Content guidance for SEO

Overview

Content guidelines specific to SEO for Penn Medicine are intended to help achieve the best search engine rankings.  These content-specific SEO standards include:

• Content structure: Optimizing the placement of keyword-rich sections and improving readability of a topic for users and search engines
• Duplicate content: Avoiding internal competition that may impact search ranking
• Use of keywords: Boosting search ranking and relevance of intent with a focus on titles, headings and metadata
• Readability and intent: Balancing SEO goals and user experience

Content structure

Content planning requires a balanced approach to create a sensible on-page journey for readers while also optimizing search engine results. At Penn Medicine, we strive to increase the chances of the web page being found by the intended audience and also organize page copy in a way that makes sense for readers to learn.

The earliest crawled headers and copy of a page will carry the most search weight in Google's determination of rank, because it is the first signal to users and search engines what the page is about. For prioritized Penn Medicine web pages, the most keyword-rich sections should be placed highest on the page and, when possible, "above the fold" which defines the content of the web page that is visible without scrolling.

Learn more about headers in the page-level standards.

Duplicate content

Duplicate content creates competition within a single web property, by forcing multiple pages to compete against each other due to competing topics.

The types of duplicate content to be mindful of include:

• Duplicate intent, meaning a page already exists that targets the topic and keywords of your new page
• Duplicate copy, meaning your new page contains identical headers, copy, or metadata as another existing page

These issues can cause:

• Poor user experience, leading to higher bounce rates and lower engagement and less time spent on page
• Search engine confusion and inefficient crawling, leading to diluted rankings/visibility due to search engines being uncertain which of the competing pages to prioritize in the index
• Risk of de-indexing, if search engines determine that the duplicate content is an attempt to manipulate search results

Creating several webpages and blog posts that target the same keywords will lead to internal competition. Some of this is inevitable; for example, you cannot create content about "breast cancer treatment" without mentioning "breast cancer." This is also a common issue between patient-facing and physician-facing content that target the same line of practice, as well as conflicting specialty and condition pages.

The Penn Medicine website’s information architecture is a helpful reference to identify potential duplicate content. Rather than creating duplicate content, use linking strategies to connect the content and help users navigate to related areas. Avoid using keywords that are primary or secondary keywords for other pages in the title tag, meta description, and headers when possible.

Use of keywords

To achieve the greatest SEO benefit, it is important to consider placement of keywords within important page elements. The most relevant and intent-driven keywords found in your keyword research process should be placed strategically to align with what a user is looking for. Higher monthly search volume (MSV) is also a good indicator of higher interest in that keyword, but should not be prioritized over relevance. As Google and search engines crawl these page elements, they analyze the entire phrase, but the most prominent placement (page title, headers, early/introductory copy) signals the page’s core topic.

For example, a page about “hip pain” might have the following header:

• [h2] What you need to know about hip pain

This header is vague and doesn't tell search engines or users specifically what the content will cover. While it uses the keyword "Hip Pain," it's not specific enough to capture a user's search intent. It could be changed to this header:

• [h2] Common causes and symptoms of hip pain

The new header still relays the point of the content section while fulfilling:

• Clearer intent: This header more closely aligns with a user's likely search intent. When someone searches for "hip pain," they are often looking for the "causes" and "symptoms" to understand their condition. This header immediately signals that the page will answer those questions.
• Specific keywords: It includes specific secondary keywords ("causes" and "symptoms") that are highly relevant to the primary keyword ("Hip Pain"). This makes the page more likely to rank for a wider range of related searches, such as "hip pain causes" or "symptoms of hip pain."
• Improved readability and user experience: The new header is more informative and helps users quickly scan the page to find the exact information they need, reducing the bounce rate and likely improving engagement metrics.

Readability and intent

It is important to balance the application of SEO content guidelines with ensuring the content is readable to your audience. Writing for humans first and machines second is a crucial rule to follow, and a principle that has evolved from the early days of search. Rather than search manipulation using old-school tactics (like keyword density), creators should focus more on creating high-quality content that obliges the sophistication of current algorithms. These systems use machine learning and natural language processing to understand context and intent behind a user’s search, making human-centric content a necessity for high rankings.

Keyword stuffing is a phrase used to describe the act of overloading a webpage with keyword density to manipulate its organic rankings. Instead of helping, keyword stuffing has a negative impact on users because it makes content harder to read, less trustworthy, and less helpful. As covered in the keyword standards, target five or less relevant keywords to represent your page's message and don’t overuse in a way that affects readability.

Writing with the goal of fulfilling a user’s needs, rather than focusing entirely on a search engine’s needs, improves the overall user experience and SEO equity by providing value, building trust, and encouraging users to spend more time on your page.

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