Train the Trainer Part 4: Sell Your Course

In this lesson, we’ll give you an introduction to SEO and how you can use it to assist in making sure clinicians who are searching for courses like yours can easily find them.

We’ll break things down, step by step, so you can start optimizing your content and reaching the right audience without the stress.

 

What is SEO?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is an umbrella term referring to numerous methods used to optimize the quality and quantity of organic traffic to a website or webpage. ‘Organic’ just means unpaid (not sponsored). We will go into detail about many of these methods below, but here is an overview:

The goal is to get your web page ranking on the first, or second, Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The better the SEO, the closer to the top your link will appear in the results, with the exclusion of paid ads.

SEO is an ever-changing aspect of doing anything online and affects how and when you show up when anyone searches for you. 

Google updates its search algorithm almost every year, but don’t worry— our team stays up to date with the latest SEO best practices to ensure your courses always remain easy to find.

We take care of the SEO for your course(s) on our site, so any SEO efforts you put forth will be icing on the cake! More on what you can do at the end of this lesson.

 

Course SEO on Embodia

On the backend of your course, there is a section called ‘SEO’. You can find it by going to Edit settings at the bottom of your course page and then to the tab ‘SEO’ 

This is just an FYI though as Embodia completes the SEO section of your course for you. You will be able to view the information in this section but only Embodia team members have editorial access. If you have any questions about your course SEO, don’t hesitate to contact us at support@embodiaapp.com. 

 

Building up your course’s SEO

Building an effective SEO strategy for your course (or webinar) involves several key actions to ensure that you’re visible and easily discoverable by search engines. 

Here’s what the Embodia team does to build SEO for your course/webinar:

1. Research and Use of Relevant Keywords: We identify the terms and phrases that potential clinicians are likely to search for. This could include specific conditions, procedures, or course topics. We use specific SEO tools like Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest to find keywords with high search volume and search intent. 

2. Optimize Course Titles and Descriptions: We may modify your course title to ensure it is clear, concise, and includes relevant keywords. We then review the information written on the course page to ensure it also incorporates those keywords, making sure to focus on what potential learners are searching for.

3. Add Descriptive Alt Text and File Names for Images: If your course page includes any images or videos, we make sure each one has a descriptive alt text and file name. This helps search engines understand the content of the image and improves accessibility.

4. Optimize Page Structure: We ensure that your course pages are well-organized, with clear headings and a logical page structure so search engines’ crawlers have an easier time reading and indexing what’s on the page.

5. Ensure Embodia’s Website is Mobile-Friendly: User experience is a key metric involved in a site’s SEO ranking. Additionally, Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning the mobile version of our website is considered the primary version for ranking purposes. Our tech team ensures your course page is responsive and user-friendly across all devices.

6. Improve Page Load Speed: A slow website can hurt your SEO ranking. Our tech team does regular maintenance to ensure your course page loads as quickly as possible.

7. Monitor and Adjust with Analytics: We use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track how your course is performing in search rankings and how users are interacting with your content. Where possible, we use this information to make informed decisions for SEO.

 

Here are some practical steps you can take to contribute to building your SEO strategy:

1. Create High-Quality Content: Content is king in SEO! Write blog posts, create videos, or design infographics that are relevant to your field and audience. This could include topics like clinical techniques, case studies, or tips for healthcare professionals. Ensure your content provides real value to users and answers their questions. Google rewards high-quality, authoritative content. Post these on any of the following (if you have or are willing to create them): your website, your YouTube channel, and your social media channels.

2. Leverage Backlinks: Having reputable websites link back to your course can significantly boost its SEO. Search engines essentially see this as another site endorsing your webpage, which can boost your SEO ‘reputation’. Consider collaborating with others in your field or contributing guest blogs to authoritative sites to build backlinks to your content. Just make sure whichever site your link is placed on makes sense and is relevant. Google also measures SEO off of backlink relevance - the higher the relevance, the better it will be for SEO (i.e. make sure the linking website is within or related to your industry, at minimum).

3. Encourage Reviews and Testimonials: Encourage students or clinicians to leave reviews. Not only does this build trust and social proof, but reviews also contribute to fresh, keyword-rich content that search engines love.

Tip: Link to your course everywhere. You can drive more traffic and awareness by adding your course link to your email signature, blog posts, and social media bios. When creating your link, in order to reduce something called ‘bounce rate’ (which hurts your SEO by telling search engines your page isn’t relevant), make sure the text you use for your link (aka. the ‘anchor text’), or button text, is relevant and clearly lets the visitor know where they’ll end up when they click. If the destination is exactly what they expect, they’ll be unlikely to ‘bounce’ away from the page quickly.

 

Feeling lost on any of these? Let us know at support@embodiaapp.com if you'd like help!