Dr Marketing Tips Podcast

Your next patient has likely decided on your practice before they ever pick up the phone.

In this special episode of the DrMarketingTips Show, Corey shares a presentation originally delivered to approximately 150 practice administrators at the Healthcare Leaders Association conference in Minnesota about what’s changing in healthcare marketing and what leaders need to be paying attention to now.

From how patients discover and evaluate practices to AI, online reputation, digital access, privacy, and website risk, Corey walks through the areas that can have the biggest impact on attracting patients while protecting your organization.

Tune in to Discover:

• Why the patient journey increasingly starts online, and how your Google Business Profile, website, reviews, and booking experience influence whether someone chooses your practice
• How reducing friction in online scheduling and patient access can improve conversions without increasing your advertising budget
• Why reviews are more than a marketing metric and how they can reveal opportunities to improve the patient experience
• How AI is changing search behavior, what AI visibility means for healthcare practices, and why website traffic alone may no longer tell the full story
• The privacy, tracking, consent, accessibility, and AI-related risks practice leaders should be discussing with their marketing, website, and IT partners

Healthcare leaders don't need to become marketers, SEO experts, or AI specialists. But they do need to know whether their teams and partners are focused on the right things. Start with the fundamentals, measure what actually drives appointments, understand where your risks are, and make sure someone inside the organization owns the process.

Posting more isn't always the answer to better social media results.

In this episode of the DrMarketingTips Show, Jennifer and Corey share a healthcare social media case study that generated a 78% increase in impressions and a 42% increase in interactions, all organically and while actually publishing fewer posts.

They break down what changed, why authentic practice content outperformed a higher-volume approach, and how medical practices can create a more manageable social strategy by giving social media a specific “job.”

Tune in to Discover:

• How one healthcare practice generated more than 517,000 organic impressions and 5,000 interactions while posting less
• Why giving social media a specific job, such as patient education, recruiting, community engagement, or storytelling, can make content easier to plan
• The types of authentic content that consistently perform well, including provider photos, patient stories, behind-the-scenes moments, and community involvement
• How to involve physicians and staff without turning social media into another full-time job for one person
• A simple quarterly approach for testing content, measuring what resonates, and using those results to build your future social media strategy

Social media doesn't have to be a volume contest. 

Evergreen content can keep the lights on, but real people, useful expertise, and genuine community moments are what make a practice memorable. Start small, measure what works, and build from there.

Search is changing fast, but the fundamentals of good SEO haven't disappeared.

In this episode of the DrMarketingTips Show, Jennifer and Corey break down a new survey of 131 SEO professionals examining more than 100 potential Google ranking factors, and what the findings mean for healthcare practices trying to improve their visibility.

Tune in to Discover:

• Why matching your content to real patient search intent ranked as one of the most important factors for SEO
• Why quality backlinks still matter (and why a few credible links can be more valuable than hundreds of questionable ones)
• What “quality content” actually means and how physician expertise, patient stories, original research, and first-party data can help you stand out
• How reviews, brand reputation, user experience, and making it easy to take the next step can reinforce your search visibility
• Five practical SEO priorities healthcare practices should focus on as they plan for 2027

SEO may now mean more than traditional “search engine optimization.” Patients are searching across Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, YouTube, social media, and other platforms. The opportunity is to create useful, credible content wherever they look, while making sure your technical foundation, expertise, and patient experience give them a reason to trust you.

Google Search is changing again, and this time, your existing search ads may be coming along for the ride.

In this episode of the DrMarketingTips Show, Jennifer and Corey break down Google's latest test bringing traditional text-based search ads into AI Mode and what it could mean for healthcare practices already investing in paid search.

From maintaining greater control over keywords and budgets to reaching patients as search becomes increasingly conversational, they discuss what practices should pay attention to now (and why this isn't a reason to rebuild your Google Ads strategy overnight).

Tune in to Discover:

• What Google is testing with traditional search ads inside AI Mode and how it differs from Performance Max and AI Max
• Why conversational patient searches may create new opportunities to reach people with strong intent to book an appointment
• How exact- and phrase-match campaigns could give practices more control over keywords and budgets as paid search evolves
• Why healthcare advertising requirements, geographic targeting, tracking, and compliance still matter regardless of where your ads appear
• What practices should review now,  including keywords, ad copy, landing pages, and conversion tracking, without overhauling their campaigns

Paid search and AI-powered search are becoming increasingly connected, but the fundamentals haven't changed. Build a strong foundation, continue testing what works, and be prepared to adapt as Google gives advertisers new ways to reach patients.

AI can help you create content faster. But can that content actually rank and stay on Google?

In this episode of the DrMarketingTips Show, Jennifer and Corey break down two recent studies examining how AI-generated content performs in search, including what happened to thousands of completely AI-written articles over time and what tens of thousands of pages already ranking on Google reveal about the value of human input.

They also discuss what these findings mean for healthcare practices, where accuracy, expertise, credibility, and physician experience matter even more.

Tune in to Discover:

• What happened when 2,000 completely AI-generated articles were published with no human editing or ongoing optimization
• What more than 42,000 ranking pages reveal about the performance of human-written, AI-generated, and blended content
• Why publishing large volumes of generic AI content may create short-term visibility without sustainable results
• Where AI can save time in your content workflow and where physician expertise and human judgment still matter
• How real patient questions, physician review, videos, practice-specific examples, and ongoing optimization can help your content stand out

Your medical practice website can have great content, strong SEO, and compelling provider bios, but if patients don't know what to do next, you're leaving potential appointments on the table.

In this episode of the DrMarketingTips Show, Jennifer and Corey break down one of the smallest elements of your website that can have an outsized impact on patient conversions: the call to action (CTA).

