While doctors aren’t particularly happy when their patients Google symptoms and diagnose themselves, it doesn’t mean SEO for medical practices is bad.
It helps both you and your clients as it helps you get those patients into your practice and provide them with proper care.
Many people decide to visit the doctor after a Google Search. This means that if your medical practice isn’t visible online, you’re missing out on a significant number of potential patients.
SEO for medical practices serves two purposes: increasing website visitors and connecting with patients who are actively seeking the healthcare services you offer.
And we’re here to teach you the ins and outs of SEO for doctors and medical practices, including results you can expect and strategies to get you there.
What is SEO for Medical Practices?
SEO for medical practices is the process of optimizing your healthcare website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). However, it isn’t a one-and-done thing. You have to implement specific strategies tailored to your business and the healthcare industry to make sure your practice appears when potential patients search for relevant medical services.
This includes optimizing your website’s content, improving its technical structure, and building high-quality backlinks. To ensure your website is running smoothly and fully optimized, it’s crucial to pay attention to all aspects of technical SEO, which can significantly impact your search rankings and user experience.
Your best bet to appearing high in search results is to use keywords that patients are likely to search for, including “pediatrician near me” or “best cardiologist in [city].” However, it’s not all about selling your services. You also need to publish helpful and educational medical content on your website that has to be user friendly and loads quickly.
Once you nail it, your SEO efforts will lead to higher search rankings, more website traffic and, more importantly, an increase in appointments and consultations.
How Is SEO for Doctors and Medical Practices Different?
Unfortunately, you can’t do SEO for medical practices as you would for some other businesses, such as SaaS. It’s because medical practices SEO has to obey strict regulations and guidelines Google has put into place to protect patients from harmful information.
Google’s E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) principle is particularly important for medical content. But what does it mean for you?
| Medical SEO | SEO for Other Industries |
| Medical professionals have to review or write every piece of content you publish on your website to make sure it’s accurate, reliable and trustworthy. | In many industries, content can be created by general SEO writers without needing specialized credentials. For example, an e-commerce site can have product descriptions or blog posts written by non-experts, as long as the information is accurate and engaging. |
| Still, you need SEO services that drive conversions, and in that case it’s best to hire an agency that knows its way around regulations and guidelines regarding SEO for medical practices. | In other industries, there’s often no need for the complex collaboration seen in healthcare. SEO writers can operate independently, using research and keyword tools to produce content without needing to consult with industry-specific professionals, which streamlines the content creation process. |
| Another important aspect is targeting highly specific keywords that potential patiens use when searching for medical content and services. To pinpoint the right keywords, you have to have a deep understanding of patient behavior and search intent. | Industries outside of healthcare often rely on broader keywords to attract a wide audience, making it easier to rank for multiple terms with general appeal. For instance, an SEO strategy for a fashion brand might target broad keywords like “summer dresses” or “men’s shoes,” which require less in-depth understanding of customer intent compared to the precise keywords used in medical SEO. |
| And we can’t really talk about medical SEO without mentioning a demand for a high level of compliance with privacy laws such as HIPAA. You can’t just focus on SEO without paying attention to how secure and compliant your website is. | Most industries do not face the strict legal regulations that healthcare does. For example, an entertainment blog or a technology website doesn’t have to navigate complex privacy laws like HIPAA. This allows them to focus solely on SEO performance without the added burden of ensuring legal compliance, making their SEO strategies simpler and more straightforward. |
Results You Can Expect from SEO for Medical Practices
At this point, you’re probably asking yourself, will SEO work for your business, and is it worth it?
We’ll let the results do the talking, and you can decide for yourself.
Denver Dentures and Implants, a specialized dental surgery based in Colorado, USA, initially struggled to rank for relevant keywords and were practically invisible to potential patients. However, a laser-focused keyword strategy was all they needed to secure top three positions for 11 key terms and top 10 positions for 32 local terms.
But rankings aren’t all that matters. They also saw a substantial rise in organic traffic. Their total clicks increased by 85.1%, and their total impressions grew by 150.9%. What does this mean in terms of business growth?
