Think of a practice you really admire – you know the one – do they have a blog that looks so effortless? A blog you are excited to read each week. A blog with tons of comments from their patients. But when you sit down each week to write your blog the words just stop. You fumble through writing the blog worrying that your point isn’t getting across.
Your blog often acts as your practice’s front door. A great blog cannot replace a patient's time in your office, but it can draw them to you for a like-minded approach to health and wellness. Posting engaging content that strikes a balance between scientific and patient language will help drive your Google ranking – and as a bonus will help grow your organic patient engagements.
Before we dive in, here are a few tips to help you along the way
Blogs that are updated two to four times per month will have the most impact on your SEO ranking.
Aim for each post to be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length.
Remember that readers who skim your blog will need visual space and clear headings.
Incorporate images or videos to enhance the text.
So what do you actually write about? No need to stress about the topics. They are right at your fingertips. Put these three simple blog topics to work to help boost traffic and engagement with your blog:
Health Facts
Health Tips
Frequently Asked Questions (and answers)
Keep your eyes out for some more tips to try and mistakes to avoid along the way.
Health Facts
When someone is newly diagnosed with a medical issue what do they usually do first? They hit the internet for answers. They ask questions like – what is the disease, how is the disease treated, what are the side effects of treatment. They are hunting for credible sources that may be able to help them on their journey to better health.
What could be better than that person finding your blog! Your blog post that addresses their diagnoses and many of the questions they have swirling around their brains.
Start by making a list of what types of medical conditions you treat. Perhaps your list looks something like this: thyroid conditions, allergies, gut health, etc. Congratulations, you’ve just created your list of future blog topics!
Try some of these blog titles to get your creative juices flowing:
Understanding and Managing Hypothyroidism
4 Tips for Tackling Seasonal Allergies
The Secrets Behind the Gut/Brain Connection
Now focus in. The more specific you can get in your blogs, the better. Remember, you should aim for your blogs to read comfortably at a seventh-grade level. Short sentences and clearly defined medical terminology will be critical.
Health Tips
As interesting as diagnose based blogs are, they can sometimes get a bit dry. Your reader has read your post based on their medical condition. Now you need them to keep reading. They may find other medical conditions interesting, but it likely won’t keep them coming back.
This is the time to sprinkle in some interesting facts, ideas, or tooltips. Blogs that provide actionable, health-related information from a credible-source they are growing to trust. Ask yourself, what do I suggest to my patients on a regular basis? Or, what do I use to help manage and maintain my health?
Health tip blogs can include:
Recipes
Workout suggestions, challenges, or tips
What to do if…
Recommendations for your favorite app – apps for tracking diets, exercise, or mindfulness practices.
Health tip blog posts still need to be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length. So, elaborate on what makes your recipe healthy. Or, consider a ‘best of’ blog to highlight several apps that alone would not make a long enough blog. Health tip blogs also make great social media posts and push traffic from your social media pages to your website.
Keep in mind that if you link to other products (like apps) you could run the risk of your reader not returning to your blog. Use these links carefully in your content so the reader feels compelled to click back to your blog.
Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)
Ask your office staff what they get asked about the most regarding your practice. You’re sure to come up with a long list of questions that you need to answer for your patients. A blog can be a great place to address these items.
Maybe you don’t need to talk about where you are located (unless you recently moved offices). But, having a blog post to reference big topics can be helpful. FAQ blogs might include:
What a patient can expect during their first visit to your office
How many visits may be required
Supplements or products that you have available for sale
FAQ blogs are also a great opportunity to link to other content on your blog. For example, if you are addressing how many visits are required you can refer the reader to a page about specific medical conditions. In addition, FAQ blogs are a nice complement to an FAQ page on your website. The FAQ page can answer questions about insurance and office location but link to more lengthy questions and answers.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box for FAQ blogs. It might surprise you what types of questions your patients have.
Making a list of the health facts, health tips, and FAQs can help to fill up your content calendar for the entire year! But, if you want to sprinkle in a few additional topic ideas consider a few of these:
An in-depth introduction to the providers in your practice. This is your chance to get personal.
Upcoming events or activities at your practice
Holiday-themed topics – heart health, diets to survive the holidays, summer skincare, etc.
So, where do you go from here? Start by making a content plan that gets new blog posts to your readers every week! Maximize your content by sharing on your practice's social media accounts, in a newsletter, or during a patient visit.
The key is to produce high-quality content that will naturally boost your Google ranking while bringing organic traffic to your site.
Still feeling overwhelmed? Drop me a line at julie@jbryantagency.com or visit my website J Bryant Agency to learn more about how a copywriter can help develop content and boost your SEO.
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