December 3rd, 2012 Mike Wilton
It’s that time of year again, when we all stop to reflect on another year passed. 2012 has been an interesting year for Internet marketing. With the continued releases of Google’s Panda update (there have been 21 total at the time of this writing), the release of the Penguin update and the merger of Google Places and Google+, Google has kept Internet marketers on their toes as there have been a ton of happenings to stay on top of. After the success of last year’s 11 for 2011 post, I thought I’d carry on the tradition and do a recap of some of our most popular posts that you may have missed:
The Top 10 Plastic Surgery Social Media Influencers, According to Klout: We kicked off 2012 by analyzing who Klout felt was the most influential in social media. Will the same 10 appear in our 2013 comparison? Check back after the first of the year!
Six Unique and Inspiring Ways to Use Pinterest in the Field of Healthcare: Pinterest has been the talk of the town in 2012. In this post we analyze how some early adopters in the medical community were effectively using social media’s fastest-growing website.
Google’s Over-Optimization Penalty and What It Could Mean for Medical SEO: In the end, Google’s over-optimization penalty came in the form of Penguin on April 24th. This post was written about one week before the official update, which analyzed the facts and speculation behind what people were discussing. In the end, the only fact that was significantly premature was the impact it would have on exact match domains. That update didn’t come until late September.
Everything You Need To Know About Facebook Timeline for Pages: Facebook Timeline was a panic point for many people earlier this year, but now it’s as if we’ve always had it. This post looks at all of the new features that came with Facebook Timeline and how they can be effectively utilized.
2012 Local Consumer Review Survey Shows Doctor Reputation Management Is Crucial: We dissect the data from BrightLocal’s local consumer survey, and hone in on the results for doctors and dentists, uncovering just how important it is to manage your reputation online when it comes to local consumers.
What’s With All the Interest In Pinterest?: A Pinterest primer that explores what Pinterest is, why it matters, and how it could be used in your medical practice.
Local Search Optimization, Google+ Local, and the Future of Local Search: Mike Wilton’s AAFPRS Fall Meeting 2012 Presentation: If you missed my presentation from 2012’s AAFPRS Fall Meeting on local search optimization, this post gives you a recap of my presentation as well provides you access to the complete slide deck from the event.
Did Google+ Local Inadvertently Silence Doctor Reviews?: After outcry from the medical community about a change to Google+ Local’s review policy we analyze what overall impact it may have and what doctors need to be aware of.
Seven Tips to Make Blogging Less Painful: In her very first post for Plastic Surgery Studios, Internet Marketing Specialist Emma Still outlines seven ways that doctors can make the blogging process a little bit more enjoyable while creating great content for their site.
Leveraging rel=”author” to Increase Blog Clickthrough, Visibility and Branding: In our very first post on the subject we outline how rel=”author” can be used on your blog and the benefits that come with it. As we outlined in a recent post, rel=”author” is SEO’s latest “shiny thing” and while it generates a lot of great opportunities for your website, it’s also widely being misused.
Google Search Plus Your World: The Nail in the Rankings Coffin: In January Google released “Search Plus Your World,” a feature that incorporates your content as well as your friends’ content from Google+ into your search results (when logged in to Google). We outline why this was the final blow to using rankings as your core SEO performance metric.
Measuring the Social Media Metrics That Matter To Your Practice: “Likes” and followers seem to be the two metrics every doctor obsesses over, but are they the right metrics to focus on? In this post, we explore more actionable metrics that can help you further plan your social media efforts.
While 2012 has been filled with rapid changes, I predict that the pace will slow a bit in 2013. I predict that most of the changes we see will come from the local and mobile space, and less from the organic search space. This is mostly due to the fact that Google’s implementation of Penguin and Panda have reset the stage for what businesses need to do to show up in the search results. They have to be useful and helpful; it’s getting harder and harder to scrape by in search with spammy SEO practices. Now businesses are going to have to focus harder on online marketing as a whole, with SEO just being one facet of all that they do.
Again, Plastic Surgery Studios was able to stay ahead of the game in 2012. Even with the additional updates from Panda and Penguin we saw our clients mostly go unscathed. In 2013 we will continue to do our part and strive to stay ahead of the curve. It is our goal improve the medical marketing landscape by providing insight on forward-thinking strategies and techniques through our newsletter and blog. If you haven’t already be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed and get updates from our blog each time we post.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our content over the last year, and we look forward to engaging with all of you more in the year to come. If you have any questions or if there’s a topic you’d like us to cover more of in 2013, please let us know in the comments below.