More potential patients were visiting their website, exploring their services, and considering them for their dental needs.
But that’s not where we’ve stopped.
The targeted SEO strategy also led to a significant boost in qualified leads.
Within seven months of optimizing their website, Denver Dentures and Implants experienced a 569.44% increase in scheduled appointments, with 241 scheduling forms filled out. They also saw a 43.14% increase in phone calls, translating to 73 additional calls. These metrics highlight how effective medical SEO can attract more relevant and ready-to-convert visitors to your site.
But how did we achieve this?
- Created service-specific landing pages and blog posts addressing common patient queries.
- Collaborated with the medical team to ensure content credibility.
- SEO efforts positioned the practice as an authoritative source in their field.
- Compared to traditional advertising, the investment in SEO yielded substantial returns with significant increases in traffic, leads, and conversions.
- The improvements from SEO are long-term and sustainable.
- Unlike paid advertising, which stops generating results once the budget is exhausted, SEO continues to drive organic traffic and leads over time.
But we’ve got even better news! By adopting similar SEO strategies, you can achieve similar results or even better. All you have to do is give us a call, and our medical SEO experts will give you a free audit on the call, and actionable insights you can implement right away to boost your rankings—no strings attached. What do you say?
How to Get the Best Results With Website SEO for Medical Practices?
As you saw from our case study, achieving the best results with website SEO for medical practices involves a perfect combination of local SEO, credible content, backlinks and technical optimization.
Local SEO for Medical Practices
Chances are, people won’t take a 6-hour drive to see a doctor. They would certainly want to visit a doctor nearby. Well, that makes local SEO services incredibly important for your medical practice. But what does it involve?
Google Business Profile
You probably already have a Google Business Profile, but do you use it to its full potential? Do you know how Google decides whether your medical practice is relevant enough to show it to potential or your nearby patients?
- Relevance
Google assesses how well a local listing matches the search query. Making sure that your business category, description, and keywords are accurate and detailed helps improve relevance.
- Distance
The proximity of your business to the searcher’s location is a crucial factor. Google calculates the distance between the searcher and potential businesses to determine the closest options.
- Prominence
This involves how well-known and reputable your business is, both online and offline. Factors include Google reviews, ratings, and overall online presence—businesses with strong local reputations and extensive online coverage rank higher.
- Review Quality and Quantity
The number and quality of reviews on your Google Business Profile significantly impact local search rankings. Positive, frequent, and detailed reviews boost your prominence and relevance.
- Complete and Accurate Google Business Listing
A fully completed Google Business profile with accurate business name, address, phone number, website, operating hours, and categories gives you better visibility. Regularly update and engage with your listing to achieve better local SEO results.
But what can you do right now to improve your local performance?
- Encourage satisfied patients to leave reviews, include a QR code at the reception and make sure your staff gently nudges patients to leave a review.
- Post frequently on your Google Business Profile and update it with any changes. This includes updating holiday hours, new services and other relevant information to signal Google that your medical practice is active and reliable.
Keyword Research for Healthcare
Before you start publishing any content whatsoever, you need to perform keyword research based on the services you offer and the locations you operate in.
Keyword research is all about identifying the search terms that potential patients use to find healthcare services you provide and optimizing your content around these keywords. But how do you conduct it?
Understand Patient Search Behavior
Start by understanding the common concerns and questions that patients have regarding your medical services. Use patient feedback, surveys, and common inquiries to identify these needs.
After you’ve collected all this data, use tools like Google Keyword Planner (Free), Ahrefs (Paid), or Semrush (Paid) to discover the exact keywords people are searching for. These tools will give you all the data you need like search volume, keyword difficulty, related terms and user intent that will guide your SEO efforts.
Additionally, you can analyze competitors and look at the keywords for which they rank. Ahrefs and Semrush both have this option and will help you identify gaps and opportunities in your own strategy.
Target a Mix of Keywords
It’s not enough to just target keywords for the services you provide.
Of course, you’ll have to identify primary keywords that directly relate to your main services, such as “pediatric dentist” or “orthopedic surgeon.”
