First impressions don’t take long to make, and they can be critical. That’s why Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Internet strategy team has been working hard to create accurate and rich online profiles of our physicians. They’re also ensuring these hopkinsmedicine.org profiles appear in the top results of online searches.

“Hopkinsmedicine.org is the best source of information on our providers, and we want people to easily find these pages,” says Therese Lockemy, director of Internet marketing and social engagement. “We also want to ensure people are getting accurate information.”

Sometimes, searching online for a Johns Hopkins physician’s name can produce mixed results. For instance, a listing for the doctor might appear first on a physician review website, like Healthgrades or Vitals. This presents challenges: The website could be inaccurate, and because most people click on one of the top three links in search results, people may end up clicking on something other than hopkinsmedicine.org.

To drive hopkinsmedicine.org profile pages to the top of online search results, Lockemy and her colleagues look at many factors search engines consider and make adjustments to improve the Johns Hopkins physician profile rankings.

“Competition for top rankings on the names of health care providers is fierce,” explains Aaron Watkins, senior director of Internet strategy. “We use a suite of search engine optimization tools to gain these coveted positions.”

Watkins and Lockemy track which Johns Hopkins physician profile pages already rank in the top three spots and which require improvements.

“This expands the reach of our website and, most importantly, enables Johns Hopkins Medicine to help thousands of additional people,” says Lockemy.