SEO for Doctors: Strategy + Getting Started with Keyword Research

The number of people googling for health professionals is only getting bigger. Virtual care and telemedicine has created a demand for connecting those needing care and offering it. The question is, what do people search for and how do providers show up? In this example, we'll outline a little bit of the process on how to increase bookings by showing up when people are looking.

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Keyword Research

Here are the top searches that give us an idea of volume and types of queries. We're starting from scratch, so we're just plugging in "doctor" into SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush to start off.

Top "Doctor" Google Searches in the U.S.

This is keyword research. Starting broad, then working towards a more specific keyword that explains your practice.

Ophthalmologists take note. There are a lot of people looking for eye doctors, and from what we can tell the competition isn't that tough. We'll choose ophthalmologists in order to chisel away at what could be an appropriate keyword.

Top "Ophthalmologist" Google Searches in the U.S.

The search count for these broad keywords is very high. The Monthly Searches is for all of the U.S. so it makes sense.

City "Ophthalmologist" Searches in the U.S.

Here's where to begin looking for your city and keyword groups.

City "Ophthalmologist" Searches in the U.S.

Now that we've got our basic keyword list, we need to examine the local results of what's actually showing on the page.

Local Presence

In real terms, this is what users will see.

Maps

This is the first thing Google wants to show us. The map results of the Google My Business locations of Ophthalmologists. This is most important to users – to have real world information on where they are, when they're open, and reviews.

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Organic Results

Below the maps are the organic results. There is one practice above all others (nice job!).

What these results are telling us are that there seems to be a few key opportunities:

1. Google Search Ads. I know this is an SEO post, but when there is zero competition for ads you can get away with very low cost per clicks.
2. Maps. The local maps listing that takes information from the Google My Business account is going to be key.
3. Organic results. There's one big competitor to beat.
4. Yelp. It's the last organic result above the fold.

That's the hit list. Happy SEOing!

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Related:

• Keyword Selection Strategies in Search Engine Optimization: How Relevant is Relevance? (sciencedirect.com)

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