Google’s page experience update has been going on for what, in the tech world, seems like literal ages. The update was originally announced by Google in November 2020, and the mobile version of the update started to roll out in mid-June 2021. By early September 2021, the mobile rollout was complete. Health care digital marketing teams everywhere breathed a sigh of relief as they strove to rebuild their marketing plans to accommodate this new world.
And now there’s a new Google page experience update in town. The rollout of the Google desktop page experience update started to hit the digital world in late February 2022. Fortunately, the desktop update finished rolling out in a mere nine days. Health care digital marketing plans have had more time to adapt to this rollout, since digital marketers have known about it since 2021. However, that doesn’t mean that there won’t still be changes to digital health care marketing plans now that the desktop update is finished.
3 ways the Google desktop page experience update could affect digital health care marketing plans
Every health care provider has unique priorities, and one of those may not have been adapting their digital marketing strategy to Google’s desktop page experience update. There are surely lots of other things health care providers have needed to prioritize. Responding to COVID-19 effectively springs immediately to mind.
However, there are definitely some things that may need to change about digital health care marketing plans in the wake of this recent Google update. A few examples include:
1. Temporarily moving focus away from mobile sites
No, I’m not saying that health care providers should completely ignore their mobile websites. Yet for a few weeks or months, they may need to prioritize their desktop site. For some, this may be the first opportunity they’ve had to ensure that the desktop site is compliant with the new update. For others, it’s a chance to review how any changes they’ve made in expectation of this update are performing.
It’s not just a process that will involve the provider’s web dev team either. Their digital marketing team will also need to put a plan in place to address changes in search rankings. They may also be involved in updating customers on changes to a provider’s desktop site, which they’ll need to plan for.
2. Encouraging a desktop website refresh
Health care providers may also decide that this is the perfect time to refresh or update their website. To achieve this goal, they may need to work out a new plan with their digital marketing partners that allows these partners to:
Create new optimized website content.
Revitalize old website content.
Ensure that updated pages meet search engine optimization (SEO) benchmarks.
Inform customers about page experience changes.
3. Rethinking pop-up usage
Digital health care marketers use pop-ups for a variety of purposes. However, the Google desktop page experience update penalizes the use of certain pop-ups on both mobile and desktop websites. There are many types of pop-ups that a site can be penalized for. But the ones that would not result in a penalty include:
- Pop-ups that display legal obligations a site owner must address, such as cookie usage or age verification.
- Pop-ups that request login information on sites where some content is not publicly accessible.
- Banner pop-ups that are easily removed and that take up a reasonable amount of screen space. Google Chrome app install banners are a perfect example of such banner pop-ups.
Health care providers who are using other types of pop-ups as part of their digital marketing plans may need to consider alternatives.
Updates to major online platforms like Google can have a massive impact on a health care provider’s search rankings and ability to bring in new patients. Fortunately, an on-the-ball digital marketing team can help such providers address and even benefit from Google updates and other market changes.
BURG+CO. can help health care providers develop robust digital marketing plans
Increasing traffic to your website plays a major role in increasing conversions and acquiring new clients. However, it’s difficult to attract visitors to your site when you don’t know what to do. Fortunately, crafting potent digital health care marketing plans is one thing we specialize in at BURG+CO.
Our team has years of experience in helping health care providers improve their digital presence, attract new leads and retain existing ones. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results and attract more visitors to your site, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help. Contact our team today for more information about our digital health care marketing services or to schedule a complimentary consultation.