But you’ll also need to target secondary keywords that support your primary keywords, such as “child dentist office” or “knee replacement specialist.”
Besides these transactional keywords, you’ll also have to publish blog content such as “Child Dental Care Tips” and “First Dental Visit for Children.” Why?
Because in the grand scheme of things, these keywords and blog content support your main service pages and help them rank higher. Plus, by interlinking blog content and landing pages, you can convert blog traffic into paying customers.
Another great keyword research strategy is to find long-tail keywords because these usually have lower competition and higher conversion rate.
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that patients are likely to use when they are closer to making a decision. Examples include “best pediatric dentist in [city]” or “affordable knee replacement surgery.”
Create Content Clusters for Better Optimization
Now that you have a list of keywords you want to rank for, it’s time to group related keywords into clusters to create comprehensive content that covers entire topics. For example, a cluster around “dental implants” could include supporting keywords like “cost of dental implants,” “dental implant procedure,” and “dental implant aftercare.”
After you’ve done it, roll up your sleeves and create high-quality content for each cluster making sure it’s informative and medically accurate. Don’t forget to include the target keywords naturally throughout the content, in headings and meta descriptions.
Creating Helpful & Medically Accurate Content
In your case, content plays two distinct roles that work together to influence your business growth positively.
It’s important for ranking and building trust with potential patients. Content is what actually transforms potential patients into long-term ones. And we’ll tell you the aspects you need to cover to achieve both!
Expert-Reviewed Content
What you say in your content has a great impact and that’s why Google has strict guidelines for medical practices.
That’s why qualified healthcare professionals have to review the accuracy of the content you publish on the website.
For example, Healthline uses a team of medical reviewers to ensure the accuracy of their content.
But it’s not enough to just review it. Google has to know you’ve done the work. You can use tools like Authorship and Review plugins in WordPress to attribute articles to specific professionals and show review credentials.
Address Actual Patient Concerns and Questions
Just like you do at your clinic, your website is also all about serving your patients. Talk to your staff, go over common questions and concerns the patients have and you’ll discover that more-or-less they also search for answers on Google.
Based on their questions, create a mix of content including blog posts, case studies, glossaries, pages and FAQs to boost your SEO and attract more patients to the clinic.
For instance, Mayo Clinic’s website has a comprehensive FAQ section addressing common health concerns.
High-Quality Writing
Besides being reviewed by professionals, what else will make your content stand out?
While you tackle sensitive and serious topics, your tone of voice should still be conversational.
Remember, you’re not writing for other doctors, you’re writing for regular humans who need your help. Medical jargon and complex terminology won’t get you the trust you need. If you still need it, explain it thoroughly.
Use headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make the content easy to scan and read.
To make the readability of your content top-notch, you should also incorporate different types of visual content to break down the text. This will help you to convey your point more efficiently and you should definitely try out infographics, images and videos that are relevant for the text you’re publishing.
For example, you can use Canva to create high-quality infographics or Loom to create videos for your audience that preferes them over written content.
Off-Page SEO
What is off-page SEO and how it influences performance of medical practices on Google?
Off-page SEO happens outside of your website and serves important purpose of increasing your content’s authority and credibility. And we’ve already determined that authority and credibility are two most important aspects of SEO for medical practices industry.
However, acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites is hard sometimes. It requires lots of manual relationship-building, especially at the beginning when your website is still young.
Writing guest posts for reputable medical or health websites will help you earn backlinks to your site even in its early stages. For example, Healthline often features guest posts from medical professionals.
To find guest blogging opportunities, use tools like Guest Post Tracker to locate relevant blogs in your niche.
There are also some pretty reputable medical directories such as Healthgrades, Zocdoc and WebMD’s Physician Directory. You can submit your practice to any of these directories and track the performance in terms of traffic coming from their website.
We’ve already mentioned infographics when we talked about content, but they are also great for acquiring backlinks because they’re extremely shareable. Don’t sleep on them!
In-depth research studies, infographics, and other useful resources can get you dozens of links from reputable websites.
