Don’t just rely on Google Ads. Learn why going beyond traditional SEO and SEM can bring you the results you need.
With over 70% of patients reading online reviews before booking an appointment with a new doctor, creating an expansive digital footprint is one of the best ways to get your health system on the minds of high-value consumers. While search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) efforts can certainly help you get there, you can amplify the impact of these strategies with a powerful advertising solution like Healthgrades.
For example, while many health systems marketers may see advertising on Google as their first and best option, devoting most of your budget to Google Ads could mean you’re missing out on other consumer touchpoints. By partnering with Healthgrades, health systems can optimize and expand their reach beyond what they can achieve with paid search alone. Healthgrades Advertising Solutions extends your brand’s reach, attracts more qualified prospects who are ready to convert, and maximizes every single dollar. Here’s how.
Diversify Your Spend to Reach a Broader Audience
You could target the right users with your SEO efforts and ads, but do they actually click on your content? According to a 2023 report from data management platform Databox, the average click-through rate for healthcare organizations investing in Google Ads is 6.93%. This metric might sound impressive, as the average click-through rate on Google Ads is 4-6%. However, the problem is that health systems are spending 85% of their budget solely on these ads.1
Instead, try diversifying your spending into both organic and paid campaigns to ensure that your health system reaches all audiences, especially as users often trust organic results more than paid ads. Research has shown that the top three organic search results receive more than 68% of all clicks on the Google Search Page, and, on average, the leading organic search results get 19x more clicks than the top paid search results. This means that when a prospective patient types “hospitals near me” into a Google search bar, you want your brand to pop up as one of the top three organic search results. While Google Ads may get you fast exposure, you should aim for longevity to keep your brand awareness campaign working for you in the long run.
What’s more, Google can get expensive fast. There’s also no guarantee that your investment will see a significant return. That’s because how high your paid ad ranks depends on how much you’re willing to bid, how many competitors are bidding for the same spot, and what keywords you want to bid on. For many industries, the cost per click increased while conversions decreased due to the competitive environment of this advertising solution.
Nonetheless, don’t completely dismiss the power of Google. Paid ads give your brand valuable exposure and can yield speedier results than the slow and steady lead generation offered by SEO. With both paid and organic tools at your disposal, you can enjoy the benefits of a marketing plan that delivers both short-term and long-term results for your brand. Collaborating with a third-party site like healthgrades.com and our syndicated partners can help push the boundaries of your digital footprint so that you reach audiences organically and through curated campaigns.
The Healthgrades Difference
Healthgrades’ suite of Advertising Solutions helps bring more eyes to your brand, and you remain in control of your organization’s messaging, including language surrounding your physicians’ care philosophy, healthcare approach, available services, and more. Healthgrades also seamlessly incorporates data from your brand’s site using organic SEO features like effortless patient scheduling, genuine review forums, and detailed physician profiles.
Part of what makes promoting your brand on Healthgrades so effective is our extensive online reach. According to seoClarity, Healthgrades is 2x larger than the nearest competitor, with more than 70% visibility within the top three positions on Google. Our syndication partners, including Sharecare, Healthline, and MedicalNews Today, also frequently appear on first-page Google results for name-based doctor searches. By appearing on all of these sites, you ensure that those searching for care find your doctors in their organic searches. Two-thirds of Healthgrades visitors make an appointment within a week of viewing a doctor’s profile on our site. That means your brand is top of mind among a highly targeted audience of healthcare shoppers at the pivotal moment before they select a doctor.
Healthgrades: The Best Complement to Any SEO and SEM Strategy
Your marketing strategy should address the entire consumer journey, from the moment they view your brand on a search engine results page to when they schedule a doctor visit. Leaving most of your marketing to Google means you only reach consumers at the awareness stage. Healthgrades fills in the gaps in your existing strategy, promoting your brand in relevant, timely, and resourceful ways.
We offer industry-leading health system marketing solutions to engage the largest audience searching for healthcare professionals online. Our partnership ensures better relevancy in search results, harmonizing with your current SEO and SEM tactics. By leveraging our platform, you also gain access to a low-funnel audience primed for action, reducing cost per conversion compared to other PPC programs.
Healthgrades Advertising Solutions engages the largest audience searching for a healthcare professional online. Benefits include:
- Increased visibility: Prominent branding and calls to action on healthgrades.com physician search results pages and physician profiles.
- Competitive intercept: Promote your brand and present your medical staff as alternative options directly on your competitors’ profiles.
- Syndication network: Reach consumers where they are by extending your brand across the web with our partner sites’ look and feel to provide a seamless user experience.
- Easy conversion. Integrate online appointment scheduling for in-person and telehealth services directly into your profiles to convert patients ready to appoint.
- Expanded access to alternative doctors from the same practice. If prospective patients land on the sponsored profile of a doctor who is not accepting new patients, they are shown available alternatives from the same practice. This feature keeps consumers within your health system while resolving capacity issues—ultimately allowing patients to appoint.
For marketers looking to extend their reach beyond Google Search results, Healthgrades Brand Solutions helps improve your health system’s awareness by targeting qualified healthcare audiences across digital platforms. We use proprietary data that combines billions of consumer site interactions, anonymous data points, and machine-learning modeling to reach highly targeted audiences across media platforms. This includes our PatientConnect ads that display on healthgrades.com, PatienTarget Connected TV that rolls your brand’s television commercials without skips, and PatienTarget omnichannel advertising.
In the world of marketing, covering all your bases matters. Get in touch with us today to start optimizing your SEO and SEM strategies.
1. Healthgrades Google Ads Study, 2022
