Are we “social scientists”? … I think so!
We study human behaviour. We know our market share and target specific demographics .. well, at least endeavour to! I think we deserve a new title of “social scientists”! Do you?
This is a short and simple guide to Search Engine Optomisation [SEO]. Follow these quick tips to get on the road to rank your website or blog. Good luck ..
Make a list of words relevant to your healthcare specialty or website theme. Choose words that will attract people and carry out your business objective.
Your page title is the most important aspect of your website. Search engines evaluate your title to determine what is on a webpage. Add your keywords to the page title.
Choosing a URL is important. Search engines view the text in your URL to understand the web page. Use your keyword in your URL.
Gather up your keywords and add them into the page description. The blurb should be easily read and short.
The H1 text is usually found at the top of your webpage. Search engines review this and add importance to the H1 text words.
Try to fit your keywords organically into the text of your page to notify search engines that the content is actually relevant to the theme.
Check Google and other search engines to test your rank and to see test if your SEO is working.
Did you ever wonder about your Twitter followers? Who are they? What do they do? Why are they following you?
Well now you can find out … TwitterSheep is a fun tool that allows you to see all this in visual cloud of keywords extracted from your followers biography.
So it is not rocket science but it did allow me to realise that my Twitter followers are professional associates. Check it out … and remember to respect your flock!
Change is coming, whether through the spread of wireless devices or generational shifts.
Wireless connections are associated with deeper engagement in social media and an accelerated pace of information exchange. Indeed, those with mobile access to the internet are more likely than those who have tethered access to contribute their comments and reviews to the online conversation about health and health care. And mobile access is on the rise.
Second, adults between the ages of 18 to 49 are more likely than older adults to participate in social technologies related to health. As younger adults face more health care questions and challenges, they may turn to the tools they have sharpened in other contexts of their lives to gather and share health advice.
But in the end, experts remain vital to the health-search and decision-making process. Americans’ longstanding practices of asking a health professional, a trusted friend, or a wise family member persist as patients pursue good health. These are practices which, in the words of John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid “will not budge” and therefore require designers of any new health care application “to look not ahead, but to look around” in order to see the way forward.
* only 6% of e-patients have tagged or categorized online content about health or medical issues.
* only 6% of e-patients report that they have posted comments, queries, or information about health or medical matters in an online discussion, listserv or other online group forum.
* only 5% of e-patients say they have posted comments about health on a blog.
* only 5% of e-patients have posted a review online of a doctor.
* only 4% of e-patients have posted a review online of a hospital.
* only 4% have shared photos, videos or audio files online about health or medical issues.
Like me, if you work on a blog you will need to do something with your posts in order to deliver some links and traffic to your website. Many people dont realise that a blog can be significantly leveraged through a variety of communities, not just to deliver traffic but also build a loyal following. If your content is good and your audience is accurate blog posts will act like a fishing rod to bring in traffic.
Here are some tips which I will be sharing at the Strategic Social Media for Healthcare Conference next week in NYC.
First advise is not to worry about follow and no follow links. I have seen no follow links show up in Google webmaster tools blog. A link doesn’t have to just be looked at as “link building” but it should be viewed at as a bridge to your business or blog. If a link is there you are giving people an opportunity to find you.
By commenting on other related blogs you are endorsing the receiver and also creating an opportunity to market your own blog. Bloggers welcome feedback and comments and will usually return the favour – in time increasing visibility to you and your blog.
Blog posts are one of the most visible ways you can get social media traffic over to your website. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are superb places to pull in highly targeted audience traffic from a strategic manner. Taking each blog post and distributing it through a variety of social channels you are connected with will bring a steady stream of interested inbound traffic. Someone sooner or later is going to also link to that blog post making it even more important to be in this space. I distribute my favourite posts on a series of marketing and health-related LinkedIn groups which I can track with my analytics package. It is worth the effort from a networking and data sharing perspective.
You don’t need a share button for every social book marking website. Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz are important to distribute your content into every single time you write. Consistency is key with internet marketing efforts. ShareThis is also a great tool for tracking and ease of use.
Social bookmarking is not be as popular as it was but we should not avoid it. Sites like Digg and StumbleUpon can still bring sizable traffic to your website which is why it is still important to be visible on their platforms.
Social media marketing is a very powerful force that can really help a business become successful online. With that said it requires applying all the tools with a strategic approach aimed at delivering not just traffic but targeted traffic to your website. Good Luck!
Bi’ curamach, and remember what we are!
Content marketing is the idea of distributing relevant and beneficial content to engage potential patients and provide them with something of value. Yes, you read that correctly! Nowhere does it say anything about pitching your services or promoting your hospital. Instead, content marketing focuses on delivering information and services that inform your target markets and enables them to become more intelligent buyers.
Last month the Google Webmaster blog had an informative post on what constitutes a “valuable” link and what you can do to get those links.
• Become an expert in your field and get involved in online communities. Contribute to blogs but don’t spam with shameless self promotion for your blog. Quality links come through the relationships formed in the communities, not the comments themselves.
• Publish helpful, interesting content. This could range from a tutorial to a video or tool. Original research or polls attract quality links.
• For an immediate traffic bump, try out some humour. Funny content gets picked up by social media and can attract hundreds of links in a short time. According to Google, this is a quick pick-up rather than a long-term strategy.
• Buying links – While paid links may provide a small bump, Google states that they are not a positive impact on your site’s performance over time.
• Google tells Webmasters to submit their site to relevant, topical directories instead of mass-submissions to SEO link directories.