How to Do SEO for Pharmacies

Not long ago, SEO for pharmacies was nonexistent, as they had no digital presence and did not sell online.

In recent years, especially due to the Covid situation, we see how competition has grown significantly in this sector, and it is essential to work on positioning to generate online visibility.

By reading this article, you will know how to do SEO for pharmacies with the aim of increasing visits and organic traffic, to convert it into visits and sales.

Let’s get started!

SEO for Pharmacies

Let’s look at everything you need to consider to optimize your pharmacy's positioning and ensure it appears in the top results on Google, among other search engines.

Just like when we work on SEO for e-commerce, this optimization aims for your online store to offer the content that best responds to the user's search intent.

For example: If a woman searches for "retinol" on the Internet because it has been recommended to her, but she needs more information to know exactly what it is, the first things that appear are blog articles from pharmacies and parapharmacies explaining what retinol is and the advantages of applying it to the skin.

In these same informative articles, there are links to the online store:

With transactional keywords (appropriate anchor text: text that links and contextualizes with the new landing page) "retinol products here".

So that once the woman has informed herself, it is easy for her to reach the product and buy it.

SEO Blog for Pharmacies

This highlights the importance of a blog for an online pharmacy and parapharmacy store. It will allow you to rank and achieve organic positions on Google.

By writing valuable informative content, you will start achieving those top positions.

But be careful! First, you must analyze the audience you intend to target, the competition, the search intent, and the keywords... To write quality articles that truly provide valuable information to the user.

That is, when we work on SEO for Pharmacies, we must understand and analyze all these previous factors to create the appropriate content based on them.

Did that make sense? We’ve told you a lot in a short time, right?

Don’t worry, we will explain everything with simple examples.

How to do SEO for Pharmacies

Imagine you have a physical pharmacy and want to take your business to the digital world. As you know, in the physical pharmacy, you have thousands and millions of references, covering all of them would be madness... So you think about focusing your strategy on cosmetic products, as they are fewer products and it would be easier to start.

Before creating the online store, you need to research some aspects such as the market you are targeting and competition, the keywords you will target, ...

Audience Analysis for an Online Pharmacy Store

To identify the target audience, you must define who your ideal customers are in terms of age, gender, location, etc.

Yes, I know you are going to say: that a cream for atopic skin can be needed by anyone of any age or gender; Yes, but normally the one who buys is the "head" of the household. Right? Surely you remember: "Hey Mari, buy me something for my skin, it's terrible!"

That’s why analyzing the consumption habits and behavior will reveal data to focus the SEO strategy you are going to implement. Also, study market trends to detect possible opportunities.

To gather data, you can use surveys, customer satisfaction tests... that reveal the needs of your potential audience.

SEO Keywords for Pharmacies

Continuing with the example of wanting to sell cosmetics from our pharmacy online, we will conduct a keyword study based on that search intent.

If you don’t remember other SEO articles, let’s refresh what a keyword research is: it is defining those words we will use to generate business in our pharmacy.

That is, you must analyze and identify what keywords your target audience uses and how they search for the products you sell.

For example: if in the pharmacy I sell creams with retinol and the competition has that keyword positioned, I will understand that it is a good keyword to work on in the SEO strategy.

As you can see, "retinol" is a word with a search volume of 40.5K and high competition, so we can target long-tail keywords, which will be easier to position.

SEO Strategy for Pharmacies

The strategy you can implement is to use main keywords in categories and secondary keywords in subcategories.

For example:

– Category: "Retinol" and include all retinol products in that category. They appear for this search on Google, not only pharmacies but also online cosmetic stores; Therefore, a highly competitive search.

– Subcategory: "Retinol for mature skin" (these keywords, being more specific, have less competition).

Web Architecture and UX

A good way to structure the online store is based on products, subcategories, and categories so that the user can navigate easily, which benefits the user experience, as they can buy in just a few clicks.

And also, so that Google better understands what your business is about, which, along with internal links, favors indexing (which we will see now).

It is advisable to add on the Home page the new pharmacy products, those that sell the most or that interest us due to margin.

image categories and subcategories.

Interlinking

Internal linking or interlinking in an online pharmacy store is linking products with categories or products to favor indexing and the transfer of authority within the page.

For example, products can be linked to other recommended products that may interest users. This will increase the user's time spent in the online store (which is an SEO factor that Google takes into account) and encourage them to continue shopping.

In this section of internal linking, it is worth mentioning the so-called "Breadcrumbs" which are a navigation block that indicates the category to which each product belongs within the online store.

Activating "breadcrumbs" is beneficial for SEO for pharmacies, as they facilitate user navigation and convey authority between internal links.

EEAT Content

Once we know which keywords to target, it’s time to use them in the texts of the online store, menu, product sheets, alt attributes of images, etc...

• The content of your online pharmacy must reflect experience, knowledge, authority to generate trust in the user.

Trust is a factor that Google values above others, which is why you must demonstrate that you know what you are talking about.

