Key Metrics Display
Domain Authority Increase: 15 points
Referring Domains Gained: 120+
Quality Backlinks Acquired: 75
Local Pack Rankings: Improved to Top 3 for targeted cities
Leads Generated: 200% increase in organic leads
Organic Traffic Growth: 140% increase
Review Count & Rating: 50+ new reviews, rating increase to 4.8 stars
Client & Industry Overview
The Client
Our client is a multi-location healthcare agency with operations across major metropolitan regions in North America. They provide specialized medical services, including telehealth consultations, emergency care, and personalized health management programs. As a well-established organization in the competitive healthcare sector, their primary objective was to increase local visibility and organic leads across several regional markets.
Industry Insights
The healthcare sector is highly competitive, with numerous local and national players. Patients increasingly rely on online reviews and local SEO to identify healthcare providers. For this client, off-page SEO was critical to improving their online reputation and visibility in highly competitive markets.
In healthcare, the buyer journey is typically long and research-intensive. Trust-building through reviews, citations, and domain authority plays a vital role in conversion. Off-page SEO tactics focused on local rankings, review management, and gaining high-quality backlinks.
The Challenge
Starting Point
At the start of our partnership, the client’s website faced significant challenges in both SEO and online reputation. Their domain authority was 30, and they had a relatively low number of referring domains, primarily from low-quality sources. The site had minimal local SEO presence in key markets, and reviews were sparse, averaging a 3.5-star rating across platforms. Furthermore, the backlink profile was polluted with several toxic links, affecting their rankings.
Business Goals & KPIs
The business objectives were clear:
- Domain Authority (DA) increase of 15 points
- Acquire 100+ quality backlinks from authoritative websites
- Boost local SEO presence, with top 3 rankings in 5 key cities
- Increase lead submissions by 200% via organic search
- Improve the Google Business Profile (GBP) and gather positive reviews
The client aimed to achieve measurable results within a 6-month timeframe, focusing on both lead generation and brand authority in the healthcare space.
Strategy & Work Plan
Audit & Analysis
Our first step involved a comprehensive backlink profile audit using Ahrefs and SEMrush. We identified several toxic backlinks, which were negatively impacting the domain authority and search rankings. A local SEO audit revealed inconsistencies in the client’s NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across directories. A competitive analysis highlighted gaps in review generation and backlink acquisition, providing clear opportunities for targeted interventions.
Developed Strategy
Given the challenges, our strategy focused on a phased approach with clear objectives:
- Link Building: Focus on quality over quantity. We targeted healthcare industry publications, local news outlets, and authoritative medical resource directories.
- Local SEO & Citations: We optimized the Google Business Profile (GBP) and fixed NAP consistency across local listings. Additionally, we built citations in local directories and specialized medical directories to enhance local search rankings.
- Reputation Management: Implemented a system for generating reviews and improving ratings, with a focus on Google and Yelp.
- Content Marketing & Digital PR: Created linkable assets (e.g., patient success stories, medical advice articles) and promoted them through media outreach and HARO.
Implementation
Link Building Campaign
- We executed an outreach strategy targeting high-authority healthcare and local news websites.
- Conducted guest posting on relevant medical blogs, securing 20+ links from DA 50+ sites.
- Launched a digital PR campaign to promote a new service offering, resulting in mentions in 5 regional news outlets.
- Engaged in broken link building, reclaiming unlinked brand mentions from authoritative sources.
- Secured resource and directory links, including placements in medical provider listings, boosting visibility and domain authority.
- Metrics: We gained 120 referring domains with an average DA of 45, with 80% dofollow links.
Local SEO & Citations
- Fixed NAP consistency issues across 50+ directories, including healthcare-specific platforms.
- Optimized Google Business Profile by updating service offerings, adding high-quality photos, and posting regular updates, leading to local pack rankings improvement.
- Completed 50+ local citations on high-authority platforms, such as Yelp, Healthgrades, and local chambers of commerce.
- Metrics: 20% improvement in local pack rankings, with 5 new top 3 rankings in targeted cities.
Reputation Management
- Set up an automated review generation system through Google and Yelp.
- Developed a response protocol to engage with both positive and negative reviews.
- Implemented a service recovery process for addressing low ratings, leading to improved customer satisfaction.
- Metrics: 50+ new reviews, increasing the client’s average rating to 4.8 stars.
Content Marketing & Digital PR
- Created linkable content including patient success stories and health tips articles.
- Promoted content via HARO and media outreach, securing 15+ links from reputable medical publications.
- Metrics: Secured 25 media mentions, resulting in an earned media value of $45,000.
Backlink Cleanup
- Conducted a backlink audit and identified 20 toxic links, which were disavowed.
- Reclaimed 5 unlinked brand mentions and incorporated them into the link profile.
- Metrics: Reduced the spam score by 30%.
Ongoing Monitoring
- Set up a tracking infrastructure using SEMrush and Google Analytics.
- Regular reporting cadence to evaluate progress and optimize the strategy.
- Competitive analysis to refine the strategy as new SEO trends emerge.
Results & Business Impact
Organic Traffic Growth
- Organic traffic grew by 140% over 6 months, with a notable surge in targeted regional traffic.
- Year-over-year growth showed a steady rise, with an increase in monthly visitors by over 15,000.
Search Visibility & Rankings
- Improved search visibility score by 35%.
- Keywords in top 3 positions increased by 50%, with high-value terms like “telehealth services near me” moving from position 20 to 3.
- Achieved local pack rankings for 5 target cities, including Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.
Lead Generation & Business Impact
- Leads generated from organic search increased by 200%, with more patients scheduling consultations through the website.
- Cost per lead was reduced by 35%, resulting in a significantly higher ROI.
- Revenue impact: An additional $250,000 in new patient consultations.
Domain Authority & Links
- Domain Authority increased from 30 to 45 within 6 months.
- Gained 120+ new referring domains, with an average DA of 45.
- Spam score was reduced by 30%, contributing to more trusted links.
Client Feedback
“We saw a noticeable improvement in both our online reputation and local search rankings. The efforts led to significant growth in new patients and a positive ROI. We appreciate the team’s professionalism and data-driven approach to SEO.”
Conclusions & Success Factors
Key Drivers:
- The digital PR campaign was instrumental in securing high-quality backlinks and media mentions.
- Reputation management played a key role in converting leads into paying patients by building trust.
- Local SEO improvements were essential for capturing regional traffic and achieving top positions in local pack rankings.
Next Steps:
- Continue to monitor and optimize local SEO efforts to maintain top rankings.
- Expand content marketing initiatives to target additional medical services.
- Plan future backlink building campaigns focused on niche healthcare topics.
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