When spending money (or time) for online marketing, you want to make sure that it's cost-effective. In other words, you need to know that your marketing dollars is converting into new patients. But how can practices track this? There are several ways to track if your online campaign is generating new patients. Here are three of our favorites:
Yes, it's possible to do this. We landed a man on the moon in 1969, so it's about time that we're able to do something as simple as tracking the number of patients who are calling the practice and where they found the number. Did they find you via Google? Or perhaps from a flyer mail out you did? Or maybe even from your Facebook page? With call tracking, you'll know what is working - and importantly - what is NOT, so you can save wasted marketing dollars. 
At the very least, you should be tracking how many people are visiting your site. But even better than that, you should be tracking how they found your site. Did they simply goto it directly? Did they find it via a Google search? Did they get directed to it from your newsletter? Via one of your social media pages? Or from a third party site? If you are not tracking this, then you don't know what is working (and what is NOT). 
This one isn't very scientific, but it's very quick and easy to implement and will give you a rough idea of how patients are finding you. Simply train your front office staff to ask the same question to every patient: "How did you hear about us?" Then ask your front office staff to keep a tally of the answers. Perhaps most people are finding you on Google, perhaps most via their health insurance, or perhaps referrals from other doctors or attorneys? Either way, it's good to know what is working for you.
This article was written on behalf of the practice by RedCastle Services. RedCastle specializes in Online Marketing for Doctors, including Medical SEO, SEO for doctors, and Medical Website Design. Contact RedCastle Services today to find out how we can help your practice increase its number of online patient referrals.
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