We search for everything on our phones and computers: restaurants, hotels, information, advice, and doctors. As a physician or healthcare professional looking to grow your practice, you know that search engine optimization (SEO) matters. When current and potential patients search for your services online, you want your name and website to show up.
Here is something many doctors don’t realize. Public relations (PR) can support your SEO, and it is an area of our expertise at MCPR. This article covers the main ways the two work together. No one can guarantee a particular ranking.
How PR and SEO Work Together
PR is traditionally about increasing visibility and credibility through media coverage. SEO is about making you easier to find in search engines such as Google. The two strategies work well together.
Links From Respected Media
When you are quoted as a medical expert in respected outlets such as WebMD, Healthline or U.S. News & World Report, those articles often include a link to your website. These links are called backlinks. Links from well-regarded sites can signal to search engines that your site is credible, and they may support your visibility in search.
Even without a direct link, mentions of your name or practice in online content can help. Search engines recognize brand mentions and may consider them when judging a website’s relevance and authority.
Visibility That Builds and Lasts
Consistent media coverage helps build your online footprint and establishes you as an authority in your field. More visibility can mean more people searching for you by name, and that interest may support your site’s organic search performance. Media mentions also often involve social media exposure.
PR professionals know how to help you appear in articles that cover topics your patients are already searching for. Some SEO tactics can bring quick results, while PR tends to have a lasting effect: these articles often stay online for years, continuing to bring readers and traffic long after publication. Coverage can also spread your sources of web traffic across media, social media and other channels, so your website depends less on any single search engine change.
Content, Reputation and Trust
PR often involves creating fresh, original, high-quality content such as press releases, articles and blog posts. Regularly updating your website with relevant material gives patients and search engines a reason to see your site as current.
PR also plays a role in managing your online reputation. A positive reputation can build trust with patients, the general public and search engines. Google evaluates websites with a concept known as E-A-T, which stands for expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Being featured in major media reinforces your credibility as a trusted source, which can make both Google and patients more likely to trust your content.
What This Means for Your Practice
SEO and PR aren’t only about vanity metrics. They influence how easily patients can find you online. The more credible, authoritative and visible you are, the more likely someone searching for a specialist in your area is to choose you over a competitor.
The relationship between PR and SEO has many sides, and a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that includes both can be highly effective for online visibility. If you have been investing in SEO without considering PR, or have not invested in visibility at all, it may be time to look at a more strategic approach. To see how PR fits into a medical practice, read why doctors need public relations, or learn how outreach works in our guide to PR and media relations for doctors.
Reach out to us at 203-968-6625 or via email at info@mcprpublicrelations.com for more information.