The modern era is known for its rendering innovation and technology. However, when it comes to how the internet works in the Pharma industry, you might not be limited to a handful of features. The search engines are equipped with never-ending algorithms that determine a website’s traffic intake effortlessly. In addition, several other tools, methods, and features cover different aspects of how a business gets all its visitors.
Speaking of which, almost every strand of your site impacts its search engine optimization. One of the essential ranking factors to a search engine giant, Google, is a site’s authority, along with its reliability. To test such factors, Google surveys other sites and locates sites linking to yours in the process.
Why Are Backlinks Crucial?
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Backlinks are votes of confidence from other sites. Each tells search engines: “This content is credible, valuable, and useful.” As a result, the more such “votes” your site has, the higher it will rank in Google and various other search engines.
Utilizing links in search engine algorithms is nothing new. In reality, backlinks tend to form Google’s foundation, initially referred to as PageRank. Even though a search engine like Google has made hundreds of changes to its algorithm in recent years, backlinks remain an integral ranking signal. For instance, industry research found that links are Google’s key ranking signal.
Why is SEO crucial for Pharma?
Having an excellent online presence is particularly crucial for Pharmaceutical businesses due to HCPs or Health Care Professionals’ increasing use of search engines as the primary source of information. Moreover, Google conducted some pieces of research in 2012, with the following outputs:
- On average, healthcare professionals tend to perform six professional searches daily.
- Moreover, physicians spend twice the time on online resources than on print.
- More than 40% of physicians search for symptom-based keywords.
- Approximately 19% of physicians search using keywords related to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
- More than 80% of physicians search for condition-specific keywords.
While healthcare professionals are using the web as their research tool to stay updated with recent happenings and developments in the medical arena, patients are also starting to spend more time when it comes to researching treatments, symptoms, and prescriptions.
As a result, Pharma companies must invest their time focusing on online presence to produce valuable content for the general public and HCPs. Meanwhile, pharma organizations must also enhance their brand awareness and trust through SEO strategies.
How to improve Pharma website SEO?
There is an array of ways that Pharma businesses can adhere to in order to improve their SEO. Besides, some of the best courses of action, they can build their website and the level of optimization throughout the entire website. However, every Pharma business should start by ensuring its website is optimized for the SEO factors that can make a worldly difference.
To begin with, here are a few factors that can affect the way a Pharma company works online:
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Identify Audience
For a website to be visible in various search results for relevant keywords and queries, you should identify who the audience of the website is. Most Pharma websites have unique areas targeting HCPs and the public. Such areas should be separated and defined on the site as the keywords, and targeted content might vary. Moreover, it must be focused on meeting the audience’s requirements. In addition, Pharma sites need to make certain these areas are signposted and comply with pharma marketing regulations like those outlined by UK sites in the ABPI code of conduct.
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Identify Search Intent and Keywords
Now that one has identified people browsing the site, one must identify what types of keywords and phrases they will be looking for and what their real intent is. As a matter of fact, searcher Intent is what the searcher hopes to find from their search queries. Typically, there are three primary types of intent; Informational (looking for information like an answer to a specific question), Navigational (looking for a particular webpage or website), and Transactional (looking to purchase). Most searches in Pharma are informational. Furthermore, they can often be categorized into searches about Diagnosis, Symptoms, Community, and Treatments.
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Site Structure
Once users have a straightforward keyword approach and have identified the specific pages necessary for targeting such searches, they can create an apparent and concise website structure. The most significant pages on your website should be around the top of this hierarchy, filtering down to only some relevant subpages. The advantages of a good website structure comprise better AI and user experience. This is because it makes it easier for users to maneuver and navigate the information they need. In the end, it is also helpful for web crawlers as they index your website and crawl through it.
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On-page SEO
Again, utilizing the developed keyword approach needs some aspects on every page you optimize for target keywords. This is done to inform the user and indicate the topic of your web pages to various search engines. That said, the target keywords must be included in user-friendly URLs, H tag headings on every page, and metadata.
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Backlinks
Backlinks are a crucial factor when it comes to search engine optimization. That’s because they help generate traffic, build trust, increase brand awareness, and improve organic rankings. In Pharma, it is imperative to focus on getting links to your website from other quality sites by integrating an off-site SEO strategy.
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E-A-T
Over the past five years, Google has increased its focus on E-A-T, reckoned as Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Especially in the medical industry, with several algorithm updates favoring sites to prove their authority. Here, the websites are expected to offer information on the expertise like education, qualifications, or the creator’s personal experience to provide evidence of expertise.