• Present the author of the content, with a BIO that reflects that they are a professional pharmacist and have experience in the subject matter. This will enhance the EEAT authorship of the author.
• You can do this by including in the website the qualified pharmacists or pharmacy assistants who are behind the business.
• Also through product ratings and reviews, which show the advice you have provided to other clients in specific situations. For example, you recommended a cream for atopic skin to a client, and they left you a review confirming they are satisfied with the advice.
• Another way to demonstrate trust is by having clear shipping conditions, return policies, and SSL payment certificates. The customer making a purchase seeks a certain security in your online pharmacy as they are providing their personal and banking information.
• If you include a customer service chat in the online store, you will resolve possible doubts and enhance trust in your online pharmacy.
• Before and after images of a treatment provide credibility and influence the purchasing decision of the new customer.

SEO Optimized Product Sheets

Product sheets in online stores are very important as they largely determine whether the user ultimately makes a purchase.

– They must be original and have a length equal to or greater than that used by the competition.

– In this sector, there are technical words that you should avoid as much as possible, as the user understands a simple, semantically rich language and synonyms better.

– Place the headings correctly to establish an order in the content. Include in them the keywords you want to target: The H1, to identify the main content of a page, and the H2, H3, and other headings, to organize the content.

– Optimize the title and meta description to make them attention-grabbing, as this will increase the CTR of the online store. It is the snippet that appears in search results, the SEO title of the product, and the meta description that explains what the user will find.

Include an attractive price for the product.

– Generate an optimized URL with the keyword for both products and categories and blog articles.

– Include images (with Alt attribute) and videos, as they keep the user engaged for longer.

– Add related products, as they increase sales and the average order value. You can add these related products not only in the product sheet but also in the cart and checkout phases.

Link Building

To position any online project, in addition to everything we have mentioned regarding content, we need the construction of quality links or link building.

This involves seeking blogs or pharmacy media that rank for searches related to your business. For example: on your pharmacy website, obtaining links from other sector websites that are positioned on Google.

For this purpose, you have our Unancor Match tool where you will find relevant media to buy the ideal link.

It’s very easy: sign up on Unancor as an advertiser and include your website, and you will find blogs and media for your project.

This will make Google see that your site is relevant for this topic. Your business's authority will grow and improve organic visibility and brand reputation.

We leave you a video in which Ignacio Garcia explains how we can effectively work on Link Building for a business.

Remember that if you want to delegate this important SEO task due to lack of time, you can book your meeting.

Local SEO for Pharmacies

In pharmacies, local SEO is one of the best strategies you can use to increase business visibility and attract customers. Google's search services offer tools that you can leverage, such as the Google Business Profile.

Google Business Profile

Having the profile correctly configured and completed (NAP, hours, photos, links to the website, reviews...), using relevant local keywords in the content you publish, will provide useful information to the user on one hand, and on the other Google will reward your local positioning.

Another essential aspect is reviews, which are the ratings that users leave on the Google Business profile. Ask satisfied customers for a testimonial.

I know you are thinking: that in the physical pharmacy, customers are in a hurry and won’t stop to leave you a review.

To solve this, you can give them a sample of cosmetics as an incentive for them to leave you one.

Local Pharmacy Directories

Another strategy that works for businesses with an online store and also a physical outlet like pharmacies is registering in themed local directories.

Through local directories that provide coverage on the local data of a business. You can add such name, address, phone, location, hours, user experience, website... To make it easier for users to find nearby pharmacies, on-call 24 hours, with home delivery...

For example, medical directories, pharmaceutical directories in the area... Like PMFarma, farmacias(.)es or Promofarma, where in the latter case you can also include products from your online pharmacy, as it also acts as a marketplace in the pharmaceutical sector.

The Importance of Working on SEO for Pharmacies

The products and online stores that appear in the top results on Google are the ones that have optimized their SEO the most and therefore have the highest chances of selling.

Optimizing your pharmacy's positioning will improve the visibility and performance of your online store.

This optimization aims to analyze the areas for improvement so that your e-commerce ranks in the top results on Google. Ideally, it is best to start from scratch, and if the project has been around for a while, conduct an SEO audit to give us an idea of the starting point we are at and errors to fix.

Google Shopping Campaigns

In SEO for pharmacies, Google ADS campaigns complement the positioning strategy, as they are necessary to generate visibility due to the high competition in this sector.

For example, Google Shopping is a very eye-catching ad format; ideally, you should also be in this search showcase.

When a user searches for "creams with retinol," not only will the image of the items appear, but also relevant information such as price, reviews, product description, etc.

The advantages of using Google Shopping for a pharmacy are to get qualified traffic and more conversions as it is a very visual ad format.

All you need to do is create an account in Google Merchant Center and upload the products.

In the product sheet, fill in the fields that appear. Consider the title, description, image, price, category... to catch the user's attention.

The title must include the keyword and brand so that Google understands that you want to sell. In the description, provide the information and details you consider relevant for the user, using related keywords.

Reviews convey greater trust in the business and in the quality of the products, so they should be included.

Conclusions:

If you have made it this far, you will have seen the importance of SEO for pharmacies; Content, Link building mixed with local SEO strategies and some targeted Google ADS campaigns will take your online and physical pharmacy to the top results on Google.

Do you have any questions? We advise you