Google’s advise on link building efforts

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.

Read this post to learn the best and worst ways to build your links, directly from the horses mouth ::

Best Strategies ::
• 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.

Worst Strategies ::
• 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.
• Exchanging links – When addressing this link-building technique, Google’s Webmaster blog uses this serious warning: “If your site’s visibility in the Google index is important to you it’s best to avoid [exchanging links].”
• Google tells Webmasters to submit their site to relevant, topical directories instead of mass-submissions to SEO link directories.

10 Tips for Beginner Hospital Bloggers

When I attended the Healthcare New Media conference last month it was evident that hospitals were successfully adopting social networking into their marketing plans. But according to Ed Bennett healthcare marketers are slow to start blogging.

744 Hospitals total
* 344 YouTube Channels
* 530 Facebook pages
* 557 Twitter Accounts
* 96 Blogs
Read more at Found in Cache

Starting a blog can seem overwhelming, but in truth, it’s one of the simplest ways to build an online community with your patients and physicians. Follow these tips to ensure your blog is positioned for success ::

[1] Define your hospitals goals ::

Before you start a blog it is essential that you define your goals for it. Your blog has a greater chance of success if you know from the beginning what you hope to accomplish. Make a plan on what you would like to gain from the hospital blogs in time intervals of 6 months, 1 year and 3 years. Then take some time to write content and dont forget to market your blog to meet the goals.

[2] Know your audience ::

The design of your blog and its content should mirror what your audience expects.
Example :: If you intended target audience is teenagers, the design and content would be very different than that of a blog targeting academic researchers.  Your audience will have certain expectation for your blog – dont confuse them. Try to meet and exceed the users requirements and build reader loyalty.

[3] Be Consistent ::

Your blog is your hospital brand. Just like McDonalds or Bank of America, your blog represents a specific message and image to your audience. The blog design and content should consistently communicate your hospitals overall brand image and message. Beingn consistent allows you to meet your audiences expectations and create a secure place for them to visit on an ongoing basis. Your consistency will be rewarded with patient and reader loyalty.

[4] Be Persistent ::

A busy blog is a usefull blog. Blogs that are not updated frequently are percieved by their audience as static web pages. The usefulness of blogs comes from their timeliness. Its essential to update your blog frequently with relevant  information.  The best way to keep readers coming back is to always have something new for them.

[5] Be Inviting ::

The most unique aspect of blogging is its social impact. It is essential that your hospital blog welcomes patients and invites readers to join in a conversation. Ask your readers to leave comments by posing questions. Your blogs success is partially dependent on your readers loyalty to it. Make sure they understand how you appreciate them by involving them.

[6] Be Visible ::

Your blogs success relies on your efforts outside the blog. These efforts include finding like-minded bloggers and commenting on their blogs, participating in social bookmarketing through Digg, StumbleUpon and joining social networking sites [Facebook, Linkedin, etc.] Developing a successful blog requires hard work. You must create interesting content as well as promoting and developing a community around it.

[7] Take Risks ::

New bloggers are sometimes afraid of the new tools and features. Don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things on your blog. It’s important that you keep your blog fresh by implementing changes that will enhance your blog – try a new plug in or live feed widgets.

[8] Ask for Help

Even the most experienced bloggers understand the blogosphere is an ever-changing place and no one knows everything about blogging. Bloggers are part of a close community and we understand that everyone is a beginner at some point. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help.

[9] Keep Learning

In interactive marketing everyday there are new tools to keep up with. The web changes quickly and the blogosphere is no exception. As you develop your hospital blog, take some time to research new tools.

[10] Be True to your Hospital

Remember your blog is an extension of you and your hospital. Your loyal readers will come back to hear what you have to say. Inject personality into your blog and adapt a consistent tone for your posts. Determine whether your blog and brand will be more effective with a corporate tone, a youthful tone or a snarky tone. Then stay consistent with that tone in all your blog communications.

5 twitter tips for hospital marketers

[1] HIPPA compliance :: Dont mention information which can identify patients. Dont write anything where a patient could identify themselves.

[2] Share information :: If you find a good article share it! ReTweet blogs or relevant information. Respond and acknowledge mentions … you have earned them!

[3] Think easy & simple :: Try not to use medical jargon. Patients dont always understand. Dont use a big complicated word when a shorter and simpler one will do. If you need to clarify a complex procedure link to your blog or healthcare website.

[4] Know your patient base :: Determine who your follower will be before you start your blog or website. Aim your posts or articles to align to what they would like to hear. Your twitter account may rank high in search engine results so you want to ensure your messages are appropriate and relevant.

[5] Be engaging :: Work with the superstars in your hospital, your doctors, nurses, researchers, to get more evidence based positive health messages out. Follow, retweet posts and engage them in conversations by replying to their posts.

Social media is competitive so follow the tips above to stay on your game and in front of your patient base. If you dont already have one, create your Twitter account and follow @nicolaziady for updates, tips and health related news.

10 SEO content writing tips for your hospital website

Writing is scientific .. but we dont need to be Einstein to improve our hospital website ranking in search engines.

