SEO, or search engine optimization, is a digital marketing strategy used to improve web traffic to a web page. According to Google, search algorithms focus on many factors, including “words of your query, relevance and usability of pages, expertise of sources, and your location and settings.”
In June 2021, Google updated their SEO algorithm to include a ranking called “Page Experience”. This may impact your dental practice’s web page ranking. The new page experience algorithm is expected to be fully updated and in use by August of 2021. Basically, Google will now be ranking how user-friendly your web page is to visitors and users. I am sure you are wondering how page experience will be measured. So is the rest of the digital world. Let’s look into how it will be measured. And a few tips to improving your web page with Google’s new SEO ranking algorithm.
Web Page Interaction and Mobile-Friendliness
People do not like to wait unreasonable times to get the information they need. Load times for your dental webpage should take 2.5 seconds or less, per Google’s recommendations. The page should be responsive when a consumer clicks on a link, with a recommended response time of 100 milliseconds or less.
The Page Experience metric will also be measured by visual stability, which measures how many unexpected layout shifts occur on a webpage. Google recommends your cumulative layout shift score be 0.1 or less. This means the consumer should not accidentally click on a different link or webpage due to an unexpected shift on the webpage contents.
The mobile friendliness of your site is also important. As of February 2021, 85% of Americans own a smartphone. The likelihood of a prospective client utilizing your webpage via mobile is very high. Consider giving your clients the option of accepting patient forms, making payments and asking provider questions via your mobile site to increase traffic and patient satisfaction. You can check your site’s mobile friendliness with Google’s mobile friendly test.
Safe Browsing
Ensure your site is free from deceptive and malicious content. One way to ensure your site is secure is to use HTTPS. Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, or HTTPS, uses a combination of encryption, data integrity and authentication as a triple layer security measure for web pages. Look for red flags to indicate a safety threat, such as pop-up ads and redirects. You can report security threats to Google.
If a client feels that your site may be threatening with bad content, they are likely to look elsewhere for services via a different site. There are some simple things you can do to show clients that your dental practice webpage is safe.
One is to include positive patient reviews. Another hint is to include your practice’s contact information on your page. Include your dental practice’s physical address, phone numbers, fax numbers and a Google Map to help users pinpoint your location. If you can, include pictures of your employees with short biographies. This is a personable way to let clients know that your practice is not a scam, and it is safe to proceed to contact you for appointments and questions. As an extra safety measure, you can use Google’s Safe Browsing tool to examine your practice’s page for any dangerous content.
Tips to Improve Page Experience Metric
Now that we know how your web page experience will be measured, let’s look at a few tips for improvement. Evaluate your webpage load speeds and make necessary improvements. If a prospective client is unable to load your page after a few seconds, they are likely to move on to a different provider and that is revenue lost.
Next, optimize your dental practice mobile site. Like we mentioned previously, most clients will be using their mobile device to access websites or use applications. Make your page simple and mobile friendly. Keep information short and visually appealing without overloading the consumer with information. You can do this by using small blocks of information separated by visually appealing pictures or icons. Ensure that information you include is relevant to the patient and your dental practice.
Fix any errors pages, ensuring all patient forms and contact information are accessible. Your client should not run into a 404 message or be redirected to an incorrect site when clicking on a link to your page. Make your dental practice stand out from the rest by adding content to your site that will not be found elsewhere. One idea would be patient testimonials. What makes your dental practice unique and better than others in your area?
Are you still looking to improve your digital marketing and increase patient flow and satisfaction? Strategic Practice Solutions can help! They will evaluate your current technology usage and help you utilize your current marketing techniques to increase patient flow and patient satisfaction. Contact them by calling or clicking today to start formulating your plan for new technology integration.
Strategic Practice Solutions, LLC