Voice Search Optimisation for Healthcare Providers: Capturing the Growing Market

Voice search optimisation is a crucial aspect of healthcare marketing, especially given the rapid adoption of voice assistants and the shift towards conversational search queries. Healthcare providers must adapt their SEO strategies to capture the growing market of voice search users. In this article, we will look into the importance of voice search optimisation for healthcare providers, the current state of voice search in healthcare, and the steps healthcare organizations can take to optimise their content for voice search.

The Rise of Voice Search in Healthcare

Voice search has become a significant trend in healthcare, driven by the increasing use of voice assistants like Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. In 2023, there were an estimated 125.2 million voice search users, with a monthly tally of 1 billion voice searches. In fact, around 65.9% of these searches are related to local queries, such as searching for a doctor, hospital, or urgent care centre, according to Chatmeter. This was a huge departure from the 24% healthcare-related searches among voice search users in a 2018 report. This trend is particularly pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people sought to protect their health by accessing healthcare information more easily. As a result, there was an increase in players in the voice search market.

Benefits of Voice Search for Healthcare

Voice search offers several benefits for healthcare providers and patients alike:

1. Convenience: Voice search allows patients to access healthcare information without needing to type on a device. This makes it more convenient for those with disabilities or older patients who may feel uncomfortable using digital devices.
2. Increased Accessibility: Voice assistants can provide patients with immediate access to healthcare information, such as emergency services or urgent care wait times, without the need for manual dialling or searching.
3. Enhanced Patient Experience: By providing patients with a seamless experience through voice search, healthcare organizations can improve patient satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Convenience and Safety: Particularly during the pandemic, voice search allowed users to get information quickly without touching potentially contaminated surfaces, such as keyboards or touchscreens

Current Applications of Voice Search in Healthcare

Voice search is already being used in various ways to improve healthcare:

1. Emergency Services: Patients can use voice assistants to call for emergency services, such as ambulances, without needing to manually dial the number.
2. ER Wait Times: Some hospitals have integrated voice assistants to provide real-time information on ER wait times, allowing patients to make informed decisions about their care.
3. Scheduling Appointments: Voice assistants can be used to schedule doctor’s appointments, book rides to and from the hospital, and dictate surgery discharge instructions.
4. Patient Information: Voice assistants can be placed in patients’ rooms to provide information about their treatment, diet, and schedule, enhancing the patient experience and reducing the need for nurses to provide this information.
5. Delivery of Health Information. Health institutions use voice technology to deliver educational content such as podcasts, health tips, and guides on managing chronic conditions or leading a healthy lifestyle, enhancing health literacy.

For example, in 2020, Mayo Clinic launched the “Mayo Clinic Answers on COVID-19” Alexa skill, enabling users to access up-to-date information about the pandemic through voice commands on Alexa-enabled devices. The skill provides guidance on COVID-19 symptoms, prevention strategies, and includes a self-assessment tool to aid users in deciding whether they need testing. This initiative is part of Mayo Clinic’s broader efforts to disseminate accurate health information via digital platforms and underscores their use of voice technology to enhance public access to healthcare resources.

Challenges and Considerations

While voice search offers numerous benefits, there are several challenges and considerations that healthcare providers must address:

1. Privacy Act Compliance: Voice assistants handle sensitive health information, and healthcare providers must ensure that their voice search strategies comply with The Privacy Act 1988. These include:
   • Collection: Only collecting necessary health information with consent and for lawful purposes.
   • Use and Disclosure: Limiting the use and disclosure of health data to authorized purposes.
   • Data Security: Implementing appropriate security measures to protect health information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.
   • Accuracy: Ensuring health information is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant to its intended use.
   • Access and Correction: Providing individuals with access to their health information and allowing them to correct any inaccuracies.
2. Content Optimisation: Healthcare content must be optimised for voice search, focusing on conversational and natural language queries rather than traditional keywords.
3. Local SEO: Local SEO is critical for voice search, as users often seek nearby healthcare services. Healthcare providers must ensure accurate and consistent business information across all online directories.
4. User Experience: Providing a seamless user experience across both text-based and voice-initiated queries is essential to capture the growing market of voice search users.
5. Relevance and appropriateness of suggestions: A case study published in 2023 highlighted significant issues with virtual assistants providing CPR guidance, with nearly half of responses being irrelevant or inappropriate. Only 28% of responses recommended calling emergency services, potentially leading to delays in accessing critical medical care.

By addressing these considerations, healthcare providers can leverage voice search effectively to enhance patient engagement, improve accessibility to healthcare information, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients.

Steps to Optimise for Voice Search

To effectively optimise for voice search, healthcare providers should follow these steps:

1. Increase Local Rankings
   • Optimise Local Business Listings: Keep all business listings, such as Google My Business and Yelp, current with accurate NAP (name, address, phone number) details.
   • Engage with Reviews: Increase engagement on listings by responding to all reviews and addressing consumer inquiries promptly.
2. Improve Site Speed
   • Optimise Website Speed: Ensure your website loads quickly, ideally under 3 seconds, as voice assistants prioritise fast responses.
   • Use Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights: Assess your site’s speed performance using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to pinpoint areas needing improvement.
3. Provide Conversational Questions and Answers
   • Create Content that Answers Common Questions: Develop Content for Frequently Asked Questions, such as “How do I know if my child has a fever?” or “What are the symptoms of the flu?”
   • Use Long-Tail Keywords: Incorporate long-tail keywords and phrases that mimic conversational queries instead of solely targeting short, concise keywords.

