great websites for doctors

The secret to making patients click

Making patients choose your practice is obviously one of your business goals. How does this happen in the online space? How do you make patients click on your content and stay with you? Let’s unpack some of the proven methods behind great websites for doctors.

great websites for doctors

The secret to making patients click

You can’t be found without Google visibility

patients searching on google

The way patients see your online profile

Let’s first demonstrate some of the ways patients could be interacting with your online presence. That is, if you are visible in Google Search at all. They can land on:

Your home page
A specific page about what they were looking for (how great would that be!)
Your Google Business Profile
One of your reviews on Google Business or Google Maps

Let’s try this out in real life and see what you can learn from it, to make patients click and become your new patient, not your competitor’s.

The big secret to medical marketing: visibility

There is one take-away message we share in all our workshops, webinars and strategy sessions with leading doctors, surgeons and managers of private health practices and independent clinics.

It’s about being visible when patients need you.

What does that mean? It’s the opposite of old school advertising, where you would pay someone who had an audience, to insert your message into theirs. Radio, print, television, billboards, they all follow that principle.

Being visible when patients need you is where content marketing comes in. Did you see the page on Tummy Tuck in the video? That page shows up on Google’s page one when local patients search for tummy tuck experts and plastic surgeons. The one-off investment in that page now replaces any need to run ads on local TV.

The audience is 100% interested in a tummy tuck. Why else would they google it?

Can you see how great websites for doctors focus on content strategy, not on advertising principles?

Dream versus reality: do you rank for your dream keywords?

medical marketing experts

Five great questions for your agency

Once you grasp the mechanics of successful medical marketing, it is hard to unlearn this.

So why not use the next monthly meeting with your current medical marketing agency and ask these five power questions, to see if they create a pleasant conversation and satisfying outcomes for your practice:

Which main topics are you organically aiming for?
What content has been put in place to achieve this organic visibility? What are the ongoing SEO activities and optimisation efforts the agency does?
How is your current visibility for your top 5 procedures or treatments?
What is your 12-month plan to add more content and increase that visibility?
Are your assets in good standing? Responsiveness, loading speed, website security, updated Google Business profile?

When I ask a doctor what their current agency is doing to increase the visibility, I often get one of these three answers:

They are sending me reports I don’t read.
They are doing a bit of SEO but I don’t know what.
They are not doing anything.

Progress is made when we ask great quality questions, and the ones above have changed the dynamics of many high-flying private practices after they started inspecting their medical website performance in more detail.

The Google cycle of a patient and why it matters

Are you worried you have nothing to tell? That you may not have enough content to co-produce amazing and highly effective content pages with your medical marketing agency?

Here’s some inspiration.

What our patient search behaviour data is telling us since 2016 is that the Google behaviour of patients in almost any specialty, can be seen as a cycle.

Initial searches happen when the patient first learns about a symptom, a concern, or a possible condition. This may precede the visit to the general practitioner or it may happen after the GP gave an initial opinion. In this phase the patient is looking for clarification but will remember or bookmark the first doctor who gave a really clear and reassuring explanation or clarification online.
Research happens when it has become clear that the patient/consumer needs treatment. There may be a GP referral but data shows that more than 50% of all patients spend time online checking out specialists before they confirm their choice. This phase of the cycle is subject to emotions and the driving factor here is trust. If we fail to portray an image that inspires trust, the patient might not even analyse why but they will choose a different surgeon or specialist. This is where communication expertise is crucial to capture and convert patient leads for your practice.
Relationships are formed when there is a repetitive element in the treatment, or when the patient needs to get back in touch for a follow-up consultation (for example with fertility treatment). This is where fresh content, lifestyle advice, updates and educational content can do a great job and validate your reputation. Reminding your patient about the value you offer as an educator, will help them remember your name when a friend asks for advice. This is how you amplify word-of-mouth by having amazing content online. Our data also shows that this type of content also enhances relationships with GPs so it boosts your referral flow.

Strategic medical marketing underpins all great websites for doctors. If you plan to grow your practice and create a sustainable lead generation system, ask us about our packages to help you grow.

A word about cheap websites for doctors

cheap websites for doctors

There is also this other focus. We are all human and we all have a moment where the cheapest solution will do.

I tend to accept this when I buy toilet paper or notebooks for the office. The impact of choosing the cheaper product here is pretty predictable and safe.

Cheap websites for doctors though will impact your entire reputation as a surgeon or a specialist. They will define the first impression you leave behind, the demographics of your future patients, the type of referrals you get, the quality of your team members and the future opportunities to expand your practice or create partnerships.

When you express yourself online, do you want the patient to believe that you are the best option for them? Great websites for doctors evoke exactly this feeling and that is why our customers experience the growth journeys that they are on.

Let's meet

What would growth mean to you?

private practice success tips

We will share some valuable private practice success tips when you book an obligation-free consultation. More importantly, we will look at the growth potential of your practice, no matter how long it has been established or whether you are only just starting out. I look forward to discussing your business success in the near future!