You’re probably used to best practice procedure is your field! Did you know that the same applies to medical website design? For every single exceptional medical website – there are a dozen drab, dull and confusing doctors’ websites!
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GP’s and specialist medical practitioners in Australia rarely have time to sit down and ponder their online marketing strategy. Likewise their admin staff are completely run off their feet. However it’s vital to consider that the vast majority of Australians spend a significant amount of time online. In order to stay competitive it’s vital to have strong marketing assets.
Online marketing directs patients in much the same way as word-of-mouth marketing. Except that a well-designed website is far more attuned to the modern world. Here are some essentials for a top-notch medical or healthcare website.
1. It’s an Educational Opportunity
Many medical consulting practices view marketing and healthcare as strange bedfellows. They needn’t be such polar opposites though! A website can be both a marketing tool for a medical practice, while also being educational; providing timely, relevant information to patients.
A blog with freshly updated content about your practice,can be an invaluable part of your practice!
This can include targeted information sent to patients who need it, who can read it at their own leisure.
2. Aim for Clarity, Simplicity and Honesty
Your message should be conveyed in the most simple and clear manner through words, imagery and design. This will build trust with potential clients. Remember that good websites are primarily about the end-user and making the website or other asset as easy to use as possible.
3. It’s Not About You, It’s About the User
This word ‘usability’ is bandied about constantly in marketing circles. Basically it refers to how easy your patients find the information that they are after. The end-user of the site should be able to go onto your website and not have to think about how to use it – the website should intuitive and flow logically, following well-known design conventions. Users have an expectation that a website should be this way. When it isn’t, they will leave in an instant!
User-experience is a complicated part of web design but in essence it involves elements like information architecture, site maps, colours, typography, images and content. All of these gel together so that the person browsing the site gets what they need with as minimal effort possible.
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4. Content is the Key to the Online Kingdom
As a corollary to the previous points, it’s vital to have high quality content on all of your marketing assets. This may seem resource-intensive. Initially, you may not understand the point! However it’s good quality content that is a search engine’s best friend. It’s also great for human eyes to browse. No doubt you’ve unwittingly landed on a poor site yourself, leaving hastily because of poor content.
Content resonates with patients and with the broader Australian public and says ”Hey. Here we are. We are experts who clearly know what we’re talking about.” When compared to Pay Per Click Advertising, investing in great content is a longer route but ultimately more effective method for reputation building.
5. You’re Never Done: Test, Measure and Modify
The most important thing to remember is that a website is never complete, nor is it ever static and requires no tweaking. For a doctor’s website to remain be effective, it needs to be constantly updated with fresh content and then this content tested for usability. Website analytics provide in-depth insights into how pages, pieces of content and in-bound links are performing. Along with where your audience are located, what device they are using and how well particular pages are performing. In order to improve your relative positioning on search engines and improve your relevancy to the audience, analytics needs to play a part.
6. Take an Integrative Approach
It takes more than a website to get people to know about your doctor’s surgery. A website is a great start but it’s like being stranded on a desert island without a dingy. A website without any other help will not get noticed. Think of social media as a dingy or a passing freighter. This is the way to connect your site to where all of your patients are hanging out and killing time.
Pay Per Click advertising is another way to connect the dots. It provides instant visibility on search engines and drives targeted local traffic to your site using paid ads. Email marketing is another way to reach qualified and targeted audience members, who are interested in what you have to say. All of these tools are designed to complement each other and bolster each other’s effectiveness.
For a one-stop medical marketing agency that knows how to bring out the essence of your Aussie medical practice, speak with Total Medical Design today on 1300 767 441