How We Got Top 3 on Google for ‘HEALTHCARE SEO’

So you want to get to the top of Google for your specialty – that’s natural, not just for business but also for professional pride. If you’re the best then Google should be showing you at the top.  There are thousands of companies who promise to do this and you may have even tried a few. Certainly this is why our media company has got into SEO, it’s because we had been let down so many times that we decided to learn from the ground up how it’s done.  Last year we set out to put our money where our mouth is and get to the top of Google for our main speciality which is healthcare SEO.  The top organic positions (ie the positions you don’t pay for) that really count are the first four. They get 60% of all clicks to the page.  The remaining 40% is split between adverts and the bottom six. Only two percent will bother to go onto page two.

If you have time then Google ‘Healthcare SEO’ – you’ll find us there in the top three.  Here’s a screengrab I took earlier today.

There is no behind the scenes magic or dodgy dealing done to create this result.  Here’s what we did.

GET YOUR SITE UP TO SCRATCH

We made sure our website told Google what we did.  You’ll be amazed at how many companies don’t do this. Simply discussing it on our website and talking about it regularly is enough to do this. Don’t go over the top with stuffing your site with your keywords, a natural approach will work.  We also made our site easy for Google to read which meant having a well built site.  We use WordPress which is loved by search engines. Other considerations are making the site fast to load, making it work nicely on mobile devices (half your traffic will be from people using tablets and smart phones), naming your images as the thing you do is another easy box to tick.

We can give you a step by step guide to getting your site on track for free. Put your details in our website checker and we’ll send you a bespoke report on how your site is performing and the steps you need to take to fix it – click here.

INWARD LINKS

The search engines look at your site and then then look at how you are perceived online.  If nobody links to you then they assume you’re not that important. An inward link can be something as basic as a listing in a local directory or professional directory.  If you have an affiliation from a hospital or clinic then get them to link to you. If you’ve done something interesting tell the press about it – getting the email address for a journalist is the easiest thing in the world and remember: they are looking for a story! Nearly all journals, magazines and news outlets are online so push yourself out there.  Think about who you can talk to about getting to link to your site.  As with all things SEO be natural.  You don’t want a link from a local cement factory and contrary to what you hear you don’t need thousands of links.  One or two well respected links from relevant websites will be hugely valuable.

SHARE

Content is king is a phrase you’ve probably heard before. I hate the word content if truth be known.  It devalues our knowledge and turns it into a commodity that is pumped out to please search engines. Yet for many of us, that knowledge has taken years to accrue and it is VALUABLE. So let’s call it knowledge and at least keep our self respect.  You need to share your knowledge. Share it with everyone, your peers, your consumers and yes, even your competitors. Your knowledge can be shared in articles and comments and in video form. If you’re an expert in a particular field then offer to write an article on other sector specific websites and request they link back to your site – this quid pro quo is how the web works, all websites need information and you want something in return, which is a link, and you’ll find everyone understands this deal.  Create your own Youtube channel and do short videos. Write a blog and update it every week if you can, but monthly if you’re busy.  The general rule of thumb is a minimum of 300 words as often as you can manage it. If you’re into Twitter of Facebook link them back to your work. Google is looking for the experts, you can’t be a wallflower in this respect. If you are an expert you need to tell the world about it.

OBSERVE OTHERS

If there is someone who’s doing better than you then look what they are doing. Are they writing more than you, are they getting people to link with them, are they sharing more knowledge, is their site better, faster? Take time to look at the competitive landscape and try to understand how you fit into it. If you’re not visible then get to work shining a light on what you do.

This is what we have done to get ranked on Google for a key search term.  No tricks, no dark arts, just playing it with a straight bat. It took about a year to get there and it is our plan to continue to do the work to get us to permanently be at the top and the market leader in what we do. There is no magic bullet, it’s a slow steady slog with one foot in front of another and if you start today within 6-12 months you could be ranked at the top. If you don’t start then you’ll never get picked up.

If you want more info then drop us a line. We’re not pushy people and you won’t find a hard sell here – indeed usually we’ll give you lots of free advice that you can adopt yourself if you have the time.  Contact Gavin on 0774 009 8092 or Gavin@bhmmedia.com for an initial conversation and we’ll see if we can help you.