American Health Imaging (AHI) needed to amplify online brand awareness and drive patient demand for its premier MRI, CT scan, X-ray, and PET imaging services. AHI recognized that securing page-1 organic Google rankings was critical to this success. They needed a digital marketing partner with proven medical and healthcare marketing experience, so, they turned to AIS Media for their SEO program.
Results from AIS Media’s SEO Program
Over a 6-month period, AIS Media’s SEO program produced a staggering 328% increase in Google page-1 rankings for high-value keywords.
These top SEO rankings drove a 44% increase in organic website traffic. Consequently, new patient appointment requests from the website reached an all-time high.
Since working with AIS Media, AHI expanded to 18 MRI imaging centers, making AHI the largest network of non-hospital imaging centers in the Southeast. AHI’s success earned the company a feature spot on 11Alive News.
“That’s about as excited as our CEO gets. Thanks for making me look so good! I feel like popping a bottle of champs.” – Megan Finnerty, Marketing Director
AIS Media’s Action Plan for SEO Success
Our SEO strategy focused on five critical factors:
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- Google mobile-friendly optimization: On April 21, 2015 Google updated its algorithm to favor sites that are mobile-friendly. This update was implemented to coincide with mobile searches accounting for a larger total percentage of searches than desktops. In the interest of keeping its users happy, Google wants to serve them mobile-friendly websites. If your site if not mobile-friendly, you are likely losing rankings and therefore traffic. In the case of American Health Imaging, it’s common for people to be searching for health care services while on-the-go. Creating a mobile-friendly site was of highest importance to gain rankings and traffic.
- Hyper-focus on the highest value keywords: When beginning an SEO program, it can be overwhelming to look at a list of 150 keywords and try to optimize for all of them at the same time, especially if you are short on content and need to write pages or blog posts around some of your keywords. Instead, save your sanity by choosing your top 10, 15, or 25 keywords to focus on, based on search volume and value to your business. By optimizing for the keywords with the most searches, you are likely to bring in more traffic which shows Google that you’re an authoritative source.
- Geo-targeted search optimization & Google Maps listings: For a local business such as American Health Imaging, it’s important to be found in Maps results. In this age of quick information, users want to find the location that is nearest to them, so they can minimize time in the car or the waiting room and maximize their time for other activities. There are several factors that affect Maps results but some of the most important are to claim your Google My Business page and make sure all the information is accurate, include information about your location(s) on your site, and encourage customers to leave reviews on Google.
- User experience optimization: More and more, Google is encouraging site owners to design their websites and write content to be user-friendly, instead of trying to please the search engines first. Long gone are the days of difficult-to-read keyword stuffing and sudden, annoying pop ups that just won’t go away. It is now more important to make your site easy to read and access with minimal disruptions or friction for your site visitors. Have a professional digital marketing company, such as AIS Media, complete a free SEO consultation on your site to determine which areas could be improved to increase user-friendliness.
- Off-site optimization including content marketing and high-value link building: Once you have content that is well optimized and user-friendly, it’s time to spread the word. Share your blogs across your social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Encourage your followers to share your content as well. You can also increase your backlink profile by reaching out to relevant bloggers and asking if they would like to republish your content, or have you write a guest post. You can also submit your business to local directories. However, don’t just reach out for any and every backlink you find. You want these links to be from authoritative sites that Google already trusts. If Google sees MSN.com linking to your site, Google will assume you’re a high-quality site and will be more likely to move you up the SERPs.
AIS Media’s Process
AIS Media’s Atlanta SEO team performed a comprehensive SEO analysis of AHI’s website to identify high-performing and low-performing pages and content. We then ran a competitive analysis of AHI’s top competitors in each target market to identify areas where competitors were shining and learn how we can leverage that information to increase AHI’s visibility. Our team then corrected a wide range of on-site technical SEO errors including page titles, meta descriptions, and heading tags.
To ensure we reached the widest, most relevant audience, our next step was keyword research. We discovered the terms that patients use when looking for MRI and CT scan imaging services. We then incorporated these keywords on AHI’s current landing pages.
Our SEO team then worked with AHI to develop high-quality, patient-centered landing pages and content for each physical location. These pages clearly displayed each local center’s hours, phone number, imaging equipment, and an interactive Google Map to see locations and get directions. By including all this information on the site, Google is better able to identify and confirm the information and add it to the Maps listing. The more detailed the information, the higher the ranking.
In fall 2015, Google reduced the number of business listings in Google Maps results from seven to three, making a top spot even more valuable. Although many businesses were originally upset by this update, users have appreciated it and Google continues to implement it.
First announced in summer 2016, Google has also begun testing ads in the Maps results. By replacing the top Maps result with a paid ad, the organic Maps results are now down to only two positions. This makes competition even more fierce. The roll out of this feature appears to be a rather slow one, as we don’t consistently see these ads in search results. However, it’s always best to stay ahead of the curve and make sure you are well optimized to achieve high ranking positions before the competition heats up even more.
With AHI achieving top Maps and organic ranking results, as well as a steady increase in site traffic, we began to focus on blog content. Continually adding new, relevant content is an important ranking factor for Google. It also gave us an opportunity to provide information about other keywords not previously discussed on the landing pages. It’s difficult to rank highly for a keyword if it is used infrequently or not at all on your site. Regularly blogging also shows users that you are knowledgeable about your topic and that they can trust you to have the latest news and updates. By being a thought leader in your industry, you create a bias for your readers and they are more likely to return to you when they are in need of the products or services you offer. In the case of AHI, we created blog posts to inform patients about the technology used, what various procedures are like, and reasons why their doctors are recommending these imaging services. Healthcare can make many patients nervous and providing the information they need not only helps to ease their minds, but it also provides a level of trust that AHI will care for them during this time.
Overall Success of the SEO Program
As detailed above, AIS Media’s SEO program drove a 328% increase in Google page-1 rankings and a 44% increase in organic website traffic in their first six months with AIS Media, leading to an all-time high in online patient requests and an expansion of 18 imaging centers across the Southeast. This has provided great momentum and along with continuous blogging and monitoring of organic search results and rankings and appropriate website modifications, AHI is able to steadily increase organic traffic each month.
From December 2015 to March 2016 AHI received an increase in visits of over 81% through organic search. One year later, in March 2017, AHI received an additional 46% of site visits through organic search. Over the course of their program with AIS Media, AHI has achieved nearly 140% increase in site visits.
Need More Customers?
If you’re ready to increase your earnings and expand your business, call AIS Media. We can help get your business found when your ideal customers search online for the exact services you offer. If you would like to learn more about what our premier SEO services can do for you, contact us today for a free website performance analysis.
