It’s no secret that business has changed over the last decade. Competition has become more intense and the sheer number of professionals entering the job market has increased dramatically. However, what has changed most dramatically is the way that the average person shops around for goods and services. If one looks at the facts and figures it is startling to realize that the total value of global eCommerce sales totaled around 4.28 trillion US dollars.
Now although most medical practices will not be selling the services of their doctors over the Internet this gives some idea of the growing preference that consumers have for sourcing products, services, and information over the INternet. With 400 million active websites out their Doctors and practices need to be aware that if they are not on the Internet they are at a severe competitive disadvantage.
One of the ways that practices can remain competitive and attract new patients is through building trust and showcasing their areas of specialty on the Internet – and that is where medical SEO experts come into play.
Search Engine Optimization is a fairly simple concept to grasp. It is the use of phrases and words that attract the attention of the algorithms that elevate organizations in search engine results. In reality, medical SEO experts do far more than simply come up with the keywords and phrases that will attract the attention of those algorithms and ensure that the medical practice appears on that all-important first page of the potential patient’s search results. The entire design and content of a website require specialist attention.
But that is only the beginning of the job. In order to make sure that SEO contributes to feeding the sales funnel the SEO approach must be continually monitored and the results must be the foundation of continued efforts to tighten any marketing program that relies on the Internet.
All of these activities are tremendously time-consuming – and that is why many medical practices turn to external advisors to handle their marketing and SEO efforts (including their activities on social media). It saves time and money and the return on investment can be significant. Having an SEO expert who will handle the day-to-day challenges that are part and parcel of marketing on the Internet is no longer an optional extra when it comes to reaching the correct target audiences – it is quite simply a strategic imperative that has a direct impact on the bottom line of the practice.