Set the Right Foundation with Technical SEO
First off, what is technical SEO?
Technical SEO is everything that happens behind the scenes on your website that drastically influences the performance and user experience.
One of the most important factor Google pays attention to is definitely Page Speed. Not because they care whether your website loads in 1 or 10 seconds, but because your visitors do.
And when visitors click “back” and leave your website because it won’t load, it increases your bounce rates and then Google punishes you with low rankings.
Because above all Google prioritizes better user experience, fast-loading websites rank higher.
It’s also important to note that Google calculates both mobile and desktop version of your website. And because it favors mobile-first indexing, optimizing your page speed for mobile devices is more important than ever.
But what are other factors that influence technical SEO of your website, and how do you master them?
| Factor | Influence | How to Resolve |
| Server Response Time | Excessive or poorly written code slows down a website. | Cleaning up and optimizing the codebase can lead to faster page load times. |
| Image Optimization | Large, unoptimized images can drastically slow down a website. | Using appropriately sized images (under 100kb) and compressed formats (WebP) improves loading times. |
| Browser Caching | Each element on the website slows down the loading speed. | Browser caching stores parts of a website (like images, scripts, and stylesheets) locally on a user’s device. When a user revisits the site, the browser loads these elements from the cache rather than downloading them again, speeding up the page load time. |
| Minification of CSS, JavaScript, and HTML | Unnecessary elements in the code slow down the website. | Minification removes unnecessary characters (like spaces, commas, and comments) from code files without affecting functionality. This reduces file sizes and can significantly improve page speed. |
| Content Delivery Network (CDN) | The further away users are from your server, the slower the website will be for them. | A CDN distributes your website’s content across multiple servers around the world. This allows users to download data from a server geographically closer to them, reducing latency and speeding up page load times |
| HTTP Requests | Each element on a web page (images, scripts, stylesheets) requires an HTTP request. | Reducing the number of these requests by combining files, using CSS sprites, and eliminating unnecessary elements improves page speed |
| Third Party Scripts | Each third-party script, such as Hotjar, Google Tag Manager and other tools slow down the website. | Loading scripts asynchronously or deferring non-essential scripts ensures that they do not block the rendering of the page, thereby improving initial page load times |
If you take your time and tackle every one of these issues you’ll see a much better performance and Google will reward you with higher rankings. Plus, users will always gladly come back to your website, increasing their chances of converting.
But first, you need to know where you stand now. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights [1] and GTmetrix will help identify specific issues affecting your site’s speed and then you can prioritize and resolve them, one by one.
And don’t worry, technical SEO doesn’t bite! We’ve prepared a video that demystifies it completely and reveals strategies that can take your practice from obscurity to the top of search engine results.
Conclusion
Starting out with SEO as a new medical practice is much harder than SEO for businesses in other industries.
Despite offering excellent healthcare services, your practice struggles to attract new patients and your website barely appears in the search engine results.
But don’t worry; once you start implementing strategies from this blog, we’re sure you’ll quickly see results and increased appointments.
And don’t worry, your website doesn’t need to be perfect to rank high for hundreds of relevant keywords.
Having a solid technical foundation, targeting the right keywords and optimizing locally combined with authority from off-page SEO will help you reap the rewards sooner rather than later.
And if you want to focus on taking care of your patients and leave SEO to experts, Nuoptima is here to make your wishes come true.
The first step to getting the results is to book a free call.
During your free on-call audit, our team will provide a comprehensive analysis of your current SEO performance, identify key areas for improvement, and offer actionable tips that you can implement immediately.
This no-obligation consultation will give you valuable insights into optimizing your website for better search engine rankings and attracting more patients.
FAQ
SEO in healthcare is used to improve a medical practice’s visibility on search engines, helping potential patients find relevant services and information easily online.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which involves optimizing a healthcare website to rank higher in search engine results pages.
Medical SEO costs can vary widely, typically ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 per month, depending on the scope and complexity of the services required.
Medical SEO generally takes about 3 to 6 months to start showing significant results, although this can vary based on the competitiveness of the market and the effectiveness of the strategies implemented.