Imagine if your front desk made over 4,700 tweaks in a single year to improve how patients check in. Wild, right?
Well, that’s exactly what Google’s doing to its search algorithm. Over 700,000 tests a year. 4,700+ updates rolled out. That’s nearly 13 updates per day.
John Mueller from Google spilled the beans at Search Central Live NYC, and the takeaway was loud and clear: Google’s not changing things to mess with your rankings. They’re doing it to stay ahead of what users want—before users even know they want it.
So let’s talk about what that means for you.
This Isn’t a “Set It and Forget It” Game
If your website hasn’t changed in six months, it’s already behind. If your SEO strategy hasn’t been reviewed in a year, it’s probably running on fumes.
Google’s updating daily. Your patients’ expectations are changing just as fast. Your site? It should evolve with them.
But here’s the truth: Most physician websites are stuck in 2015. Slow load times. Clunky design. Outdated info. Not mobile-friendly. Not accessibility-friendly. No clear call to action. No storytelling. No personality.
And then the doc wonders why new patient appointments are flatlining.
Google’s Secret Weapon? Third-Party Raters
Here’s something most folks miss—Google doesn’t make updates in a vacuum. They have real people—quality raters—give feedback before an update goes live.
Think of them like mystery patients. They visit, evaluate, and say, “Yeah, this feels good,” or “Nope, this is garbage.”
When’s the last time someone with fresh eyes looked at your site? Not your cousin who built it in college. Not your staff who already know what to click. A real person who doesn’t know you. That’s what you need, and is exactly why we bring in fresh eyes for all of our clients.
You Can’t Wait for Google to Tell You What to Fix
This is one of the biggest traps I see: most physicians don’t react at all to Google algorithm changes. They just do nothing. No updates. No audits. No testing. That’s not just reactive SEO—it’s nonexistent SEO.
The good news is that you can be proactive:
- Test your mobile experience—patients are browsing from their phones, not desktops.
- Make sure your site loads in under 3 seconds—yes, seconds.
- Write content patients are actually searching for (think symptoms, FAQs, procedures, local info).
- Check accessibility—can a color-blind or visually impaired user navigate your site?
- Audit your site on a quarterly basis.
Be More Like Google—Test, Learn, Adjust
Let’s break it down like a checklist:
Test – Change scheduling layouts and CTA’s (call to action). Try new before-and-after photo layouts. Play with patient testimonial placements.
Observe – Are patients engaging more? Are bounce rates dropping?
Adjust – Keep what works. Fix what doesn’t.
Rinse. Repeat.
This isn’t theory—we do this for all of our physician clients. Monthly testing. Real-time tracking. Constant improvement. Because that’s how you stay ahead of Google and your competitors.
Don’t Get Outranked by the Practice Down the Street
Google doesn’t dominate because it waits for competitors. Gmail crushed Hotmail by offering what users didn’t even know they needed: more space, better UX.
That same mindset can make or break your practice online. If you’re not testing and updating now, someone else is—and they’re stealing your future patients one search at a time.
Final Thought
You don’t need 700,000 tests a year. But if your site isn’t changing at least once a month, you’re not playing the same game Google is.
And if Google’s working that hard for your patients, shouldn’t you?