A website for a dental practice, physiotherapy clinic or private GP faces a higher scrutiny than most websites. Every element should aim to build confidence so that potential customers book, contact or purchase from you. Google also applies stricter scrutiny to health and medical content when evaluating quality and trustworthiness.
Google classifies health topics as “Your Money or Your Life” content, sometimes abbreviated to YMYL. These are areas where incorrect or misleading information could have a significant impact on someone’s health, safety or financial wellbeing. Pages covering medical conditions, treatments, practitioners and health advice are assessed more carefully than pages about less sensitive topics.
The signals Google looks for in this context are what it calls E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Google’s own guidance on creating helpful content makes clear that for YMYL topics, these signals carry particular weight. Named practitioners with real qualifications, accurate and specific information, and transparent business details all contribute to a stronger E-E-A-T profile.
Patients visiting a healthcare website for the first time are usually looking for a few specific things, like:
These need to be easy and quick to find.
Named practitioners with photos, stated qualifications and a brief description of their experience and approach do a lot of work. A practice that lists a team of “our highly qualified professionals” without names or credentials doesn’t inspire the same confidence as one that introduces each practitioner properly.
Patient reviews are valuable, but they need to be handled carefully. Genuine reviews from named patients, displayed on a trusted third-party platform like Google or NHS Choices, carry much more weight than testimonials on the practice’s own website. How you respond to reviews, including negative ones, also matters. A considered, professional response to a critical review demonstrates far more than ignoring it does.
Healthcare businesses handle sensitive personal data, which means GDPR compliance is particularly important. Contact forms and appointment booking systems that collect health information need to be handled with appropriate care, including clear privacy notices, secure data handling and an understanding of what lawful basis you’re relying on. Our guide to GDPR and cookie compliance covers the basics for small businesses.
We build websites for healthcare businesses that meet the standards Google expects and give patients the confidence to book. If you’d like to talk through what a new website could do for your practice, our website design for healthcare page explains our approach. Get in touch to start a conversation.
