Website SEO

Search engine optimization is the work of making your website the answer to what patients in your area type into Google. For a single location clinic it is not a mystery and it is not a monthly retainer to someone you never hear from. After this module you know the four parts, what to do in each, and how to tell whether an agency is doing anything.

The four parts

Part	What it means	What a clinic does
Technical	Can Google read the site, and is it fast?	Loads in under three seconds on a phone, works on every screen size, secure (https), one version of each page, a sitemap submitted in Google Search Console
Content	Do you have a page that answers the search?	One page per treatment, in plain language, with your city, your prices, who it is for, what to expect, and a booking button
Local	Is the site connected to your listing and your area?	Name, address, phone on every page; the Google Business Profile linked; a page for each location if you have more than one (Marketing 2)
Authority	Do other sites point at you?	Supplier provider locators, the chamber, local press, community events. Earned slowly; never bought in bulk

The treatment page, done right

This is where most of the results come from, and where most medspa sites fail with one "Services" page listing forty things. One page per core treatment:

A title that matches the search: "Botox in [City] | Harbor Aesthetics." Google reads the title first.
The first paragraph answers the question: what it is, what it costs (a starting price), how long it takes, how long it lasts.
Who it is for and who it is not. Honest pages convert better and rank better.
Your prices, your providers, your photos. Not stock.
The questions patients actually ask, answered in a short list. Does it hurt, when will I see results, what about bruising.
A booking button above the fold and at the end.
Reviews that mention this treatment, pulled from Google.

Claims. Every state regulates medical advertising. Before and after photos need written patient consent; results language ("permanent," "guaranteed," "safe") has rules; and some states restrict how non physicians may describe themselves. Have your attorney review the page templates once, then keep to them (Operations 5).

Speed, and why templates lose

Every extra second of load time on a phone loses visitors, and most medspa template sites take five to eight seconds because of hero videos, slideshows, and a dozen plug ins. Test yours with Google's PageSpeed Insights; the report is free and specific. A custom coded site with compressed images and no plug ins loads in under two seconds, which is a ranking factor and a conversion factor at once.

Google, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide, Google Search Central. Google's own description of what it looks for, written for site owners, not agencies.

Measure it

Google Search Console, free: which searches show your site, how often, and how often people click. Look at it monthly; the searches with impressions and few clicks are pages that need a better title.
Leads from organic search on your scorecard, separated from paid and from the map.
Position for your five core treatments plus your city, checked monthly from a phone.

How to tell whether an agency is doing anything

Ask for three things every month: the Search Console screenshot, the list of pages changed or added with dates, and the rank checks. An agency that sends a "traffic is up 12%" chart and nothing else is charging you for a chart. Most single location clinics do not need a retainer; they need the treatment pages built once, the profile kept current, and reviews. That is a project, then an hour a month.

Where Benchmark comes in. We build websites in house, custom coded, never a template, with a basic build from $5,000 and the full build with local SEO and custom copy from $10,000. Every build ships with the treatment pages above, Search Console set up, and the rank checks on your scorecard. If you already have a site, the free leak check tells you what it is costing you.

Try it yourself

Run your homepage through PageSpeed Insights on mobile. Write the score down.

Search "[your city] botox." Is your site on page one under the map? Which page of yours appears?

Count your treatment pages. If it is one page listing everything, that is the first project.

Check yourself: Marketing 3

Most of a medspa's search results come from

The homepageOne page per treatment, with the city, prices and a booking buttonA blog

The page that answers the search is the page that ranks.

A page title that matches a search looks like

"Services""Botox in [City] | Harbor Aesthetics""Welcome to our clinic"

Google reads the title first; so does the patient.

Before and after photos on a treatment page need

Nothing specialWritten patient consent and a check against your state's advertising rulesA watermark

Every state regulates medical advertising.

An SEO agency should send you, every month,

A traffic chartThe Search Console view, the pages changed with dates, and the rank checksAn invoice

Without the three, you are paying for a chart.

Page load time matters because

It does notIt is a ranking factor and a conversion factor at onceGoogle charges for slow sites

Every extra second on a phone loses visitors and rank.

Pick an answer for each question.

Download this module as a PDF

Want this done, not just explained?The 10-Day Sprint finds the leaks for $1,000, one time. After that, on the plan, the scorecard keeps coming and at least one growth initiative is executed with you every month. Plans from $2,299 a month. Everything in this module is part of that work.

See the sprint and pricing Text Nate

Educational material from Benchmark Advisors, not tax, legal, medical or investment advice, and not a promise of any result. The sample clinic and its figures are invented. Rules differ by state and change; confirm anything that matters with your CPA, your attorney and your state board. Full disclaimers.