The Medic Update in 2018 kicked off some major SEO changes to how Google’s algorithm processes medical websites and pages. On March 12 of this year, we saw yet another update, and for many medical and health websites, site rank was impacted. Some rankings improved, others fell.
There are two acronyms you need to know.
What dentists need to know about YMYL – This term means “your money, your life.” A YMYL webpage will involved medical information, such as those about drugs, health, diseases and conditions, nutrition, mental health, and wellness. YMYL pages need to provide helpful information to the viewer, for higher site rank.
What dentists need to know about EAT – This term stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trust. For dentists, EAT can be extremely beneficial. After all, you’re a doctor – and expert with authority, whom patients can trust! We just have to let the internet know who you are and why you have high EAT.
YMYL and EAT are big factors in Google’s algorithm these days. To make sure your website complies and even leverages these two factors, you should:
- Complete your author bio in WordPress, under your user account. Make sure blogs are attributed to you, the doctor with a high EAT score. Furthermore, claim your HealthGrades listing and use your complete designation in all online activities.
- Authority backlinks remain important to site rank. If you are a member of an association, forum, or you’re a product provider (like for Invisalign), take advantage of having your website URL listed on those websites. Even if visitors of the site may see your competitors, the benefit to your own website’s rank is more important. Sites like the ADA’s and Invisalign’s have high authority and significant traffic, so having a backlink from those sites to yours is extremely beneficial.
- Text/content. This is a BIG one. Nowadays, most competitive dentists have “unique, quality content” of 500 words on their website service pages. According to a guy over at Moz, you need to be reaching for 10x content. I agree. Strongly. This means, when you type in a search term, let’s use “denture dentist,” look at the highest-ranking page. Make your website page for that term TEN TIMES better – in terms of length and quality of content. Add a few videos and images. This will all but ensure that your site rank is high, if not in position one, for “denture dentist.”
- Share your website on forums and in social media. Do this yourself, naturally as you search and participate in online conversations. Do it everywhere you go online (positive websites only).
- Patient reviews are so important, and sometimes they’re so hard to get! Many dental marketing companies created proprietary review sites, and while those solved the problem of patients not being able to easily add a Google review, it isn’t doing a lot for SEO. You need reviews on Google Business, HealthGrades, Yelp, and other big-name review sites that have great authority scores.
- UX – What’s the user experience like on your desktop, mobile, and tablet version of your website? Are there frustrating popups? Do videos autoplay? These are icky. Your site needs a structured, natural flow, with no nuisances. If the user experience needs to be revisited, do it now rather than waiting.
- Page speed. The faster your site loads, the better – both for SEO and for human users.
- Any lingering, bad or unnatural backlinks pointing to your site should be disavowed through Google Search Console.
Google process 3 billion queries a day. If you want higher site rank for queries about your services, from users in your area (your potential patient avatar), it’s imperative that you address the 8 issues listed here. For help, call me, Shauna Duty. I have 15 years’ experience in dental marketing, SEO, and copywriting, and my company, Identiwrite, can help you.
Text or call 940-395-5115 or email me at [email protected].
