SEO and PPC for healthcare practices
The strictest vertical Google has, with rules on what you can advertise and a higher bar for what it will rank. One of our engagements is a private practice.
Healthcare search is governed by rules that penalize shortcuts
Google treats health content as something that can affect a person’s wellbeing, and it holds those pages to a visibly higher standard than it holds a plumber’s. Thin pages do not rank here. Pages without clear authorship struggle. This is the vertical where doing it properly is also the fastest route.
Advertising has its own constraints. Health categories carry restrictions on targeting and remarketing that do not apply elsewhere, and getting them wrong means disapprovals rather than poor performance.
There is also the patient side. People searching for care are often anxious, and frequently searching for someone else. Pages that answer the real question plainly, without marketing language, are what convert.
- 9.7Average search position across every query Google logs — page one is now the practice’s average, from close to invisible
- +33%Traffic compounding month over month through the first year
- +46%Engagement events over the same period, with users up 31%
- 22.2KSearch appearances logged in sixteen months, most arriving after the work began
How we approach local search · Figures from the client’s Search Console and Analytics. Full write-up on the case studies page.
What we do for healthcare clients
Foundations first. In this vertical that is not a preference, it is the only order that works.
Technical foundations before anything else
Crawlability, speed, structure. A practice site that Google cannot read properly will not rank regardless of how good the content is, and this is usually the fastest available win.
Pages that answer what patients search
The phrasing people use when they are worried is not the phrasing a clinic uses on its services page. We write for the former and keep the clinical accuracy of the latter.
Authorship and credentials made visible
Named practitioners, real credentials, clear review. In a vertical Google scrutinises this closely, leaving it implicit is leaving rankings on the table.
Local and telehealth handled separately
A practice seeing patients in one metro and treating statewide by telehealth is two different search problems. Collapsing them into one set of pages costs you both.
Healthcare search, answered plainly
Is any of this a HIPAA problem?
The SEO work is not — it deals with public pages, not patient data. Analytics and advertising need care, because tracking scripts on booking or intake pages can capture more than they should. We configure around that and flag anything we find rather than assume it is handled.
How long does healthcare SEO take?
Longer than most verticals, because the trust bar is higher. The practice above reached a page-one average within its first year, starting from close to invisible. That is a realistic shape: visibility first, then rankings, then patients.
Can we advertise our services on Google?
Most health services can be advertised, but the category carries restrictions on targeting and remarketing that do not apply elsewhere, and some specialisms need certification before they can run at all. We check that before proposing spend, not after a disapproval.
Will our practice be named in a case study?
Only with your explicit permission. The practice above is anonymised, and so is its market, because in healthcare the market alone can identify the clinic.
Deeper pages for the practices we serve
Each practice type has its own searches, its own constraints and its own reason patients hesitate. One page per channel, per profession.
Dentists
Insurance patients and implant patients search completely differently — and the practices that separate them win both.
Med spas
Patients search for a brand you do not own, and decide on proof, credentials and price.
Physical therapy
Most patients still believe they need a referral, and in most cases they do not.
Therapists
The one local category where you cannot ask for reviews, so the page has to do it all.
Find out how your practice is showing up
A free written review of your search presence, back within two business days — and yours to keep whether or not we work together.
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