After an exciting launch of a new or improved website, you may ask, “How do I promote my website on Google?” So how do you draw in the visitors that your website was specifically designed for? How to promote your website on Google generates many ideas, with a mixture of free and paid tactics. This guide will offer tips on how to connect your website with the potential patients it was created for.
The Major Players in Google Website Promotion: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Google Ads (PPC), and Google Business Profile
Think of Google as a library, but the most popular branch in the city. Patrons come in droves to get the information and help they need. Think of Google searches as a virtual librarian who brings you the best resources for your inquiries any time, day or night. How to promote a website on Google involves powerful tools like organic search strategies (SEO), paid search strategies (pay-per-click, or PPC), and Google Business Profile.
The Fundamental Role of SEO in Website Promotion
What many people don’t know about websites is that you can gain more visibility in searches by how they are managed and linked to by external websites. This strategy is known in the digital marketing industry as search engine optimization, or SEO.
One of the advantages of SEO is that the longer you employ its best practices, the more “organic” gains you can accumulate and secure in Google search. How to promote a website on Google through SEO includes content quality, website optimization, and building authority.
Committing to Content Quality
Content holds all the information, and the more valuable content is to search engine users, the more inclined Google is to recommend that site in its top search results. Google wants website content to be original and well-written to serve the reader.
Keywords are what link a Google user to the resources that satisfy their search inquiry. Building your content around solid keyword research helps your medical website to be found for those search terms that potential patients are more likely to be searching for. Website content should be helpful, easy to consume, and updated as needed (updating pages and regularly publishing new blogs).
Website Optimization Essentials
Google is all about creating the best search engine experience possible. To achieve this goal, it can only recommend websites that are user-friendly,; easy to navigate, and have quick load times. Adopting user experience design best practices, keeping images quality but not resource-demanding, and ensuring quick load times of website pages is your ticket to meeting Google’s website quality standards.
Building Authority and Trustworthiness
Credibility matters to Google. Having a high-quality website is foundational to being discoverable online, but building authority provides that additional context Google needs to refine how it prioritizes website in search results. Well-researched, authoritative content that features such enhancements as featuring expert opinions, citing reliable sources, and maintaining a professional presentation tend to perform the best.
In its mission to deliver the most relevant and reliable content to users, Google heavily relies on a core criterion of expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness (EEAT). Websites that exhibit high levels of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness are more likely to rank higher in search results. This emphasis on EEAT not only improves the overall quality of search results so that users are directed to reputable sources, but it also fosters a positive user experience.
Authority can also be built when other websites link to your medical practice website. This can happen from social media activity, directories or other credible websites that link to your medical website.
Leveraging Google’s Tools and Services for Maximum Discoverability
The original layout of Google search is worlds apart from the search engine experience enhancements you see today. . Depending on what search terms are entered, you will see a mix of media such as sponsored results, directory listings, or a knowledge panel. How to promote websites on Google includes a blend of Google Ads, Google Business Profiles (online directory embedded in the search results), and website quality.
Optimizing Google My Business
Claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing is a core component to have your medical practice found in Google’s localized search results. This process involves keeping your business information accurate and up to date, including contact details and operating hours. Some medical practices may need to claim more than one business profile depending on how many locations, how many separate specialties, or to represent individual providers in the practice. Encouraging patient reviews can improve your profile ratings, and thus your visibility in search results.
Boosting Visibility with Google Ads
“Organic” search (SEO) is crucial for getting your medical practice website found in search results, but it’s not the only method, nor the fastest. Google Ads (or PPC) is like a fast pass at a theme park, putting you at the front of the line. With “pay-per-click,” you pay each time the ad is clicked, so precise ad targeting based on location and demographics is key.
As with SEO, there’s limited space at the “front of the line” (Google’s search engine results page, or SERP). Google Ads is a bidding system where high-value keywords are auctioned. But it’s not just about the highest bid; ad quality matters too (ad copy, landing page, and credible website).
Enhancing Website Effectiveness through User Experience (UX)
Your website’s user experience (UX) directly impacts its Google ranking and overall user engagement. If users quickly leave your site—a behavior known as “bouncing”—it can negatively affect both your SEO and PPC performance. Key UX elements include intuitive website design, ease of use, and content readability. Ensuring these aspects are top-notch can significantly improve user satisfaction and SEO.
Prioritizing Mobile Optimization
Google had foresight when it comes to mobile technology having mobile-first practices for quite some time. This means that Google will prioritize mobile-friendly websites in search rankings. To ensure your website will be found in Google search results, it should be designed to be accessible and perform optimally across various devices, particularly smartphones. One way to verify that your website is mobile friendly is to try it out on various devices to see it from your website visitor’s perspective. Is it easy to read? Is it easy to perform functions and follow through steps? Is everything on the page loading page and loading quickly?
Streamlining Navigation and Speed
Not only is navigation and loading times a core component of mobile friendliness, but it also impacts your search visibility overall as far as SEO and PPC. Poor navigation and pages that don’t load properly cause a “bounce rate” that impacts Google’s assessment of website quality. Techniques for achieving optimal usability include simplifying your site’s structure, using caching, and minimizing the use of heavy scripts.
Summary: How to Promote My Website on Google
A website is a core asset for a medical practice’s digital marketing strategy. When you optimize your website to bring in leads, and employ strategies that drive traffic, your website becomes a powerful patient recruitment tool and maximizes its digital marketing value.
The core components of promoting a website on Google include:
Website optimization: The quality of your website directly impacts visibility in search results. Priming your website for Google search results is better known as search engine optimization (SEO). Best practices for SEO include proper site structure, content quality, mobile-friendliness, ease of navigation, and fast loading times.
Google Business Profile optimization: For localized search terms, Google will automatically generate its business profiles system. For any local business to have better visibility in Google search, it needs to be included in this directory, medical practices included. You can optimize your profile by completing your Google Business Profile (some practices may have multiple profiles) and curating patient reviews to build your star rating.
Google Ad campaigns: Pay-per-click ads (or PPC) achieve the same goal as SEO, but differently. By running Google Ad campaigns that target valuable keywords, you can get to the top of search results faster. Google Ads appear first in search results versus “organic” ranking (via SEO) that sometimes ends up toward the bottom of the page.
By putting effort into all three of these areas, you can best promote your website in Google search results. This helps drive traffic and unlocks your website’s potential to build patient volumes for your medical practice.
Unlock the Power of Your Website to Drive Patient Volumes Through Our Complete Visibility Strategy
After learning what it takes to bring more traffic to your website, you may realize that employing these tactics effectively isn’t something you have the time or the confidence to do on your own. iHealthSpot has helped many medical practices across a wide range of types and specialties ramp up website traffic to drive patient volumes, and ultimately increase revenue. Our tactics include SEO, Google Business Profiles, Google Ads, social media, online reputation management and more. Contact us today to learn more.
