If you want to grow or maintain a thriving medical practice in today’s world, you have to be part of the internet. There’s a catch, of course: people have to be able to find you online. That means setting up your website in such a way that your potential patients can find your practice through Google. But doing this can be complicated and overwhelming. This is where solicitations from companies often come in.
Many of these companies will be names you’ve never heard of, though a few might be familiar, like the online Yellow Pages. These companies will come to you and claim they can get you to the top of page one of Google searches, and you won’t have to do a thing. Don’t believe it. In fact, run the opposite direction.
Medical professionals have become prime targets for “Marketing Vultures” who desperately want to part you from your money.
Make no mistake. The internet is the new Wild West, and “fast and easy” SEO is the new snake oil—and it’s being sold in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Just Say No
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a crucial part of marketing online. The trick is that it’s complicated and it takes a while to see the results of doing it right. If a marketing salesperson tells you they can get you to the top of Google’s search results in less than 60 days without you doing a thing, they are selling snake oil. Tell them to get lost.
SEO tricks and short cuts won’t work—especially not in the long run. Google and the other search engines are constantly refining their tools to weed out people who try to cheat the system. Outdated and unethical forms of SEO not only don’t benefit your website, but they can also get you penalized and dropped so far back in search results that no one will find you. The only thing that will actually get you onto page one of Google is good, quality content.
Good content that is actually valuable to the potential patients you are trying to reach is the foundation of SEO. Anything else is just snake oil. And not just anyone can produce that kind of content and optimize it for you, either. You need someone who understands medical marketing and can help you craft content that supports your goals.
Follow Somebody Who Knows
“If you’re going to walk through a minefield, follow somebody.” It’s great advice. The best way to sort through these solicitations and thrive in the Wild West of the web is by learning from others’ mistakes and getting advice from successful doctors. This is how our Mastermind group works. They know the trustworthy companies that won’t try to cheat you.