Here are a few tips to help your website content, blog posts and articles submissions to keep in mind …

[1] Content Matters :: Regardless of what your website sells, keep in mind that it has the potential to reach a massive audience and be beneficial to your hospital beyond any traditional SEO benefits. Blogs, patient testimonials, educational articles and all on-site content are a chance to link your healthcare institution to useful, interesting and educational information about your service lines. Well written and relevant copy about interesting topics is more likely to be linked and shared by potential patients .. increasing your page rank as well!

[2] Write compelling headlines :: The titles of your articles and webpages are important. They are among the first things that can grab the patients attention. Instead of using a dull, generic heading make sure your heading is interesting while clearly explaining the content. Working a keyword into the heading is also a great SEO tip.

[3] Stay on topic :: Its easy to write around a subject and drift into tangents unrelated to your topic. Keep in mind that this is business writing and not a personal blog. While its ok to have some personality in your text, your focus should be on the hospital topic you are writing about.

[4] Keyword length & density :: For website content and other off-site articles you intend for directory submission content should be between 300 and 1,000 words in length. The length of your article will be determined by the number of keywords you use. You should use aprox. 1 keyword per 50 to 100 words.

[5] Don’t stack keywords :: Some people cram all of the articles’ keywords into one section – usually at the beginning of the article – often as part of a list. Spread your keywords evenly throughout the article so they look organic.

[6] Add keywords to the bio :: Whether you are writing a story for a CME brochure, a patient piece or submitting an article to an online health directory, there will be an opportunity for you to add your biographical information. This is valuable real estate and another chance for optimization. Make sure that you include at least one keyword in your bio sketch.

[7] Write & tag hierarchically :: Using the appropriate tags will show Google that your content is professional and well-structured, which will lead to higher placement. Make sure you use the H1 tag for titles and the H2 tag for subheadings, etc. You should also apply this concept to your writing, putting the most compelling information on top.

[8] Use META tags :: Making sure that your articles have META descriptions – 150 character descriptions of the content — that have keywords included. META descriptions is a great way to get Google to recognize your content and give it greater value.

[9] Write original content :: Search engines will punish sites that publish duplicate content that already exists online. Make sure that your content is fresh and original instead of just “copying and pasting” content from existing sources.

[10] Choose relevant images :: Having eye-catching images that are relevant to your content will grab the reader’s attention. Be careful and avoid risking copyright infringement.

Knowledge to Action Science Clips Top Ten

Each week, to enhance awareness of emerging scientific knowledge, selected science clips will be posted here for the public health community. The focus is applied public health research and prevention science that has the capacity to improve health now.

Knowledge to Action Science Clips.
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Healthy living tips

CDC Everyday Health Widget.
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Doctors and Twitter Podcast

Listen to interviews with 2 physicians discussing how & why they use Twitter

– plus some advise on how to do it safely

Listen to the full podcast “Doctors & Twitter“

NPR “take” on hospital marketing

I came upon this report from NPR regarding our industry and work. My first reaction tended to be defensive but after some consideration and unemotional analysis I reconsidered. Take a few minutes and see for yourself …

Click here to listen to the full podcast Hospital attracts patients with Doctor “speed dating”

Let me know your thoughts … what do you think of this report?

What Women Want … from the web

Men have been asking for years and I have finally found the answer … logic included, lads!

I came across a new report from Unicast on “what women want … from the web” published this June.

It concluded that 95% of women plan to go online and 62% respond to online advertising.

Women between 18 and 24 use the web more than any other age group for all activities – except keeping up to date with the news! 53% compared to 67% overall. Can you believe it?

The Unicast study reported that women who visit blogs notice online advertising more. While this age group accounts for just 13% of all women who read blogs regularly it shows females are potentially more open to advertising from relevant sources of information that they trust. This group is also more receptive to online advertising in various formats than the general population, especially localised information, surveys, social media format and even downloadable content.

This new report also finds that women are planning to carry out these activities online ::

• 76% plan to connect with friends & family
• 67% will follow news
• 64% plan to shop & compare prices
• 59% will seek activities [watch movies, listen to music & play games]
• 48% will research vacations or travel plans

The online ads that resonate with women:

• 46% – include sales or discount codes
• 31% – feature submitting an entry to win a prize
• 24% – provide customized local information
• 22% – offer interactive surveys

The products women most notice ads for:

• 35% – entertainment
• 33% – food and beverages, or health/beauty products
• 30% – fashion/clothing
• 27% – travel
• 20% – gaming

View the Full Report

Social Media Day

Today I am celebrating “Social Media Day”. Thank you Mashable!

I regard this as a revolution of marketing and media becoming more personalised and interactive.

Today honours the technological and societal acceptance and advancements that have enabled us to hold a dialogue, connect and engage – other marketers and even each other!

There are more than 600+ meetups in 93 countries today with thousands of attendees. So join me and 153 other social buzzers in downtown Cleveland to celebrate in person.

To keep social Tweet #smday hashtag .. and join in the party!