The healthcare services provided by obstetricians and gynecologists are invaluable, to say the least. Gynecologists are the crucial barrier between patients and a number of harmful ailments such as urinary tract infections, sexually-transmitted diseases, and cancer. Obstetricians, similarly, ensure that pregnancies and deliveries proceed smoothly and safely for both the mother and child. Despite the importance of these jobs in the functioning of society, clinics that offer these services are no less liable to failure and bankruptcy than any other business. If you fail to market yourself adequately, you might find yourself as one of the 75% of medical practices that fail after 15 years. This article will discuss how to market yourself and your clinic to your regional environment and more specifically how to use SEO to your OB/GYN practice’s advantage.
Table of Contents
What Is SEO?
To start, let’s ask and answer the question: what is search engine optimization (SEO)? To put it simply, SEO is a term denoting specific strategies that boost your online visibility to search engines, such as Google. An inordinate amount of people use the internet to research businesses before becoming customers, so being invisible online is a death sentence. It takes more than just showing up in the search results, however. Even not being in the first place is a big deal, so you need to do more than just show up: you need to optimize. That’s where SEO comes in. When engaging in SEO, you take specific steps in how your website is constructed in order to catch the attention of Google and customers alike. By playing to the algorithm, you can take your website from 8 places down to the very top.
You might be asking yourself: “how can I possibly get to the top of the search results when someone searches for ‘OB/GYN practice’?” If we were discussing regular SEO, then this would be a valid concern. However, this article is interested in a far more realistic approach: local SEO. You aren’t trying to be the most visible OB/GYN practice on the internet, that’s a difficult task even for the largest businesses. Rather, you want your website to be the first link that shows up when someone searches for “OB/GYN practices near me”
Building a Website and Social Media Presence
In case you haven’t realized already, SEO really only works if you have a website (or at least some kind of online presence). SEO works to amplify your visibility, not create it. Not having a website means there’s nothing to work with! It’s a smart move to get your own website sooner rather than later, many small businesses already have one after all. Establishing a social media presence is also helpful, and it helps people talk about you, share good stories, and even stumble upon you when they might not have meant to be looking.
Local SEO Strategies for OB/GYNs
There are a number of things you should know before working on your website’s search engine visibility. Below are some of the best ways to get started, but before we get to that, it’s important to stress how important local SEO truly is. About half of all online users click the first link they are presented with on the search results page, which I’m sure you can tell is massive. You can’t remain competitive if you’re losing that many potential customers to a competitor, all because they have a higher rank among the search results. Now, if you’re ready to hop in, here are some essential steps you can take:
Keywords
Keywords are perhaps the most basic and important concept related to SEO. They are relatively simple, consisting of common search terms used to find businesses like yours. The example given earlier of “OB/GYNs near me” is a textbook use of keywords. You need to familiarize yourself with the kinds of words people use to find businesses in your industry and make sure to use those words throughout your website. Keywords are the primary method Google uses to determine your website’s relevance to the search terms the user entered. Frequent use of such terms lets Google know what topics you are related to, and thus which users to direct to your website. Some common examples include:
- Obgyn
- Gyno
- Gyno near me
- Best gynecologist near me
- Obstetrics and gynecology
- Women’s health centers
These examples are among the most common search terms used to find OB/GYN practices locally. If you’re looking for more words and/or phrases, be sure to use Google Ads Keyword Planner. It’s a free resource, built by Google, that uses its own metrics to show you the best keywords you can use. You can even tailor your search to target small areas, which is great for your local SEO efforts.
Headings
Somewhat related to keyword use is how you use headings on your website. Headings are simply pieces of text, like the one above this paragraph, that categorically subdivide the page’s content. The words used in your headings are given special weight, so be sure to use keywords in your headings whenever possible. Doing this is a great way to boost your local SEO results with almost zero additional effort.
Links
Links are crucial for both helping boost your visibility and make you look reliable. The search algorithm and any potential visitors of your website will value the presence of links, as they are emblematic of careful research on your part. Using links will therefore work wonders for your SEO results, but make sure you’re using both internal and external links on your website. External links direct users to websites outside of your domain, which is mainly useful for demonstrating that you are drawing your information from multiple established sources. Internal links, however, are great because they entice users to explore your website and immerse themselves in your content. They turn the traffic of one page into multi-page traffic, which is a big win for your OB/GYN SEO.
Traffic
Speaking of traffic, this metric is another way Google ranks your website among the potential search results. More highly trafficked websites are, naturally, placed higher on the page. This is great because it means that any and all marketing efforts you make, so long as they direct people to your website, will aid your OB/GYN SEO as well. Be sure to keep this in mind when designing your advertisements for digital and traditional marketing alike!
Digital Marketing for OB/GYNs
The way that digital marketing campaigns should be run, from an OB/GYN perspective, is guided by two things: one, it’s in the healthcare industry; and two, your customers are entirely female. There is already a plethora of research investigating how healthcare companies should market themselves and how to market to women. Here are a few things you should keep in mind:
Healthcare Marketing
When you’re a patient looking for a healthcare provider, what are the most important things you look for in a business? Your answer probably includes things like expertise, professionalism, affordability, and personalized care. Make sure to hit on all of these points in whatever advertising you do, as people will inevitably wonder why you aren’t mentioning one or more of these aspects. People want to feel like they’re in professional, capable hands no matter the treatment they’re getting. Make sure you emphasize this feeling in your public presentation. This means flawless visual presentation and demonstrated knowledge in your specialty. Make sure the first thing people see or hear about your business makes them want to make an appointment, not run away.
Marketing to Women
There are a number of marketing strategies that appeal to women specifically that you may want to consider. One such strategy, perhaps the most important one, is to not stereotype, patronize, or objectify women in your ads. This likely means little to no skimpy clothing, no overabundance of pink, and no stereotypical assumptions about women’s behavior. Advertisements that feature these things tend to fare poorly in the modern digital era and are likely to lose customers rather than entice them. Instead, try to go for something comedic, champion a social cause, or tell a story that features a relatable female protagonist.
SEO Design Chicago Works for OB/GYNs
A lot of this can seem confusing, especially if you’re unfamiliar with website design and digital marketing. In that case, it’d be best to leave your marketing needs in the hands of experts, like those found in SEO Design Chicago. We have specialists that can help with each and every aspect of digital marketing, be it website design, social media marketing & account management, digital marketing consulting, and online content creation. We even have specialized services just for this industry! Our team can also help with your local SEO efforts depending on your location. One such location is Palm Springs, where we can help local SEO efforts for any business in or around the city.
FAQ:
- What is SEO?
- What is local SEO?
- Why do I need a website for SEO?
- How does traffic factor into Google ranks?
- How do you market to women?
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