Google just released yet another update to its algorithm – and it immediately impacted thousands upon thousands of businesses. How can you be sure that your SEO is evergreen? The key lies within the bigger picture.

SEO can seem overly concerned with the micro level – editing the title and heading tags of pages until they seem perfect, tweaking URLs to bring in the most clicks, building citations in the best directories, and choosing the most valuable links with the right anchor text. While these things have been important in the past, the SEO landscape is changing. Today, we need to focus on the thing that has remained a priority throughout Google’s algorithm juggling: content.

Awesome, relevant content not only benefits you in the moment, but acts as an ongoing boon for your practice’s website. And with Google’s new focus on the searcher’s location, it’s become one of the most prominent factors in determining the order of search results. There’s absolutely nothing we can do to change the weight Google places on location – so we need to make sure our sites speak to those places, and look good while doing so.

SEO continues to be complicated. But putting in a little extra site work today will reap rewards in the months to come.

Algorithm-Proof SEO Tactics

Just to clarify: Google isn’t the only search engine out there. Many of your patients may use Yahoo or Bing instead, and these engines have different qualifiers for which sites show up at the top of the rankings. But we’re focusing on Google because it’s the number one method by which current and prospective patients try to find a healthcare professional.

In order to appeal to the Google gods, you can always count on the following:

• Frequent publishing – Showing that your website remains active is one simple way to stay relevant in Google’s (and other search engine’s) eyes. Google values domain age, but it also respects new content being added to established sites. By creating new site pages and posts, you show that you’re keeping your website up with the times, and continuing to work toward improving user experience.
• Patient-specific content – In order to find the patients you’re looking for, you’ll need to consider their demographics. Who might want dental implants? Who could be interested in porcelain veneers? Decide on the services you want to promote, and the locations you think may want them. Then create content that incorporates both those factors. One of the simplest ways to achieve this is with:
• Local landing pages – A local landing page snares patients in specific cities looking for specific services. The page is structured to appeal to a certain area, and mentions local factors to draw in the right patients. These pages double as fresh content, and can be quite valuable in your marketing efforts.

Is Your Website Prepared for Google’s Wrath?

Despite Google’s best efforts, bad SEO is still lingering on the Web. Make sure that your site isn’t contributing to the problem. Even if you haven’t seen a drop in rankings, it’s coming – and spammy practices could lead to your site being de-indexed, at which point it won’t show up at all. Keyword stuffing, use of machine-generated content or duplicate content, hidden keywords, and building links on site copies will all bring down the hard fist of Google justice.

Since they’re so tricky, why still use keywords at all? Google doesn’t recognize them, but other search engines do. They’re a vestige of old SEO that hasn’t quite faded from the existing face of optimization.

Feeling anxious about your dental website’s on-page SEO? We’re here to help. Get in touch for some advice.