Content quality is a core component of search engine optimization (SEO), but it benefits your digital strategy in other ways. When healthcare businesses take the time to improve their website pages for digital marketing strategy, they also improve the user experience, which can help nurture leads. But with so many pages to manage on a website, where do you begin? This article shares an approach to content optimization known as search engine position.
Understanding Search Engine Positioning: Beyond Basic SEO
Search engine positioning (SEP) is a facet of organic search strategy focused on improving the placement of web pages in search engine results to maximize visibility and traffic. When comparing search engine positioning vs SEO overall, positioning looks at how to gain rank for individual pages rather than the overall website performance in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Why Search Engine Positioning Is a Game Changer in SEO
One of the most exciting events during the SEO process is when one or more of your website pages finally ranks on “page” one for search results. With the additional features that load onto SERPs such as Google Business Profiles and paid search ads, organically ranked listings are limited. This makes ranking even more significant as an accomplishment.
While this is a strong indication that your SEO is working, it helps to know that the top three results in Google receive the majority of clicks, with the first organic result having an average click-through rate (CTR) of around 28.5%. Taking high-ranking pages and optimizing them to move into the top three slots can lead to a significant increase in click-through rates of up to 30%.
Search engines positioning can also boost visibility as it can help your healthcare brand appear in featured snippets, local packs, video content, and other prominent positions on the SERPs. These features often attract a higher CTR due to their enhanced visibility and rich format.
Proven Strategies to Optimize Your Web Page SEO Positioning
So, what does the process of SEO positioning entail? Actionable steps include refreshing your current content, improving linking structure and focusing on what changes will increase click-through rates. The following sections detail how to approach search engine placement from multiple angles.
Revitalizing Content: The Art of Re-Optimization
By updating and enhancing your content to align with current search trends for Google and other search engines’ algorithms, you can improve its visibility and attract more organic traffic. Refreshing content is a core best practice for SEO because Google algorithms favor recency and updated pages. Here are some effective methods for revitalizing your content:
- Updated keyword research: Start by conducting fresh target keyword research to identify relevant keywords and phrases that align with current search trends. Look for long-tail keywords that have high search volume and low competition. Integrate these new target keywords strategically throughout your content, including in headings, subheadings, meta tags, image alt texts, and within the body of the text (like blog articles).
- Improving readability: Break up long paragraphs into smaller ones, use bullet points and numbered lists to organize information, and add subheadings as needed to guide your readers . If you are unsure about readability, there are content evaluation tools that can analyze this for you. Many marketing writers aim for content to read at about an eighth-grade reading level.
- Updating outdated information: Update statistics, facts, and any references that may have changed since the content was originally published. This includes checking for those broken links that can hurt your website quality for SEO.
- Optimizing meta tags: Optimize your title tag by incorporating targeted keywords and making this copy compelling. Crafting a concise and persuasive meta description will help you get clicks over other websites competing in top search results.
- Enhancing user experience: Ensure that you create content that is mobile-friendly and loads quickly, as page speed is also an important ranking factor. Optimize images to reduce file sizes and implement responsive design principles to create a seamless user experience across devices.
Remember, re-optimizing content is an ongoing process. Stay up to date with the latest SEO trends, monitor your website’s performance through analytics tools, and make adjustments as necessary. By proactively updating your pages according to positioning best practices, you can breathe new life into your existing content, improving its search visibility and attracting more organic traffic.
Strengthening Your Site with Internal Linking
Internal linking is a powerful search engine positioning strategy that can help improve the authority and ranking of your website. For example, when one of your pages is performing well, you can link other pages to it and use descriptive “anchor” text to communicate the connection to Google’s algorithms. The following steps provide guidance on utilizing internal linking effectively:
- Identify high-authority pages: Start by identifying the high-authority pages on your website. These are pages that have gained significant traffic, backlinks, or social shares.
- Link to relevant pages: Linking from high-authority pages to relevant pages helps search engines understand the interconnectedness of your content and can improve the visibility of those linked pages.
- Choose appropriate anchor text: Avoid using generic anchor text like “click here” or “read more.” Instead, use specific keywords or descriptive phrases that accurately reflect the content of the page being linked to.
- Natural and user-friendly placement: The more natural and intuitive linking placement, the better.
- Regularly audit and update links: Use tools like Google Search Console or third-party crawling tools to identify any broken links so they can be fixed promptly.
- Remember to monitor your website’s performance through search engine position analysis tools and refine your internal linking strategy as necessary.
Boosting Click-Through Rates and User Experience
The purpose of search engine positioning is to get a better click-through rate by gaining those positions that get the greatest number of clicks. At the same time, pages that have a healthy click-through rate have a better chance of maintaining ranking position. For these reasons, your positioning strategy should also optimize pages to generate a better click-through rate.
