Resources

Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial to the success of your healthcare website. If you've already created a website with a strong technical foundation and optimized content, you're on the path to SEO success.

But you also need to be thinking about the links that point people to your website. Specifically, links from other organizations in your community.

Why local links?

Here are some of the reasons we recommend focusing on local links:

They bring in your target audience. A click on a local link probably has a person in your community on the other end—hello, prospective patient.

They boost your local search rankings. Search is becoming increasingly local. People who look for you may use words like "near me" or add your town or county name. These types of searches tend to return a set of local results at or near the top of the page. Local links are one of the factors that can determine whether or not your content appears in these local search results. That's because links from local organizations help send signals that reinforce your specific location and your relevancy in the community.

You have a better chance of winning them. If you're doing link building, you probably have a better chance of getting a positive response from a local organization that you actually have a relationship with than from a national organization.

Local link-building tips

By now we hope you're feeling inspired to give local link-building a try. As you start seeking them out, just remember that the best local links are those that come from quality websites that target people who live in your community. Beware of trading links or paying for them—this kind of behavior could get your website penalized.

Luckily, there are plenty of local link opportunities for healthcare websites. Here are some to try:

1. Specialty clinics. If you're affiliated with specialty clinics in your community and the surrounding area, reach out and ask those partners to link back to your website.

2. Local directories. Directory sites are an easy spot to provide up-to-date contact information for your healthcare organization and a link back to your site.

3. The local paper. Pepper your press releases with links to your website, and ask reporters to consider including those links in their online press reports. Also, share a link to your community education calendar with your news editor on a regular basis.

4. Colleges and universities. Contact the communications directors of your local institutions of higher learning. Draft an email message, and include a link to your employment pages or your fellowship pages.

5. Sponsorship beneficiaries. If your organization sponsors a local sports team, subsidizes a local event or otherwise participates in some form of charitable work within your community, ask the recipients of those funds to link to your website on their websites.

6. Job sites. Odds are your healthcare organization is a sizable employer in your region. Submit links to your local paper for their online classifieds and reach out to other job sites with your online career openings.

7. Blogs. Is there a popular local blog or mommy blogger in town? Pitch them ideas for pieces about your providers, services or events. Those kinds of posts are almost certain to come with a link.

Need help with healthcare SEO?

If you're looking to get more traffic from search (or to get better conversions from the traffic you are getting), Coffey can help. Our process starts with a goal setting meeting where we learn about your needs and an audit that identifies opportunities. Call us at 888.805.9101 or email us to learn more.