If your clinic is overflowing with referrals, you may wonder why you need a website. But according to a 2018 consumer study conducted by doctor.com, 81% of patients still conduct online research on providers they are referred to. When patients are searching for your clinic online, you want to meet their expectation and provide a great first impression. Furthermore, having a website can improve your online reputation, streamline patient check-ins, open the door to analytical insights, and provide advertising opportunities. Here is what you need to know to get started.
But first, a little context:
In this blog series, we will guide you through social media marketing, website must-haves, and email marketing. Click here to view the full series of articles.
Digital marketing can seem overwhelming starting out, but it's important to keep in mind that digital marketing can be phased into your overall marketing plan. After all, it's a marathon not a sprint. It's also okay to ask for help because digital marketing requires time to set-up and manage. Consider hiring a little help such as a full-time marketing specialist, a part-time social media manager, or outsource to a marketing agency.
Okay, let's dive in.
Website
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, crafting a professional website can be accomplished with a website builder, which is a tool with customizable pre-made templates. There are many options on the market today, and what is right for you is based on your budget, priorities, desired features, and scalability. Wpbeginner has a great comparison tool for selecting a shortlist of website builders. Once you have a list, you can explore and carefully choose the best website for your needs.
You may say to yourself, “Wait a minute, I’m an O&P professional, not a web designer!” True, but website builders are often less expensive than hiring a web design agency—the major investment being time. There are many pros and cons to building a website vs. buying, and deciding is primarily based on what you’re willing to invest. If you would like to hire an agency, ask fellow business owners to see who they would recommend, or perform a quick Google search and start vetting.
What should I put on my website?
Basics every clinic should have on their website includes an ‘About Us’ summary, contact information, locations, services, and staff bios. Try to add as much information as possible to help patients prepare for their appointments, such as a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), accepted insurances, forms, and health resources. Audit your website regularly to ensure it is up to date.
Having the right information on your website is essential, but this alone will not open the flood gates to users. To give your website a visibility boost, consider the following:
Mobile:
Mobile accessibility has become an essential feature in website design. Mobile traffic officially surpassed desktop traffic in October 2016, and it hasn’t slowed since. The World Advertising Research Center (WARC) estimates 72.6% of internet users will access the web solely by smartphone in 2025! If you recently built a website, chances are it’s built with responsive design, which adapts the page’s content to different devices. If your website cannot be accessed via smartphone and tablet or the user experience is poor, it’s time for an update. Without mobile functionality, your Google search rankings may be lower and by extension—your patients cannot find you.
SEO:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of getting organic traffic from search results. It’s how visible your website is when a person searches for services your clinic provides. There is a lot of information available about SEO on the internet, and you could even take a free fundamentals course by Google, but we will get you started with a checklist on how you can improve your website’s search rankings today:
- Have high-quality, relevant information on your website
- Have fast loading speed
- Be mobile-friendly
- Have a site map
- Identify your high-performing keywords
- Fix broken links
This is only a snippet of ways you can improve your clinic’s search rankings. SEMrush has a more in-depth list to get you optimizing away.
SEM:
While SEO is about getting free traffic, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), or pay-per-click, is the paid promotion of your website on search engine result pages. SEM allows you to use specific keywords to target a user’s geographic location, demographic, or device. If you’re interested in leveraging SEM for your clinic, consider taking the Google Ads Certification course.
Blog:
If you or a colleague have the writing chops, starting a blog can be a boon for your search rankings. Blogs inject fresh, relevant content to your website that helps your website perform better in search results. Furthermore, it positions your business as a thought leader in the industry, and provides a valuable resource for your patients. Most website builders and marketing platforms come with a blog builder built-in, and those sites will offer step-by-step guides to start your blog.
Reputation Management
You have a website and social is humming along, now what? While ideally we would like these sites to serve as internet billboards, in reality they function more like a town halls with people asking questions, and commenting about your clinic. If you haven’t yet, expect to receive reviews and comments from patients—some feedback will be positive, some negative. You can never control what they say, but you can control your response.
Where do I find business reviews?
Besides social media platforms, you should monitor your clinic’s business listings. Business listings perform as online directories and are free tools provided by Google, Bing, and Yelp. When a person searches your business, a panel appears with your clinic’s contact information, location, website link, and reviews. Just like Facebook and LinkedIn, you may already have business listings online. Search Google, Bing, and Yelp, to see if your business listing is already exists. See below for helpful links on how to claim a business listing:
- How to claim your Google My Business page.
- How to claim your Yelp Business page.
- How to claim your business on Bing Places for Business
When your business listing infrastructure is up, how should you respond to reviews? We explored this question in a previous blog post. Click here to learn how to respond to negative reviews.
Managing a website is a big task, but it's an invaluable resource for patients and referrals and well worth the effort. Leave a comment below if you have a question or helpful tips for managing a website.
To view the other posts in this blog series, click here.
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