When marketing your medical practice, reputation and your brand, one critical aspect to take into consideration are citations.
Citations are generally considered to be links from medical directories. They are similar but very different from other backlinks such as social media profile links. This is partly because that carries a good deal of weight with them when ranking in Google. However, they also have things like reviews attached to them, which can also impact your brand name.
First, let’s talk about what a citation is for Medical digital marketing SEO. When you get a page set up on a site like Yelp that becomes a citation. The more related to your “niche” or profession, the more weight that citation will hold with Google. Sites like healthgrades.com and doctor.com are two good examples of citations that are tailored for the medical industry.
Why do citations matter for your medical practice and your brand? There are a few reasons. Starting with the issue of SEO first. Google views medical practices that have citations as one that is putting itself out there. It also sees each citation as adding legitimacy to the doctor’s office, because these citation sites allow user reviews. Medical Practices with more citations, especially from industry-specific and local sources, almost always rank higher.
In addition to ranking your own webpage content using the citations, the citation itself will often rank too, giving you more than one space on the first page of whatever you want to rank for. Most search engine users rarely go past page 2. This can be a boon to your brand as well, since having your office on page 1 of “allergy shots Austin TX” multiple times will signal to a potential customer that you are probably the biggest name in town.
Secondly, the user interaction these sites provide allows for you to accumulate reviews from the many pleased clients you have. For building a brand image, those positive reviews are worth their weight in gold, and each one also adds value to the SEO campaign as well. Most people looking for medical practices pay more attention to user reviews than they do to copy or professional reviews. Accumulating reviews from legitimate customers is very important, and it’s often a good idea to ask for reviews after a transaction or even provides some sort of incentive for them to leave a review like a coupon.
However, this can come at a cost. Unscrupulous competitors will often leave fake reviews that can damage your brand. For this reason, a good marketer will often choose platforms where only verified clients can leave reviews, rather than put your brand at risk.
The management of these citations is crucial since sometimes interested clients may even send questions to your medical practice via on-platform messaging systems. It’s essential that you chose a marketing firm like Telos Digital Marketing that is experienced in and specializes in marketing for medical professionals and services. The professionals at Telos Digital Marketing will be able to identify the best citations for your doctors office, and effectively manage them the provide the best for you and your clients.