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May 1st, 2012 Mike Wilton
In my career as an Internet marketer I have always believed in future proofing your online efforts. In other words, doing your part to ensure that no matter what the search engines throw your way, you’ll be ready to weather the storm and stay afloat in the long term. Over the last few months there have been a number of changes rolled out by Google, and I am quickly reminded of the roots of my SEO career.
I began my SEO career in a search space very similar to the one Plastic Surgery Studios works in. It was highly competitive, very profitable, and ultimately everyone looked to one another for how to properly market their business online. In the end the practices shared niche-wide to rank well in the search engines would cripple, or in many cases, topple businesses overnight. The practices being used weren’t particularly “black hat” at the time, but they were clearly manipulative and in the end those who lived and died by the search engines either died at the hand of the search engines or were left clinging to what little traffic remained as a result of the change.
In my three years as Internet marketing manager for PSS I have noticed a similar trend, where the medical marketing industry works within a similar bubble to find answers amongst competitors to better rankings in the search engines. The niche lacks innovation, new ideas, or direction from similar verticals when it comes to their Internet marketing. The end goal is for a site to rank with no consideration for other goals such as traffic and conversions. A goal that is reckless and leaves a business vulnerable to the waves of change rolled out by search engines each year.
It’s time for a change. For too long this industry and its doctors have obsessed over the 10 blue links on the homepage of Google and ignored the bigger picture. If Google flipped the switch tomorrow and your site disappeared from its search results would your practice website still get traffic? If Google stopped providing you with data related to monthly keyword searches both in analytics and its keyword tool, would you know what rankings to obsess over? It may seem far-fetched, but I’ve seen the first one happen, and considering that Google is already delivering (not provided) in Google analytics for a number of queries, the second one could happen.
There has been a shift happening outside of the bubble we operate in over the last few years that is focused less on rankings and more on the overall online presence of a business and the traffic it generates. Through content, engagement, and great user experiences sites are not only ranking well in the search engines but driving traffic from other online sources. The rankings game has changed drastically with localization, personalization, and the like making it a less-reliable metric to measure.
As we near the halfway point of 2012 I am challenging our clients and the industry to start looking at the bigger picture. First, does you site deserve to appear in the top 10 search results? Does it truly serve the end user, or just search engine spiders? Second, if something did happen that changed your search traffic entirely, would your site survive? Do you have other sources of online traffic, or are you living and dying by the search engines? If you answered no to either of these questions let the latter part of 2012 be focused on making your site the best it can be and improving your online presence through content, social engagement, and growth in your reputation and visibility.
To help you take the next step toward changing your mindset about internet marketing and to find inspiration we encourage you do the following:
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October 26th, 2011 Mike Wilton
This year Plastic Surgery Studios vowed to do it’s part to help spread the word about National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the dangers of breast cancer. From our in-house breast cancer awareness t-shirt competition, to our iEnhance exclusive interview with Sarah Budulica, a young woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 15, we have put forth a continued effort to make people aware of this life changing and oftentimes deadly disease both on and offline.
Last week we announced that we would be partnering with our New York City clients to help support Pink Pin. Pink Pin is an initiative set forth by Google and Susan G. Komen that was designed to connect New York City businesses and consumers who support breast cancer awareness with each other through an initiative website and map. Today the map was unveiled and we are excited to see our New York City doctors on the list. If that weren’t enough, a handful of our doctors went above and beyond and made a monetary donation to the cause as well. Dr. George Beraka, Dr. Sydney R. Coleman, and Dr. Alesia P. Saboeiro all made contributions to the effort and for that we are extremely grateful.
In addition to be listed on PinkPin.com, patients of our New York City doctors can now make donations via text message from the doctors practice location. As stated on the Pink Pin website “Customers simply dial **PinkPin (**7465746) and reply ‘Yes’ to the text that appears on their phones, in order to donate $10 to Susan G. Komen.”
As National Breast Cancer Awareness Month winds down we still have a few efforts we’re working on. At noon today we will be announcing the winner of the staff breast cancer awareness t-shirt contest on Facebook. Additionally, we will feature a new Real Story on iEnhance.com that chronicles the triumphant and emotional story of Erika, a breast cancer survivor who is now working through the reconstruction phase and is hoping to have her new breasts by Christmas. We appreciate the efforts of everyone who has contributed to this months efforts and look forward to next years work, which is already in the planning stages. But remember, just because the commemorative month is ending, doesn’t mean you have to stop showing your support!
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