Transcription:

Intro: The following SHSMD podcast is a production of DoctorPodcasting.com.

Bill Klaproth (Host): On this edition of the SHSMD podcast, you know, we hear a lot about SEO and what you can do to rank better in your search results. Well, there's a lot going on. It's very complicated and complex at times. And Google is always changing. So, what do you do? Well, we're going to find out with Julie Goldstein-Dunn and Martha Van Berkel. They are both a part of this year's SHSMD Connections, 2021 with a session titled Using Google to Build Trust In Your Brand. So, let's learn about this. It's going to be good for all of us. So, let's crawl some copy, index some keywords and rock algorithms as we light the fuse on the rocket ship SEO right now.

This is the SHSMD podcast, Rapid Insights for healthcare strategy professionals in planning, business development, marketing, communications, and public relations. I'm your host Bill Klaproth. And in this episode, we talk with Julie Goldstein-Dunn, Director Experience Insights and Analytics at the Henry Ford Health System and Martha Van Berkel CEO of Schema App. They are co-presenting at this year's SHSMD Connections, 2021. The name of their session Using Google To Build Trust in Your Brand. Something we all want to do, and we all want to rank better in Google. So, this is going to be a really important session. Julie and Martha, welcome to the SHSMD podcast. As you know, we start every episode of the SHSMD podcast with Rapid Insights. One quick tip someone can use to make their marketing communications better today. Julie you're up first. Give us your Rapid Insight.

Julie Goldstein-Dunn (Guest): Hi Bill. I think the biggest thing for me is pay attention to your landing pages. I see so often that, we do paid advertising and the message in the advertising doesn't match the message on the landing page. And so it's difficult for users to, to take the next step. So please watch your landing pages.

Host: Such a great tip. I couldn't agree more. And then when you send people to a non-landing page, they have no idea where to go and they're clicking all over. Oh my gosh. I hate that. Thank you, Julie. For that Rapid Insight. Martha, you're up next, give us your Rapid Insight.

Martha Van Berkel (Guest): All right. If you've never heard of Google Rich Results, Google it and find really awesome ways to stand out in search. There's really cool experiences you can bring. So go check it out and learn more.

Host: Okay. So we're supposed to Google Rich Results.

Martha: You got it.

Host: Awesome. Martha, thank you for that Rapid Insight. We appreciate it. Well, we are looking forward to your session using Google To Build Trust In Your Brand. And I know you're going to go over all of this in depth when you do present it. So, this is going to be a really exciting session, if you will. There's so many questions about SEO and everybody's got questions. And as you know, Google is always kind of moving the goalpost. So, this is going to be a great session. So, let me ask you this first, Martha, let's start with you. I know the fact is that most people do start their health journey in Google search. So how do you make your content and providers stand out and how do you build trust?

Martha: So when you do a Google search, you'll notice there's lots of things going on in the page. And, close your eyes and visualize with me there's a big panel explaining like the map on the right-hand side, known as the knowledge graph, and then there's opportunities like for visualization of videos and images and so forth. And the question is, are you leveraging all those different visual and stimulating elements within the search result page? You can imagine if you're starting your health journey or if you're in a crisis, and you're Googling something to ask a question, ideally there's a great FAQ that is right there that guides you again to that next step, maybe to make an appointment or to engage with the healthcare organization that's actually put it there. And so what we're going to talk about today is really about sort of taking control of that first step, that search engine result page to really bring the information your customer needs at whatever part of their journey they're at. Whether they're asking a question, looking to book a meeting, trying to figure out which physician they should go see. And that you're actually in control as a marketer to do that. So, that sort of the piece that we're excited to talk more about today.

Host: Yeah, that's really interesting. So, leveraging all the tools available to basically garnish better search results. Right? A lot of people do one or two things really good, but then there's three or four things that maybe they're not doing so well. So, you're saying, make sure you're doing all of them. Is that right?

Martha: Well, and think about ways you want to engage. Right? So I think there's a difference of like managing and standing out in search or ranking versus thinking about the experience. So the experiences do they have the intent to book booking meetings? How do you make sure you're answering those questions and guiding them and there's tools within the search results. So whether that be Google My Business, whether that be content standing out, maybe it's a video from your public relations teams talking about something that's going on, sort of within that healthcare unit, or maybe it's an FAQ about COVID, their vaccines that you want them to answer right away to get that level of service. So it's really using the search engine results page to enable the journey of your users.

Host: Good stuff. And Julie, let's take a deeper dive into this then. And you can tell us how Henry Ford Health System successfully bolstered their search results, basically using a multi-faceted SEO strategy. Can you tell us about that Julie?

