Coronavirus Impact on Healthcare Industry Websites
As we all adapt to this “new normal” in the wake of the COVID-19 or Coronavirus outbreak its effects have reached further than your local grocery stores. The Coronavirus Pandemic has had drastic effects on the search behavior of consumers and thus the traffic, ranking and performance of websites in the industries supported at Dreamscape Marketing. One industry in particular that has seen significant Coronavirus (COVID-19) impact on SEO is the Healthcare Industry and Drug Rehab market.
Coronavirus Impact on User Behavior
One prominent impact of the increased amount of people working from home due to quarantine restrictions has been the increased volume of desktop vs mobile traffic. This move to more desktop searches means that companies should expect to see an increase in the amount of time spent on their website vs mobile website, more form conversions and in some cases a lower bounce rate. To make information more accessible it is recommended that each healthcare provider also include a page on their website dedicated to discussing their response to the COVID-19 outbreak. More than ever before it is important that companies demonstrate their responsiveness in providing the types of company updates that searches are looking for.
Increasing Reliance on Social Media and Enhanced Features
Another platform being utilized by more and more consumers is social media and Google My Business. That is why it is important that healthcare providers update Google My Business profiles to provide up to date hours and closing information. Facebook can also be another key channel to provide COVID-19 related information and share any content from your website. With new tools added to Google My Business and Schema.org markup Google is making it easier for industries in the healthcare sector to provide COVID-19 related information to target markets. Perhaps Google’s most important update however has been the presence of enhanced information cards for people who search for terms related to the coronavirus. These tabs provide information on symptoms, prevention, global statics, and locally relevant information.
Coronavirus and E-A-T Scores
Google’s increasing desire to provide quality information related to the Coronavirus pandemic has resulted in an increased scrutiny towards those sites not abiding by the E.A.T. guidelines. Google aims to combat misinformation online by displaying results with the best possible E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) on their given topic. This is particularly true for those sites in the healthcare industry who focus on YMYL (your money, your life) search queries which have an impact on a searcher’s overall health (ex. Fighting addiction, detox symptoms etc.). Based on Google’s increased scrutiny the surge of coronavirus search queries has led to an interesting change in rankings. For example, credible sites such as the CDC and WHO have moved into the top 4 organic positions and have not fluctuated for all of March. Health publisher websites, such as WebMD, Medical News Today, and Healthline, have fallen off of the top 2 pages of Google, despite normally ranking in top positions for most health queries. Wikipedia has also fallen off the first page likely due to the crowdsourced nature of its content.
Stay Ahead of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on SEO with Dreamscape Marketing
As the Coronavirus pandemic surges onward now is the time to utilize your SEO channel to its maximum potential. As we ride out shifts in demand and changes in consumer behavior a strong SEO strategy will help you respond in the most effective ways possible and plan for post-pandemic success. Contact Dreamscape Marketing today at 888.307.7304 to learn how you can stay ahead of the curve!