SEO for doctors, clinics and medical practices

You don't have a website yet and are wondering whether you even need one as a doctor? The answer is clear: yes, a website is essential for medical practices these days. In the process of digitalization, Internet research is taking the place of word of mouth and telephone directories. Personal references are still important, but the influence of a meaningful online presence should not be underestimated.

Your patients are searching online

Online searches are often the first or second step for people looking for a medical practice. It is therefore essential for you as a medical practice or medical center to achieve a good position in search results and industry portals. The competition never sleeps: your potential patients can find a large number of suitable doctors on the Internet within a few seconds and decide for or against your practice based on the reviews of other users. Even if you are a specialist in your field and have many years of expertise, you will probably not be considered in the selection process if you do not have a practice website. This is because potential patients will have a hard time finding their way to you without a practice website.

In addition, with a professional, authentic and appealing website, you give anxious patients the chance to get an impression of your team, your services and your practice in advance. This increases the likelihood of them contacting you.

In Germany, patients enjoy the privilege of choosing their specialist doctor at will. However, this means that medical practices, like companies in other sectors, have to face a competitive situation. Particularly in large cities, where the range of medical facilities available to patients is very extensive, practices have to assert themselves against a large number of competitors.

Hardly any users look at the results on page five - it is therefore crucial for your medical practice to be highly visible online. Professional SEO for doctors ensures that patients visit your practice and not that of the competition. Search engine optimization is an important part of practice marketing and, compared to search engine advertising, is a long-term and sustainable strategy for success. This involves designing or optimizing your own website in terms of content and technical aspects so that it achieves a high ranking position for search queries. A well-designed practice website, enriched with relevant keywords with a high search volume, backlinks and valuable information, is rewarded by search engines with a preferential ranking in the search results. With SEO for doctors, you can take a proactive approach to achieving one of the coveted top positions and thereby improve the visibility of your practice website.

Google has developed guidelines to assess the quality of content in the search engine and thus control the ranking. In SEO for doctors, the concepts of E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness) and YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) play a particularly important role. Content relating to health, finance and security is assigned to the YMYL area. Google's aim is to provide users with useful content. Google scrutinizes content on health topics, where the potential for harm to users in the event of incorrect information is enormous, very closely. For this reason, YMYL content in search engine optimization for doctors should be created with great care. This is the only way to ensure the quality and accuracy of your own texts and a good ranking.

Complex SEO for medical practices requires time and experience. Doctors have specialist knowledge in their field, but very few are involved in online marketing. For this reason, it is advisable to have SEO for doctors carried out by experienced specialists. After all, improper implementation can not only damage your website, but also have a negative impact on the success of your practice. An SEO agency for doctors can help you to achieve and maintain a good position on Google, taking into account the ranking factors. This is because SEO is a long-term process that requires regular maintenance. You can delegate this task to your SEO agency for doctors and devote your time to your patients with peace of mind.

Local SEO for doctors

Medical practices and specialists generally have a regional focus. In order to be successful with local SEO, it is crucial to consider search queries with a specific place name, as users often start their search with place names such as "dentist Münster" or, in large cities, with "ENT doctor Berlin Neukölln", for example. It is therefore advisable to carry out local SEO by using keywords that match the search intention, setting up a Google My Business company profile and registering in industry portals and directories. Detailed company information such as specialist area, opening hours, contact details and photos should be entered so that you and your practice can be found more easily. Search engine advertising (placing advertisements in search engines) is also a good way to use as many efficient channels as possible to improve your visibility on the Internet.