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Healthcare ‘Writing for the Web’ Workshop at AVID Design, July 29

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

AVID Design’s next "Writing for the Web" is on July 29. Space is limited, so sign-up today!

We are again presenting our popular Writing for the Web workshop on Wednesday, July 29 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m.!

Created especially for hospital and healthcare system marketers, Webmasters and copywriters, the workshop is designed to engage both novice-level and experienced guests.

Delivered in an upbeat and casual tone while still covering some powerful subject matter, the workshop will share experienced insight into:

• Crafting content to satisfy humans and search engine spiders
• How NOT to do search engine optimization (SEO)
• Proven techniques for improving page ranking
• What it really means to “Write for the Web”

Attendees can expect to leave the workshop knowing more about how (and how not) to:

• Develop new content
• Format content for various platforms
• Get the most from existing content
• Improve conversions and traffic
• Increase return-on-investment (ROI)
• Refine search engine marketing (SEM) and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns

The workshop includes lunch and refreshments and will also offer opportunities for networking with others and to chat with AVID Design’s creative and programming staff.

Writing for the Web is $50 per person and will be held at AVID Design (3375 Medlock Bridge Road, Norcross, GA, 30075). Signup online at http://www.aviddesign.com/workshops.

Derek Rudnak | Communications Specialist | AVID Design

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Posted in AVID Design, Calendar & Events, Seminars / Workshops, Writing for the Web | No Comments »

49 Percent of Patients Use Internet for Medical Information

Monday, July 6th, 2009

New numbers are out that illustrate the ways that patients are using the Internet to find medical information.

Click on chart to see larger image.

Topping the report were the 49 percent of patients that looked online to learn about “a specific disease or medical problem.”

Nearly every hospital has a Website, so the desire to harness this massive segment of the online community is an obvious goal for every healthcare marketer and Webmaster—one that is best achieved via SEO and PPC.

What’s not so obvious is how to do this.

After all, only an elite number of Websites are going to get the best ranking for “symptoms of [common condition]” or “how to treat [common condition]”. You can take your chances in PPC, but you better bring your pocketbook, as keyword bids for these types of phrases are likely to be highly competitive and modified on a daily (if not hourly) basis by professional, dedicated PPC campaign managers.

Think Outside of the Box Condition

If you can’t top the search engine results pages (SERPs) with the easy or obvious keywords, consider using keywords that are less competitive. This is where excellent keyword research analysis is needed.

For example, instead of optimizing for phrases like “how to treat [insert common condition]” for which hundreds are competing, perhaps target your SEO and PPC campaigns for the treatments used to treat that condition. Those could include names of procedures or even specialized equipment that your hospitals owns and uses. For example, instead of (or in addition to) writing SEO and PPC content for “how to treat a broken arm,” develop content that relates to keywords about casts.

Also, try to develop as many related content pages as you can. Using the broken arm and cast example, perhaps develop a page about X-rays or broken arm prevention. Not only do you increase the chance of being found on a SERP, but you can improve your rankings because SEs are known to reward more robust and frequently expanded Websites, especially if pages are linked with relative anchor text.

Remember, the goal of your hospital’s site is primarily to drive conversions (e.g., request more information, schedule an appointment, sign-up for a newsletter), not to function as a free online medical library. Although you should always strive to provide useful and current information, your greater goal should be to be discoverable.

With this strategy, once you can get a visitor into your site, then you can hopefully direct them to pages that would normally have a more competitive keyword.

Does your hospital’s Website have optimized content or an experienced SEO partner? AVID Design offers free SEO Website assessments.

Derek Rudnak | Communications Specialist | AVID Design

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Posted in Industry Trends, Keywords, Research and Studies, SEO, SEO Tips, Tricks and Advice, Things 'n' Stuff, Writing for the Web | No Comments »

Sold-Out ‘Writing for the Web’ Workshop a Huge Success

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Stay tuned to this blog for details on the next workshop!

Extra super special thanks to everybody that attended our Writing for the Web workshop yesterday at AVID Design!

Already a popular workshop that is usually presented “on the road” at conferences, seminars and on-site for clients, we have recently started hosting the workshop in our seminar room.

Yesterday’s workshop was the first time we sold out every seat…and is why the next workshop is going to be announced very soon!

Would you like to have this workshop presented at your conference, seminar or office? Contact A VID Design for more information!

