Why Your Medical Website Needs Translating
Your patients (or their family) are typing the symptoms they have into Google or AI at 11pm. If your medical website only talks about what you do rather than what they feel, they’ll end up seeing a different specialist. Your future patients are not searching for your procedures, they are searching for answers about their pain.
Healthcare websites, and websites generally, have moved on from needing 2-3 focus keywords per page, and ‘stuffing’ them in your content in places that might not read naturally. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them at all, or think about which ones to focus on that are relevant to your practice. Content now, should all be about the ‘user’s intent’ so consider at what point in the journey they are to finding what they need. Are they wondering what they’re symptoms mean? Or have they seen a GP and know what procedure they are being referred for? Use these questions in helping to decide the language to use on each page.
Healthcare professionals spend years training, learning and mastering complex medical procedures. It’s completely understandable to want to showcase that on your website with technical clinical language. But, at the early stages when patients are just starting to feel symptoms they often don’t know the name of the treatment they need. They only know how they feel. When a patient is unwell or worried, they describe their experience, typing and searching in the way they speak.
Search has evolved hugely to know or at least try and predict what the user is looking for from what they type in to Google or AI. But it’s not perfect. The evolution has been coming for a while, but gone are the days of just having pages of medical content about what you do. If your page never mentions the words a patient would actually use, it is going to struggle to show your content when those patients are searching.
Consider these few examples of where this “language gap” could be an opportunity:
- Gastroenterology
Patient searches: “Bloating and stomach pain after eating” or “always feeling full after a few bites”
Website says: “Our clinic specialises in endoscopy, colonoscopy, and the management of functional gastrointestinal disorders.”
- Cardiology
Patient searches: “Heart fluttering feeling in my chest” or “pulse racing for no reason when sitting still”
Website says: “We provide cardiac electrophysiology services, catheter ablation, and arrhythmia management.”
- Orthopaedics
Patient searches: “Knee clicking and pain going down stairs” or “can’t fully straighten my knee without pain”
Website says: “We perform meniscectomy, chondral restoration procedures, and total knee arthroplasty.” - Urology
Patient searches: “sudden urge to pee but nothing comes out”
Website says: “We offer advanced TURP (Transurethral Resection of the Prostate) procedures”
Healthcare content for patients – what does this mean?
Writing for patients does not mean you have to abandon clinical terminology entirely and using easily understandable language absolutely does not mean compromising on accuracy and not including anything scientific.
The best approach is to use both clinical and straightforward language: describe the symptoms in plain English layman’s terms, then introduce readers to the clinical term. This also gives search engines the context they need whilst also educating the user, a clear signal of high-quality trustworthy health content. Patients are more likely to book with specialists who understand what they are going through.
Every patient-facing page should of course be reviewed for clinical correctness. This is part of why I enjoy working directly with clinicians on their healthcare websites. I love the science and I’ve always been interested in healthcare and wellbeing, so working with healthcare professionals in this way makes my role in businesses really interesting. It’s really rewarding to play a part in connecting patients with the care they need, supported by accurate, up-to-date information from those providing it firsthand.
Start with how they feel, not what you do
Open with the symptoms or concerns the patient is likely to be experiencing. This is what they searched for, and seeing their experience reflected back at them immediately signals that they have found the right place. “If you have been noticing a persistent ringing in your ears, especially at night, you are not imagining it” is far more compelling than “Our audiology clinic offers tinnitus assessment and management.”
Explain what might be causing it and be empathetic
Patients want to understand what is happening in their body. A brief, accessible explanation of the possible causes behind a set of symptoms helps them feel informed rather than anxious. Take the opportunity to offer empathy too. Being approachable and personable in your language will appeal to patients who are really worrying about what is wrong.
Describe the patient-journey from symptom to solution
This is where procedures and treatments belong, but framed in a way the patient can clearly see what they need to do to get the help they need taking a patient-centric approach. An orthopaedic example might read “For most patients with this type of hip pain, the first step is an examination and possibly an MRI scan. From there, we can discuss whether physiotherapy, injections, or surgery is the right approach for you.” This type of language is not only helpful but also reassuring.
Address the questions they are too embarrassed to Google
What will the appointment actually be like? Will it hurt? How long will recovery take? Can they drive afterwards? These practical concerns are often what patients most want to know. Best practice around website schema and FAQ pages has recently updated but in many cases, especially in healthcare, this Q&A type of content can be extremely helpful and still great for organic search because it helps the humans reading it.
Time for a healthcare website content review?
By rewriting your content to focus on the patient’s symptoms rather than just your surgical expertise, you will rank better on Google, be more visible in AI and build immediate trust with users, and ultimately this will help more people find you to give them the expert care they need.
Once a patient has read your page and felt reassured, make it easy for them to take the next step. A clear, easy way to get in touch, ask a question or make an appointment is imperative. Provide a phone number, a contact form, or an online booking option and where possible manage expectations about how quickly they will hear a reply or get a call back.
If your website hasn’t been updated for a while, it’s time you got some help with a content review. Contact me today and we can discuss how I can help your practice.
