Creating effective search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing (SEM) campaigns for medical professionals involves a slightly different strategy than a campaign for other professionals. There are several different reasons why this is the case. Aside from considerations related to FDA, AMA, and other regulatory guidelines for physician advertising online, websites for doctors have their own unique challenges.

In some cases, the first challenge is the medical professional. In many cases doctors expect to get their website traffic from people who search for them on a first name basis. This is rarely the case. Some more web savvy physicians are aware that people are actually searching for medical terms and specialties. Specialized terms are not as common, but can be quite lucrative. For instance, a person searching for “dentists” may want anything from a cleaning to a root canal, but people who are looking for “oral surgeons” are probably dealing with a more expensive problem. As search engine professionals, one of our first tasks involves educating doctors, dentists, and alternative practitioners about what search engines are looking for, and how people use search engines.

Normally it only takes a few weeks to get a doctor found for his or her name, but it takes longer to get found for a field of practice. In most cases, doctors and medical clinics serve patients who live within a few miles of their offices, while hospitals have a larger footprint. For doctors who operate in sparsely populated areas and small towns, or who don’t have too much competition in their practice, search engine rankings can be achieved fairly easily. On the other side of the coin, it may be difficult to be found for a term like “dentist NYC” because the city has a large population, or for “Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon” because there is a high level of competition for such surgery in this area despite the town’s low population. If you aren’t on the first page of search engine results, then 90% of web searchers are not going to find your site, so the need for optimization quickly becomes apparent to most doctors.

Medical professionals who want to get found on search engines can therefore expect a “sliding scale” when it comes to SEO based on these factors. Challenging and competitive search engine cases will require robust web page modification and the acquisition of links from related websites. This is because links from other sites serve as an endorsement for your own website. Better site links are more costly and confer more prestige, in the same way that an internship at the Mayo Clinic carries more weight than a residency in the Caribbean. If you can get links to your website from medical journals, schools, and other publications, you may gain an advantage over doctors who have not done so. Search marketing agencies can also help you secure sufficient links to get found for your specialty, with everything from local directory submission to more complex link acquisition.

Here are some tips for better search engine placement and new patient growth:

1. If you’re operating in a local area, make sure you mention your office location and nearby towns or communities from which you expect patients.
2. Make sure your site has a clean, modern look that inspires confidence.
3. Show your phone number prominently at the top of each page.
4. If you take credit cards, show the logos for the ones you accept.
5. Show medical insurance providers that you accept. Make sure you mention this in the text of your site, not just in images, because search engines aren’t good at identifying pictures.
6. List all of your specialties. People search on a variety of medical terms, so be sure to include them. If you have specific medical equipment that may attract patients (like an open MRI) then be sure to let people know.
7. Avoid graphic images of procedures or before/after unless people get fair warning before viewing.
8. Submit your site to online Yellow Page and local directories (we can do this for you).
9. Keep your site fresh by adding a blog or new content. If medical care laws change one way or the other, giving more information to patients may be helpful. Generally speaking, search engines reward relevant content, so giving more information to potential patients can improve your search engine rankings.

Anyone who sells medical services, whether through a doctor’s office, walk-in clinic, hospital, or office compex, should understand the emergence of the internet as a tool for finding medical care. In the past, phone book advertising dominated the medical marketing field, and there are still plenty of people who check the yellow pages for doctors. However, an emerging segment of the general public is using the internet not only to find doctors and clinics, but also to compare service offerings, locations, and specialties. Many medical professionals have even found success selling high-end cosmetic and alternative treatments to patients from around the globe, exclusively from online advertising. For those doctors, dentists, chiropractors, cosmetic surgeons, psychiatrists, dermatologists, and podiatrists who just need to be found in their own neighborhoods, there are several inexpensive ways to promote themselves online. In the same way that people consult specialists for their medical problems, a search marketing specialist may have the answer to your search engine traffic and new patient growth.

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