If you own or manage a plastic surgery clinic, then you know that the world of marketing has changed drastically with the evolution of the internet and social media in the past decade. Traditional advertisements on the television and billboards are a thing of the past. Today, every clinic should be shifting their marketing plan towards online platforms, using every available tool and specifically SEO. According to specialists at MiroMind, a digital and SEO specialist agency, the best SEO practices for plastic surgeons can significantly boost your authority and credibility in the plastic surgery industry. This credibility will take your practice to the next level while guaranteeing you ROI (return on investment). The road to a well-optimized website for your clinic might seem confusing and time-consuming. In the following article, we will answer some of the questions you might have concerning SEO and help you get your website to the top of search engines with some tips.
What is SEO exactly?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is the process that will invite more organic traffic to your website and get its rank higher in search engine results. The process requires using the keywords in the content of the website that internet users search for in search engines.
Why is important for plastic surgery clinics?
Studies have shown that 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine and that 47% of users click on one of the first three listings. For a plastic surgery clinic, these statistics are very important as they show the importance of utilizing an SEO plastic surgery strategy that will get your website ranked high up in search engine results. When your rank is improved, you will begin to get more traffic and with it more clients. Since Google dominates all other search engines, you should focus your work on optimizing your website to fit it.
SEO tips for plastic surgery clinics
Localize your page
Google wants to know who are, what you do and where you do it so they send their crawlers to get this data from your website. Your website has to include all of your information so it makes it easier for potential clients to find and contact you. Localizing your website is done by adding your mobile phone number (with the local area code) and your address on every page of your website.
Google My Business
If you want to target local patients in your area, make sure to use local keywords, as they will highlight the physical location of your clinic. For example, if your clinic is in Florida, your local keywords might be plastic surgery in Florida, plastic surgeon reviews in Florida, costs of plastic surgeries in Florida and so on. Also, make sure that your clinic is listed on Google My Business with the right address and contact information, to make it easier for potential clients to find you IRL. It is essential as it will spread more awareness about your plastic surgery clinic when patients use Google to search for such clinics in your area.
Optimize your keywords
SEO depends heavily on using the right keywords. The best keywords can be found using tools such as Keyword Tool and Google Analytics. Focus on the words that narrow down your specialties in your field, for example, facelift, laser facelift, rhinoplasty etc. Furthermore, use long-tail keywords based on your services such as nose job before and after pictures, tummy tuck surgery recovery time or board certified plastic surgeon in (your area). The keywords do not need to be placed in the body of the article you post or the description of your practice. They could be included in the title tag, URLs, meta descriptions, meta keywords, website slogans, navigation and footer links. Do your research thoroughly and help potential patients find you by using the most relevant keywords you can come up with.
Specific landing pages
Use specific landing page for every service you offer. Do not cram them all on your landing page. Breaking them into individual landing pages will make it easier for Google to understand which procedures your clinic offers exactly and it will reward you with high ranks for the quality. Describe each procedure you offer on a page, including how long it takes, and its benefits and success rates. If your clinic has other branches in different cities, each city should also have a specific landing page that includes the doctors’ names and specialties, offered procedures, working hours and contact information.
Use call-to-action buttons
You are doing all of this work of researching, optimizing and marketing to get more clients to find and use your clinic, so another great way to encourage them to contact you is by using call-to-action buttons. Use one at the bottom of every page on your website. They might say call the doctor now, book a free consultation or they might be a message form. These buttons will make it easier and quicker for clients to contact you.
Mobile friendly website
It is really important to make your website mobile friendly as Google has declared 91% of US site visits produced by mobile search in 2017 and because 80% of internet users own a smartphone. Having your website optimized for mobiles will ensure that you are not missing out on clients that might reach you through their mobile phones.
Integrate social media with your website
Using social media is a great way to communicate with your clients and to find new potential ones. Make sure to connect your clinic’s social media accounts to the website because search engines love social media platforms. Integrate them together, have your contact information consistent on them all to increase the rank of your website and to get more visitors. Additionally, use your social media accounts to update your patients about your newest services, announce the arrival of a new doctor or share articles about relevant medical researches. By monitoring the accounts and posting on them consistently you will stay on top of the local search engine results.
Review your SEO strategy and stay up to date
Keep track of your website’s traffic, review results and check progress. Stay on top of your game by using Google Analytics to help you realize what is working in your SEO and what is not. Follow the newest updates search engines make to their ranking algorithms because they might affect your ranks. Search engine optimization is ever-evolving so stay current on its newest practices. Your SEO strategy might need some time to give you the results you need, so stay patient because the results will be rewarding.