Quite a rollercoaster we’ve all been on the past few years! First your practice had to deal with shutdowns, then you had to handle overwhelming demand. As everything gets more expensive and prospective patients start thinking twice before surgery, it’s anyone’s guess how “soft” the landing will be following the sugar-rush high of demand in the past 2 years.
But one thing is certain: by continuing SEO efforts even in the best of times, our clients are well-positioned to stay ahead if and when the going gets tough. We discussed last month how the changing PPC landscape is opening up a number of opportunities for practices to spend smartly to drive new conversions. But SEO has been and will continue to be the main driver of new leads, and we see it being more important than ever in 2023.
Key SEO Work for Medical Practices
All too often, the term SEO is thrown around without any real substance. Maybe you think you need to “do” SEO on your website. But what does that even mean?
If we break down the term Search Engine Optimization, you can probably figure out that on a high level, this work is about helping your practice get found in search engines. Ten or 15 years ago, it was about throwing a bunch of popular or commonly searched keywords on your website. But the game has changed radically. Now, our SEO work centers on:
- Content Marketing – Content includes the text, images and video on your website. Having content that answers popular patient questions, provides exclusive insights, and discusses the latest trends is essential for top Google rankings. Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines state that “unmaintained and inaccurate/misleading content is a reason for a low Page Quality rating.” In addition, medical practices have what Google calls “your money or your life” content, which needs to be reviewed and refreshed regularly to ensure ongoing accuracy.
- Local SEO – The most important viewers of your website are the women and men in your local market. Making sure you show up prominently on Google Maps, having accurate business information on a wide range of listing sites, and focusing on local search terms are all important components of a local SEO strategy.
- Reviews & Rankings – By now our clients know that positive reviews are the lifeblood of their practices. Regularly asking for and receiving stellar reviews helps to show prospective patients why you are worth a consult, and it also shows Google that you are seriously committed to excellent customer service.
- Website Technical Components – You need to maintain the technology that drives your website, including plugin updates, security patches, server maintenance and other tools that help your site load quickly and offer a quality, fully functional experience on any device.
- Social Media – How much your practice “buzzes” or “trends” on social media is a signal to Google about how popular you are. There is a direct correlation between our clients who are most engaged on social media and the ones who get the most website traffic and leads. So if you’re still on the fence about whether to invest in social media, it’s time to jump off!
- Website Optimization – What used to be the main driver of SEO 10+ years ago is now one of the smaller pieces of the puzzle, but still an important aspect to ensure your website ranks well. Having meta and on-page information that is chock full of relevant and popular search terms puts you in the best possible position to compete with other practices in your market.
When put together, tactics in each of these major buckets help to reinforce to Google that your practice is a place where its customers (web searchers) will have a positive experience. And that, ultimately, is a huge factor in how much visibility you have on their search engine.
SEO and the Macro Economy
When demand cools down, that doesn’t mean no one will be scheduling plastic surgery. In past downturns, we typically see demand flatline or perhaps dip a bit. And given the wild increase in cosmetic surgery demand in the past 2 years, some return to “normal” should be expected.
This means that there still should be plenty of people researching and considering cosmetic procedures. The role of your online marketing is to capture and convert more of these leads than your competitors. SEO becomes increasingly important as demand slows down because each lead becomes that much more precious. And most likely, the people still considering a cosmetic procedure will be slower to schedule a consult, and slower to decide on booking surgery.
By optimizing your online presence through all the channels mentioned above, your practice is more likely to come up again and again as people do their research. These repeated “touchpoints” build trust (assuming they are positive) and brand recognition.
How SEO Changes in a Downturn
- There are fewer prospective patients considering surgery, and they’re subjected to more “noise” as the same number of cosmetic practices try to reach them. This means that prospective patients can and will nitpick, so the little things matter more – how welcoming your site feels, how positive your reviews are, how you’ve responded to negative feedback, the vibe on your social channels.
- To nurture along some potential leads who may take longer to decide on a procedure, it’s good to shift the focus to education. Offer a procedure guide, treatment planner, or other in-depth resource to help persuade prospects that you know your stuff and are committed to answering their every question.
- A shift in the surgical/nonsurgical procedure mix is likely, with most practices refocusing their marketing emphasis back to higher margin procedures. This means more SEO work around terms for breast augmentation, tummy tucks, and mommy makeovers, and less focus on med spa treatments that don’t bring in as much revenue.
- That said, don’t rule out leveraging your med spa as a way to get new patients to “try on” your practice before committing to more expensive procedures. This is where regular promotion of specials and focusing on keywords related to “cost” and “price” can help to draw in a steady stream of prospects.
- Our focus put even greater emphasis on optimizing for keywords that convert. Sure, getting good rankings for the largest volume keywords is still important, but keywords that demonstrate that the searcher is farther along in the buying cycle – like “plastic surgery consultation” or “cosmetic surgery financing” for instance – become that much more important.
Beyond 2023
Practices that have kept a focus on SEO both before and during a recession are in the best possible position to enjoy a long-term payoff that will likely persist well after the recession is over. If anything, more focus on SEO during a downturn, not less, is the smart move. While it can be hard to maintain or increase spend on anything that doesn’t feel “essential” when your revenue takes a hit, demand will more than likely bounce back and then some.
We helped clients navigate the 2009-2010 recession. The ones who were able and willing to increase their online marketing investments then grew faster when demand returned. Granted, it was easier to shift budgets last time out, since many practices were still spending significantly on less productive, offline advertising media such as radio, print and billboards. This time out, with online being the main marketing channel, there’s less “fat” to trim.
Bill Gates is known for the advice, “save like a pessimist, invest like an optimist.” There is no doubt that there are many speedbumps on the road ahead. To some extent, there always will be. But with smart marketing investments and a focus on the longer-term positive, you put your practice in the best possible position to prosper.