Is SEO dead? No - and here’s how health & wellness pros can improve theirs

Last week someone asked me if SEO was dead.

Apparently they had seen multiple headlines declaring that SEO was no longer important and wanted to have a conversation about it.

If you were to Google "is SEO dead?" right now, you're going to get pages and pages of results all telling you the same thing - SEO isn't dead, but it has changed.

Except...if you've been doing SEO the right way, not much is changing for you.

Here's what you should NOT be doing:

• Content written from algorithms (stuffed with keywords)

• SEO-packed headlines

• Over-optimized meta titles & descriptions (just listing keywords)

• Image alt text using keywords but no descriptions

• Keyword-centered content (just trying to hit keywords in what you write)

Google has gotten really good at spotting techniques like keyword-stuffing that people have used to increase their SERP (search engine ranking position). That means that it knows when you're trying to trick them instead of creating valuable content on a well-designed website.

What should you be doing instead?

1. Write content for humans that delivers value

Write your content, especially blog posts, with the intent of answering questions. Think about the things your patients ask you before and during appointments and then write content to address those concerns, build on the information you're already sharing, and educate people who might be searching for more information about your specialty.

2. Use clear and helpful headlines and skimmable headings

Make your content really easy to navigate by writing headlines that highlight exactly what you'll be talking about on that page or post.

And don't forget to break your content up with headings (H2-H4) that make it easy for people to skim through to find the information they're most interested in.

Quick Tip: Search engines read your pages starting at H1, then moving through H2-H4, and then go on to the paragraph text. Including keywords in your headings (in a natural way) gives you the best chance at ranking.

3. Include keywords in a natural way to answer questions

The best way to include keywords in a way that feels natural is to write your content or post and then look back through it to see where you might be able to add or replace your writing with more specific keywords.

For example, if you're writing a post about the comorbidity of ADHD and POTS, you could change "symptoms to look out for" to "common POTS symptoms to look out for."

4. Build both internal and external links

Your internal links are what tell search engines how you website is connected to itself. By including links to other pages, you're giving Google a map of your website (and helping visitors find where they should go next). The easiest way to do this is to include a list of related posts at the end of every blog post.

External links can be more work because they rely on other websites to highlight your content, The key here is to get links from reputable sources. Guest posts and podcast interviews are great ways to do this.

5. Make UX (user experience) and accessibility an integral part of your design

Part of what Google looks at when deciding which website to list first is the UX and accessibility of that website. Their goal is to give searchers the answer to their question, so they want to send them to high-quality sites.

When designing your website, you want to consider:

• breaking up your content in smaller paragraphs with headings

• using bullet points, lists, and columns

• adding images to illustrate your copy

• optimizing your images for faster loading

• writing shorter content that answers questions rather than long content just to hit a word count

• testing your design on multiple devices

• using fonts that are easy to read

• checking your color combinations for high-contrast

6. Focus on the mobile design of your website and make sure it loads quickly

Over 40% of your website visitors are going to see your site on a mobile device (this is higher if you're a local business). Take time to work on the mobile design of your website to make sure that it looks good, loads quickly, and that links and buttons are large enough to click on.

Quick Tip: even if your website platform gives you a mobile preview, you still need to look at your website on your phone. Sometimes the preview isn't 100% accurate.

The importance of blogging

I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, Samantha, but blogging is still one of the best ways to improve your SERP.

Now more than ever, people are turning to search engines to find answers to their questions so it's vital that you're creating content for them.

If you're not sure what to write about, I like to do a few things to help me brainstorm blog post ideas:

• Look at what questions I'm getting from clients and on consult calls

• Ask my audience what they want to learn about

• Have ChatGPT create a list of blog post ideas for me

Here's my ChatGPT prompt for blog post ideas:

I would like to brainstorm a list of blog post ideas. The topics should be how-to tutorials, answers to questions, and related to [my target audience]. The blog is for [my busienss industry, specialty, and services] .The goal of these posts is to educate potential clients and show up in search results. My most popular current posts are [your most popular blog post titles]. My target audience includes [information about my target audience and why they hire me]. Common questions I'm asked are [list of common questions]. I want the tone of the posts to be [my brand voice]. I want to have some posts that are step-by-step guides on how to do specific things and others that are more general. I want to target keywords including [the list of keywords I want my website to rank for].

Make SEO your friend

If you're intimated by SEO (or you just don't have time to think about it), I can help!

I have made UX, accessibility, and SEO part of every website that I design. I spend hours writing meta titles & descriptions, adding image alt text, optimizing images, and choosing accessible color combinations for each of my clients so they have a website that will boost they SERP from the moment it's launched.

When you're ready to upgrade your existing website, let's chat about how we can create a design that fits your aesthetic and gets you in front of the right people.