A client recently asked us if they really needed to bother with SEO for their medical practice.

I have to say that my answer is “yes”. SEO really is a necessity for medical practices.

I know it’s annoying, but sadly it’s true. I know SEO seems complex and confusing and it takes a long time to kick in. So it’s something you’d probably much rather forget about. But the problem is it works.

Not optimizing your site for search engines these days is rather like saying you don’t want your practice in the Yellow Pages or the phone book. It would be like saying you want to keep your business a secret.

There’s a lot of noise about social media but it’s almost certainly still Google that will help you most to market your medical practice.

Take a look at the traffic reports to your website. If your site is like the sites I’ve managed, you’re going to see something like half of your traffic coming from organic (free) search.

And apparently my experience is not unique (at all). Research from Conductor found that over a spectrum of websites organic search contributed 47% of the traffic.

Here’s a good way to keep on top of your practice’s marketing: Schedule an annual checkup.

Marketing is highly digital these days. And these digital environments change constantly. Every time there’s a change in one of these digital tools, say a change in Google’s search algorithm or Faceboook’s Edgerank algorithm (the one that decides which posts are displayed to users) this affects your marketing results.

These days changes occur every week. It’s not unusual for us to go onto Facebook on Monday and find a feature working one way and on Tuesday it works a different way.

What worked for your medical practice marketing a year ago may not work today. Unfortunately you cannot rest on your laurels.

There are many digital avenues to consider when planning the online marketing for your medical practice.

When you add in print advertising (as we described in a recent blog post), and the number of things you need to do may seem overwhelming. The best way to cut through this complexity is to think about who you’re marketing to.

Recently, we told you about buyer personas. You might be wondering how this concept relates to medical practices. In the same way it’s important for a small business owner to know who’s going to buy their product, it’s important for you as a healthcare professional to know who’s going to become your patient.

The key to successfully marketing your medical practice is…your ideal patient.

Google search results are your image.

What will a potential patient or referring physician see when they “Google you”?

What people see when they Google you is going to be their impression of your practice. It’s highly likely this is their first impression of you as patient behavior has adapted to the Internet and patients now look you up before deciding whether to book an appointment.

These days, digital is fashionable. 

Everyone seems to be talking about the power of social media, email marketing, and blogging, which may leave you wondering if print is effective for medical practice marketing.

We believe the answer is “yes”. Print isn’t dead, and here are a few ways how advertising in magazines can help you grow your medical practice.