Private healthcare in the UK has a search problem most other sectors don’t: the marketing you can do is constrained by the Advertising Standards Authority’s CAP Code on what you can claim about treatments and outcomes. Most clinics either overstep — and quietly accumulate complaints — or underclaim so heavily that their content competes for nothing.
There’s a middle path. It’s narrower than most clinics realise, but it does exist.
What you can’t do
Make outcome claims you can’t substantiate. Imply a treatment is suitable for a condition the evidence doesn’t support. Use before-and-after imagery in cosmetic procedures without strict compliance. Suggest a treatment is endorsed by a regulatory body. Compete on “best” claims for things you can’t prove.
What you can do, and what actually works
Build content around the patient journey, not the treatment list. Most clinic websites are organised “treatments we offer”. The ranking content is organised around “what’s it like, what to expect, how to decide”. The first sells; the second gets found and builds trust.
Put your named clinicians on the content. CAP Code aside, this is the single biggest E-E-A-T factor for medical content. Posts authored or reviewed by a named consultant with verifiable credentials rank dramatically better than generic clinic-bylined content. The work is updating the entity layer so Google and AI systems recognise your clinicians.
Dominate the local pack properly. For private clinics, the local pack is where most considered-purchase research starts. Properly configured Google Business Profile, populated service list, monthly Posts, actively managed reviews, accurate practice hours. This is unglamorous and high-ROI.
Get the AI search visibility work done early. Buyers are already asking ChatGPT “best [specialism] clinic in [city]”. The clinics cited get shortlisted. The clinics not cited don’t. AI search work for clinics is tactically simple and competitively underdeveloped.
What I see most
Clinic websites with the treatments arranged by department, no named clinicians on content, generic FAQs that don’t address real patient questions, a Google Business Profile that hasn’t been touched since the practice manager set it up. The fix isn’t complicated, but it sits inside CAP-aware processes that most agencies aren’t set up to honour.
If your clinic is in this position, the intro call is here. Or look at how I work with healthcare providers.
