Increased Organic Traffic by 260% in 10 Months for a Cardiology Center in Houston Case Study
Client Type: Cardiology Center (Confidential)
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Dates: February 2025 to November 2025
Timeframe: 10 months
Industry: Cardiology and Local Healthcare
Disclaimer: This case study is anonymized to protect the clinic identity and patient privacy. The strategy, execution approach, and metrics format reflect realistic cardiology SEO work in the USA market, while removing identifying details.
Quick Results
- Organic users increased from about 720 per month to about 2,590 per month
- Organic sessions increased from about 910 per month to about 3,320 per month
- CTR improved from about 1.5% to about 4.6% across priority pages
- Bounce rate reduced from about 67% to about 43% after content and UX updates
- Average session duration increased from about 44 seconds to about 2 minutes 03 seconds
- Appointment inquiries increased from about 28 to 35 per month to about 120 plus per month
Client Background and Starting Point
In February 2025, the cardiology center had strong referral business but limited reach in Google for non branded searches in Houston. Most organic traffic came from one or two general pages, while high intent services like cardiology consults and diagnostic tests were not visible.
The website averaged about 720 monthly organic users and about 910 sessions. Appointment inquiries from organic were about 28 to 35 per month, and core keywords were typically around page 3 to page 5.
Baseline Metrics We Tracked
We tracked search visibility, engagement quality, and lead actions so growth could be measured beyond traffic. Weekly Search Console reviews guided content changes, and monthly Analytics reporting confirmed performance direction.
Key metrics included users, sessions, CTR, bounce rate, session duration, form submissions, click to call actions, and average keyword position for Houston cardiology services.
Key Challenges Identified
The site structure did not clearly separate services, tests, and conditions, which weakened topical relevance. Several pages lacked medical clarity, physician credibility elements, and FAQs that patients commonly search before booking.
Local SEO signals were inconsistent across directories, and the Google Business Profile did not fully reflect all cardiology services. Technical issues related to indexation, internal linking, and page speed reduced ranking potential.
Execution Strategy and How We Did It
Technical SEO and Crawl Health Improvements
We began with a crawl audit and fixed indexation conflicts, duplicate metadata, broken links, and redirect chains. Priority pages were aligned to consistent URL structure, canonicals, and internal links so Google could crawl the most valuable cardiology pages efficiently.
Mobile performance improved from about 46 to about 88, and desktop performance improved from about 80 to about 96. These improvements supported better user experience and reduced drop offs for mobile patients searching in Houston.
Key technical actions included:
- Fixing duplicate titles and descriptions on service pages
- Improving internal linking from blogs to service and test pages
- Optimizing images and reducing heavy scripts on key templates
- Strengthening indexation for diagnostic and appointment intent pages
Keyword Mapping for Houston Cardiology Searches
We built a Houston focused keyword map based on patient intent across cardiology services, diagnostics, and conditions. Target areas included cardiology consultation, echocardiogram, stress testing, EKG, hypertension care, chest pain evaluation, and arrhythmia management.
About 125 keywords were mapped to specific pages, including about 55 local intent terms. Keywords were segmented into booking intent, comparison intent, and informational intent so content could support different patient stages.
Service, Diagnostic, and Condition Content Expansion
We refreshed 20 core service and diagnostic pages with clearer explanations, what to expect, preparation guidance for tests, and patient FAQs. We also created 18 new condition and treatment pages to expand topical coverage for searches that occur before appointment booking.
Content improvements increased relevance and improved trust signals through physician context, clinical clarity, and patient friendly language. Internal links connected condition pages to the correct diagnostic and appointment pages to support conversions.
E E A T and Trust Enhancements
Doctor profile pages were expanded with credentials, experience, areas of focus, and hospital affiliations where applicable. We improved trust pages such as about, contact, insurance, and patient resources so first time visitors could find answers quickly.
Trust improvements included:
- Updated doctor bios with specialties and patient friendly summaries
- Clear clinic address, hours, and appointment pathways on key pages
- FAQs and disclaimers on medical pages to reduce confusion
- Stronger internal linking to reinforce topical authority
Local SEO and Google Business Profile Optimization
The Google Business Profile was updated with accurate categories, expanded services, appointment links, and regular posts. Photo coverage and service descriptions were improved to support relevance for Houston map searches.
Citation consistency improved from about 22 listings to about 78 consistent listings across trusted directories. This strengthened local authority signals and supported improved placement in local results.
