SEO Tips For Clinics and Doctors

Doctors and health care professionals need the Internet to establish a roster of patients, or to continually obtain new ones. It doesn't matter if you're a family doctor, a plastic surgeon, a dentist or a chiropractor. Having an online presence is the best way to spread the word about the types of treatments and services you offer, to the largest possible audience.

The Prescription for Health Care Professionals, Clinics and Doctors:

1. Buy your name, or your business name in all possible combinations: .com, .net, .info, with and without dashes.
2. One size fits none - focus on your expertise and strength. You are not just a doctor; you are an internist, pediatrician, cardiologist, dermatologist, chiropractor. Make sure your clients are aware of exactly the type of medical services you offer.
3. Focus on your immediate geographic area. Someone in Saskatoon or Thunder Bay won't be looking for a health care professional in Toronto.
4. Your Web site should explain, in detail, how you can help your patients.
5. Have a page devoted to patient testimonials.
6. Tell Web visitors what you expect them to do: contact you!
7. Create a Twitter account and Tweet regularly about your area of expertise and newsworthy events in your city.
8. Create Facebook page and add frequent updates about the services you provide.
9. Create a LinkedIn account and join local community groups and organizations.
10. Create a blog and update it regularly with the latest news in your area of expertise.
11. List on local directories.
12. If you speak more than one language, make sure you promote that on your Web site. Add content in those languages, or have your site translated.
13. Make sure to ask your clients how they found you. If they found you on Google or another search engine, ask which words or phrases they used to find your site.
14. There are 10 search results on Page 1 of Google, Bing, Yahoo and Blekko. You want your site to come up as one of those results. Your Web site, along with Google Places, Google HotPot, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other Social Media outlets, give you control of your exposure, and how web users and researchers gather information about you.
15. Respect your competitors and pay attention to their Web site content.
16. Establish a Pay-Per-Click campaign that focuses on variations of popular legal terminology, such as ECG (Electrocardiography), and EKG (Elektrokardiogramm). If your specialty is Childrens Dentist, you should use "Children Dentist" and "Pedodontist" and "Pediatric Dentist" in your copy to attract more users to your site.