A guide on what to write and how to write so that patients and search engines notice you.
Just about everyone by now has heard about search engine optimization and understands its importance in the online search engine ranking world. One of the foundations of the ranking is the number of keywords and keyword phrases that are on your website when search engines’ robots visit it in the dead of night (it’s actually any time of day, but it sounds creepier that way). Furthermore, it isn’t just the keywords that matter. In fact, their placement is even more important.
Much of the website’s content has probably been systematically laid out. The “About Us” page, the “Contact Us” section, and the “Schedule an Appointment” forms do not offer much autonomy for the doctor to gear his or her message.
Blogs exist to do just that. When medical professionals design their blogs, they often design them to incorporate key phrases that people might be searching for. Some examples for general practitioners may include “annual physical,” “pain in legs,” and “colonoscopy.”
These are all examples of common issues that people may seek a doctor for. While these terms might not fit well into typical pages on your website, they fit very well into blogs. Furthermore, they can be used more than once without sounding like spam. Blogs are important because they allow the doctor to control the message on their website. Blogs are an important part of a content marketing plan.
Five principles should be followed when writing a blog:
- Be informative.
- Keep it simple.
- Use great images.
- Add videos.
- Blog often.
- Share on social media.
Example
I hope you notice that this very blog post incorporates all the above tips. We strive to post 3-5 times per week on the relevant subjects our clients and future clients may find interesting. This sort of blogging is woven into our marketing strategy and tactics. We write these posts for you – and for the search engines.
Does it work? If you’re reading this, it certainly does.
How do you make your medical blog effective?
- Provide a solution to a problem your visitor is experiencing.
Your impact can go beyond showing that you can provide great medical services. People want to trust you as an expert in everything related to their health. Consistently posting helpful content helps you to earn their trust as somebody who knows how to address those needs. - Develop a great title.
When people search for information (the kind you possess), the first bit they’ll see on the search result pages is your blog’s title. Keep it short and sweet. Keep your blog title to 6 or 8 words so the entire title will appear in search results. - Don’t forget a great Call-To-Action.
You’re blogging on your medical website because you want to grow your practice. After reading your posts, let your visitor explore the conversation further. While the end goal is to get them to make an appointment, you want to give visitors other options for connecting with your office and giving you their information.
Readers may not be quite ready to make an appointment. That is why you should also allow readers to sign up for your email list or subscribe to your blog to receive updates. - Think like the search engines.
Blogging in a format that resembles how questions are asked and answered makes great sense. After all, that’s probably what got you to read this article. Prospective patients use search engines like Google to seek answers to their issues. The job of search engines is to find people what they are looking for. So, think like them. What would you look for if someone asked you a question?
How to Write Well?
Writing any good web content is difficult, whether you’re a natural writer or not. But writing marketing content that, in turn, has to be marketed is particularly challenging. Of course, you could opt to do it yourself. But this option almost always leads to the earlier discussed scenario of an abandoned blog that started with great intentions and went nowhere. Writing your blog content can be as dangerous as working on your medical website design.
The easiest option and one that will be most successful is to hire someone. You can guide them and help them find questions that your patients ask you often, but you will leave it to them to write and publish the blogs.
If you find the idea of brainstorming topics, performing keyword research, writing content, and finding photos daunting or simply unappealing, hiring your blog to an experienced web marketing agency is the best way to ensure success.
How Often Should You Write?
We get this question tossed at us quite often. Our answer may be surprising.
Blogs written by healthcare professionals are tremendously popular. How do we know? Google discloses this to us so in two ways – how it ranks such blogs in its search engine and by the number of visits it records to various blog pages on our website (what you are reading right now) and on our clients’ websites.
The magic number for blogging frequency is maybe twice a week. In short, more blogging means more traffic and potential new patients for your dental or medical practice. Here are some relevant facts:
- Many marketers reported up to a 45 percent increase in web traffic when the total number of blog posts on their website increased from 11-20 to 21-50.
- Lead generation also benefits from regular blogging activity. When the frequency of blog posts was increased from once to twice per week, the number of incoming leads nearly doubled in the same study.
- The next big jump comes from daily blogging, which will double your traffic.
- One big downside of daily blogging is that each post will remain at the top of your blog only for just that day; blogging twice a week means each post will get twice the attention from being in that first position.
