With increasing frequency we are finding practices and hospitals that are paying for “phantom” Search Engine Optimization services. Call it “Grand Theft SEO.” They’re being charged for the services, but they don’t even have the most basic of SEO techniques in place.
Search Engine Optimization is a broad term relating to technical services that the non-technical person can’t always see. It’s part programming, part business experience, and for some observers, part mystical magic. The means and methods of appealing to search engines for ranking and audience awareness can be hard to see.
But here’s a quick way to know if you are being taken advantage of, or if your healthcare SEO company is outright ripping you off.
Marketing-smart and highly effective optimization can seem subtle—doing their work in the off-stage world of digital programming, careful word selection and many other techniques. But even if your programming, SEO and technical skills are limited, there are several, easy to check things about a website.
Begin with these self-checking assessment questions:
The primary purpose of Search Engine Optimization is to enhance your online presence and visibility in ways that appeal to search engines such as Google. SEO methods and techniques must be permissible, or “white hat.” And, ultimately, the objective is to legitimately gain the strongest visibility and highest PageRank in consumer searches.
Admittedly, SEO is challenging. Since Google doesn’t reveal its search algorithm, SEO means and methods are part experience, part science and part careful planning. The seven quick assessment questions above are only the tip of the SEO iceberg, but they are an eye-opening starting point.
If your practice or hospital has been paying for optimization services—and your site doesn’t measure up to these fundamental questions—there’s good reason to believe that your SEO firm is ripping you off. And if you need additional confirmation, or if you’re looking for a reliable and experienced SEO resource, please give us a call today at 800-656-0907. We will test your web presence a dozen additional ways and quickly tell you how to improve online visibility.
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