Increasing click-through rate for a website page includes crafting engaging title tags and meta descriptions, plus optimizing website speed, mobile responsiveness, and overall user experience to enhance Core Web Vitals and search positioning. Here’s a breakdown of these strategies:
Generating more clicks with engaging title tags and meta descriptions:
- Use targeted keywords: Keywords aligned with the user’s search intent help search engines understand the relevance of your content.
- Craft compelling copy: Using action words, highlighting unique selling points, and creating a sense of urgency or curiosity encourages more clicks.
- Maintain optimal length: Title tags should ideally be around 50-60 characters, while meta descriptions should be between 150-160 characters, as these are the only words that will appear in search results for your website listing.
Keeping bounce rate low with optimal website speed:
- Minimize HTTP requests: Reduce the number of elements, such as images, scripts, and stylesheets, that require separate HTTP requests to load.
- Optimize image sizes: Compress and resize images to reduce their file size without compromising quality.
- Enable browser caching: Utilize browser caching to store static resources locally, allowing for faster subsequent page loads.
- Utilize content delivery networks (CDNs): CDNs distribute your website’s content across multiple servers globally, ensuring faster delivery to users.
Ensuring click-through for mobile users:
- Use responsive design: Ensure that your website adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and resolutions.
- Eliminate intrusive interstitials: Avoid using pop-ups or interstitials that obstruct the main content on mobile devices.
- Optimize loading times: Prioritize elements above the fold to load quickly, providing users with a seamless experience that promotes a favorable first impression.
- Improve cumulative layout shift (CLS): Specifying dimensions ensures that media elements stay put so that shifting does not disrupt feature usage.
With Google’s emphasis on Core Web Vitals in mind, you can make strategic improvements that boost click-through rates, helping you make the most of top placements while maintaining strong rankings.
Tangible Benefits of Effective Search Engine Positioning
Digital marketing experts say that it takes roughly eight touchpoints until a potential customer converts. As patients do their due diligence to explore their options, it only helps providers when they appear in search results multiple times. Search engine positioning maximizes search results visibility by:
- Outranking competitors: Higher-ranked pages are more likely to attract organic traffic because they appear prominently in search results, increasing visibility and exposure.
- Increasing brand exposure: When a website appears on the first page of search results, it is more likely to be noticed and clicked by users.
- Establishing authority: Being found in search results as a relevant match for multiple queries reinforces your credibility as a healthcare provider.
Overall, effective search engine positioning enables businesses to outrank competitors, gain increased brand exposure, establish authority, and gain a competitive edge. By investing in SEO strategies and consistently optimizing web pages, businesses can reap these tangible benefits and achieve long-term success in the online landscape.
Tools and Strategies for Monitoring and Enhancing Positioning
Monitoring and enhancing SEO placement requires effective tools and strategies, including the following:
- Google Search Console: Google Search Console provides insights into impressions, clicks, and average position in search results, allowing you to optimize underperforming pages and enhance the visibility of high-performing ones.
- Performing content audits: A content audit involves evaluating the quality, relevance, and performance of existing content on your website; this helps identify outdated or thin content, duplicate content, and areas where content can be optimized or expanded.
- Keyword research and optimization: Use keyword research tools to identify new opportunities with high search volume and strong user intent. Better keyword opportunities replace former target keywords within your content, including in titles, headings, body text, and meta tags.
- Backlink analysis and acquisition: Analyze your website’s backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs or Moz to identify the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your pages. Focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable websites within your industry.
- Monitor competitors: Keep an eye on your competitors’ search rankings and strategies using tools like SEMrush or SimilarWeb. This information can provide insights into new opportunities, help you stay ahead of the competition, and better inform your SEO strategies.
Summary: What is Search Engine Positioning?
The goal of search engine positioning is to optimize webpages in a way that improves their visibility and ranking in search results. Higher search engine positioning leads to increased organic traffic, brand exposure, and potential conversions. The goal is to keep improving your best performing pages until they rank within the top three for organic search results to gain the most clicks.
Optimizing for search engine positioning involves implementing strategies such as fresh keyword research, on-page improvement, content optimization, and updating links, to optimize your high-ranking pages for better click-through rates. Ongoing monitoring and optimization are necessary to maintain and improve search engine positioning to adjust for algorithm updates, competitor actions, and website optimizations.
Take Your Online Ranking to New Heights With iHealthSpot
The more proactive your SEO is in keeping content optimized and improving upon your current rankings, the more traffic and brand recognition your medical practice will gain. iHealthSpot’s experienced healthcare digital marketing specialists can help you implement these strategies alongside time-tested SEO techniques to enhance your overall web page positioning, improve your online presence, and attract more patients or clients to your practice. Contact us to learn more.
