SEO Management: A Marketing Necessity

When you hear the term “SEO”, what do you think of? Most people immediately think of Google ranking while others might think of keywords. However, there is an entire world behind search engine optimization, or SEO, that most people don’t think about.

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process used to optimize a website’s organic ranking on search engines, such as Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, below the paid search ads. Many factors contribute to strong, healthy SEO, including keywords, relevant content, local searches, optimization, user experience, and more. It’s important to note that SEO and paid search ads are very different strategies. SEO is organic, meaning no cost was put into the search results, whereas paid search ads are just what they sound like—search results that are paid for. An example of a paid search ad is a top search result on Google that says “sponsored” near the title.

Since SEO and paid search ads are vastly different, their ROI (return on investment) will be tracked differently as well. Paid search ads are beneficial if you want to promote a product or service for a short time, while SEO is a long-term commitment. SEO can take anywhere between 6 to 12 months to start seeing beneficial results. Although SEO takes more time to get the ball rolling than with paid ads, once the ball starts rolling, it creates a snowball effect of ongoing improvement, as long as it is managed properly.

What are the Benefits of SEO?

If you want a website that is engaging, top ranking, credible, and relevant, we highly recommend investing in search engine optimization (SEO).

Credibility

Think of when you search for something on Google. You more than likely only look at the results on the first page and think that anything on a further page is not as credible or reliable as the results on the first page. You’re not alone in thinking that! Many people believe that a higher Google ranking equals a higher quality website and perceive it as more reputable and trustworthy. This helps to increase brand awareness as well.

Visibility

Thoughtful SEO strategies help to increase online visibility by catering to local search results, such as when a potential patient searches “pharmacy near me”, “family owned pharmacy in [state/city]”, or other similar prompts. Besides local search results, having an accurate Google My Business account helps boost SEO. Your Google My Business account includes the pharmacy’s address, phone number, description, reviews, and more.

Speaking of reviews, asking your patients to leave you a positive review on Google also helps to boost your online visibility! We often see highly reviewed businesses appear higher in search results, reiterating that credibility we mentioned previously. Another way to increase your online visibility is to create listings in local business directories.

Traffic

If your website has valuable SEO, you should see an increase in website traffic due to the higher ranking and more relevant search results. Including quality content on your pages and matching meta descriptions and keywords to fit each page helps boost SEO, resulting in higher website traffic.

What Impacts Search Results?

As mentioned, there are many things that impact search results. One thing that impacts search results is the Google algorithm, which is ever-changing. This constant change can be hard to keep up with, so it’s important to know what to focus on so your site can keep up with Google’s constant changes. Here is a short rundown of Google’s Top 10 ranking factors that impact organic search results:

1. Quality Content: Having quality content on your website helps lead to more relevant search results.

2. Backlinks: Links to your website that are found on sites other than yours help to boost credibility and trustworthiness.

3. Mobile-friendly: It is critical to have a website that is viewable and easy to navigate on mobile devices to rank well on Google search results.

4. Page Speed: If your website takes a long time to load, it risks ranking lower on search results. The optimal page load speed is 3 seconds or less.

5. Secure and Accessible: Websites that use HTTPS, are easy to crawl, and ensure a safe user experience are favored by Google.

6. Domain Authority: Overall website reputation is determined by age, popularity, and content quality.

7. User Experience: User satisfaction is crucial for a higher ranking on Google. This includes navigation, accessibility, and readability.

8. On-Page SEO: This includes individual page titles, meta descriptions, and header tags.

9. Social Signals: Higher engagement and activity on your social media platforms that are related to or linked to content on your website helps boost SEO.

10. Keyword Usage: Using appropriate keywords throughout your content, titles, meta descriptions, and back-end SEO helps with ranking. It’s important not to fall victim to keyword stuffing, though!

Do I Need SEO?

The short answer is YES! If you aren’t already doing some type of SEO, you are likely far behind your competitors. Here are 5 reasons why you need to invest in SEO:

1. Algorithms are constantly changing. As we mentioned earlier, Google’s algorithm is always changing. Staying up-to-date on your website’s content is crucial to continuing to see higher results.

2. If you don’t do SEO, your competitors will. Your competitors are investing in SEO, so to compete with them, you need to as well!

3. How search engines are being used is changing. The way people search for things on Google has drastically changed to now include predictive text, image search, personalized results, AI, voice searching, and more. It’s important to optimize your site to stay relevant.

4. Things break when not in view. If you aren’t keeping an eye on your website’s SEO, there’s a good chance something can go astray. That could be a broken link, loading time, server problems, or more.

5. Ranking Matters. Millions of search results appear when doing a basic search, but only a select few results will actually get clicked on. You want your site to be one of those few? Invest in SEO!!

At GRX Marketing, we’re here to help design you a cohesive, high-performing website that strengthens your online presence and supports your pharmacy’s growth. Reach out to learn more about our website services and discover how foundational SEO strategies can make a big impact. Your path to endless digital marketing possibilities starts here!