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Healthcare Marketing Compliance by Country
Healthcare marketing compliance decides what your website can say before SEO decides how it ranks. These guides explain the rules I work to in Australia, the UK, Canada and the US, with links to each regulator, so your content can rank without breaking them.
Guides by country
AustraliaWhat AHPRA actually lets you sayTestimonials, titles, before-and-after images and the National Law.United KingdomUK healthcare advertising rulesCAP Code, MHRA, GMC, CQC and the DMCC Act on reviews.CanadaHealthcare advertising rules in CanadaCPSO, CPSBC, CPSA, Health Canada and the Competition Act.United StatesHIPAA compliant Google AnalyticsHHS tracking guidance, the 2024 ruling, the FTC and state law.United States · CanadaLegitScript and rehab SEOCertification, patient brokering law and lead-gen spam.EverywhereWhy healthcare SEO is differentYMYL, E-E-A-T and the tactics that backfire.
What changes from country to country
| Topic | Australia | UK | Canada | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testimonials | Restricted under AHPRA guidelines | Allowed if genuine and not misleading; no fake or cherry-picked reviews | Prohibited in physician advertising in Ontario and Alberta | FTC rules on fake and undisclosed reviews |
| Prescription medicines | Cannot be advertised to the public | Cannot be advertised to the public (CAP 12.12) | Name, price and quantity only | Regulated by the FDA; state rules vary |
| Titles such as “specialist” | Protected titles | Match the GMC register | College-recognised only | State board rules |
| Tracking and privacy | Privacy Act | UK GDPR | PIPEDA and provincial law | HIPAA, FTC rule, state laws |
The table is a summary; each guide above explains the rule, links the regulator and shows how I apply it to a site. None of it is legal advice.
How compliance shows up in SEO work
Compliance is not a final review step. It decides which keywords a page can target, how a practitioner is described, whether reviews can be shown and which tags can run on a booking page. That is why I write to the rule first and optimise inside it, as explained in why healthcare SEO is different and applied in my medical content SEO service.