1. They realize the power of the internet and how—if done well—medical marketing can grow their practices;
2. They invest a lot of time and money to get a perfectly designed medical website;
3. And the end result? No new referrals! The frustration is growing.
If you are one of these doctors, you are most likely wondering why your website is so ineffective. As an online marketing agency for doctors and medical practices, we are here to help.
Perhaps you have the best medical website—but if nobody can find it, then what is the point?
This is why medical search engine optimization (SEO) is so crucial. If your practice's website is not optimized for the keywords patients use to look up a doctor online, then your site is unlikely to show up in Google’s Top 10 search results. And if you are not on the first page of Google, then—let's be realistic—patients are not going to find you.
However, you should remember that SEO is not immediate. It takes time. Nevertheless, in the long run, it almost always has a higher Return On Investment (ROI) than Google Ads for Doctors, Facebook Ads for Doctors, and most other digital marketing strategies.
Read more about SEO for Doctors and Medical Practices.
In order for your medical website to appear higher on Google search results, you need to SEO-optimize your website. Some doctors think this is a simple case of clicking the "on switch" and then suddenly a site is optimized. Unfortunately, the process takes longer and is ongoing (at least if you want to stay at the top of Google search results).
However, the results are well worth it. By positioning your website at the top of search results for your keywords (for example "orthopedic surgeon Miami") you will notice a considerable increase in online traffic to your site and—subsequently—patients.
Read our 10 SEO Tips to get your Medical Practice Top of Google.
What does it mean that the website is over-optimized? Over-optimization occurs when the website is stuffed with keywords or content that is not relevant or useful to the readers.
It can happen if you outsource your SEO to a non-reputable company that uses so-called "black hat" practices. Put simply, it means that they are cheating to get your website to appear higher than it should. Sooner or later Google recognizes these desperate SEO attempts and punishes the website by making it drop in its search engine ranking results.
That’s why it is so important to delegate SEO optimization of your website to an online marketing agency you can trust. As one of the best digital marketing agencies for doctors, we are trusted by physician practices across the US.
What does it mean that the website is mobile-friendly? Basically, it is built in a way that enables the patients to view it on their cellphones and tablets. Why is it so important? Nowadays, most people use their phones to browse the internet and if you fail to acknowledge that, you are missing the opportunity to reach out to them.
Importantly, Google’s algorithms take the “mobile-friendliness” of the website into consideration when ranking the website. In other words, if your website is mobile-friendly, it will appear higher in Google’s search, hence, make it easier for the patients to find it.
Google even provides a helpful tool to check if your website is mobile-friendly. If you have an existing website which is not mobile friendly, do not worry. Our web designers can convert it into a mobile-friendly version. Read more about our Medical Website Design services.
Read more about our Medical Website Design services.
Read more about Google Ads for Doctors or Facebook Ads for Doctors.
Low conversion rates can be caused by a number of factors, including:
A monthly email to patients has two main advantages. Firstly, it maintains your practice's communication with patients, meaning that you stay at the forefront of their minds. This increases repeat visit rates, not to mention referring you to their friends and families.
Secondly, it increases the traffic to your website, subsequently helping with SEO. Read more about Email Marketing for Doctors.
Although its importance is often overrated, listing your practice on online directories can help to increase new patient referrals. First of all, it makes it easier for patients to find you.
Second, it gives your medical SEO campaign a boost, as it generates some powerful backlinks to your site. In particular, directories specific to medical services—such as Healthgrades or Workers-Compensation-Doctors.com—seem to have a positive effect on search engine rankings.
However, with up to 80 directories available, it can be very time-consuming to list your practice and physicians manually. Automated tools that have access to the directories' APIs are a much faster, albeit more expensive option. Read more about Directory Listings for Doctors.
One of the quickest, cheapest, and easiest ways to generate new patient referrals is to optimize your Google Business Profile. Because these profiles often appear at the top of local searches on Google, it is a great way to rank your medical practice at the top of search results. What is more, there is no charge by Google to create and maintain a profile, although it is possible to promote your profile via Google Ads for medical practices.
Read about how to optimize a medical practice's Google Business Profile.
Personally, I have always been suspicious of the cost-benefit ratio of social media. It was always had so much hype, yet the real results in terms of new patients can be hard to track. However, there are some ways for your practice to gain real, measurable results by using social media marketing for doctors.
First, by having a presence on social media it shows that your practice is reputable and professional. Second, it provides another medium for patients to hear from you and interact with you. More and more people are reaching out to practices via social media.
Additionally, it is a mouthpiece for you to promote your practice as the authority of your specialty in your area. For example, Red Castle Services creates professional medical content for our clients, and then publishes them on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Business. Not only does it present your practice as the authority of your specialty, but it creates powerful backlinks to your website—which is a big plus for your SEO campaign.
If you are not measuring your online marketing efforts, then how do you know what is working and what is not?
For this reason, we provide monthly reports to track the success of medical marketing campaigns through multiple indicators:
Read more about healthcare marketing analytics.
Everything we do centres around one main goal—increasing the number of new patient referrals for your practice.
In a changing environment like healthcare, we know that doctors want maximum flexibility. As a small agency—unlike large corporations—we are able to offer customized solutions instead of a 'cookie cutter' approach. What is more, all of our agreements are month-to-month—so you can leave at any point with just 30 days' notice.
Tired of working with giant corporations that never return your call? Well, good news—we are a small and friendly digital marketing agency that always makes time for your clients. And yes, your account manager is a human!
Too much information to absorb? Try watching our 2-minute video about our services instead. Simply hit play below to learn 3 simple ways to increase new online patient referrals.
Want more patients? Get your FREE e-book guide and find out how to get your medical practice TOP of Google and grow your practice.
With our guide, you'll learn:
