What is SEO and Why Is It Important?

Google receives over 1 billion health-related queries every day. If your website isn’t optimised for search engines, you’re missing out on countless potential users. With 77% of patients using search engines to find healthcare providers before booking an appointment, having strong SEO is crucial. 

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While most people recognise that SEO is important, they don’t really understand what it involves or how it works. It’s frustrating to be told to "improve SEO" without clear guidance or examples that apply to your business.

In this post, we’ll explain:

• Why SEO is important for healthcare and science companies
• Factors that influence whether your website appears at the top of search results
• ROI of SEO compared with social media and paid advertising
• SEO challenges that are specific to health content
• Our 5-step process for creating scientific SEO content

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Why SEO Is Important For Your Website

Having a solid SEO strategy is essential in healthcare and science. Healthcare terms are often dominated by well-established organisations, like government bodies, hospitals, and educational institutions. Competing for health-related keywords can be incredibly challenging without a good SEO strategy.

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Here’s why you need to be on the first page of search results:

• 99% of users never scroll past the first page of search results. Top-ranking websites are viewed as more trustworthy, and people don’t have the time or interest to scroll past the first few results.
• It’s no surprise that websites ranking in the top three positions on Google capture nearly 60% of all clicks.
• But that doesn’t apply to the sponsored posts (purchased with Google Ads). People trust the top organic search results much more than paid ads or sponsored posts.
• Optimising for a top position is crucial. The difference between being ranked first versus fifth can mean thousands of clicks per month.
• Ranking highly in search results helps build credibility (especially in healthcare). This convinces potential users more likely to choose you over competitors.

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Take one of our recent clients. After optimising their website for specific keywords, they saw a 376% increase in organic traffic in just six months. Key pages moved from the 100th position on Google to the top 10​​. This significant visibility boost led to more engagement from both professionals and patients.

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How Does Search Engine Optimisation Work?

SEO is often seen as a complex and technical field, but at its core, it’s about making your content easy to find and relevant to the people who need it. 

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Think of Google as a massive library. SEO is like organising your book (website) so it’s easy for people to find it when they search for something specific. When people go to Google, they’re asking the librarian (Google’s search engine) to find the best book on a particular topic, like "best weight loss method" or "how to reduce anxiety."

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SEO is the process of making sure your book (website) is organised and labelled in a way that makes it easy for the librarian (Google) to find and recommend it.

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Instead of librarians, there are little robots (called "crawlers") that roam around the web 24/7, scanning every single book (website). These robots gather information, figure out what each website is about, and report back to Google so it can rank and organise every website.

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What Are the Benefits of SEO for Healthcare and Science?

SEO offers significant advantages by connecting you with the right audience, building credibility, and driving growth. Here’s how:

• Increased Reach: SEO helps your content reach the right people. One of our clients, a mental health clinic, saw a 376% increase in organic traffic over six months. This led to a significant increase in patient enquiries, so they hired more clinicians to manage the increase in bookings. SEO is closely correlated with business growth.
• Patient Engagement: 77% of patients search for health information online before making health-related decisions. SEO helps your content appear in these crucial moments.
• Authority and Trust: High rankings build credibility. When your website consistently ranks high on Google, it signals to both search engines and users that your content is authoritative.
• Long-Term Results: Unlike paid ads, SEO drives sustainable traffic. Unlike paid advertising, which stops once the budget is spent, a well-optimised page continues to attract traffic and leads for months or even years. 

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SEO delivers a better return on investment compared to many other marketing methods like social media marketing or paid ads because:

• Social media is great for brand awareness and thought leadership, but it doesn’t drive conversions as quickly as website content does (or email marketing).
• SEO helps get your pages in front of users with high purchase intent, compared with social media users who are just scrolling through a feed.
• Patients using search engines are often actively looking for clinicians or treatments, making them more likely to convert.
• SEO algorithms tend to be more stable compared to rapidly changing social media algorithms. This allows for more consistent, long-term strategy development.
• Paid ads can be useful alongside SEO, but relying only on ads can become an expensive strategy over time.
• AI tools (such as Google AI summary, Perplexity and ChatGPT will scrape content from websites instead of paid ads) so this is another reason to prioritise website content as people diversify how they search for information.

How To Make Your Website Appear On Google

To get your website on Google, you need a well-rounded SEO strategy. This involves having a solid understanding of your business goals, target audience and the right tone of voice. If you already have a website, starting with an SEO audit is a great way to identify areas for improvement.

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Here’s how to improve your visibility:

• Keyword Research: Identify terms your audience is searching for, using both medical jargon and everyday language. Focus on a mix of everyday language and technical terms, but also target less competitive, long-tail keywords.
• Optimise Content: Integrate keywords naturally into titles, meta descriptions, and content that speaks to your audience’s needs.
• Technical SEO: Ensure your site loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and is easy for search engines to crawl. Also ensure your site is HTTPS-secured—Google prioritises secure sites.
• High-Quality Content: Publish relevant, valuable content regularly to establish authority.
• Links: Gain links from reputable sources to boost your site’s credibility. But don’t just rely on backlinks—link relevant pages within your site to guide both users and search engines.
• Local SEO: If you operate locally, optimise for “near me” searches and update your Google Business Profile.

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What Impact Does SEO Have On Online Search Results?

SEO plays a critical role in determining where your website appears in search results—and whether people actually find it. These are some key ways SEO impacts online search results:

• Effective SEO can push your website to the first page of Google, which is crucial as 99% of users never scroll past the first page!
• Healthcare providers that prioritise SEO generate 50% more leads compared to those that don't
• The healthcare industry saw a 39% year-over-year growth in online searches.
• SEO helps ensure the people landing on your site are the ones actually searching for your services.

