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Learn how to optimize content for healthcare SEO with Ghost Medical's expert tips on website authority, organic traffic, and backlink strategies.

Healthcare SEO - How to Optimize Medical Web Content

Hannah Sether - Head of Web & Online Marketing
June 27, 2024
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At Ghost Medical, a leading medical visualization studio, our specialized department focuses on medical web Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With our expertise, we understand the importance of medical SEO marketing. This guide will provide valuable insights on optimizing content for healthcare SEO, covering key areas such as website authority, natural profile, organic traffic, and link power.

Website Authority Score Example: Circle diagram with link power, natural profile and organic traffic
Website Authority Score Example

Understanding Website Authority Score

A website's authority score is crucial for determining its ranking in search engine results. This score is influenced by several factors, including the quality and quantity of backlinks, the website's overall SEO health, and its ability to attract organic traffic. A high authority score means your site is trusted by search engines, making it more likely to rank higher for relevant keywords.

To build a reputable website over time, focus on earning high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites, maintaining a natural backlink profile, and driving organic traffic through valuable content​​​​. Authority score is not static; it's a measure that evolves with your website's performance and link-building efforts.

Improving Your Natural Link Profile

Creating a natural link profile involves acquiring backlinks that appear organic and are relevant to your content. A natural profile consists of a mix of dofollow and nofollow links, various anchor texts, and links from diverse sources. To improve your link profile:

  • Create High-Quality Content: Publish content that others find valuable and want to link to.
  • Guest Blogging: Write articles for reputable sites in your industry.
  • Internal Linking: Link your own related articles to each other to improve site structure and SEO​​​​.

Building Link Power 

Backlinks are links from other websites to your content. They are a vote of confidence and play a critical role in SEO. High-quality backlinks from reputable sources can significantly boost your authority score and improve your search engine rankings.

A computer screen showcasing quality medical content that could increase backlink power
Develop content in your medical niche that your target audience would want to link to earn quality backlinks.

Ways to Increase Backlink Power

  • Publish Guest Posts: Write for other blogs in your niche to earn backlinks.
  • Create Shareable Content: Develop content that others want to link to, such as infographics and in-depth guides.
  • Engage in Outreach: Reach out to industry influencers and websites to promote your content and build backlinks.
  • Use Reputable Backlink Builder Research Tools: The SEMrush Link Building Tool helps users find and manage link-building opportunities by analyzing target keywords and competitors.

Avoid Quick Spammy Backlink Building Practices

Backlink building is a critical component of search engine optimization (SEO), aimed at improving a website's authority and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). However, achieving high-quality backlinks is a process that requires time, effort, and adherence to ethical practices. Attempting to expedite this process through spammy techniques can lead to several negative consequences.

Search engines like Google have sophisticated algorithms that can detect unnatural linking patterns. Using spammy techniques such as buying links, participating in link farms, or using automated tools to generate links can result in penalties, including significant drops in rankings or even complete removal from the index.

Search engines prioritize the quality of backlinks over quantity. High-quality backlinks come from reputable, authoritative websites related to your niche. Building relationships with such sites and earning their links naturally takes time.

Boosting Organic Traffic

Organic traffic and link power are interconnected aspects of SEO. Increasing organic traffic involves optimizing your website for search engines using trending keywords in your niche. 

Search Image of Semrush Keyword Overview Magic Tool

How to Find Trending Keywords for Healthcare SEO

Tools like Semrush's keyword overview tool can help you find key terms with high volume and low difficulty, enhancing your chances of being seen in search results​​​​. When researching your website or blog subject, it is essential to focus on a trending keyword within your niche. Utilizing tools like Semrush's Keyword Overview can help you identify key terms. This tool provides a list of keyword variations and related questions, along with crucial metrics such as search volume, keyword difficulty (KD%), and trend data. By leveraging this information, you can discover unique, high-volume, and low-difficulty keywords, which can significantly enhance your visibility in search results.

How to Determine Which Healthcare SEO Keywords to Target 

When selecting keywords, pay close attention to the KD% score. The authority score of your website significantly influences your ability to rank for certain keywords and appear in search results. Generally, websites with lower authority scores should target low-competition keywords, often found in long-tail keywords with specific search intent. Conversely, websites with high authority can target more competitive, high-traffic keywords that are typically dominated by established websites.

low-competition keywords for the query "Cluster Headaches" Semrush tool
the volume of keywords with high and low KD% ( Keyword Difficulty ) Scores for the search query "Cluster Headaches" 
Low Authority Score (1-20)

Websites with a low authority score should target low-competition keywords. These are usually long-tail keywords with very specific search intent.