From replacing vague buttons like "Learn More" and "Submit" to reducing friction and creating authentic urgency, they share five practical rules for writing patient-first CTAs that make the next step clear. Plus, learn how better calls to action can improve the user experience and support your broader SEO and digital marketing strategy.

Tune in to Discover:

• How to shift from transactional CTAs to language focused on what the patient actually wants
• Why your CTA should clearly communicate exactly what happens after someone clicks
• When phrases like "Learn More," "Sign Up," and "View More" may be hurting conversions
• How to write concise, specific CTAs that work on mobile devices
• Ways to create authentic urgency without resorting to manufactured pressure or marketing gimmicks

Take a few minutes to audit the buttons on your website. Small changes to your CTAs can reduce friction, encourage patients to take the next step, and help turn more website visitors into appointments.

If you've noticed a drop in your medical practice's website traffic over the last few months, you aren't alone—and your marketing isn't failing. The search landscape has fundamentally shifted. Brand new 2026 data reveals a staggering statistic: 68% of all Google searches in the US now end without a single click to an external website.

In this episode, Jennifer and Corey break down why Google’s transition into an "answer engine" is turning traditional click-through rates into vanity metrics. They share three concrete strategies for pivoting your digital footprint, explaining why your Google Business Profile is officially the new "front door" of your medical practice, and how to command authority right on the search results page.

Tune in to discover:

• The Death of Vanity Metrics: Why raw organic website traffic is plummeting across the board and why practices must shift focus to high-intent conversion data and actual patient volume.
• The "Zero-Click" Safe Zones: Why branded searches, local business queries (Google Map Pack), and high-intent transactional searches (e.g., "book online for vein consultation") remain insulated from the zero-click drop.
• Optimizing for On-Platform Conversions: How to make your Google Business Profile practically flawless by adding pricing, complete service lists, direct booking links, and posting updates twice a week.
• Diversifying Outside the Google Ecosystem: Why long-term growth requires building brand authority across social video (Instagram, YouTube Shorts), direct patient email newsletters, and local community channels.

The traditional pipeline of healthcare SEO has officially fractured. For years, medical practices could rely on a predictable formula: publish high-quality, educational content about symptoms and treatments, rank on page one, and watch that organic traffic convert into new patients. But in 2026, Google’s AI Overviews are systematically answering those questions directly on the search results page—resulting in a massive drop in traditional website clicks.

In part one of this two-part series, Jennifer and Corey break down the stark reality of the "zero-click search," backed by recent data showing that nearly 69% of Google searches now end without a user ever leaving the platform. They discuss why top-of-funnel informational traffic is disappearing, how this reshapes the patient acquisition funnel, and why your Google Business Profile is about to become your most critical digital asset.

Tune in to discover:

• Why nearly 100% of healthcare treatment and procedure searches now trigger an AI Overview, causing organic click-through rates on those topics to plunge by 61%.
• Why a drop in raw traffic numbers isn't a failure—the casual "window shoppers" are being filtered out, leaving further-down-the-funnel, highly motivated patients who are actually ready to book.
• A look at AI "agents" moving beyond simple chat functions to actively cross-reference calendars, check insurance networks, and book appointments for patients.

The search contract between Google and your medical practice has officially changed. For years, the deal was simple: create great content, and Google would send patients to your website. In 2026, Google is increasingly using that content to answer patient questions directly inside its AI Overviews—leaving practices with zero clicks to show for it.

To combat this "zero-click" reality and protect its ad revenue, Google has quietly launched a live test inserting healthcare ads directly into the conversational flow of AI Overviews and Gemini. In this episode, Jennifer and Corey discuss what this massive structural shift means for your paid marketing budgets, why independent practices have an unfair advantage in this new AI real estate, and the three steps you must take to adapt early.

Key Takeaways:

• The Conversational Ad Flow: How Google is monetizing AI search by placing sponsored recommendations right into the AI's native text answers.
• The Independent Practice Advantage: Why strict AI text limitations currently ban heavy legal and pharmaceutical disclaimers, giving agile, independent groups a default entry point over massive hospital networks.
• The Automated Trigger: Why you can't manually opt into this test—Google is automatically pulling eligible ads from existing Performance Max (PMAX) and broad match campaigns.
• The Premium Funnel Shift: Why traffic volume may decrease while your cost-per-click (CPC) shifts, requiring a pivot from tracking vanity metrics to measuring actual patient conversions.

If your medical practice noticed a sudden drop or a sudden surge in website traffic, phone calls, or patient inquiries over the last two weeks, you aren't imagining things. On June 2, 2026, Google officially wrapped up its massive May 2026 core algorithm update.

In this episode, Jennifer and Corey discuss the rapidly changing landscape of organic SEO. Spurred by the pressure to feed its booming AI ecosystem, Google rolled out this latest core update just 43 days after its previous one—completely rewriting the rules on how healthcare sites rank. We break down what this update means for your online visibility and share the exact framework you need to diagnose your site's performance without hitting the panic button.

Key Takeaways:

• Accelerated AI Cadence: Google is rapidly rebuilding its core ranking engine to feed its AI features (which now boast over a billion monthly users), narrowing the gap between major algorithm shifts to mere weeks.
• The Slop Penalty: This update aggressively targets thin, overly optimized, "SEO-first" content—specifically 500-word, low-tier AI articles generated without certified healthcare or provider oversight.
• The Golden Rule (Don't Panic): Fluctuations and bugs in reporting data are typical right after a rollout. Avoid making structural changes, rewriting pages, or deleting content while the algorithm is still settling.
• Double Down on E-A-T: Long-term organic success requires robust, up-to-date provider bio pages, detailed real-world patient Q&As, and clear medical bylines signed off by actual providers or clinical staff.