Have you ever sat down and tried to think of the keywords that would bring someone to your website but came up empty-handed? What you come up with may not have any search volume…or the wrong intent. Either way, when you target the wrong keywords, your site won’t show up when potential patients are looking for you.
Key Takeaways
- Target the Right Keywords – Focus on high-search-volume keywords (100+), easy-to-rank terms, and those that align with user intent.
- Understand User Intent – Optimize content for navigational, commercial, informational, or transactional searches to match what potential patients are looking for.
- Create the Right Content – Use blog posts for educational content, treatment pages for service details, and condition pages to explain symptoms and treatments.
- Optimize Calls to Action (CTAs) – Ensure every page has a clear action step, whether it’s booking an appointment, signing up for a resource, or making a purchase.
When we are searching for relevant keywords for our clients, here are the top things we are looking for:
- High search volume (at least 100 or more)
- Easy to rank for SEO
- The right user intent
What is User-Intent?
User intent describes the purpose of a user’s search. For example, if you look for a pharmacy near you, you expect Google to show you listings for local pharmacies. It wouldn’t make sense if Google showed you the history of pharmacies because your intent is to find a local place of business.
When you are optimizing pages of your site for keywords, it’s important to understand what the user intent is behind the terms. It might not be what you think!
How to Figure Out User Intent of Keywords
The fastest way to figure out user intent is to do a Google search for the keyword you are researching and see what results come up. If like businesses show up for that search, then you are on the right track. Doing a quick search will give you a lot of clues on how Google interprets the term.
Types of Search Intent To Optimize For
There are four types of search intent that you can optimize for. Here’s a look at the types of user intent:
Navigational Intent
This is when someone is looking for information about a specific brand or company. For example, they may be looking for customer support for their bank or other institution. They may be trying to find a login screen for an account they have with a company.
Commercial Intent
These are searches that answer queries related to product reviews, comparing products, or determining which products are best…all with the intent to buy. At this stage, a user is looking for information to help them decide on what to purchase.
Informational Intent
Users are looking for information every day. These types of queries are related to searches that answer how, when, where, why, and what questions.
Transactional Intent
In the case of transactional intent, the searcher is ready to make a purchase. They’ve gathered information, have the details, and now all they need to do is find where to buy the item.
Knowing How to Target Your Patients’ Search Intent
One of our client’s biggest challenges is knowing what information to publish on their website. However, if they know their potential patient’s search intent, this makes it easier to be intentional about the information they share….and how they share it.
Here are a few things we have learned about search intent from potential patients:
They Want to Be Informed Before Scheduling an Appointment
Educating your patients is one of the most important things you can do to increase the traffic to your site… and also drive conversions. We’ve heard many practitioners tell us they don’t want to write too much on their site because people don’t want to read. However, the data shows us that longer-form content ranks higher than short-form content, particularly in the health and wellness space.
Your potential patients want the nitty-gritty details. They want to know the medical terms and explanation behind their symptoms. Also, they want to know how you can specifically address those issues. Explaining your process to potential patients can help ease their nerves. The way you present information and how generous you are will give them the details they need to make a good decision.
Here are the top things a patient wants to know:
- Whether you take their insurance. If not, how much your consultations cost.
- Exactly what you will do during the initial consultation.
- What will happen after the initial consultation.
- What types of treatments you offer.
- Which provider they will see.
- How long to plan for their initial consultation.
- How many visits before they see results.
- Expected outcomes of the treatments.
- Whether they will meet you in-person or through telemedicine.
Have an Option For a Free Discovery Call
Many offices offer a free 15-minute consultation where the provider or patient care coordinator meets with the patient. Because so many cash-pay offices give this option, potential patients have grown to expect this. If you can offer this in your office, it will make you a more competitive office. Also, this call can help you set the tone for working with the patient.
Choosing The Right Way to Target Keywords
Deciding the correct terms to target is only part of the keyword strategy. The rest depends on how you target those keywords. Here’s a look at how the different types of content will attract potential patients at different phases of their journey.
Blog Posts
Google tends to show blog posts to users who are looking for more information. Here’s some of the types of things people search for that result in Google showing blog posts:
- How to do something or how something works
- Product or service details
- DIY tips
- Explanation of medical terms, symptoms, or types of treatments
We rarely, if ever, see Google show a blog post to someone who is looking for a service provider…unless the blog post is a round up of service providers. For example, we have a client that has received a local award every year. We wrote a blog post that listed a round-up of doctors he refers to who also received that award. This blog post generates near me searches because of the type of content that was written. However, in general, blog posts don’t satisfy that type of search.
Treatment or Therapy Pages
If you are trying to increase the number of people coming to your site that is looking for the treatments or therapies you offer, publishing pages is the best way to go. Google will prefer pages to blog posts for this type of query more often than not. We’ve got data to show that treatment or therapy content that is uploaded as a blog on the site doesn’t generate as many conversions as a page with the same information.
We recommend that our offices have a page for every treatment or therapy they offer. These pages should answer questions such as:
- Where the treatment takes place.
- What symptoms the treatment addresses.
- Your specific philosophy of medicine.
- Common questions about the treatment.
- How the patient can get started.
Every page you publish should have all of the information a potential patient needs to get started. Even if you wrote this same information on another page, make sure to include it on that page rather than link off. That is not to say you should link to other related pages, but don’t make a user leave that page to get the information they need to make a decision.
Conditions or Symptoms Pages
Another type of page we recommend are conditions treated or symptoms pages. Each condition or symptom you work with should have its own page. If you’re a primary care physician or a doctor who can treat everything, just write pages for the types of symptoms you want to treat the most.
These pages should answer questions such as:
- What underlying conditions are these symptoms a sign of.
- What treatments you offer to address the underlying condition.
- What tests you run, or methods you use to determine the underlying condition.
- Where the patient has to go in order to receive treatment.
- Who they will meet with to receive a treatment plan.
- The process to get started with your office.
Writing the Correct Call To Action
Every page and blog on your website should have a call to action that makes sense to the user intent. If you are trying to get someone to schedule with you, then your call to action should make it clear where and how they schedule with you. If you want them to sign up for your free resource, create a banner or popup that collects their email address. If you want them to buy supplements from your Full Script or eCommerce shop, link to those products with a buy now button.
Look In Google Search Console To Track The Data
To make sure you’re on the right track with user intent, look in Google Search console to see which terms your pages and blogs are showing up for. If your page is not showing up for the terms you want it to, then you know you need to update your content to satisfy the search.
Contact Us Today
Ready to attract more patients with the right keyword strategy? By understanding user intent and optimizing your content accordingly, you can increase your website’s visibility and drive more meaningful traffic. Whether you need help refining your keyword strategy, creating high-converting content, or optimizing your site for search engines, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us today to ensure your website is reaching the right audience and converting visitors into patients!
