Your healthcare website should do more than look good — it should help patients find you, trust you, and take action. In today’s digital-first world, search engines are the go-to starting point for people looking for doctors, specialists, or answers to health concerns. But even the most informative websites can struggle to rank well on Google if they’re making a few common — and often invisible — SEO mistakes.
Whether you’re a hospital, clinic, or private practitioner, these overlooked errors could be silently costing you valuable search traffic, patient trust, and conversions. Let’s take a closer look at four SEO mistakes most healthcare websites still make — and what you can do to fix them.
1. Not Showing Who’s Behind the Content
In healthcare, trust is everything. If your website features blogs or service pages with no author names, credentials, or sources, that’s a red flag — not just for patients, but for Google too.
Why this SEO mistake matters:
Healthcare is categorised by Google as “Your Money, Your Life” (YMYL) content. This means it’s held to a higher standard when it comes to accuracy and trust. Google wants to see E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
How to fix it:
Skipping this step is one of the most common SEO mistakes in healthcare — and one of the easiest to correct.
2. Neglecting Ongoing Technical Maintenance
Many healthcare websites are launched and then left untouched. Over time, this leads to technical issues that may not be visible to the average user, but search engines notice them — and penalise accordingly.
What this SEO mistake looks like:
Why it hurts your rankings:
Search engines prefer sites that are technically sound and fast to load. A sluggish or outdated website can lead to high bounce rates — and fewer patient conversions.
How to fix it:
Technical SEO mistakes don’t just hurt rankings — they degrade the overall experience, especially when patients are searching urgently for help.
3. Not Optimising for Local Searches (Especially with Multiple Locations)
One of the most overlooked SEO mistakes healthcare providers make is ignoring local SEO. Especially if you have multiple branches but lump all your locations into one generic contact page, you’re missing out on highly targeted traffic.
Why this matters:
Patients often search with local intent — like “ENT specialist in Johor Bahru” or “dentist near PJ.” If your site doesn’t have location-specific pages, Google won’t know where to direct them.
How to fix it:
This is one of those SEO mistakes that directly impacts revenue — especially if you’re competing with other providers in the same region.
👉 See how we help you dominate local search step-by-step.
4. Poor Accessibility and User Experience
Search engines are increasingly favouring websites that are easy to use and accessible to all users — including those with disabilities or on mobile devices. Ignoring this is a subtle but serious SEO mistake.
Symptoms of this SEO mistake:
Why it matters:
User experience is directly tied to your site’s SEO performance. A poor experience leads to higher bounce rates and lower engagement — both of which are signals Google tracks.
How to fix it:
This is more than just an SEO concern — it’s about inclusivity and showing patients you care about all of them.
Avoiding SEO Mistakes = Building Trust + Visibility
While many healthcare organisations focus on content and aesthetics, it’s often these hidden SEO mistakes that hold them back. The good news? They’re all fixable with a bit of time, consistency, and the right strategy.
To recap, avoid these four major SEO mistakes:
By addressing these issues, you not only improve your website’s rankings — you also build a more trustworthy and patient-friendly online presence.
Don’t let small SEO mistakes cost you big results.
At Digital 38, we help healthcare brands go beyond appearances. From fixing critical SEO mistakes to building long-term search strategies, our team delivers results that matter: better visibility, stronger trust, and more patient conversions.
📩 Reach out today and get tailored strategies for your healthcare SEO and website.
