The Best Kept Secret on the Internet

Many practices invest significantly in professional web sites with comprehensive user experience testing. Many medical practice web sites can cost thousands or tens of thousands to create, test, and implement. However, if your site isn't listed high on the top search engines, then it could be the best kept secret on the internet.

Just investing significantly for developing a comprehensive, professional web site doesn't ensure top rankings on the search engines. Unlike the saying in the movie Field of Dreams ("If you build it, they will come") - just building a web site isn't enough for medical practices.

SEO vs. PPC

Every practice's web strategy should include Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Some practice's should also consider Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing, depending on their competition for search engine placement. SEO is often referred to as "Organic" or "Natural" search engine optimization. Google, for example, has a complex formula ("algorithm") for determining a web site's ranking. Google is notorious for constantly changing the algorithm of its search engine (many of the other search engine's are similarly complex).

Finding and using the right keywords associated with your practice is only the first step. You also need fresh content added to your site consistently and you'll need to resubmit your content to Google to stay current. Backlinks or the links that others link to you are very important. They show that someone out there is interested in your content and that someone is willing to drive traffic to your site. Backlinks from higher ranked sites improve your rankings as well. Consider linking your site from vendors, referring practices, and your social media sites, like your Facebook fan page and Twitter account. This builds both credibility in social media, a slight boost to rankings for search, and increases the positive user experience of someone trying to find all of your different web presences.

To ensure that you get listed highly, consider doing Pay-Per-Click (PPC). These are the "sponsored" sites that are listed on the top left and along the right side of any given search. You only pay Google a fee if a prospect clicks through to your site. However, you must understand that just because you may be the highest bidder for a given set of key words, you may not be listed first. The highest ranking could go to a competitor if they have a higher Google ranking, which measures the overall "quality" of the site. Therefore, you need a professional, quality site, as well as an SEO and PPC strategy.

If you are lost as to the next step with your web site or if you're looking to improve your visibility in search engine rankings contact me.



Rich Hachenburg
Founder of Competitive Edge Healthcare Marketing
http://blog.healthcaremarketingtools.com/




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