Consider the examples below:

Traditional Keyword SEO Approach:

Keyword: “Stroke symptoms”

Content: “Symptoms of stroke include sudden numbness, confusion, and difficulty speaking.”

Optimised for Voice Search Approach:

Natural Language Query: “What are the signs of Covid-19?”

Content: “The signs of COVID-19 typically include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, often accompanied by fatigue, body aches, and loss of taste or smell.”

In the examples above, the traditional SEO approach focuses on a specific keyword (“heart attack symptoms”). On the contrary, the optimised voice search approach rephrases the information into a conversational question (“What are the signs of a heart attack?”) that users are likely to ask their voice assistant.

The content uses natural language and addresses potential variations in how users may ask about heart attack symptoms, enhancing its relevance and alignment with voice search queries.

4. Focus on Local SEO

Aside from increasing online visibility and foot traffic, improving Local SEO is crucial since about 81% of consumers ask Google to evaluate businesses. Here’s a few things that can be done:

1. • Optimise for Local Search: Incorporate location-specific details like practice addresses, contact information, and operational hours to improve visibility in local voice search results.
   • Develop Localised Content: Create content that caters to the needs and interests of the local audience, addressing common health concerns or topics relevant to your community. Also, this involves adjusting spelling, phrasing, keywords for SEO, measurements, images, emojis, and layout among others to ensure the content feels native and relevant to the target audience. Doing so aligns content with local preferences and cultural contexts.
   • Encourage Local Reviews and Testimonials: Encouraging satisfied patients to leave positive reviews and mentioning their location helps improve local search rankings and builds trust with potential patients.

5. Continuously Monitor and Refine

• • Track Metrics: Consistently analyse metrics to enhance strategies and adapt to varied search preferences and platforms over time. By doing so, you can identify trends, understand user behaviour, and adapt your approaches to better suit diverse search preferences and platforms over time. This iterative process ensures ongoing improvement in performance and relevance, optimising the overall effectiveness of digital marketing efforts.
  • Use Tools for Instant Audits: Utilise tools like Semrush or Screaming Frog to monitor and improve your brand’s voice search optimisation

Future Applications of Voice Search in Healthcare

As voice assistants continue to evolve, healthcare providers can expect to see even more advanced applications:

• Remote Monitoring: Voice assistants offer the potential to monitor patients post-operation, providing doctors with detailed insights into patient care inside and outside the hospital, enhancing overall monitoring and care continuity.
• Improved Patient Communication: Voice assistants can improve communication between patients and healthcare providers by enabling patients to inquire about treatment plans and schedules directly, reducing wait times and enhancing patient engagement in their own care.
• Enhanced Efficiency: Voice assistants have the ability to streamline hospital operations by facilitating remote monitoring, allowing doctors to proactively address patient needs and minimizing reliance on manual data entry. This improves efficiency and workflow management. Ultimately, these advancements can enhance patient outcomes and operational effectiveness in healthcare settings.

Disease Detection: Leveraging AI, researchers have begun studies on using voice biomarkers or changes to detect diseases. These include apps developed for detecting voice changes for patients with heart failure and Parkinson’s disease.

Conclusion

Voice search optimisation is a critical aspect of healthcare marketing, offering numerous benefits for both patients and healthcare providers. By optimising for voice search, healthcare organizations can improve patient access, enhance the patient experience, and increase their online visibility. The steps outlined in this article provide a comprehensive guide for healthcare providers to adapt their SEO strategies to the growing market of voice search users. As voice assistants continue to evolve, healthcare providers must stay ahead of the curve to capture the opportunities and challenges that this technology presents.

How Practice Proof Can Help

Practice Proof can assist you in optimising voice search by leveraging its specialized marketing strategies and robust analytics tools. By focusing on patient experience and trust, we ensure that you can effectively reach and engage with patients through voice-enabled platforms. Further, our CRM tools respect patient privacy while enhancing engagement, allowing providers to communicate with precision and care. Our data-driven approach, supported by comprehensive analytics and ROI tracking software, ensures that marketing strategies are continuously refined to meet diverse search preferences and platforms. This holistic approach not only improves patient acquisition and retention but also aligns with industry standards, making us a trusted partner in healthcare marketing optimisation.

Practice Proof is committed to more than just profit; our mission is centred around fostering growth alongside our healthcare partners. We prioritise long-term relationships built on trust and collaboration, aiming to empower healthcare practices such as yours to thrive in a competitive landscape. By providing comprehensive support across all facets of marketing, from strategy development to implementation and ongoing optimisation, we ensure that you can focus on delivering exceptional patient care while we handle the complexities of marketing and patient engagement. Our dedicated client support ensures quick responses and proactive assistance, reinforcing our commitment to achieving mutual success and sustained growth together with our partners in the healthcare industry.