DON'T WRITE ANYTHING IN THIS FIELD
Increased Organic Traffic by 141%
in Support of Pediatric Cardiac Care
Executive Summary
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), a freestanding Level I pediatric trauma center, is a global leader in children’s heart disease treatment. It is one of the busiest pediatric cardiac programs in the U.S., receiving referrals from around the world.
However, CHLA’s website did not accurately reflect the level of clinical excellence offered by The Heart Institute. Aha Media Group transformed the web experience, improving brand messaging and usability of content for families, providers and donors.
We worked closely with CHLA cardiac and cardiothoracic specialists to build from 10 pages of existing content. The result was 50 pages of robust, engaging and easy-to-understand content written by our healthcare marketing experts. Organic traffic increased by 141% in the first 6 months and continues to grow today.
Stats
With immediate increases and sustained growth over time, CHLA saw impressive results including:
%
Increase in organic traffic (first 6 months)
%
Increase in overall Cardiology traffic (first 6 months)
%
Increase in page views (2021 to 2023)
The Challenge
The Heart Institute has exceptional rankings and stands apart from the competition in many ways, but the website did not highlight those achievements. Nor did it highlight that CHLA
offers a child-friendly, family-centered experience with comprehensive resources and support.
When weighed against best-in-class competitors’ websites, The Heart Institute’s content came up short. We saw opportunities for more and better-organized information on pediatric heart conditions and related programs and services and a chance to highlight care teams, awards, outcomes and CHLA’s history of “firsts.”
Aha Media’s Approach
Content Assessment
We assessed The Heart Institute pages and found very few condition-specific pages, which led to poor SEO rankings. The pages also lacked clear “calls to action” for families to take the next step in getting care. We identified strategic ways to improve content — with appropriate branding, an empathetic tone and a greater depth of relevant information.
Discovery
Aha Media group conducted more than 20 interviews with Heart Institute directors, surgeons and other specialists, and administrative and business development leaders. We also reviewed CHLA’s Google Analytics, URL accuracy, bounce rates and other key metrics with the marketing team.
Quality Content
Our content experts took the Discovery findings and wrote dozens of new pages about The Heart Institute. We delivered prompt, targeted content and created a user experience that enhanced every visitor’s journey. Information is now clear and accurate and supports the patient, family and provider needs.
The Results
Six months after launching the new The Heart Institute pages, CHLA saw significant results:
- 141% increase in organic traffic to The Heart Institute
- 114% increase in organic traffic to pediatric Cardiology pages
Metrics continue to show success over time, with a steady 57% increase in traffic to The Heart Institute pages over 2 years.
Lessons Learned
Trust the experts
Aha Media handled the coordination, scheduling and content approval with stakeholders. That included scheduling 20+ SME interviews, collaborating with the marketing team and providing vetted content for a turnkey approach.
Achieve clinician buy-in
Our team gained director-level support at the beginning of the project. We also stayed in contact with the specialists we interviewed during the content-gathering phase, setting expectations and keeping them engaged in the curation and approval process. Stakeholder buy-in is critical for best results.
Improve the user experience
We partnered with CHLA to improve page navigation for better UX. Navigation is now more intuitive, with the flexibility to support dozens of interrelated pages. We are using this same structure in rewriting and transforming CHLA’s Orthopedic and Neurology content for similar quality results.
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