Voice search and keyword research are two things that will be important for medical websites to consider as the future of marketing unfolds. Voice search is steadily becoming more popular with consumers, which means that your website needs to be optimized for this type of use if you want to keep up with the competition. Keyword research is also crucial because it’s what gets your site found by people looking for information on a particular topic. In this blog post, we’ll discuss eight strategies you can implement today to optimize your marketing efforts.
1. Use Consistent Healthcare Branding to gain trust
Consistency in branding will help establish trust with your visitors when it comes to their health care needs. If you don’t have a strong brand identity, then the people who land on your website may not know if they can use your services or not. They could even get the wrong idea about what your practice does and end up visiting someone else. Using a consistent logo across your website, signage, and social media accounts helps build trust among users to know that you are the right choice for their health care needs.
2. Evaluate the Online Patient experience
Consumers in today’s society view websites like Yelp when trying to figure out which choice is right for them. Whether you like it or not, people will be checking your online reviews, so strive to provide an excellent service that will leave people happy with their treatment results. You can ask for patient feedback after each appointment so that you can gain insight into what areas need to be improved or strengthened. For example, if patients complain about having to wait too long to be seen in your waiting room, then perhaps your staff should schedule accordingly to avoid the issue in the future.
3. Build a Responsive Healthcare Website
The vast majority of web traffic is happening on mobile devices, so if your website only looks good on a desktop computer monitor, then you’re likely missing out on a lot of visitors. Your site needs to be responsive, so it’s easily viewable across all types of screens. For example, WordPress offers free themes that are optimized for smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. On top of that, WordPress offers a variety of plug-ins that can be used to improve the patient experience on your website.
4. Test Site Speed and Optimize the Loading Time
People are impatient, especially when it comes to waiting for a website to load. If your healthcare site takes too long to load or has videos that won’t play properly, people will become frustrated and leave the site before giving your brand a fair evaluation. Ensure that you have tested out your website speed so you know how long it takes to load. You might also need to optimize your images or scripts if your website is still running slowly, even after you’ve tested it out.
5. Optimize For Prospective Patients Engine Results
If someone is looking up your healthcare website intending to locate a doctor or hospital, you want to be sure that your site shows up high on results pages. A study has shown that most people don’t go past the third page of search results, so you are losing out on potential leads if you’re not ranking highly. Strive to get your website on the first page for relevant keywords so that people can find you easily when they are searching online.
6. Utilize PPC and display ads for Healthcare Marketing
Paid search engine marketing is an excellent strategy for getting your brand in front of more people looking for services like yours. You can use this tool to create ads that will appear when specific keywords are searched online. For example, if someone is searching for a pediatric dentist or adult orthodontist, you might show them an ad and voice search process that tells them about your practice and the services you provide. People searching for a dentist or orthodontist may already need assistance, so this type of strategy can help convert customers before they even contact another provider.
7. Leverage Social Media ( the right way )
In today’s world, numerous people are turning to social media when they need help. You must realize that thousands upon thousands can see someone who is tweeting or posting about a problem of their followers. Hence, you need to carefully consider the information you are sharing on your social media accounts. Make sure that you are being helpful, not just selling your services. You can also use social media to connect with current or potential patients by engaging in conversations that they are interested in. For example, if someone is tweeting about a movie they saw last weekend, you could promote your hospital’s movie night fundraiser on Twitter or Facebook.
8. Ask for Reviews from Patients
If you want more positive reviews online, then it’s essential to ask your patients for feedback. People trust other people like them more than they trust businesses or brands. When someone writes a review, it carries weight with others because the person lets readers know what their experience was like at your facility. Asking for reviews doesn’t have to be difficult either. You could give patients a card with a link on it that they can use to post their review, or you could ask for them to share their thoughts while they are checking out.
Conclusion
Healthcare is no longer local. People often search online to find the best deals or services, so you need to ensure that your brand has an excellent healthcare website with helpful information and great reviews. If you want more people to contact your business for help, then be sure that your website is listed high on Google for relevant keywords and that your social media is engaging and not just promotional. If you combine these strategies with a responsive healthcare website that will look great on any device, then you can be sure to reach more people in need of your services.
