We live in a digital age marked by swift changes. Digital media has vastly altered how patients consume medical information in the 'Health 2.0' era. With this transformation, the marketing landscape today differs from a decade or two ago. With billions of people active in the digital space, businesses increasingly utilize content marketing in their strategy. The healthcare sector is no exception.
Recent surveys underline the importance of blogging as part of the overall content marketing strategy. Besides driving website traffic and promoting your services, blogging helps to build trust with your patients. It is among the most effective strategies to educate your current patients while reaching out to new ones. In this blog, we will focus on understanding how blogs can help you ace the content marketing game.
Content is King
Content marketing is trending, and for good reason. Recent research found that nearly half of all marketers agreed that blogging is one of their most important content marketing strategies. Also, over three-fifth of all marketers aim to scale up their blogging game in 2023.
Quality, long-form content sets you up as a thought leader. When done right, blogging helps lay the foundation for a strong website, and strong websites do well at search engine optimization. Quality content on healthcare services helps engage your target audience, leaving them seeking more information about your brand and services. Hence, it enables you to hit the right chord without coming off as too “salesy”. Your content marketing strategy will showcase your expertise without explicitly advertising your medical services. In addition, blogging is a great brand-building exercise that helps generate leads organically.
Keyword Optimization
While researching blog ideas and writing, it is of prime importance to include the right keywords. This is the tried and tested method for improving organic presence on search engine results. There is a plethora of free and paid tools available online that helps to find relevant keywords. Moz and Google Keyword Planner are two popular free keyword research tools. Listed below are a few tips for making your medical blog more SEO-friendly:
Trust the keyword research tools to select the right keywords
Focus on long-tail keywords
Use infographics and quality images within your blog and index it
Be consistent with adding relevant and fresh content
Professional bloggers use long-tail keywords since they are low competition and help drive quality traffic. Long-tail keywords are more descriptive and hence more precise. Currently, long-tail keywords account for 70% of all web searches. For example, "nephrologist" is a highly competitive keyword. "Nephrologist doing dialysis near me" is a long-tail keyword that is more specific and can help attract the type of patient base you cater to. The multiple benefits of incorporating long-tail keywords include the following:
Better click-through rates
Low competition
More personalized searches
Better conversion rates
Establish Thought Leadership
Being a thought leader in the medical sector labels you as the go-to Zresource in your area of expertise. Building your online presence also helps you expand your network. According to reports, 35% of viewers click on the top search results. So how does blogging help you climb Google ranking? Every time you publish a new blog on your website, the number of your site's indexed pages increases. The search engine scans how many pages the healthcare service provider or doctor has indexed on their website. This is directly proportional to the search-engine-directed traffic your site receives. Moreover, well-written blog posts help optimize your page for long-tail keywords. The pooling of knowledge helps to establish yourself as the industry thought leader and connect with experts for their opinions while simultaneously strengthening your website.
Earn your backlinks
Since quality blog content can help establish thought leadership in the medical field, expect to earn some great backlinks or inbound links. People usually link back to credible, authoritative blogs available online. With an increase in the number of inbound links, Google becomes more confident about the credibility of your website. As your search performance improves on Google, your position as the industry thought leader further solidifies. Brand credibility combined with good SEO paves the way for better lead generation.
Internal Links
Adding backlinks to your blogs boosts better search results. For instance, if you are writing a blog on aesthetic beauty treatments, add a backlink that connects the article to another blog on the benefits of HydraFacial. Backlinks come with the boon of being ultra-cumulative. The more you blog, the easier it becomes to connect all the content and measure the benefits of back-linking. Returning to older blog posts and adding backlinks to more recent works helps keep your content repository relevant and current.
When done right, blogs enhance user experience by providing relevant and expert opinions accessible to all. When posted by credible medical sources, health FAQs and how-to guides help both current and potential patients, increasing repeat visits to your website for relevant, authoritative posts.
Also, it is paramount to add CTA buttons such as 'Contact Us' or ‘Schedule an Appointment’ at the end of the blog posts to generate leads.
Linking to Q&A Sites
Other great sources of referral traffic are Q&A sites such as Yahoo Answers and Quora. Track threads that are related to your blog, especially where a question has been asked that your blog answers. Reply to the thread and lead them to your article for a detailed expert opinion on the subject.
Writing Guest Posts
Guest posts can be time-consuming. However, writing a guest post that links back to your website can provide a significant SEO push and drive traffic.
Posting in Blog Comments
There are many popular health and fitness blogs where you can leave a comment. You could comment on relevant topics and leave a link that leads to your content. It is vital to ensure that you are not spamming. Write a genuine, engaging comment, ensuring your post is relevant to the content.
The Social Shares
Each social media platform has its unique edge. For example, LinkedIn is great for connecting with other thought leaders, opening a window to connect with experts and follow the content they share. This, in turn, helps evaluate your content and generate great blog ideas. Creating a Slideshare of the article helps to achieve more click-throughs and visits. Instagram and Facebook can be used to share the blog you have written for your website and engage with followers to generate leads. Twitter is also a good way to stay connected with other industry experts and stay updated on recent medical developments.
Social media has come a long way from just being restricted to family and friends' conversations and sharing personal moments. Nowadays, it is also vital for reaching your target audience and exploring new business prospects.
The power of Pinterest
Health and wellness-related content perform well on Pinterest, especially infographics. Over the years, Pinterest has evolved more as a health and fitness search engine. Pinterest posts show up in Google results for years, leading more people to your content over a period of time.
Designing Your Content
The purpose of medical blogging is to keep readers engaged by addressing health topics they can relate to. You can connect with potential patients by answering questions or educating them about conditions and new treatments specific to your area of expertise. You could also design your content around popular queries people ask. From a medical perspective, content can be broadly classified as follows:
Frequently asked questions or FAQs
Latest news in your domain
Trending health topics
Common health issues that your medical specialty deals with
Health advice
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