Are AI search citations really driving business outcomes, or are they just a vanity metric?

In this episode of Digital Clinic, Aaron Burnett sits down with Taylor Hurff, Director of Digital Strategy at Wheelhouse DMG. Together, they unpack Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) in healthcare and medtech, moving beyond simple citation counts to focus on brand sentiment and real visibility. Taylor shares practical ways to diagnose traffic drops, build compliant AI workflows, and adapt as search engines shift to AI-default modes. In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why brand mentions and sentiment matter far more than citation counts

• How to diagnose whether AI overviews are cannibalizing your organic traffic

• How to build privacy-first AI workflows that protect patient data

• Why direct traffic and brand search increase when you optimize for GEO

• How to prepare for AI becoming the default mode in search engines

Learn more about Wheelhouse DMG's AI Optimization services for healthcare and medtech companies: https://www.wheelhousedmg.com/capabilities/digital-strategy-seo/ai-brand-monitoring-and-optimization/

Connect with Taylor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorjhurff/

Only 28% of MedTech companies have a documented marketing strategy—are you in the 72% falling behind?

In this episode of Digital Clinic, Aaron Burnett sits down with Saul Marquez, CEO of Outcomes Rocket. Drawing from his MedTech sales experience and 2,000 interviews, Saul reveals why rushing into execution is a costly mistake. Together, they explore the foundational role of strategy and how to craft a winning commercial story. In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the "marketing treadmill" traps teams in execution mode

• Why FDA clearance is a "license to hunt," not a sales guarantee

• How a strong commercial story beats having the best product

• How to create urgency and pitch your vision in five minutes

• Why the convergence of MedTech and HealthTech demands a new approach

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome

03:19 Spotting Marketing Gaps

03:56 Execution Without Strategy

05:12 Discover, Define, Deliver

08:20 From Insights to Action

10:19 Lessons From 2000 Interviews

11:30 Clarity Creates Urgency

14:50 Approval Is Not Sales

18:25 Sales Lens Advantage

25:59 Future and Wrap Up

Healthcare buying committees are large, slow-moving, and full of stakeholders with competing priorities. Adam Turinas understands this from both sides of the table. Before founding Health Launchpad, he spent years running a health tech company navigating the same complexity his clients face today.

In this episode, he shares how to approach account selection, map buying committees, and build measurement frameworks that connect marketing activity to pipeline. He also covers where AI adoption is creating a genuine competitive opening for healthcare marketers right now and what it takes to treat it as infrastructure rather than a productivity shortcut.

In this milestone 50th episode of Digital Clinic, we celebrate by revisiting the most insightful moments from our previous conversations with industry leaders in healthcare marketing. Join me as we explore the unique challenges and opportunities faced by med tech marketers in a privacy-first, highly regulated environment. We’ll discuss how to effectively engage consumers (formerly known as patients) while navigating compliance and building trust through first-party data strategies. Discover the evolving role of AI in digital marketing and why it’s crucial to maintain a human touch in our communications. Tune in to gain valuable insights that can elevate your marketing strategies in the healthcare sector.

In this episode of Digital Clinic, we tackle the pressing challenge of navigating shifting compliance rules in healthcare marketing without sacrificing performance. Join me as I speak with Richard Chapman, an experienced privacy officer and founder of Syndalos, who shares invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of state-level privacy regulations. With federal guidance becoming less clear, healthcare marketers must adapt to a complex web of compliance requirements while maintaining effective marketing strategies. Richard emphasizes the importance of collaboration between marketing, compliance, and legal teams to ensure alignment and minimize risk. Tune in for practical advice on how to enhance your marketing efforts while staying compliant in an increasingly regulated environment.

In this episode of Digital Clinic, I dive into the transformative potential of media mix modeling for privacy-first marketers in healthcare and med tech. With cookie deprecation and new regulations reshaping how we track and measure success, conventional attribution methods are proving inadequate. I chat with Michael Wiegand, Director of Marketing Sciences at Wheelhouse DMG, who shares his journey from skepticism to advocacy for media mix modeling. Discover how this innovative approach can reveal the joint, direct, and indirect effects of your marketing channels, driving better decisions with less media spend. Tune in to learn how businesses can achieve greater insights and profitability while navigating the complexities of compliance in today’s digital landscape.

Abby Lovett spent 26 years at the world's foremost PR agencies doing the kind of work AI is worst at: building credibility that cannot be bought. Now, as founder of CTP Visibility Advisors, she's making the case that the AI visibility challenge facing brands today isn't an SEO or a GEO problem. It's a narrative and credibility problem, and that's always been PR's turf. In this episode, Abby and Aaron dig into why the skills PR practitioners have spent decades developing are exactly what the AI era demands.

Connect with Abby Lovett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbylovett/

Check out CTP Visibility Advisors: https://www.ctpvisibility.com/

Great content doesn't sell, it serves, and Courtney Patterson has built her entire marketing philosophy around that distinction.

Courtney is the Content Strategist and Marketing Lead at Implant Direct, with a career spanning FinTech, SaaS, and medical device across some of the largest companies in the world. Along the way, she developed a content framework rooted in three questions: Why me? Why now? And why should I care? If you can't answer all three, the content isn't ready to publish.

In this episode, you'll learn why audience-centered content drives better results, how marketing in a regulated med tech environment changes the way you craft a narrative, what AI can genuinely help with in the content creation process and where it falls short.

Connect with Courtney Patterson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-patterson/

Check out Implant Direct here: https://www.implantdirect.com/

In this episode of Digital Clinic, I'm joined by Bridget Linebarger, founder of Springbridge, as we explore how patient-centered thinking enhances MedTech marketing performance. With over 20 years in the industry, Bridget emphasizes the importance of understanding the full spectrum of the patient journey—starting from their initial diagnosis to life beyond the hospital. We delve into user journey mapping, patient segmentation, and how to craft marketing strategies that resonate within compliance-driven environments. Bridget shares her insights on building communities and creating messaging that empowers consumers in their healthcare decisions. Don’t miss this insightful conversation that challenges conventional marketing approaches in the MedTech space.

In this episode of Digital Clinic, I sit down with Erika Bigelow, founder of Do Good Today and former Wheelhouse alum, to explore the transformative power of corporate volunteering. We discuss the vital role that generosity plays in fostering a strong workplace culture and enhancing employee satisfaction. Erika shares her insights on how to effectively match companies with meaningful causes, the intricacies of logistical planning for volunteer events, and the profound impact these experiences have on team dynamics. Tune in to discover actionable strategies for integrating volunteerism into your organization and learn how such efforts can not only benefit the community but also strengthen your team's bonds and overall work environment.