Julie: This is really evident during COVID over the last 18 months. We were producing really fresh, really relevant content that was showing up in search results almost immediately. And we had one of the top vaccine FAQ pages for probably two and a half months at the beginning of the vaccine journey. And we did that by utilizing Markup and through Google My Business. So making sure that we were managing our Google My Business, and had the appropriate COVID notifications on there, as well as marking up those FAQ pages. That was really critical in making sure that Google picked up our content very quickly. And it was all very, very relevant. We're watching our social channels to make sure that, that's what the chatter was about. I would say those are the three things that really stood out.

Host: And Martha, let me ask you this. Julie just said we utilized markup. Can you explain to us what that is? Obviously we've heard of Schema Markup, but I think people might go, yeah, I've heard of it. I really, really don't know what it is. So, can you elaborate and tell us what that means when Julie says we utilized Markup.

Martha: Absolutely. So, Schema Markup and Structured Data in the SEO world are used interchangeably. And what it is, is really translating the content on the page into code that Google understands. So, it helps do two things. One when you have it on, your page, Again, it's code, right? Helps understand, like, this is what you're talking about.

This is a page about a physician that has these ratings, that offer these services and works out of these locations. So, it's actually like helping Google connect the dots to do that understanding. And then the second thing it does, oh, big surprise; it drives rich results. So things we're going to Google as part of quick tip, which means that when she's talking about optimizing the FAQs, with Schema Markup. It means that they've translated that FAQ, those questions and answers into code that Google understands. And as a result, if someone searches within the search results, it's not just the physician name, it has star ratings. And then it has actually the FAQ's on the page, visible in the search results.

And this is what is so important again, if you're managing that journey, because if you're looking to get an answer, and especially I think, thinking about the vaccines, right? People were looking for answers. They weren't just looking for a landing page. They were looking for answers. And so by actually optimizing it, they were getting those answers directly in the search results. Henry Ford was guiding them to that next point of the journey.

Host: Got it. So, Julie, you talked about content. You also talked about Google My Business and using Schema Markup. So, what were the results when you put this strategy together?

Julie: For the vaccine example, we had a lot of traffic, and a lot of really comments about our COVID-19 vaccine traffic and that was a success in and of itself. It meant that the general population was very interested in this and that we were very relevant on that. And I think the other area where we've worked a lot is with our provider profiles, making sure that all of our listings are updated for all of our employed providers.

And then also making sure that important data on their profile pages like their specialty, like their sub-specialty, their education shows very prominent in search results. Because we found that that's really what people are looking for want to understand, what your board certification is. And some of those other things, and through Markup, we've been able to highlight some of that information right in the search results. So again, users don't necessarily even have to go to our page. We hope they go to our page and schedule an appointment, but they can do a lot of their research from the search results.

Host: So when it to learning Markup or understanding more of that, Martha, you told us to Google Rich Results. Where can someone learn more about Markup.

Martha: So Google has a lot of documentation, but, I would say like for the marketer, when you Google it, there's a gallery, so there's sort of a visual explanation of what they are. So Google's documentation is a really good place to start. And then if you're looking for sort of how do I kind of go through more advanced learning that or understanding the ROI.

At Schema App, we specialize in structured data. That's what we do. And we have a free five day course that you can take to learn, what is it? What's the value of it. And then on YouTube, frankly, there's a lot of different interviews, I, with myself and other experts that sort of talk about why it's especially important for your business.

And I think, especially with healthcare, and especially how agile you need to be with regards to getting information out and asking questions and being relevant. There's sort of a lot, you can do that isn't just SEO, but then how you also get your content teams to start thinking about how do we answer our questions at the beginning of the journey for our customers and our patients, then building that into a way that's scalable. And too what I love when you think of like your audiences, your service to Henry Ford Health Care System, like the organization, the physicians, and sort of the consumers that you're trying to reach.

So I think part of it is also, you know, teams thinking about how do you do this in a repeatable, scalable, agile way. So, as the world continues to change and evolve, your content is really ready for that. Your SEO strategy is really ready for that. And you're really again, building trust every day in Google and positioning that brand to really stand out and delight your consumers.

Host: Yeah, I love that phrase. Delight your consumers. That's really good. So, there's so much to learn about this. I know you're going to go over this a lot more in depth in your session, but Julie, let me start with you. And then Martha, same question to you as well, where do we get started with this? There's so much to cover, how do we begin this journey?

Julie: For us, we started with Google My Business and really actively managing both our location and our provider listings in Google. We immediately saw very good results, you know, making sure that you utilize all of the fields within that knowledge graph. And fill in all your data, link to appointments, you can do a lot of things there. And it's really important and then make sure you're tracking it. So we track all the links that come from a Google My Business listing and what they're doing on our site. And, and it's really exciting to show providers, who might come to us and say, hey, what have you done for us lately? We can show how we're actively managing those listings and what the results are.

And I think the other piece is standardizing certain types of pages. For instance, FAQ's. We've standardized all our frequently asked questions pages. So, they followed the same format, which makes it much, much easier for us to apply Markup to those pages and very quickly get those results or get the content recognized by Google and other search engines.