- The other problem with daily blogging is the burnout factor; the pressure to consistently produce at that rate usually results in a decline in the overall quality of your posts;
All said, posting a blog twice a week seems to be the best answer. But weekly blogging can also be acceptable for most specialties.
How to Share Your Blog on Social Media
Once your blog post is published on your website, take that extra step and push it over to your social media sites. You’ll see higher website traffic and an improvement in search engine rankings. Some of the most effective ways to promote your blog posts include:
- Creating great content consistently. Informative, relevant, and sometimes even provocative content is what your readers will want to share. Give them what they want, and they’ll give you what you want.
- Making sure that your social sharing buttons are visible. While many sharing buttons are located toward the top of the blog, placing them at the end of the blog is another option that works just as well.
- Don’t just hope your website visitors share your content – politely ask them to share it. Since nobody likes to be the first, get the ball rolling and share the content yourself!
How long should a good blog post be?
Blog post length matters because it correlates strongly to higher rankings in search engines. This balance has been around for years, but recent evidence suggests that longer posts are becoming more important for good search ranking. Although that is assuming the blog is full of useful content and comprehensive, not just long.
Google tries to rank the highest quality content at the top of its rankings. Why? Because they want to give users the best results possible. They have logically concluded that longer content is more detailed and, thus, more likely to appeal to the users.
The jury is still out on exact details; some acceptable and successful posts can be as short as 500 words. In contrast, some that we post are as many as 4,000 words!
What to Write About?
- Choose a relevant topic: Select a topic relevant to your medical practice or your target audience. Consider what topics are currently trending in your industry and what your readers will likely be interested in. Consider answering your patients frequently asked questions in your own conversations with them.
- Research your topic: Once you have chosen your topic, research it thoroughly. Look for reliable sources, statistics, and studies to support your arguments and provide readers with valuable information.
- Use a clear and concise writing style: Use clear and concise language to communicate your ideas. Avoid jargon and technical language that may be difficult for readers to understand.
- Write for your audience: Tailor your writing to your target audience. Consider their level of medical knowledge, age, gender, and other relevant factors when creating your content.
- Use visuals: Incorporate visuals such as images, charts, and infographics to make your content more engaging and visually appealing.
- Include a call-to-action: Encourage readers to take action by including a call-to-action at the end of your post. This could be signing up for a newsletter, scheduling an appointment, or contacting your practice for more information.
- Get feedback. And last but not least, ask your patients, staff, and even friends and family for feedback on your existing blog posts and also ideas about what to write about.
How to Structure Your Medical Blog?
Regarding website design and content creation, visual and content hierarchy can play a crucial role in driving conversions. Here are some key ways to use hierarchy to your advantage:
- Prioritize key content: Use hierarchy to prioritize your most important content, such as your call-to-action or unique selling proposition. Make these elements more prominent on the page to ensure they stand out.
- Use visual cues: Use visual cues such as color, size, and placement to guide users’ attention to important elements on the page.
- Keep it simple: Avoid cluttered or overly complicated designs that distract users from the main message or call to action.
- Test and iterate: Test different visual and content hierarchies to see which performs best, and iterate based on your findings.
Let’s Review Why You Need a Blog
An integrated blog can effectively enhance your medical website’s online presence, increase engagement, and build credibility with your target audience. Here are some of the key benefits of having an integrated blog:
- Boosts SEO: Consistently publishing fresh, high-quality content on your blog can help to boost your website’s search engine rankings.
- Increases engagement: A blog can increase engagement with your target audience, providing them with valuable information and insights about your practice and the medical industry.
- Builds credibility: Publishing informative and insightful blog posts can help to build your practice’s credibility and establish your expertise in your field.
- Drives traffic: An integrated blog can help drive traffic to your website, increasing the number of potential patients exposed to your practice.
- Provides a platform for thought leadership: A blog can serve as a platform for thought leadership, allowing you to share your perspectives on important medical issues and trends.
In summary, writing a good medical blog requires a relevant topic, thorough research, clear writing, visual aids, and a call to action. Utilizing visual and content hierarchy can drive conversions by prioritizing key content, using visual cues, keeping it simple, and testing and iterating. Integrating a blog on your medical site can boost SEO, increase engagement, build credibility, drive traffic, and provide a platform for thought leadership. If you need help with your Content Marketing, let us know.
