The Foundation of Good SEO
While content is king, technical SEO is the castle it lives in. If your website has a poor technical foundation, even the best content will struggle to rank. This is especially true for healthcare, where trust and security are paramount. This checklist covers the essential technical SEO items every healthcare website must address.
1. Site Speed and Core Web Vitals
A slow website is a major turn-off for patients and for Google. Your site must load quickly, especially on mobile devices.
- Optimize Images: Compress images to reduce file size without sacrificing quality.
- Leverage Caching: Use browser caching to store parts of your site on a visitor's device for faster subsequent loads.
- Minify Code: Remove unnecessary characters from your website's CSS and JavaScript files.
2. Mobile-Friendliness
With most patient searches happening on mobile, a responsive design is non-negotiable. Your website must be easy to read and navigate on a smartphone. Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to check your pages.
3. HTTPS Security
Every healthcare website must use HTTPS. An SSL certificate encrypts data between the user's browser and your server, protecting patient privacy. It's also a confirmed Google ranking signal.
4. Schema Markup for Healthcare (Structured Data)
Schema markup is code that helps search engines understand your content better. For healthcare, specific schema types are crucial:
- Physician Schema: Clearly identifies a page about a specific doctor, their specialty, and qualifications.
- LocalBusiness Schema: Provides details about your practice, including address, phone number, and hours.
- Review Schema: Allows you to display star ratings directly in search results, making your listing stand out.
5. Clean and Logical URL Structure
Your URLs should be simple, readable, and include relevant keywords. Avoid long, confusing URLs with random numbers and characters. A clean structure helps both users and search engines understand your site's hierarchy.