If you love researching and talking about your profession, you might wonder what it would be like to get paid to do it.
It’s possible! With an authoritative presence online in the medical niche, you get a lot of benefits, from networking to more money in the bank account.
And as a medical professional, you’re best equipped to do that.
Not just because of your expertise, but also thanks to how Google treats the medical niche.
So if you want to learn how to create an authoritative presence online as a medical professional, this article is for you.
How Online Authority Works
Before we get into actionable tips, it’s important to outline what we mean about online authority in the first place. And the best way to do that is through the lenses of Google, the biggest search engine online.
Whenever anyone searches for something on Google, its algorithm analyzes that query (also known as a keyword) against all the billions of websites and pages indexed by Google. It compares all possible results based on:
- Whether or not the keyword is present on a page of a site.
- How often it’s present there.
- How often similar/related keywords are present on the page.
- How good the UX of the site is.
- How many links that site/page gets from other sites in its niche.
And hundreds of other metrics used by Google to rank pages on its SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
So if you Google the keyword “how to create a site”, Google’s algorithm will rank guides and articles from web development-related sites, and display the most relevant results based on these criteria.
As you can probably guess, there’s a lot of money to be made from pages that land a spot on the first page of Google. That’s why sites employ strategies like on-page SEO optimizations or link building campaigns to make sure they rank there.
And this is where authority comes into play. It’s not enough to use the right keywords in an article if you want it to rank. You also need to convince Google you’re an authoritative source. This is most commonly done by convincing sites in your niche to link to your content (link building), but other things matter as well, like the author of an article.
The Head Start Of A Medical Professional Online
For the most part, Google doesn’t prefer a particular type of author for the content they rank. As long as someone outputs consistent content, and builds a name in a niche, their content can land on the top spot of the SERP.
But medical queries are a different story. They’re part of something called YMYL searches (Your Money Or Your Life). Google recognizes that a medical query could be extremely important, and the information provided can sometimes even be a matter of life or death. So that’s why they favor content written by an actual medical professional, not just anyone with a blog.
So if you’re a medical professional, you’re at an advantage in the world of online marketing.
Whether you want to create your own blog, or just publish on other people’s sites, your expertise and training are valued by Google when they decide who ranks for what keyword.
So let’s see how to leverage this benefit.
How To Position Yourself As An Authority
Before we get into actionable tips, remember that consistency is key in building authority in the eyes of Google. Whether you publish on your own site, other people’s sites, or article directories like Medium, consistency is the most important thing to have.
You can set your own schedule, based on how much time you have. Publishing once a day, or once every two weeks are both valid options. Just make sure you are consistent.
This is a good rule of thumb to have because Google needs time, and a lot of content, to adapt. Even if you write a phenomenal article for a decently sized publication, it won’t be enough to cement your authority in the medical niche. You need to give the search engine a bigger sample size.
Moreover, if you publish consistently on one particular platform (whether it’s your own, or someone else’s) the audience of that platform can know when to expect new content from you. This can improve the reach of your articles in the long run.
Learn To Write For An Online Audience
Writing an academic article, a regular essay, or a book is very different from writing for an online audience. Content made for online readers should be more conversational, lighter, easier to digest, and “scannable” by people that don’t want to read through an entire 1500 word piece.
Here are a few tips to adapt your writing for online audiences:
- Write short and simple sentences. This ensures people stay hooked to your text, regardless of all the other distractions on their device.
- Use a lot of links to other high-authority sites. This helps boost the content’s own authority, and provides legitimacy in the eyes of the reader.
- Use a lot of headings and diversify content formatting. This helps readers that only want to scan through an article identify the sections they’re interested in.
- Insert multimedia content. Whether that’s an image, a gif, a video, a button, or anything else, blog articles that do well have more than just simple text.
Leverage Your Credentials On-Page
You’ve probably figured already that you should use your expertise and real-world knowledge in the content you create. But this goes further than just infusing articles with the valuable knowledge you have.
If you really want to learn how to create an authoritative presence online as a medical professional, you also need to leverage your credentials in elements on the page. For example, if it’s on your own site, create author boxes where you highlight your experience. If you publish for other sites, insist on an author box, and create the copy for your author box with care.
Network Effectively
The online world isn’t stuck on a modem somewhere. Even if it may seem like a completely virtual ecosystem, there are real people behind all sites and platforms. That’s why networking with people from the online world, and especially the medical blogosphere, is crucial in your success when building an authoritative presence online as a medical professional.
This will help you land more backlinks for your own site if you have one, acquire more guest post opportunities, and expand the reach of your message.
In Conclusion
If you’re a new person in the online world, all of this may be overwhelming. Learning how to create an authoritative presence online as a medical professional can be pretty tiring, especially if you have no experience with SEO, blog posts, link building, web development, and everything else required for success in the online world.
However, as long as you understand how Google operates, write for an online audience, leverage your credentials on-page, and network effectively, you’ll have a head start in the medical niche.
We mentioned creating your own site throughout this article. If you’re not sure how to go about it, here’s a helpful guide about site architecture. If you’re passionate about the healthcare industry, don’t forget to also check out this piece on automation in healthcare.
