When people hear the term ‘SEO,’ they immediately think about building links and analytics. While this is partly true, that’s not all there is to modern optimization. Nowadays, content and social media play a huge part in making websites rank. These elements of inbound marketing are how top health websites gain high-quality links, which are the lifeblood of SEO.
The common problem with content marketing is that it’s extremely time-consuming and difficult to measure. But combined with other SEO strategies, such as on-site optimization, a website can strengthen its stature by simply touching on a few technical aspects.
Here are the SEO techniques top health websites are using to complement their healthcare company's online marketing efforts:
The goal of this strategy is to find out your competitors’ best online marketing practices then enhance and improve upon them and make them your own. Remember, a competitor analysis is not the same as copying. When you copy someone else’s strategy, you are not changing anything about it. This is a poor SEO move (not to mention unethical) that wastes time and resources.
A clever competitor analysis is done with help from one or more tools, such as Ahrefs Backlink Explorer. This lets you look into resources where a healthcare rival has left relevant links. Google uses this as an important factor when determining the rank for a website. Analyze the type of backlinks your competitor has then determine: Are they mostly from directories, blogs or ads?
With this data as your guide, you can form your own technique on how to get ahead. For example, if you noticed your rival company has a good percentage of backlinks from blogs, you can choose to reach out to blogging communities to gain exposure for your website.
Note that we said ‘gain,’ not build. That’s because today’s SEO devalues links that are unnatural or offer no real value. Search engine algorithms are more complex than in previous years – and if you’re not careful or you entrust your website to black-hat SEO companies, you might obtain substandard backlinks that won’t benefit your site for the long haul. They could even earn you a Google penalty, resulting in lost rankings or even being taken off the Web.
Here are a couple of awesome samples for quality backlinks:
This is where storytelling strategies will mostly pay off. People love stories they can relate to, especially when it comes to staying healthy. So offer content your website visitors can easily apply to their everyday lives. Showcase it in the best format based on the platform you are using (images for Pinterest, videos for YouTube, etc.), and you will grow your backlinks naturally without fear of penalty.
This is the more technical aspect where you may need the help of your web developer or digital marketing expert. Basically, this involves improving the structure of your website so it will be user and search engine friendly. Some of the best practices are:
Brian Dean of Backlinko has a handy on-page SEO checklist for those who want to get started on improving the website experience of their users.
Being mobile-friendly is just as important for healthcare websites as it is for retail and shopping businesses. Mobile devices are a big part of our lives today (with no sign of waning in demand); not investing in this technology may put you at a disadvantage. In fact, Google has taken the initiative to include mobile-friendliness as a vital ranking factor in its algorithm, giving rise to Mobilegeddon and ensuring users mobile-friendly websites are given priority on mobile SERPs.
Going mobile doesn’t have to be limited to just having a responsive site. Why not take it a step further and develop an app? Health resource Web MD is a great example of such a strategy. By making its site mobile-friendly and offering a related app, the organization has made its services easily accessible to millions of mobile users worldwide.
Search engine optimization will not be complete without frequent testing and measurement. Use free resources such as Google Analytics and Webmaster tools (or your capable CMS like HubSpot) to see whether your efforts are paying off. For those using PR and content seeding, try Linkbird. Here are the points you should focus on:
Remember, these strategies are designed for long-term results—so you may not see obvious changes within the first few weeks. The key is constant adjustment and commitment to user experience. With the right SEO tactics, any healthcare company can enjoy benefits that are measurable, sustainable and user-friendly.
SEO consultant Al Gomez is the brilliant mind behind SEOExpertPage.com; a website dedicated to helping small business owners understand SEO. With more than nine years of digital marketing experience, he enjoys supporting entrepreneurs like himself achieve online success.
