Some medical professionals still imagine that a medical website or medical marketing to doctors is only necessary for those who sell online. Maybe it’s even interesting for a health plan, but a clinic doesn’t need that. Works with referrals, patients visit because of the plan’s facade or phone book. Really?
The website is an essential part of digital medical marketing. Without it, your patients have much more difficulty finding information about the clinic or office. The more difficult this process, the less likely they will schedule an appointment.
In addition to offering information about their specialties, the site’s pages provide everything someone needs to know before an appointment. It’s like an information center with opening hours, contact details, and even an address.
The website is vital if you intend to stand out in the medical field. Check out some more reasons to make this investment in digital medical marketing.
Patients consult the internet all the time
Some have even changed the name of their favorite search engine to Dr. Google. After all, it is what many people run to when they want to know something related to health. Every day thousands of terms related to your area are in searches. Those who still don’t have a website lose this traffic and the chances of getting new patients.
According to studies, 80% of users look for medical information online. Searches range from headache meds to hospitals near me. The trend is understandable, as it is great to access thousands of information with just a few clicks on a screen. But the big problem is when those clicks don’t lead to your clinic.
Even those who already have some activity in social networks can reap this benefit. For example, an organic Google search and SEO-optimized website page are more likely to appear than your Instagram or Facebook posts.
Even referral-based digital medical marketing to doctors needs a website
Do your patients often find you through referrals? Excellent means your service is great, and your loyalty is adequate. But did you know that even referrals gain more strength with a website?
To confirm, we will leave the medical universe for a minute. When a friend recommends a store to you, what is your first step, visiting it to see if you like it? Probably not. Otherwise, you would risk wasting time visiting a place you don’t know. But certainly, Google it to see photos, opinions from other buyers, and additional information. Or even to find your address and phone number.
The same is true when your current patients refer someone to the clinic. Again, the site facilitates access, offering information simply and practically.
It helps to find more qualified and interested patients
When building a website suitable for digital medical marketing, you will need to include:
- Specialties that the clinic serves (including what they treat and what the procedures offered are for);
- Professionals who work there;
- Address;
- Telephones and forms of contact;
- Guidelines for scheduling procedures and appointments.
It may not seem like much on this list, but when you put it on paper, you will realize that it is a lot of content. This means potential patients interested in consultations can inform themselves well before contacting them.
Have you ever received a call from people who were just curious about what was done at the clinic? This data serves exactly to reduce this type of contact. Those who arrive at the site already know what you do and have probably already decided to be served.
Shows professionalism in medical marketing to doctors
The site is a show of professionalism for any clinic. In addition to making the patient’s life easier, it helps set your business apart from the rest of the competition. The user sees the page as their reception.
When it is well built, has all the necessary information, and is still visually pleasing, it gives the impression of a more reliable business. This is an investment you will make for the long term. The clinic will continue to feel its effects in the coming years. It keeps the website updated.
Increase your market influence by medical marketing to doctors
Who is not seen is not remembered. Marketers have heard this phrase since the birth of the profession, and they should continue to hear it for a long time. The interesting thing is that it remains valid today. It is perhaps even more important today.
With a website, you will be seen more. Whether in organic Google searches, ads in the search engine, or social media. Thus, its market presence tends to grow little by little.
Problems for those who do not have adequate marketing for doctors
Without a medical website design, there is no complete digital medical marketing, which must generate several losses. Generally, professionals with more time in the market imagine they do not need this because they are well known. It is a mistake!
With an appropriate website, your reputation will only improve. An online presence is already a prerequisite for anyone who wants to gain or maintain prominence. Even those who care for older patients need to ensure this.
The reason is simple: older people are already getting more digital. Much of the elderly learned to use Google and social networks. In addition, other decision-makers, such as caregivers, legal guardians, and family members, are also part of the purchase journey. Therefore, your clinic needs to be present in your search results.
What your patients are looking for on the site
Are you prepared to reap the benefits of having a website? Check out what to include to ensure a good user experience and increase the number of visits and bookings.
Online Scheduling
Some tools and apps allow the patient to find a time in the health professional’s schedule without needing help. They are very popular with younger generations who value practicality and speed.
Online scheduling is also a great way to lighten the load on your service team. Thus, potential patients can find their schedules alone, and receptionists and attendants can focus on answering questions, confirming appointments, and passing on important information.