Similarly, when it concerns authoritativeness, it is reviewed by assessing the brand’s and website’s reputation, focusing on references, reviews, and news articles. Lastly, a user needs to build trustworthiness by offering in-depth and accurate information that cites several trustworthy sources correctly.
What Types of Pharma Backlinks are Valuable?
Everybody knows not all backlinks are equal. In simple words, if you wish to rank higher in the SERPs, consider focusing on building quality backlinks. If put in another way, a single high-quality pharma backlink can be more potent than 100 low-quality backlinks.
As it turns out, quality backlinks share similar vital traits.
Trait 1: they come from authoritative and trusted websites. Again, would you instead get your backlinks from Harvard or a random blog? Google feels the same way about such activity. Such a concept is known as DA, which is domain authority, which implies that the more authority a website has, the more authority it will pass on your website through links. Since a link comes from authority sites, Google emphasizes a significant amount of weight.
Trait 2: they have your target keywords in the link’s anchor. As one of the reminders, an anchor text is a visible piece of text of a link.
However, here’s a quick warning for you: you do not want to go overboard with keyword-rich anchor texts. Here, Google has a filter algorithm, known as Google Penguin.”
Trait 3: The website linking to yours is related to your website. Remember, when a site links to other websites, Google wants to acknowledge that those websites are interrelated. Doesn’t it make sense?
Consequently, we have tried breaking down specific ways to redirect pharma backlinks to your website and affect the website’s Google Rank. Refer to the rundown for more information.
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Guest Posting
Are you wondering if guest posting is dead? Well, that is not the case. In fact, when you are first beginning, guest blogging is the BEST way to get links to a website. Take several examples; you will find that most organic traffic websites receive through guest posting. That said, if you have a medical research blog representing your brand, consider writing for quality pharma sites in your niche. Consequently, if you operate a website about technology and write a guest post about medicines, that will appear spammy to Google and other search engines.
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Linking Domain Age
The domain age of your website’s backlinks can affect a site’s search engine optimization and the value on which Google places them. Comparatively, older domains are much more potent than new ones. This is because Google acknowledges them as more trustworthy.
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Number of Linking Pages
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The number of domains linking to your website is essential to your rank. However, the number of actual pages, even with similar domains, can significantly impact. The more pages linking to your website, the higher your rank.
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Backlink Anchor Text
The anchor text linking to your website is essential for search engines. An anchor text might help Google determine the relativity of your page and understand your website. Having said that, anchor texts are typically accurate descriptions of the brand or page they target. Furthermore, if your target keywords show in backlinking anchor texts, it can help enhance and boost your page’s rank for that specific keyword.
As a consequence, anchor texts can affect your website’s rank because they will assist Google in getting a quick overview of the page’s content. If you’re unaware of its impact, you might have certain doubts about a backlink anchor text’s relevance. A user needs to understand that several online businesses like pharma, casino, and CBD integrate such an approach to indicate their presence. For instance, Google ad regulations don’t allow cannabis-driven brands to advertise their products and services. This is where CBD backlinks help businesses who are dealing in CBD products.
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Alternate Text
An alt text is a description of an image that enables search engines to acknowledge, in words, an image’s content. Many other websites often comprise images with a link to your website upon a click. When an alt text on the image accurately demonstrates the picture, it can boost the search ranking for specific topics, essentially when an alt text includes keywords.
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Broken Link Building
This method is quite similar to the Moving Man approach. The difference is – with broken link building, you’re only searching for web pages with 404 errors. On the other hand, to locate such 404 links, you must focus on specific resource pages that fall under your niche. For example, if you are in the fitness industry, you might search using such search strings:
- “fitness” + “resources”
- “fitness” + “resource page”
- “fitness” + “recommended sites”
- “fitness” + “links”
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Links From Competitors
Links from particular domains in similar SERP (search engine results page) as your website are relatively more helpful for ranking purposes. When pertinent sites link back to you, it helps Google understand the site’s content, which ultimately boosts your ranking for target keywords and topics.
Furthermore, when your backlinks come from websites related to your niche industry, your site’s ranking gets positively impacted.
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Link Location
Lastly, the link’s location to your website contributes, considerably affecting the strength of the backlink. Besides, links amid a page’s content section carry more importance than in a sidebar or footer. Having said that, links appearing higher in the text, especially over the fold, will leave quite an impact than lower links on your web page.