Derek Rudnak | Communications Specialist | AVID Design

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What It Takes to be Number One in Page Rankings: A Triathlete’s Perspective

Friday, June 19th, 2009

I recently completed my first triathlon. After four months of intense workout and diet routines—with visions of winning and all the glory that comes with it—I finished 568th out of nearly 1000 competitors.

There might not be any pain involved with getting your Website to the top of search engine page rankings, but like a triathlon, it requires traveling a road of discipline and dedication.

Much like a business dreams, hopes and wants their Website to be number one in search engine page rankings, I desired (and still do) to be number one in my competition. But like a race with thousands of competitors of all ages and fitness levels, your Website is one in thousands (if not millions) that also wants that prized position of being number one.

Reality and statistics dictate that not everybody can be number one…or in the top group of competitors—in anything. However, you can improve your standings or rankings, but only if you are willing to work for it. Much like training for a big event, it will take time, patience, dedication and endurance.

Many people have been led to believe that they can lose weight with a magic pill or procedure, much like many businesses think there is a quick and easy way to get to the top of a search engine. As we all know, if it is too good to be true it probably isn’t true.

So what are some of the things you can do to be number one or at least get to the front of the competition?

Diet

• Specify small number of keywords or keyword phrases for each page of your site.
• Track them on a daily or weekly basis to monitor results, positioning, etc.
• Use them within your metadata and content.

Exercise

• Size-up you competition.
• Review results and analytics daily.
• Make changes to strategy as needed.
• Follow the proper rules of the game.

Compete

• Monitor daily to maintain and improve position.
• Know your competition.
• Never quit. If you quit exercising or dieting, you just fall to the back again.

Does your hospital’s Website get desired page rankings? AVID Design offers free assessments for SEO, SEM and PPC.

Kris Cain | Creative and Marketing Manager | AVID Design

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Posted in Analytics and Metrics, SEO, Things 'n' Stuff, Writing for the Web | 1 Comment »

Thanks for Not Asking: Using Content Without Permission

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

This morning, my boss sent me a Google Alert for an article we wrote that appeared on another Website—without our permission.

Blowin’ some sax on a street corner in NYC: Cool. Using content without permission and modifying anchor text so links don’t go to their intended destinations? Not cool.

He asked three questions that you might have asked yourself when you’ve discovered that your content has been pirated, especially if you monitor your site or brand. Here are my responses…

Should This Bother Us?

Yes, it should, especially since:

• We spent considerable time (and thus money) on researching and writing an article that is both informative and optimized for search engines. It’s our (intellectual) property.

• The Website on which it appears not only one with a commercial interest (rather than a school, hospital, non-profit or somebody doing research), but it’s a pretty sketchy looking site (e.g., stock WordPress template, minimal original content, lots of duplicated and not very relevant articles) that seems to exist only to attract visitors to links for another site for insurance quotes. Classy.

• And perhaps most importantly, our links in the boilerplate show the original anchor text with our name and Website, but they link to this other company’s Website instead of ours. Again, very classy.

Is It Duplicate Content?

Literally, yes. But in terms of search engines, probably not.

“Duplicate content,” at least in the context of search engines, is usually more of a concern when you have duplicate text that lives within the same domain, especially if it’s a site that you are trying to SEO.

Is It a Good Thing?

It would be an “OK” thing if our links actually did what they were supposed to do: link back to us!

But then again, perhaps that site is doing us a favor by not linking to us. As mentioned, the rest of their site is pretty dodgy and is a classic example of low-ethics SEO…a modern-day link farm, if you will. Although links from other sites are usually something that will benefit your site in page rankings, it can also hurt it if that other site (like perhaps the one that copied our content) isn’t on the up and up.

By the Way…

In case you were wondering about the site, you can visit it at tonik-healthinsurance[dot]com/799478-Effective-Customizable-Rich-Media-Remains-Red-Hot-For-2009.html. However, you’ll have to copy the link and replace the [dot] (I’m not giving them an undeserved link!).

Also, I sent them an “e-mail” (through a form since they don’t publish their contact e-mail…trés classy) that expressed our disapproval, but I’m not expecting them to remove the article, fix the link or even respond. If they do, we’ll let you know!

Does your hospital have a trusted and reliable partner to build, manage and plan your online marketing strategies? AVID Design offers free assessments for Websites, content, strategy and more.

Derek Rudnak | Communications Specialist | AVID Design

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