Content and SEO

Optimizing pages for organic search visibility

One of the best ways to give visibility to uhc.com is to build in elements that support SEO best practices. SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” which means constructing a web page in a way that will help drive qualified traffic to the website through organic search results. These are found in listings below the advertising spaces. Through work, sites can also appear in the People Also Ask (PAA), Images, Local and Stories Sections.

SEO best practices

Because Google's algorithms are constantly changing and updating, it's impossible to pinpoint their exact method of matching search results with consumer queries. However, we do know that having certain elements on a web page and following best practices can help us improve and see higher success rates with organic SEO. Influencing factors include internal and external links, keyword features and content on the page. As a best practice for pages, it’s best to be hyper-relevant to a specific topic (usually a product or single object).

Keyword research

Keyword research is an important process that should take place to optimize content. Keyword research provides better understanding of your target market and how they are searching for your content, services, or products. Tools like Moz, BrightEdge and SEMRush can help with this. These tools will provide a keyword volume and difficulty to assist in choosing a keyword set. Once there is a set of target keywords for the page, you can then incorporate these throughout the page copy and the page elements listed below.

Page title

Also known as the title tag, this is the title of the page that displays at the top of the browser as well as in the Google search results. This displays in tab at the top of browser. It must closely match the headline (H1) for accessibility. The length should be no longer than 55 characters. The system automatically adds “| UnitedHealthcare” to the end. It’s best practice to add the section of the site before the bar. Ex. Title | Employer | UnitedHealthcare. This will all count toward the 55 character limit.

Page description

The copy that displays in Google's search results. It is where you describe the content of the page, so a user knows if they’d like to click through. Ideal length is no longer than 156 characters including spaces. Mobile descriptions get truncated at 132 characters, so it's best to write the primary copy for the mobile view. Try to include the primary keyword and a call to action in each description.

H1 Headline

Required for every page, but there should only be one H1. It should use the page's primary keyword and closely resemble the page title (the label in the browser's tab) for accessibility without the descriptors after the |. It's also a best practice for the navigation to resemble the H1 and the page title needs to be the same or almost the same as the H1 for accessibility.

H2 Subheadline

Can be longer than headline and should include keywords. Using question format may help us get “People Also Ask” in Google. Try to incorporate secondary keywords into the question while still staying on topic.

Intro paragraph

Should be at least 2-3 sentences and should contain primary keywords and related variations. Careful not to “stuff keywords” by overusing them. The copy should be conversational and flow naturally.

H3 Section headlines

These are optional but may help break apart sections of content. Also, using questions may help with “People Also Ask” when appropriate.

Interlinking

Interlinking is important to help build SEO authority on our site. It is valuable to cross link within the content to internal pages or external sites. These are text links on keywords to appropriate content. Having references components to other uhc.com pages keep users engaged and helps with SEO. Adding related links to pages is a great way to build more authority by linking internally or externally to other credible websites (e.g. healthcare.gov, cdc.gov).

What are we trying to achieve with SEO?

The goal of SEO is to organically (without paying) appear on the first page of a search engine. This will drive more organic traffic to our website, enhances our online visibility and turning online consumers into customers. The search engine results page contains different types of rich results, and sometimes users may get the information they need without even clicking through to a website. These results are called impressions. Impressions take place when a website appears on a search engine results page, but it doesn't necessarily mean the user clicked through. Users often get impressions from these types of search result features. While it's positive to see impressions increase, our main goal on UHC.com is to grow the click through rate (CTR).