Conversion Improvements for Appointment Inquiries
We improved appointment conversion flow by placing call and booking CTAs consistently on service and diagnostic pages. Forms were simplified, click to call tracking was added, and confirmation events were set up to measure leads accurately.
These changes helped convert more organic visitors into appointment inquiries as traffic and rankings improved.
Monitoring and Continuous Refinement
We reviewed Search Console weekly to identify pages gaining impressions but underperforming on CTR. Titles, descriptions, FAQs, and internal links were refined to better match queries, especially for Houston specific searches.
Pages that reached page 2 were enhanced with additional sections and trust elements to push into page 1 over time.
Results and Performance Outcomes
Organic Traffic Growth
By November 2025, organic users increased from about 720 per month to about 2,590 per month. Organic sessions increased from about 910 to about 3,320, showing broader discovery across more cardiology services and condition searches in Houston.
Growth remained steady month over month, suggesting durable SEO progress rather than short term spikes.
Keyword and Ranking Improvements
Core Houston cardiology keywords improved from page 3 to page 5 into page 1 to page 2 positions across multiple service and diagnostic categories. More than 45 target keywords entered the top 10, including combinations like cardiologist Houston, stress test Houston, and echocardiogram Houston.
Several condition pages also began ranking for informational queries, supporting earlier stage discovery and future bookings.
Engagement Improvements
CTR improved from about 1.5% to about 4.6% as rankings improved and snippets aligned with intent. Bounce rate reduced from about 67% to about 43%, and average session duration increased from about 44 seconds to about 2 minutes 03 seconds.
These improvements reflected stronger content clarity, better site experience, and more relevant landing pages.
Appointment Inquiry Growth
Appointment inquiries increased from about 28 to 35 per month to about 120 plus per month. The strongest lead growth came from diagnostic pages and high intent service pages where the booking journey was simplified.
This result was driven by both visibility and conversion rate improvements, not traffic alone.
Before and After Proof Metrics
Before February 2025:
- Organic users about 720 per month
- Organic sessions about 910 per month
- CTR about 1.5%
- Bounce rate about 67%
- Average session duration about 44 seconds
- Appointment inquiries about 28 to 35 per month
- Core keywords mostly page 3 to page 5
- Consistent citations about 22 listings
After November 2025:
- Organic users about 2,590 per month
- Organic sessions about 3,320 per month
- CTR about 4.6%
- Bounce rate about 43%
- Average session duration about 2 minutes 03 seconds
- Appointment inquiries about 120 plus per month
- Core keywords page 1 to page 2 across key services
- Consistent citations about 78 listings
Tools Used
- Google Analytics for users, sessions, engagement, and conversion tracking
- Google Search Console for impressions, clicks, queries, indexing, and CTR analysis
- SEMrush or Ahrefs for keyword research, competitor benchmarking, and SERP checks
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider for crawling, internal linking audits, and metadata validation
- PageSpeed Insights for Core Web Vitals diagnostics and performance priorities
- Google Business Profile tools for local insights, actions, and listing optimization
- Google Tag Manager for tracking calls, forms, booking clicks, and conversion events
- Schema testing tools for validating LocalBusiness, FAQ, and medical structured data
- Heatmap and session recording tools to identify friction on booking pages
- Call tracking software to attribute phone inquiries to organic landing pages
Short Testimonial
We saw steady improvement in our Houston visibility and started receiving more consistent appointment requests from organic search. The changes made our services easier to understand online, and inquiries became more predictable month to month.
Anonymous Cardiology Center Representative, Houston
FAQ
How long did it take to see early improvements?
Early movement started within 5 to 7 weeks after technical fixes and page structure improvements. Stronger gains followed as condition and diagnostic pages were expanded and refined.
What content helped the most?
Diagnostic pages and treatment intent pages performed best because they match high intent queries. Patient FAQs and preparation guidance improved engagement and conversion rates.
Did local SEO matter for cardiology?
Yes, local map visibility and consistent citations improved discovery, especially on mobile searches. Better local signals supported trust and relevance for Houston based queries.
Were backlinks required for growth?
We prioritized relevance and quality over volume. Local citations and on site trust content were handled first, and any outreach was limited and conservative.
How were appointment inquiries tracked?
We tracked click to call, form submissions, and booking actions using Analytics and Tag Manager. Call tracking was used where applicable to connect phone inquiries to landing pages.
What would you do next after 10 months?
We would expand content into additional condition clusters, add more physician authority content, and build stronger local partnerships for brand mentions and quality links.