AI search is changing how patients find care—and what digital media has to do to reach them. A strategic guide for healthcare leaders navigating paid search, paid social, and programmatic in 2026.
AI search is changing how patients find care—and what digital media has to do to reach them. A strategic guide for healthcare leaders navigating paid search, paid social, and programmatic in 2026.
In Part 2 of Stewart Gandolf’s conversation with Smile Brands CEO Steve Bilt, dentistry becomes the case study for a much broader healthcare leadership lesson: sustainable growth comes from solving enduring market problems, reducing friction, and building systems that work before attempting to scale them.
From call center inefficiencies and EMR limitations to the role of data in driving change, they share practical strategies for improving patient access, increasing conversion, and turning these traditionally siloed teams into true collaborators.
Healthcare organizations often invest heavily in marketing—but struggle to convert that demand into patient care due to disconnected systems and siloed teams. In this episode, Stewart Gandolf is joined by Nicole Vafadari, Founder of Doret Consulting, to explore how misalignment between marketing, operations, and IT creates friction in the patient journey—and what it takes to fix it.
From call center inefficiencies and EMR limitations to the role of data in driving change, they share practical strategies for improving patient access, increasing conversion, and turning these traditionally siloed teams into true collaborators.
AI is transforming healthcare content—but it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. In this episode, Stewart Gandolf is joined by Melanie Wilson and Mary Hayes to break down how AI is actually used inside a healthcare marketing agency, where it adds value, and where human expertise is still essential. From strategy and SEO to brand voice and patient safety, they explore why AI works best as an accelerant—not a replacement—in healthcare’s high-stakes, “your money, your life” environment.
Rural healthcare systems across the U.S. are facing a growing physician shortage—and traditional solutions aren’t enough. In this episode, Stewart Gandolf is joined by Dr. Kenneth Holmen, President and CEO of CentraCare, to discuss how his organization is tackling the problem head-on by helping launch the first new medical school in Minnesota in over 50 years. From workforce shortages and aging populations to siloed systems and outdated thinking, they explore what’s driving the crisis—and how a new, community-centered model for education and healthcare delivery could help solve it.
Steve Bilt, CEO and co-founder of Smile Brands, joins Stewart Gandolf to discuss what it takes to scale a 600-location healthcare organization through disciplined execution, leadership alignment, culture, operational focus, and strategic decision-making. Drawing on 25 years of DSO leadership, Steve shares practical lessons on growth, technology adoption, acquisitions, organizational change, and creating sustainable enterprise value.
When healthcare marketing is working, it often fades into the background—and that's exactly when organizations are most likely to make costly mistakes. In this article, Stewart Gandolf explores why successful marketing programs are frequently underestimated, the risks of replacing specialized expertise with inexperienced resources, and how executive disengagement can undermine growth. He also examines the critical connection between marketing performance and patient access, highlighting how AI-powered call tracking, attribution, and patient access technologies are transforming the way healthcare organizations measure and improve patient acquisition.
In this episode of the Healthcare Success Podcast, Stewart Gandolf is joined by Brooke Hynes, Anissa Davenport, and Dave Eilers of Possibility Partners to unpack one of the most persistent challenges in healthcare organizations: team dysfunction.
From unclear roles and internal silos to cross-functional friction with IT, operations, and administration, healthcare marketing teams are under increasing pressure to perform—often without the alignment needed to succeed. The conversation explores why marketing teams frequently feel misunderstood, how that impacts performance, and what leaders can do to fix it.
AI Overviews and answer engines are quietly changing who shows up as “the answer” in healthcare search. Learn how to adapt your SEO strategy so your website stays visible in AI driven results.
In this episode, Stewart Gandolf talks with Kirsten Lecky about how healthcare content strategy is evolving in the AI era—and why balancing discoverability and trust is more critical than ever.
Traditional Google results still matter, but today’s search journey also runs through AI Overviews, generative summaries, answer boxes, and assistants that choose a handful of sources to quote and recommend. For healthcare organizations, that means SEO is no longer just about “getting on page one.” It’s about becoming the source AI and search engines rely on.
Episode of the Organic Growth Podcast series recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference, this conversation explores how healthcare organizations can unlock growth by focusing on financial fundamentals.
AI Overviews and answer engines are quietly changing who shows up as “the answer” in healthcare search. Learn how to adapt your SEO strategy so your website stays visible in AI driven results.
Most healthcare websites act as static brochures and lose high-value patients. Learn how to turn your site into a true patient acquisition engine in 2026—without a complete rebuild.
Most healthcare websites quietly lose high-value actions because their UX was designed for committees, not users. Learn how patient-first UX reduces anxiety and lifts appointments, inquiries, and ROI.
