Medical SEO, or search engine optimization, is a process whereby medical practices can improve their position in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords. You need SEO in order to attract more patients to the practice through higher visibility in the SERPs.
Medical SEO is different from traditional SEO in that it takes into account the unique needs of medical practices. For example, medical SEO must take into account the fact that potential patients are often searching for specific procedures or treatments rather than general terms like “dentist” or “orthopedic surgeon.”
Medical SEO must also take into consideration the fact that many medical practices are located in highly competitive markets. In order to succeed in these markets, medical SEO strategies must help practices stand out from the crowd.
One of the most effective medical SEO strategies is to focus on topic groupings. In this article, we’ll explore what topic groupings are and how they can help your medical practice attract more patients.
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What Is a Topic Grouping?
Topic groupings are a new way of organizing your website’s content. Rather than grouping your content by keyword, you group it by topic.
For example, let’s say you’re a dermatologist. You might have a website with the following keyword groupings:
– acne
– eczema
– psoriasis
– skin cancer
– skincare
Instead of including all of these keywords on every page of your website, you would focus on creating content about each topic. So, you might have a page about acne, a page about eczema, a page about psoriasis, etc.
By grouping your content by topic, you can provide potential patients with the information they’re looking for in a more organized and effective way. Additionally, by including relevant keywords on each page, you can improve your website’s SEO and attract more traffic from search engines.
How Do Topic Groupings Help SEO?
There are a few ways in which topic groupings can help improve your website’s SEO:
Increases Traffic
As reported by Digital Authority Partners, when you group your content by topic, you make it easier for the search engines to understand what your website is about. As a result, your website is more likely to rank well for relevant keywords.
Additionally, by including relevant keywords on each page, you can attract more traffic from the search engines. When potential patients see that you have the information they’re looking for, they’re more likely to click through to your website.
Helps You to Rank for More Keywords
When you group your content by topic, you’re able to include more relevant keywords on each page. This helps you to rank for a wider range of keywords, which can attract more traffic to your website.
In addition, by including more relevant keywords on each page, you’re also more likely to rank for long-tail keywords and provide high-value information to potential patients.
Builds Authority
In the medical field, it’s important to build authority. When you group your content by topic, you’re able to provide potential patients with in-depth information about each topic. This helps to build trust and confidence in your medical practice.
Additionally, when you become known as an authoritative source of information, the search engines are more likely to rank your website higher in the SERPs.
No one likes a website that’s difficult to navigate. When you group your content by topic, you make it easier for potential patients to find the information they’re looking for. This helps to improve the user experience and can encourage potential patients to contact your medical practice.
Increases the Number of Pages That Can Rank
If you only have one page on your website diving into one topic, you’re only able to rank for that one topic. However, if you have multiple pages diving into different topics, you can rank for a variety of topics.
This helps to increase the number of potential patients who will see your website in the search results and can help to improve the overall success of your medical SEO strategy.
How Do I Implement Topic Clusters?
Now that we’ve gone over the benefits of topic groupings let’s take a look at how you can implement them into your own medical SEO strategy.
Research Keywords
The first step is to research your keywords. You’ll want to look for a variety of relevant keywords that potential patients are likely to use when searching for information about your medical practice.
You can choose from an array of tools, such as Google Keyword Planner and Moz Keyword Explorer, to help you find the right keywords for your website.
Once you’ve found a few relevant keywords, group them into topics. For example, if you’re a dermatologist, you might have the following topics:
Acne
Eczema
Psoriasis
Skin cancer
Wrinkles
Plan Content
Once you’ve decided on your topics, it’s time to start planning your content. You’ll want to create a piece of content for each topic that you’re targeting.
When creating your content, be sure to include the relevant keywords for each topic. In addition, you should aim to provide high-value information that potential patients will find useful.
Remember, the goal is to become an authoritative source of information for potential patients. The more helpful your content is, the more likely people are to trust your medical practice.
Create a Pillar Page
A pillar page serves as an overview of a specific topic. It includes a variety of subtopics and links to relevant pieces of content.
Pillar pages are an important part of a topic grouping strategy because they help to organize your website and make it easier for potential patients to find the information they’re looking for.
When creating your pillar page, be sure to include a variety of relevant subtopics. In addition, you should aim to provide an overview of each subtopic and link to the relevant content.
For example, if you’re a family doctor, you might create a pillar page about the flu. Your pillar page would then include a variety of subtopics, such as symptoms, treatment, and prevention. Each of these subtopics would link to a relevant landing page on your website.
Link Internal Pages
Once you’ve created your content and pillar page, link your internal pages. By linking your content, you can help search engines to better understand the relationships between your topics. In addition, linking your content can help to improve the user experience by making it easier for potential patients to navigate your website.
Measure Results
Last but not least, you’ll want to measure your results. The best way to do this is to track your website’s organic traffic.
If you see an increase in organic traffic after implementing a topic grouping strategy, then you can be confident that your strategy is working.
Conclusion
Topic groupings, also known as topic clusters, are a great way to improve your website’s SEO and attract more traffic from search engines. By grouping your content by topic, you can increase the amount of traffic to your website, rank for more keywords, build authority, and make your website easier to navigate.