Moderate Authority Score (21-60)

With a moderate authority score, websites can start targeting slightly more competitive keywords. These keywords might have moderate search volume but still relatively low competition

High Authority Score (61-100)

Websites with a high authority score can target fairly competitive keywords. These keywords often have high search volumes and require strong content and backlinks to rank well.

How to Find Your Authority Score

If you're uncertain about your authority score, you can easily check it using Semrush's Domain Overview tool.

Best Healthcare SEO Practices when writing Blogs, Articles or a Single Web Page

Use tools like Yoast SEO to optimize keyword usage.

Using and Understanding SEO Tools for Optimization

When writing blogs or creating content prioritize best healthcare SEO practices. Use tools like Yoast SEO to optimize keyword usage. These tools provide guidelines on keyword density, readability, and overall SEO health. They help ensure that keywords are used effectively without overuse, preventing keyword cannibalization.

Note that Yoast SEO only works on WordPress sites. For other platforms, follow general SEO best practices.

Key Guidelines for Non-WordPress Website Users

Focus Key phrase 

A Focus Keyphrase in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the primary keyword or phrase that you want a specific webpage to rank for in search engine results. It is the main term that best describes the content of the page and is what you believe users will type into search engines when looking for information related to that content.

a computer screen on Healthcare SEO - How to Optimize Medical Web Content

Body Text

A Blog Post should include a minimum of 300 words and maximum of 800 words for the body text.

Focus key phrases should be between 0.5% and 3% of the total body text. This means that all words of a Focus key phrase should appear in one sentence, but the order of the words may differ. For example, if there are 500 words, the Focus key phrase should appear between 3 to 15 Times. If there are 700 words, the Focus key phrase should appear 4 - 21 times ext.

76% of the sentences should not exceed 20 words per sentence.

At least 30% of the sentences in your text should contain a transition word.

sentences that contain a passive voice, should not exceed the recommended maximum of 10%. Prioritize active counterparts.

Headings

The Focus Key phrase for each blog should appear in the H1 Title once, and in 30–75% of your H2 and H3 subheadings.

The H1 should be between 50 to 60 characters long. The following headings are free to vary in length.

SEO Title

An SEO title ( or Title tag ) is the text that appears in the header of a page or as the SEO title tag in HTML. It's the first thing people see when searching online for a page's content, and it appears in the browser tab when a page is open. SEO titles are important because they help search engines and readers understand what's on a page, and they can help improve click-through rate (CTR) and drive traffic to a website.

The Focus key phrase should appear in the SEO title once. The SEO Title should be between 48 to 68 characters long.

an example of Best Healthcare SEO Practices when writing Blogs, Articles or a Single Web Page

Slug

A web slug is a user-friendly, URL-safe string used to identify a particular web page in a website. Slugs are important for both user experience and search engine optimization (SEO) because they make URLs more understandable to users and easier for search engines to index.

The Focus key phrase should also appear in the Slug once. The Slug should reflect the H1 Title. So if the H1 title is “Medical SEO Marketing” then the URL should show  https://mysite.com/blog/medical-seo-marketing

Meta Description

A meta description is a brief summary of a webpage's content that appears in search engine results. Meta descriptions are used to entice users to click on the link by highlighting the most relevant and compelling aspects of the content. 

The Focus key phrase should appear in the Meta description once. The meta description should be between 70 - 155 characters.

Image Suggestions

All blogs should include at least two images that properly reflect the relevance of the post and Focus Key phrase. Make sure alt text is present for both images and be between 30 to 125 characters.

At least one of the suggested Alt Text should include the Focus Key phrase.

Healthcare SEO Conclusion

Optimizing content for healthcare SEO requires a strategic approach focused on building website authority, maintaining a natural link profile, and driving organic traffic. At Ghost Medical, we understand that web SEO marketing is a comprehensive and intricate process that demands a significant amount of time, expertise, and ongoing effort. Our specialization in medical SEO marketing enables us to effectively manage and execute these complex strategies on your behalf.

How Ghost Medical can Help you with web services

How Ghost Medical can Help you with Healthcare SEO 

Our team of experts is dedicated to staying up-to-date with the latest Healthcare SEO trends and algorithm updates, ensuring that your website remains competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape. We start by conducting a thorough analysis of your current website performance, identifying areas for improvement, and developing a customized SEO plan tailored to your specific needs.

From keyword research and on-page optimization to link-building and content creation, we cover all aspects of SEO to enhance your website's visibility. Additionally, we provide detailed analytics and reporting, allowing you to track your progress and see the tangible results of our efforts.

By partnering with Ghost Medical, you can focus on what you do best—providing exceptional healthcare services—while we take care of boosting your online presence. Let us help you attract more visitors, increase patient engagement, and ultimately grow your practice through effective medical SEO marketing. Contact Us Today!

Ghost Medical Healthcare SEO Web Services

June 27, 2024
Ghost Productions Inc.
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