How to bring maximum benefit to your twice-yearly marketing update.
Episode of the Organic Growth Podcast series recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference, this conversation explores how healthcare organizations can unlock growth by focusing on financial fundamentals.
Episode of the Organic Growth Podcast series recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference, this conversation explores how lenders evaluate organic growth—and what healthcare organizations must demonstrate to secure capital.
Episode of the Organic Growth Podcast series recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference, this conversation explores how buyers evaluate organic growth—and why it’s becoming a key driver of valuation.
Episode of the Organic Growth Podcast series recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference, this conversation explores why healthcare organizations are shifting from acquisition-driven growth to operational performance and efficiency.
Episode of the Organic Growth Podcast series recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference, this conversation explores how healthcare leaders can evaluate AI vendors in a rapidly evolving—and often overhyped—market.
Episode of the Organic Growth Podcast series recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference, this conversation explores one of the most overlooked drivers of growth: hiring the right people.
Stewart Gandolf sits down with Kyle James of Urrly to unpack why “great on paper” candidates often fail in real-world roles, how to evaluate sales talent more effectively, and where AI is beginning to transform the recruiting process.
This special Organic Growth Podcast series is being recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference in Chicago. In this episode, Stewart Gandolf speaks with Tom Furr of PatientPay about how the rise of high-deductible health plans is transforming revenue cycle dynamics—and why healthcare organizations must rethink how they bill and collect from patients.
This special Organic Growth Podcast series is being recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference in Chicago. Revenue doesn’t disappear—it gets stuck. In this episode, Brian Plamondon of SuperDial explains how AI is transforming revenue cycle management by automating payer communication and clearing long-standing bottlenecks.
Most healthcare organizations still treat their websites as brochures. It “looks fine,” but leaks high value patients daily. The irony: you may do the hard work—investing in SEO, Google Ads, traditional media, and brand—but lose the payoff at conversion.
This special Organic Growth Podcast series is being recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference in Chicago. In this episode, Stewart Gandolf sits down with Roy Bejarano of SCALE Healthcare to explore why scaling healthcare organizations is far more complex than simply adding locations or acquiring practices.
This special Organic Growth Podcast series is being recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference in Chicago. In this episode, Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, sits down with Stewart Gandolf sits down with Louis Oster of ECG Consultants to unpack why so many healthcare organizations struggle to grow—even after investing in marketing, acquisitions, and infrastructure.
This special Organic Growth Podcast series is being recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference in Chicago. In this episode, Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, sits down with Stewart Gandolf sits down with Louis Oster of ECG Consultants to unpack why so many healthcare organizations struggle to grow—even after investing in marketing, acquisitions, and infrastructure.
This special Organic Growth Podcast series is being recorded live at the McGuireWoods Healthcare Private Equity & Finance Conference in Chicago. In this first episode, Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success, sits down with Quin Wright, Senior Vice President of RealRev, to discuss lifetime value.
In this episode of the Healthcare Success Podcast, Stewart Gandolf talks with Steve Page, Founder and CEO of SUN Behavioral Health, about whether private equity and patient care can successfully coexist. Steve shares a behavioral health CEO’s perspective on capital, care quality, governance, misaligned incentives and how thoughtful investment can expand access to essential services.
In this week’s podcast, Stewart Gandolf talks with Sean Young, former CMO of Penn State Health, about why healthcare marketing remains misunderstood in many organizations—and what marketing leaders can do to build C-suite trust, use data more effectively, and shape strategy at the highest level.
In this week’s podcast, Stewart Gandolf talks with Kelsey Kloss about why PR has become even more valuable in the AI era—and how healthcare brands can use earned media, press releases, and digital PR to influence what AI says about them.
Apple Business signals a shift in local search. See how Apple Maps Ads and new discovery tools will impact healthcare SEO and paid media.
In this week’s podcast, Stewart Gandolf talks with Krista Robertson and Ben Cash about why healthcare RFPs so often frustrate both clients and agencies—and what health systems can do to make the process more strategic, more human, and more effective.
In this Healthcare Success Podcast episode, Stewart Gandolf interviews Holly Buckley, Chair of Health Care at McGuireWoods, about healthcare private equity trends in 2026. They discuss deal activity, regulatory changes, high-growth sectors, and how AI and operational discipline are driving value creation.
Air quality is an often-overlooked factor that can significantly impact patient outcomes. In this episode of the Healthcare Success Podcast, Stewart Gandolf speaks with Katy Worrilow, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of LifeAire Systems, about how unexplained fluctuations in IVF pregnancy rates led to the discovery that airborne contaminants were affecting embryo viability. Katy explains how this insight led to the development of a technology designed to destroy airborne pathogens rather than simply capture them—an innovation now being used in IVF labs, operating rooms, NICUs, senior living communities, and other healthcare environments.
