How to build links in Healthcare

22nd Aug 2024

In healthcare and pharma, generating content can require approval from healthcare professionals (HCPs), legal teams and regulatory bodies, which often makes the process significantly more complex and time-consuming.

The challenges of building backlinks in the healthcare sector does not mean that off-page SEO efforts have to come to a halt and this doesn’t have to be the end of the conversation when it comes to off-page SEO in healthcare. Here we explore some of the methods that you can leverage to drive links to your priority landing pages, within pharma and healthcare.

Pharmaceutical link building methods: 

1. Unlinked mentions
2. Image link building
3. Link placement outreach
4. Broken link building 
5. Partner link outreach 

1. Unlinked mentions 

In healthcare, unlinked mentions happen when your medical practice or health related service or product is referenced without a link. By identifying these mentions and requesting a link, you can effectively enhance backlinks, improve SEO, and increase traffic to your website. 

This strategy leverages existing content that already acknowledges your healthcare brand, boosting its authority and visibility online. Often, press releases and coverage in journals will not offer links out, however it is still always worth the link request. Even a single link from a reputable source can significantly impact your site’s credibility and search engine rankings. This approach also strengthens relationships with industry peers and media outlets, potentially leading to further collaborations and mentions in the future.

2. Image link building 

In healthcare and pharma, image link building uses high-quality visuals, such as infographics and industry-relevant images, to attract backlinks. Sharing these images encourages other sites to link back to your healthcare website. This method drives traffic, improves search engine rankings, and ensures your images are easily discoverable with proper optimisation.

Image link building can help your content stand out in a crowded online healthcare space too. High-quality visuals are much more likely to be shared across different platforms, such as social media, blogs and educational websites. This will help your reach and create additional opportunities for link acquisition. This not only enhances your website’s visibility but also helps establish your brand as a trusted source of reliable and visually appealing information in the healthcare industry.

3. Link placement outreach 

Link placement outreach involves contacting website owners to include your healthcare link in their content. Researching relevant sites and crafting personalised messages can increase success. This strategy enhances your backlink profile, drives targeted traffic, and improves SEO by associating with trusted sources. 

At Varn Health, we recognise the complexities of navigating this within the healthcare sector, especially considering the strict regulations involved. One effective method to earn backlinks without directly pitching content, is to offer optimisation suggestions for other areas of your prospect’s website. By providing valuable improvements independent of any commercial interest, you can request a link back to your target landing page. These links are non-commercial and not intended as sponsored endorsements, which helps to maintain compliance while still bolstering your website’s authority and SEO performance.

4. Broken link building

Broken link building involves finding and replacing broken links on other websites with your healthcare content.  Broken links, also known as 404 errors, occur when a webpage that was once live is either removed, moved, or renamed, resulting in a dead-end for users who click on the link. These broken links are not only frustrating for visitors, but they can also negatively impact a website’s SEO. Search engines like Google consider the user experience as a critical factor in ranking websites. A site riddled with broken links can be perceived as poorly maintained, which may lead to a drop in its search engine rankings. For webmasters, fixing these broken links is essential to maintaining the integrity and user-friendliness of their site so this helps webmasters maintain their sites while providing you with high-quality backlinks. 

By identifying broken links and reaching out with helpful suggestions, you can boost your backlink profile and improve SEO. This strategy ensures valuable connections and enhances the overall credibility of your healthcare site.

5. Partner link outreach 

Partner link outreach involves collaborating with industry partners to secure backlinks. By establishing mutual relationships, you can cross-promote and share content, diversifying your backlink portfolio. This strategy expands your reach, drives traffic, and enhances SEO through credible links. This can be done through trade industry contacts or clients of your website.

By establishing these mutual relationships, all parties benefit as your website can gain high-quality backlinks from credible sources, which boosts your SEO and drives targeted traffic. At the same time, your partners also gain valuable links and traffic which helps to enhance their own online visibility and authority.

How can Varn Health help you build links?

The common theme amongst all of the methods mentioned above, is that they bypass the need for complex regulatory sign-off as these methods involve leveraging pre-existing coverage, requesting for formats to be tweaked, as opposed to new specific content itself. This makes these link building methods well suited to the healthcare and pharmaceutical niches. That being said, data-led content and guest post outreach is also possible and Varn Health can support you with a robust approval process, to ensure your content is rigorously signed off before publication. 

If you would like help with your healthcare link building for SEO, then get in touch with a member of the Varn Health team here.