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Common SEO Challenges in Healthcare and Science

SEO can present unique challenges in healthcare and scientific fields. Understanding these issues can help you better navigate the complexities of SEO and develop strategies that lead to success.

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Strict Regulations and Compliance

Healthcare websites often need to adhere to strict regulations like HIPAA (in the U.S.) or GDPR (in the EU). This can make it harder to create SEO-friendly content, as privacy concerns limit the amount of information you can collect or display. For example, certain patient stories or medical advice can’t be shared freely. This often makes health content creation trickier compared to other industries.

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Highly Competitive Keywords

Health terms are often dominated by well-established organisations, government bodies, and educational institutions. Competing for keywords like “cancer treatment” or “genetic testing” can be tough when these entities control top spots in search results. 

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Balancing Technical Jargon and Layman’s Terms

Websites need to strike the right balance between professional terms and language that is accessible to the general public. It’s important to ensure your content resonates with both experts and patients.

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For example, while “myocardial infarction” might be the correct term, users are far more likely to search for “heart attack.” Optimising for both audiences requires careful keyword strategy and content creation.

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Why Is SEO Important For Small Businesses?

SEO is vital for small businesses because it provides a cost-effective way to compete with larger organisations. Nearly 46% of Google searches are for local information, making local SEO a critical tool for small business growth. By optimising your website for the right keywords, you can improve your visibility in search results and attract more clients without relying on expensive ads. 

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Local SEO is particularly important. It helps small businesses appear in searches like “clinic near me” or “best therapist in London.” This drives local traffic and increases footfall or inquiries. 

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Why Is SEO Better Than Paid Ads?

When you use paid advertising, you have to pay for each keyword every month. But with SEO, once we optimise a page, it can rank for hundreds of keywords without ongoing costs. People trust the top results in Google’s organic search much more than paid ads or sponsored posts.

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While paid ads only work for as long as you pay, SEO builds up over time, bringing more and more traffic the longer you invest in it.

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How Do You Write SEO Content?

Our SEO content services are carefully designed to ensure your website ranks highly. We pride ourselves on delivering clear, accurate, and engaging information to your audience.

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Here’s how SEO content works in the context of Sci-translate’s services:

Keyword Research

We conduct keyword research tailored to your niche and business strategy. For instance, in healthcare, patients often use everyday language rather than scientific terms when searching online. Our team carefully researches how people describe symptoms or treatments in layman’s terms. This helps you connect with patients using phrases they’re familiar with. 

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One example involved identifying keywords for a mental health diagnostics provider, where we shifted focus from technical jargon like “ASRS Adult Screener” to terms like “quick ADHD test for adults” to increase visibility​.

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Writing Scientific Content

We have an efficient process that combines SEO research with client briefs. Our scientific experts conduct in-depth research using peer-reviewed academic databases to ensure the content is factually accurate. Then, our scientific copywriters shape the tone and style so it resonates with your audience. 

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Editing Existing Content

We also spend a lot of time on refining your website’s existing content. We adapt what you’ve already written in line with SEO best practices (called “on-page SEO”). For example, when optimising content about a child’s health condition, we focused on making the page easy to navigate with practical tips for parents seeking help. 

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Similarly, when writing for an online therapy provider, we made sure to integrate keywords like “private therapy near me” and “urgent appointments”. By focusing on the user’s immediate needs—such as finding therapy quickly—we helped improve both user experience and search rankings​. 

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Fixing Errors on Your Website

Ensuring that your website runs smoothly is critical for search engines. We handle all the behind-the-scenes work to ensure your site loads quickly, is mobile-responsive, and is structured properly.

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For example, after fixing some technical issues for a healthcare client, they saw an increase in their site health score from 83% to 90%. This then contributed to a noticeable improvement in their rankings​ on search engines.

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Media Attention from Credible Sources

Backlinks are essential for establishing your website authority in the eyes of search engines. Building credibility often involves getting content featured by respected publications. We can assist by reaching out to healthcare journalists or arranging PR with media publications on your behalf. 

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Our PR Director, Ray Sadri, is an accomplished ex-BBC journalist and former government chief press officer with over 19 years of expertise in press office management, public relations, campaign planning, crisis communications, and journalism.

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SEO Content Writing Services

Whether you need website content explaining health tech or online research reports, our team ensures the content is tailored to your business goals and designed to have maximum SEO impact. We make sure the content reflects your business values while addressing what your audience is looking for.

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We offer science communication services tailored for non-specialist audiences that use clear and easy-to-understand language with SEO, such as:

• Evidence-Based Articles
• Scientific SEO Blogs
• Professional Biographies
• Creative Copywriting

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We also offer medical writing services tailored for specific audiences (like patients, doctors, or scientists) that combine technical writing with SEO, including:

• Patient Information
• Press Releases
• Engaging Presentations
• White Papers
• Clinical Reports & Protocols
• Training Materials

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You can have oversight and input at every step of the content creation process, ensuring the work meets their specific needs and aligns with your brand voice.

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Key Takeaways

SEO is a powerful tool that helps healthcare and science companies increase visibility, attract the right audience, and build trust online because:

• SEO drives sustainable traffic without the recurring cost of paid ads.
• High-quality, accurate content establishes trust and authority in healthcare.
• Targeting the right keywords connects you with patients actively searching for your services.

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By investing in a strong SEO strategy, you can improve your rankings, grow your practice, and stay ahead in a competitive digital landscape.