Matt Shumer, CEO of HyperWrite, recently described this as “February 2020 for AI”—the moment when the signals are visible, but most people haven’t yet connected the dots.
How can healthcare practices use video not just for marketing—but to drive consistency, efficiency, and higher patient conversion?
In this week’s podcast, Stewart Gandolf sits down with Dr. Steve Moravec, Orthodontist at Moravec Ortho (Plainfield, IL), and Carol Gifford, Co-Founder of Docs on Video, to explore how thoughtfully planned video content can transform patient education, streamline staff workflows, and significantly improve case acceptance.
AI is rapidly reshaping healthcare marketing—but success depends on using it to solve real consumer problems. In this episode of the Healthcare Success Podcast, Stewart Gandolf speaks with Sandra Mackey, Chief Marketing Officer of Bon Secours Mercy Health, about how her team is integrating AI into its broader marketing strategy to reduce friction in the patient journey and improve access to care. Sandra shares how their conversational AI platform helps guide consumers to the right provider at the right time, why AI must be embedded within the overall marketing ecosystem rather than treated as a standalone tool, and how healthcare organizations can balance innovation with trust, governance, and patient privacy.
For healthcare organizations, this shift elevates digital PR from a supporting tactic to a core authority engine. The goal is no longer to acquire links for rankings alone—it’s to earn coverage and citations that teach AI systems, “This organization is credible, visible, and safe to recommend.”
For hospitals, health systems, and multi-location practices, reviews, ratings, sentiment, and broader E-E-A-T signals (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) now play a central role in whether AI systems are comfortable naming you as an answer at all.
For hospitals, health systems, and multi-location practices, local SEO is no longer just about map pack visibility. It has become a decision layer—one of the primary ways AI determines who to recommend when a patient is closest to choosing care.
AI-driven systems like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity don’t interpret websites holistically the way humans do. They assemble answers from fragments—pages, passages, entities, and relationships. That means your technical foundation increasingly determines whether your content is summarized, cited, or excluded.
For hospitals, health systems, and multi-location groups, I believe the winners will be organizations that build a smaller number of high-quality, citation-ready pages around their most important conditions and service lines. These pages aren’t written to chase keywords; they’re designed to function as primary sources that AI systems can confidently rely on.
In an AI‑first search world, your brand is no longer just a logo and a tagline—it is a data asset that algorithms use as a shortcut for safety, relevance, and trust. When Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity have to decide which hospital, health system, or medical group to name, they lean toward brands they recognize, understand, and see repeatedly in credible contexts.
This article is the home base for a seven‑part series on “How to Show Up in AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity” for healthcare brands. It introduces the AI Visibility Stack—six core areas of AI‑era SEO: brand, content, technical SEO and schema, local SEO, reputation, and off‑site digital PR—then links to six deep‑dive playbooks, one for each area. Together, they’re designed so your marketing, digital, and clinical leaders can work from the same framework instead of chasing disconnected SEO tips.
When does a healthcare app actually improve patient experience—and when is it a costly distraction?
In this week’s podcast, Stewart Gandolf sits down with Erin Rollenhagen, Founder of People-Friendly Tech, to explore how healthcare organizations can decide whether to build an app, what it should do, and how to design it so patients actually want to use it—especially in high-stress healthcare moments.
Search technology has evolved drastically in recent years. “Stop talking about keywords, start talking about queries,” I said in a meeting. What started as simple keyword matching has transformed into a complex, AI-driven system, significantly impacting how we approach digital marketing and SEO. In this two-part series, I explore the evolution of organic and paid […]
In this week’s podcast, I sit down with Matthew Pinzur, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer at Jackson Health System, to explore how a large public health system aligns mission, operations, and marketing through disciplined planning, measurable accountability, and data-driven patient engagement.
Jackson is a rare organization with a dual identity: it’s both Miami-Dade County’s safety net hospital system, providing the same level of care regardless of insurance status, and South Florida’s primary academic medical center, powered by its partnership with the University of Miami. That combination shapes everything—from brand strategy to growth priorities—because the high-margin, highly differentiated services help fund the mission-driven work that serves everyone.
In this week’s podcast, Stewart Gandolf sits down with Duane Forrester—renowned search and AI discovery strategist, author of The Machine Layer, and former Microsoft leader behind Bing Webmaster Tools and Schema.org—alongside Brandon Schakola, Senior Director of Digital Services at Healthcare Success. Together, they unpack what “AI visibility” really means, why traditional SEO metrics are no longer enough, and how healthcare organizations must rethink discovery as AI systems increasingly summarize, cite and answer on behalf of brands.
