trending interaction can give you a competitive edge in a busy healthcare market space.
How Do Your Patients Find Healthcare Information?
You already know your patients are looking online for healthcare information. But, where do your patients start their search? According to Pew Research, 77% of online health seekers say they began at a search engine such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Another 13% say they began at a site that specializes in health information, like WebMD. Just 2% say they started their research at a more general site like Wikipedia and an additional 1% say they started at a social network site such as Facebook.
What does this mean for healthcare providers? You need to incorporate a top of funnel search engine optimized strategy in your digital marketing plan because your potential and existing patients are seeking health information online. They’re going to find healthcare practices when they search. The question is, will they find yours?
Top of Funnel SEO for Healthcare Practices
What does a top of funnel search engine optimization strategy look like for a healthcare practice? There are a few key elements you need to consider. The first, and most important is your keyword research. Keywords drive everything in your search engine optimization efforts, and if you aren’t using the right keywords, you won’t pull the right audience to your website. When developing your keywords, consider first your audience and their search intent. What is the language they use? What are the words and phrases they use when searching? I guarantee those words are different from the words you are using to describe the same thing. (Note: In almost every case, you are going to need to hire an inbound marketing agency to develop your top of funnel search engine optimization strategy. You simply don’t have the time or the expertise in your office to get this done the right way.)
What Happens Once Patients Arrive on Your Website?
You’ve developed your top of funnel SEO strategy, and patients along with prospective patients are arriving on your website. What next?
Well, is your website working for them? Are they finding the information they need in an easy, intuitive way? It’s no secret that people use their cell phones to do business, and searching for healthcare information and options is no exception. In fact, there’s been a huge shift in the way people search – approximately 80% of local searches are conducted from mobile phones. In addition, 91 percent of Americans have a mobile device within reach 24 hours a day. Through responsive web design, your health care system, hospital or physician group website can also be within their reach.
Almost one year ago, Google released an algorithm update that affects ranking for non-mobile-responsive friendly websites. Simply stated, you not only need a website that creates a positive visitor experience, it needs to be mobile responsive. Patients or their caregivers have no patience for hard-to-use websites on their phone. The website is no longer a separate tool in your toolbox, it’s the live and dynamic center that all marketing strategy should be designed around.
Your Next Steps
What are your next steps? Start with your website. Is it optimized for search engines and users alike? Is your website intuitive and easy to use for your patients and potential patients? Can they easily find the information they need? Do you have appropriate calls to action throughout your website? If you’re not sure, use our checklist to quickly evaluate your website:
