Warren B. Seiler III, MD
John Di Saia, MD
Beatriz H. Porras, MD
Shervin Naderi, MD, FACS
Edward Zimmerman MD
Paula Di Marco Young, BS RN
Seth A. Yellin, MD FACS
Dr. Kevin D. Light
Stephen Weber MD PhD
Brian K. Sidella
Sabine Zenker, MD
Daniel Kaufman MD
Brian Howard MD FACS
Mickey A. Couvertier
Lila Bratani MD
Alex Denes MD FACP
3 CommentsSEO for your medical spa.
There's been some comments over on the Dermacare thread (Now at almost 800 comments) that reference SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
SEO is the process of 'elevating' your site's rankings when someone searches for information using 'keywords' (Think of these as what you'd type into the search box). If someone types in Medspa, IPL treatments, or Botox, you'd like your web site to be at the top of the list. Unfortunately for you... so does everyone else.
(If you're not in the first two pages for any keyword your chances of someone finding you are essentially nil. The first five links get the vast majority of all clicks.)
SEO is a catch-all phrase for anything that improves the chances of search engines ranking your site higher.
Search engines love original content that's relevant to what their users are searching for. So, they have sophisticated algorithms that are designed to find relevant content and separate it from the flotsam and jetsam. (People often try to game the system but search engines actively 'sandbox' or penalize them. The search engines have gotten very good at this.}
When someone comes along and promises you SEO, take that with a grain of salt. Real SEO is expensive and very time consuming. You generate a list of keywords that you'd like to rank higher in and then start doing things that make you more attractive to the search engines. Things like generating backlinks (Other sites linking to yours) and providing lots of fresh content that matches what users are searching for. It's an ongoing, labor intensive process and can be filled with smoke and mirrors that are essentially useless.
Happy to answer any questions on this.
Reader Comments (3)
Jeff: Several years ago my partner and I spent a considerable amount of money to get our web site-- which was a link from our franchise web site-- "optimized" for our specific location. Unfortunately, a very short time later we entirely lost the benefit of all the work when our franchisor made a huge change to its web site. To say the very least it was more than frustrating.
I think ALL of us would appreciate a few "words of wisdom" from you with regard to a recommended course of action to enable us to take advantage of the potential offered by the World Wide Web without getting screwed. Any specific advice? Is there a good way to achieve some level of SEO without spending a great deal of money?
You can do a reasonable job of SEO on your own if you're willing to put some time in to it, so it's not strictly necessary to hire a third party. Start by submitting your site to search engines and link directories with relevant keywords.
Hello Medical Spa MD (Jeff?),
I would also like some more info on SEO for my medical spa as well as my medical practice. I find it difficult to understand what differs between SEO and these paid directories that offer referrals for a fee. Is there anything SEO can do for me that I can't just buy? I'm with Medspa Guy above. I'd love some pearls of wisdom on this.