Written by Cong Cao, MPharm, UK Registered Pharmacist (GPhC) · 5 minute read
Search for almost any medicines online and you will find dozens of pharmacy product pages saying the same thing, often copied straight from the patient leaflet. Google has little reason to rank one above another. The pages that reach the top are often the ones which actually answer the questions patients are asking, in plain English, while staying accurate to the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC).
As a pharmacist who writes product pages for online pharmacies, here is the approach I use.
1. Start with the patient's questions, not the product name
Before writing a word, list what people search about the medicine. Google's autocomplete and the "People also ask" box are free ways to find these. For cetirizine, common searches include "is cetirizine drowsy" and "can I take cetirizine every day".
Each of these deserves its own short section with a clear heading. One well-structured page can then rank for many searches rather than the product name alone and patients find their answer without leaving your site.
There are two other good sources of questions that most pharmacies overlook. The first is your own customer service inbox and the questions your pharmacists are asked every day. If patients keep emailing to ask whether a tablet can be taken with alcohol, that question belongs on the page. The second is Google Search Console, which shows the exact searches that already bring people to your site. A search that brings in visitors but has no clear answer on the page is an easy win.
Once you have your list, group similar questions together. "Can I drink alcohol with cetirizine?" and "Does cetirizine interact with other medicines?" can share one section on what to avoid, which keeps the page tidy rather than turning it into a long list of headings.
2. Build the page around the SmPC, in plain English
The SmPC gives you a structure that clinicians already trust as it is an official, non-promotional and detailed document about the medicine. Best of all, it's written by the pharmaceutical company themselves and approved by the regulator. The layout of any SmPC is the same e.g. section numbers and what each topic corresponds to. So, once you know how to navigate one SmPC, you know how to navigate all the SmPCs.
Your job is to translate it into language patients understand. A strong product page usually covers:
What the medicine is used for
How it works, in a few simple sentences
How to take it, including the maximum dose
Side effects, grouped by how often they happen
Who should not take it and when to speak to a pharmacist or GP
Here is where each of those sections comes from in the SmPC:
| Product page section | SmPC section |
|---|---|
| What it is used for | 4.1 Therapeutic indications |
| How to take it | 4.2 Posology and method of administration |
| Who should not take it | 4.3 Contraindications and 4.4 Special warnings |
| Taking it with other medicines | 4.5 Interactions |
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding | 4.6 Fertility, pregnancy and lactation |
| Driving and alertness | 4.7 Effects on ability to drive and use machines |
| Side effects | 4.8 Undesirable effects |
| How it works | 5.1 Pharmacodynamic properties |
Grouping side effects by frequency, as the SmPC does, is both more accurate and more reassuring than one long list. Most patients are relieved to see that the side effects they worry about are rare. Also, describing side effects as '1 in 100 people' gives a much clearer picture for the patient rather than describing it as 'uncommon'. The SmPC uses set definitions, so "common" means up to 1 in 10 people, "uncommon" up to 1 in 100 and "rare" up to 1 in 1,000.
3. Write a title and description people want to click
The meta title and meta description are what appear in Google results, so they decide whether someone clicks your page or a competitor's. Keep the title under about 60 characters and lead with the product name and strength, for example "Cetirizine 10mg Tablets for Hay Fever Relief".
Use the description to answer the main question in one line and give a reason to click, such as next-day delivery or free pharmacist advice. Aim for roughly 150 to 160 characters, as Google usually cuts off anything longer. Avoid stuffing it with keywords. Google rewrites descriptions that read like a list of search terms.
| Weaker | Stronger |
|---|---|
| Cetirizine | Cetirizine tablets | Buy cetirizine | Hay fever | Cetirizine 10mg Tablets for Hay Fever Relief |
| Buy cetirizine tablets online. Cetirizine hay fever tablets. Cheap cetirizine UK. | Relieve sneezing and itchy eyes with once-daily cetirizine. Free pharmacist advice and next-day delivery. |
4. Show who wrote and checked the content
Google holds health content to a higher standard because it can affect people's wellbeing. Its guidance on helpful, reliable content asks whether a page shows real experience and expertise. For a pharmacy, the simplest way to show this is a short line naming the pharmacist who wrote or reviewed the page, with their GPhC registration.
Referencing reliable sources helps too. NICE guidance and the SmPC itself carry far more weight with patients and with Google than another retailer's website. At the end of the day, Google needs to be sure that accurate advice is coming from a healthcare professional rather than anyone on the internet.
It also helps to show when the page was last reviewed. A "Reviewed by" line with a date tells patients and Google that someone is keeping the information current, which matters for medicines whose licensing or safety advice can change.
5. Stay within UK advertising rules
Prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to the public in the UK. A product page for a prescription medicine should inform rather than promote. That means no claims such as "the best weight loss treatment" and no comparisons that the evidence does not support.
The MHRA's Blue Guide sets out what is and is not allowed, and the GPhC has its own guidance for pharmacies selling online. Both are worth checking before publishing anything about a prescription medicine. I cover this in more detail in my guide to UK advertising rules for pharmacies.
Good SEO and compliance pull in the same direction. Clear, factual pages that answer real questions are exactly what Google wants to rank and what the regulators want patients to read.
6. Link your product pages and guides together
A blog post on hay fever can link to your antihistamine product pages, and each product page can link back to the guide. These internal links help patients find the right product and help Google understand which pages on your site matter most.
Use descriptive link text rather than "click here". A link that reads "compare cetirizine and loratadine" tells both the reader and Google exactly what they will find on the next page.
7. Keep pages up to date
SmPCs are updated when new safety information or licence changes come through, and the MHRA publishes regular drug safety updates. A product page written two years ago may now be missing an important warning. I recommend checking your top-selling product pages against the current SmPC at least once a year and whenever a safety update is published.
Updating a page is also good for SEO. Refreshing content with accurate, current information gives Google a reason to look at the page again, and patients notice when information is clearly maintained.
A quick checklist before you publish
Each section answers a real search query
Content follows the SmPC, written for patients
Side effects shown with clear frequencies, such as "up to 1 in 100 people"
Meta title under 60 characters, with product name and strength
Pharmacist author or reviewer named, with GPhC registration and a review date
No promotional claims for prescription-only medicines
Links to related guides and product pages, with descriptive link text
Need product pages written this way?
I write SEO-ready product pages and health articles for UK online pharmacies, structured around the SmPC and checked against UK advertising rules. You can see examples in my portfolio or request a quote on my services page.
References
Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content
MHRA: The Blue Guide, advertising and promotion of medicines in the UK. gov.uk/government/publications/blue-guide-advertising-and-promoting-medicines
GPhC: Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet (February 2025). assets.pharmacyregulation.org/files/2025-02/gphc-guidance-registered-pharmacies-providing-pharmacy-services-distance-february-2025.pdf
MHRA: Drug Safety Update. gov.uk/drug-safety-update
The Human Medicines Regulations 2012, Part 14 (Advertising). legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1916/contents