for it, the bookstore decides to turn the book cover out to
allow their customers to find the book more easily. They
expect that their customers are there to specifically find
that book, which is why they make it easy for them to find
it. First page placement on Google is exactly the same thing.
When a person conducts a search query, Google serves up
websites that they believe will be popular and relevant to
that person. They determine popularity and relevancy
based on how many other websites are talking about it (on-
line reviews, directories, community resources, articles,
etc.). The more links exist from other websites to yours,
the more popular your website will be with Google.
The building of these links from other websites to yours
is considered one of the more influential factors in Off-Site
SEO. The reason SEO investments are the way they are
is because you are essentially paying a person to try and
build relationships with online communities in an attempt to
gain credible links on their website – a feat that is not easy
at all. Think about your website – how many links do you
have for other companies? Probably not many.
5 other factors in SEO that need
to be mentioned are just as important,
and easier to explain.
Ensure your practice name, address and phone number
are accurate everywhere online
Your website should contain unique content – do NOT
license content from a 3rd party content provider
Create a positive user experience for your website visitors
– make it easy for them to navigate between pages and
ensure your website loads quickly
Your website MUST be mobile friendly. If it isn’t,
investing in SEO is a worthless endeavour
Claim your Google My Business listing and populate
content. Ensure your hours of operation are accurate and
you have your services, products and brands all listed.
Why Invest in SEO?
There is no other way to say this, but SEO is an investment
with non-guaranteed results. Google continually changes
their algorithms in an attempt to better recognize the best
results for their users. With each algorithmic update,
comes change in rankings. The changes can sometimes
help your website and sometimes it will hurt. SEO can be
a very long process and you may never achieve the results
you expect. So why take on the investment at all?
The answer is very simple. Websites that achieve top of
page one placement for several relevant keywords will
witness a huge difference in their business, almost imme-
diately. The prevalence of Google Search in Canada
is incredible, with most Canadians conducting a Google
search to find everything they need to know. Gone are the
days of Yellow Pages being the most popular way to find a
business… gone are the days of relying on word-of-mouth…
and gone are the days of location being the end-all-be-all
of your marketing strategy. Consumers are searching
online for you and when they find you, they choose you.
Plain and simple.
When your site reaches top of page one, you will start to
earn additional website traffic that you never even knew
existed. This additional traffic means additional people
who are your potential customers. They are in the buying
cycle of purchasing a service, product or brand that you
provide. When they visit your site, you become an option
(an option you weren’t before). Naturally, this leads to
more new patients. Over time, you can build an entirely
new base of patients and these patients will increase your
revenue, profitability and viability.