6 Things to Look for in a Healthcare Content Marketing Agency
If you are looking to start or expand content marketing for your medical practice or healthcare facility, it’s a good idea to partner with a healthcare content marketing agency that understands the medical content space.
For those in the healthcare industry, content marketing presents unique considerations. Google holds very high standards for content that can impact a person’s health or well-being. Therefore, medical content must be well-written and thoroughly researched, with any medical claims attributed to credible sources.
The following are 6 characteristics that you should consider when evaluating any healthcare content marketing agency.
A Strategic Focus with Deep Content Marketing Expertise
Content marketing is about much more than simply writing medical blogs. It overlaps with virtually every other aspect of digital marketing. Content marketing encompasses social media, search engine optimization (SEO), web design, user experience, and conversion rate optimization.
A full-service healthcare content marketing agency will help you develop and implement a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. This may include components such as:
- Developing written target personas.
- Implementing up-to-date SEO best practices to help your business rank better on Google.
- Creating and managing paid advertising campaigns on Google or social media channels, if desired.
- Creating content for the social media channels that help you engage with your audience effectively on those channels.
If you don’t need all of these services, ensure your provider has deep expertise in what you do need. For example, if you have in-house paid marketing and SEO teams and just need help with writing content, work with an agency that specializes in healthcare content writing.
A Healthcare Content Marketing Agency With a Good Reputation
Before hiring any service provider, it’s always a good idea to read reviews and feedback from other clients. Many agencies display testimonials on their websites, but they will naturally select the best reviews to feature, which means it’s also important to seek out reviews from less biased sources.
If the agency has a Google Business profile, you may be able to find reviews posted there. You can also search for reviews on websites such as G2 or the Better Business Bureau.
Another good resource is Glassdoor. Even though it focuses on reviews from employees rather than clients, this can help give you a good idea of a company’s culture and values, as well as its turnover rate. If the agency has difficulty retaining employees, it could create some turbulence as team members are removed from or added to your account.
A Healthcare Content Marketing Agency With Specialized Writers
Look for a healthcare content marketing agency that employs writers who are subject matter experts in your field. This could mean that writers have actual clinical experience in nursing, gynecology and obstetrics, cosmetic surgery, nutrition, weight loss, or other relevant areas of healthcare.
Google prioritizes content that it considers to be comprehensive, authoritative, and of significant value to the user. This is especially true in healthcare, where incorrect or unsubstantiated claims could actually be harmful.
Any claims made in healthcare content should be supported by reliable, peer-reviewed resources. Writers should be comfortable using sources such as PubMed and should be able to read and interpret medical literature.
When hiring a healthcare content marketing agency, always ask who is responsible for writing content. Does the agency use in-house writers, or do they hire contractors to contribute to different projects depending on their expertise? If they are using contractors, what methods do they use to find and vet qualified writers?
A Healthcare Content Writing Service With a Rigorous Editing Process
In addition to qualified writers, best practices in healthcare content strategy require that all content be thoroughly reviewed and edited by a qualified healthcare professional before publication. In healthcare marketing, content is typically written by a designated specialist and is then passed on to a physician, nurse practitioner, or other healthcare professional for final review.
It’s also a good practice to establish a regular review process for all content that has already been published on the site. Medical content can become outdated as new information becomes available or standards of care evolve. The agency should be able to support your review strategy to ensure content remains relevant and current.
Not only is this important for reinforcing trust and authority on your website, but it also helps your website’s SEO when your content is frequently updated and not allowed to grow stale.
An Understanding of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines
A healthcare content marketing agency should have a solid understanding of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines. These serve as a reference document for individuals who evaluate web content and help refine Google’s search algorithm.
Quality raters assess content to determine how well it achieves its purpose – including whether the content may be harmful – and how useful the content is for the user. For this task, raters use criteria known as E-E-A-T, which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
When it comes to healthcare marketing, your content must meet all of these criteria. Google has very high standards for content that falls into the category of “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL), which includes any information that could impact a person’s health.
Therefore, your content must be produced by highly qualified writers to demonstrate a high level of trustworthiness and authority.
A Great Team You Want to Work With
Finally, you should have a content marketing team you enjoy working with! Content marketing is a collaborative process, so you need a team that brings its marketing expertise to the table, values your input, and works to implement your suggestions.
While your content marketing team will have the expertise to develop content optimized for the most relevant search queries, they must write content that your audience wants to read, and that answers the questions they frequently ask.
You and your staff interact directly with your clients and patients, giving you the most insight into their needs and pain points. Your content marketing agency should welcome your input and develop a strategy that positions you as an industry thought leader and highlights your unique branding.
Looking for a Healthcare Content Marketing Agency?
If you are looking for a healthcare content marketing partner with extensive experience and the ability to expand your reach and brand awareness, contact Content Writers. We work with clients across multiple industries, and healthcare marketing is one of our biggest strengths. We possess the deep content marketing experience and industry expertise to develop high-quality, valuable content that will help set your organization apart.
She is the Director of Content for a medical marketing agency, and is certified in inbound marketing, content marketing, email marketing, site structure, and keyword research.