Host: Martha. How about you? Where should we get started?

Martha: So when you think of that top content you want found, kind of build on what Julie said, so standardizing FAQ with a module. So, when you go to your Markup, you can really get the most kind of rich results, you know, clicks, impressions, and click through rate to get to appointments or get intent to book up.

Dut the other piece is, sort of looking at that broader content and actually planning for what rich result you want to try to get for that content, so that when you're writing anything new or you're looking at whether these be your service pages, your physician pages, landing pages, et cetera; that you're writing the content for both the consumer and for Google.

And if you can get your head around that and start thinking, start with your FAQ's; I think is a great starting point. What are the rich results you want to get for your physicians? What are the rich results you want to get for your service line pages? You'll start seeing the results come in because it's just the way you operate.

Host: So right for the consumer and right for Google, that sounds like it's a skill.

Martha: You got it.

Host: Julie Google My Business isn't something I would have first thought of when I thought about starting an SEO strategy. So, this is really, enlightening. We're very much looking forward to this session. Before we wrap up, last question to each of you, anything you want to add Julie, about SEO and strategy and getting better search results.

Julie: I think fresh, relevant content, listening to your other channels and understanding what's hot out there right now. What are people thinking about and wanting more information about, and we do that in a variety of ways, but I think that's really important just to make sure that your content is always relevant to your consumers or your patients.

Host: Fresh relevant content. I love that. And Martha, how about you? Any last thoughts to add?

Martha: I would say SEO is a team sport.

Julie: For sure.

Martha: You're going to have to collaborate on this, right? So, you need the content team thinking about writing for Google, as well as their users. You need your analytics team helping you measure sort of what is working and what's not working. You need your technical team, whether it be on your CMS and so forth to still be focusing on those core things like speed, mobile access, all those core things. And so when those beautiful things come together, and that you keep working on it, right? So it's not that you just like, oh, we're done. I'm good. I don't have to work with anybody anymore. I can just like go back into my own office and sit there. It's not true. It's changing constantly. And you need to keep working together to make those baby steps to drive results.

Host: SEO is a team sport. I love that.

Julie: Martha and Bill, I can't emphasize enough. You're never done. Algorithms are changing, the rules are changing all the time. And so I get asked all the time, do you need money for next year's budget for SEO. You always need money for SEO because it's constantly changing and constantly evolving. And we can't ever forget that.

Martha: Absolutely. And I breathe in the world of Schema Markup, right. And 52% of the updates from Google this past year were on structured data, right? So it's not just like evolving the core pieces, but new areas are evolving that your team needs to learn and apply. It's something that also, isn't just like, keep doing the things you're doing today, but learn about what's new. There's tons of changes coming from Google that you gotta stay on your game. And then again, work cross-functionally because it's not just the technical piece it's usually has to do with content. And then you want to measure it.

Host: Right. And that brings up a good point. As far as Google always changing, which it always does, say you're on a small team. So, say you're at a small hospital. You don't have a big staff, right? How do you keep up with trends and knowing when Google makes these changes so you're not doing your SEO strategy that was good, you know, eight months ago, well, today it's changed. Is there a good channel we should all follow or watch to really understand when Google makes these updates?

Julie: I think for me, I really looked to my partners. Even if you're a small shop, we don't have ton of people focused on SEO here, but we do look to our partners and that's our website implementation partner. That's our team at Schema App. We look at a lot of different partners to help guide us in that, because everybody comes from a different perspective. And so sometimes the hardest part is get a message from one partner and a message from another partner. And our job is to figure out how do we bridge that because you can't be all things to all people. And so I think it's having really good partners to help in this. And then reading a lot. There's a lot of things from different company's blogs that help, sort of more lay people understand how SEO works. And I think that's really important too, is to stay up on that type of stuff.

Martha: I catch a lot of stuff across Twitter like if you're following other SEO leaders, it's part of my job if it's like do that summary and articulate that to our both our customers and the market, especially when it comes to structured data. But like the two things that come to mind is Google Developer has a blog where they like make up pretty general updates on there.

And then they're also, Google Webmasters on Twitter. Like I would say like from a what's going on with Google officially. Those are two really great ones. And then there's a couple good search engine journal, search engine land, a couple sort of aggregators around that talk about lots of different things going on search. And so if you're just trying to start somewhere, those would be the two places I'd, I'd look,

Host: Great tips and suggestions. And I want to thank you both Julie and Martha. Thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it. Thank you again.

Julie: Thank you, Bill.

Martha: Thanks for having us.

Host: And that's Julie Goldstein-Dunn and Martha Van Berkel. And get registered now for this year's SHSMD Connections 21 at shsmd.org/education/annual conference. And if you've found this podcast helpful, and again, how could you not, please share it on all of your social channels. And please hit the subscribe or follow button to get every episode. This has been a production of Dr. Podcasting. I'm Bill Klaproth. See ya.