By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Keywords Matter – Exploring the Importance of Keyword Usage In Your Healthcare Digital Marketing
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > Keywords Matter – Exploring the Importance of Keyword Usage In Your Healthcare Digital Marketing
Social Media

Keywords Matter – Exploring the Importance of Keyword Usage In Your Healthcare Digital Marketing

Jonathan Catley
Jonathan Catley
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

We have always been taught that words matter. They allow us to communicate with each other, tell stories, and express our feelings and emotions. When it comes to digital marketing, the words we use are just as important, but not for the reasons you might assume.

We have always been taught that words matter. They allow us to communicate with each other, tell stories, and express our feelings and emotions. When it comes to digital marketing, the words we use are just as important, but not for the reasons you might assume.

More Read

Liking, Following, Linking, Tagging, Stumbling: Social Media is Changing the Nature of Health-Related Interactions
How Social Media Can Help Address the Diabetes Pandemic
Two Tools To Streamline Your Healthcare Social Media
Government Using Social Media to Track Health Behaviors
Upcoming Webinar: Can Social Media Save Lives?

Yes, the words placed on landing pages, websites, banner ads, and ad text need to convey a very clear message to the reader, but they also need to contain other words that are just as important. Each and every page needs to contain a specific set of phrases or words known as keywords, and they truly are important.

We will take a look at several examples of how keywords matter in regards to your healthcare digital marketing.

Heavily Influences Quality Score 

Search engine ad platforms, such as Google and Bing, assign a quality score to your ads, which determines how relevant your ad is to the search query (what is typed in the search bar). This score may not seem important on the surface, but it is a key component for optimizing ad performance. Quality score impacts where your ad is placed (at the top of search results or on the right rail) and what you pay per click on that ad. It is not uncommon for advertisers located in the first position to pay half the cost for a click then an advertiser in the second, third, or lower ad placement. 

Building your destination pages (the first page your ad traffic sees when clicking on an ad, banner, etc…) with detailed, relevant keywords will increase your Quality Score. Of course, it is important to make sure you incorporate the keywords in a way that is natural and not in an overly stuffed or awkward way.

Keywords are Vital to Campaign Build Outs and Expansions

Not all keywords are created equal. Some keywords will attract people to your website, but that is about all they do. They will not convert a casual viewer into a booked patient, which is the ultimate goal of most of your healthcare marketing campaigns. After all, revenue can only be increased with patients that book appointments.

It is important to identify keywords that have a significant impact not only on your page views, but also on booked appointments. These are keyword phrases that, when searched, tend to have individuals who will book an appointment or contact your practice/hospital at a much higher frequency. These types of keywords are the ones you will want to incorporate into your PPC campaigns, website/landing page copy and healthcare content strategy. Your keywords can usually be segmented into four different buckets: symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, and resources. For a more detailed look at the different phases, check out this blog post on Understanding the Patient Digital Search Process.

Long Tail Keywords vs. Short Keywords

Keywords can ultimately be separated into two categories: long tail keywords and short keywords. Long tail keywords are typically a set of phrases. Short keywords are one or two words.

For example, the phrase ‘how to correct cataracts with surgery’ would be considered a long tail keyword. The phrase cataract surgery or eye surgery, on the other hand, would be considered a short keyword.

There has been an ongoing debate regarding which keywords to use. In the past, the focus was always on short keyword phrases and long tail keywords were often disregarded. While the decision is ultimately up to you and your unique healthcare marketing campaign (good campaigns utilize both), recently there has been a shift in the ideology that short keyword phrases are better. The conversion rate associated with those that search using long tail keywords tends to be higher than those that are searching using the short keywords. What does this mean? Long tail keywords generally produce a much higher quality web visitor that is more likely to engage with your brand or pick up the phone to make an appointment.   

Considering how important keywords are to the success of your healthcare’s digital marketing campaigns, it is important that you do your research and carefully pick which keywords to use when developing your healthcare marketing strategy.

Healthcare Marketing Tracking, Healthcare Marketing Intelligence

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

E-myth Physician
BusinesseHealthHospital AdministrationSocial Media

Physician Reading: Mental Fuel to Shape Successful New Year Resolutions

December 26, 2013
OrthopaedicsSocial Media

Social Media – Shoulder Surgery Decision Making

June 25, 2011

How SlideShare Can Increase Your Hospital’s Credibility

June 27, 2014
Image
Social Media

Grand Rounds on HealthWorks Collective!

February 21, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?