Eyeworld

52 | EYEWORLD | AUGUST 2020 I NSIDE THE PRACTICE by Crawford Ifland Search engine optimization (SEO): What is it? How can it help your practice? Is it worth your time? This article covers the basics of SEO and how it can help attract more patients online. S earch engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your web- site to appear higher in search engine results, and it's a vital element of a practice marketing plan to attract new patients. A smart investment in SEO pays huge dividends: Eight out of 10 patients begin their search for healthcare providers on Google, and the #1 spot on Google receives 10 times more traffic than the website at the #10 spot. Being on page 1 is crucial, too; fewer than 1 in 100 patients (0.78%) click on results on the second page or beyond. Compelled by the financial benefits of ranking on page 1, many practices engage in SEO, but few do it well. Myths and misconcep- tions about SEO abound. There are countless questions about how SEO works and what to expect. But among practices that engage in strategic SEO campaigns, one question resurfaces time and time again: How long does it take? The magic question: How long does healthcare SEO take? Like any other marketing initiative, SEO results will vary depending on several factors. Four of the biggest factors that will determine the efficacy and timeframe of an SEO campaign include: 1. Competition, both among practices in your market and among keywords you would like to rank for 2. The current "health" of your practice website (including site structure, technical SEO, in- bound links, etc.) 3. Your current rankings for valuable keywords 4. The content of your website Assuming a website is in a small- to mid- sized market, has no major onsite liabilities, and produces content regularly, an SEO campaign generally takes around 4–6 months to begin seeing results. However, all practices are different—and so are their websites. A solo practitioner with a four-page website and no blog is very different from a multi-location practice with hundreds of pages, a blog, and a robust content market- ing plan. When answering the question of how long SEO may take, it's unreasonable to expect the same results for each site. For instance, the larger practice may have an easier time ranking well due to the volume of content they produce. Conversely, the small practice may have an easier time ranking well because with such a simple site, they don't have to deal with the problems and technical debt the large practice may have inherited over the years. As an example, let's compare the results of two of our SEO clients, Practice A and Practice B. Practice A is a cataract and refractive surgery practice in a midwestern market of about 3.3 million people. Practice B is a plastic surgery practice in a southern market of about 7.5 million people. Practice A results: • Rankings improved by 67% in 5 months • Page 1 ranking for seven keywords (compared to one keyword before) • Keyword rankings improved by an average of 27 spots Practice B results: • Rankings improved by 127% in 8 months • Page 1 ranking for 12 keywords (compared to zero keywords before) • Keyword rankings improved by an average of 118 spots How long does healthcare SEO take? About the author Crawford Ifland Founder and CEO Messenger Healthcare Marketing Lexington, Kentucky

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