The importance of content has been repeated throughout almost every publication spouting “quick tips to improve your SEO”, and for a very good reason. Content is king when it comes to optimizing your site to rank in major search engines, and it has even been highlighted as a focal point by Google itself in multiple instances.
Unfortunately, it can be all too easy to overload a site with just any kind of content. What truly matters is producing content that has been specifically written with SEO best practices in mind, while also remembering that it needs to be understood by a number of different individuals with different reading levels.
A Goal Worth Writing For
If you’re developing a new page of content, it’s important to make sure you have a strong knowledge of the components that can help it rank. At the start of writing a new page, you should have a strategy for what the page is about, who it is for, and what its ultimate purpose is. In the field of healthcare, this primarily relates to a procedure or condition, the practice for which you are writing, and the ability of that content to get potential patients to convert online. The components to be included throughout the piece should include the following:
Meta Data
For each page, there is a title and description that is shown when the link to said page appears in Google search results. This title and description need to be as relevant as possible to target users, meaning that it must capture the meaning and purpose of the page within the few characters that are allowed for the length of each. Meta titles should be approximately 55-65 characters long, while meta descriptions may be up to 160 characters.
In addition to adhering to these guidelines to improve the appearance and presentation of the page itself when listed in search engine results, it must also be written to entice and engage users. For example, patients tend to look online in order to educate themselves about a particular condition or procedure. By creating a meta title that properly identifies the procedure, users are able to know that the information pertains to them and what they are looking for. It is then the responsibility of the meta title to provide additional background information, and to prompt the user to complete a desired action, such as clicking through to actually read the page.
Keywords
Of course, the content must also use focus words mention what it is really all about. These terms are called keywords, and before you go in adding them to every single sentence in your content, be warned that overdoing it could hurt your “rankability” just as much as not including them at all.
Google’s algorithm is able to determine how many times a keyword is used and compare it to the total amount of words in a page, which produces a keyword density. On average, pages should have a keyword density rate of 1-3%. This means that if you overstuff the page, Google is going to know, and it will consequently lower the rankings of your new page. When selecting keywords, the copywriter should be concerned with the topic of the page, as well as the locality of the business. For healthcare, this translates to including the names of physicians and nearby target cities to help improve the chances of the provider or practice’s content appearing when users near their office complete a high-volume search like “kidney stone symptoms.”
Relevant Links and CTAs
Content that is optimized to appear in organic search results should also include other references and resources for users to utilize while they are on your website. What started as a page for kidney stone symptoms may lead them to a surgical treatment that you specialize in and have more experience in performing than other physicians in the area.
It is also important to provide at least one call-to-action (CTA) within each piece of content. Potential patients may be reading through a page explaining the many options available to them for treating kidney stones, but they should also be made aware that you are able to provide such treatment services. The user has already become more informed, now help them complete the next step by getting them into your office to talk about their health concerns!
Not an Expert? Not a Problem!
All of the small details that go into writing a single piece of content can easily become overwhelming, which is why the team at Practis has you covered! Clients involved in our Online Marketing Programs need only reach out with a new request for a page or blog post, and our copywriting specialists will work with you to create a custom piece of content that is the perfect addition to your website. Contact us today for more details about medical content development and copywriting for SEO!