Simple ways to get in touch
It was common for websites to have a contact form and a few other points that led directly to customer service. The problem is that this generates a slow conversation that wears out the patient and can even make him give up. Ideally, you have practical ways to talk to staff without picking up the phone and making a call.
Chat buttons are the most popular for this. One of the options is to include a live chat with the service professional. So the patient clears up his doubts quickly before scheduling the appointment. It is also possible to include a button on every page that directs directly to Whatsapp.
Chatbots are also an option. However, we recommend hiring a specialized company for your setup. Otherwise, the robotic conversation becomes dull and irritates the user instead of solving their problems.
Complete information about specialties
Information never hurts on a medical website! Include everything your patient needs to know about your specialties. The idea is to clarify any doubts before the contact arrives at the clinic to assist in your purchase decision.
To complement it is worth inserting content marketing through a blog. Thus, you guarantee the information the person needs about specialties and other subjects that may interest them and complete your healthcare marketing strategy for doctors.
Medical website vs. social media marketing for doctors
The chances that you have already started working on medical marketing to doctors using social media are high! This is because these platforms are already part of the population’s routine, and nowadays, it is hard to imagine a company that does not have a presence on them. Therefore, many medical clinic management professionals choose to keep only the networks.
For them, this seems like a way to save money, thinking that making a website would be “redundant” for marketing. However, we guarantee that this is not the case! The website is necessary and not redundant, as it complements the promotion we do on Facebook and Instagram.
The primary distinction between the two is the type of outcome achieved. While networks help you build and maintain a relationship with your audience, your website is the best way to drive conversions and bookings.
This is because search engines display results from the web much more often. Your site appears more often as a result of searches related to your service area.
Even if your potential patient is already determined to go to the clinic, the site conveys the idea of professionalism. When we come across a business with only a Facebook page and another with a portal, the latter seems more serious and committed.
Why Use Website SEO in Medical Marketing
After understanding the need for the website in marketing to doctors, we come to another important point: how to make it appear to as many people as possible?
Search engines use algorithms that analyze the content of each page to determine whether or not it matches the search intent. They check several prerequisites that must be well optimized if you want to appear first.
This optimization process is what we call SEO (search engine optimization), which is very important for every website! Find out why to invest in it and some tips for applying it.
Position yourself in the most used search tools
Google is the most popular search engine and is even standard on most mobile devices. Therefore, when we apply SEO strategies to a website, we can be part of the results accessed by thousands of users worldwide.
This is free of charge, which in marketing we call “organic” since as users throw related keywords on the internet, you will be there without paying for it. So, in addition to getting more clicks, you get a lot of credibility and reach this way.
With proper SEO, your clinic can be among the results for words related to your practice. Therefore, those who arrive at one of your pages are already looking to learn more about your specialty or procedures and are more likely to make an appointment.
Increase organic traffic with medical marketing
Marketing, including to doctors, is expensive most of the time. It doesn’t matter if you plan to a billboard in a busy part of town or run ads online. It all comes at a cost. Or at least most strategies.
But in the case of SEO, when well applied, the medium and long-term return is organic, without additional costs. The user does a related search and clicks on your user, and the magic is ready to happen.
Thus, it is possible to increase digital marketing results and decrease the costs of operations. Seems quite advantageous, doesn’t it?
Improve the result with ads
We talk about “free” clicks, but we want to warn you that you don’t have to stop advertising because you’re using SEO! Strategies are complementary; an optimized website also has more clicks when ads use.
The more times your web address appears in search results, the better. However, the clinic only gains when it is in an ad at the top or sidebar of the search engine and is one of the first results.
By increasing your presence on the page, getting a visit also increases. And the good use of keywords has another advantage: it shows Google that your result is relevant and deserves to be highlighted, even when compared to similar links in other ads.
Tips for having a successful website
Want to start getting more visits to your website with some simple SEO and optimization strategies? We’ve separated what you need to start doing today for success and more hits. Check out!
Avoid duplicate content
Maybe your competitor or someone in a similar industry has a good article on a topic that would fit your site. Is it worth copying from him? Certainly not! In addition to infringing the article’s copyright, you also generate user dissatisfaction.
Anyone who clicks on a web result expects new and relevant information about their search. And finding the same thing you just read on another page only generates frustration and makes the person lose the desire to visit your site again.
At the same time, problems arise with the search engine algorithm itself. He can identify plagiarized content and punish those who do so. Therefore, your site will lose organic placement because of the copy.
Be safe on the site
As digital security becomes better known, tools, such as Google, have adopted several sanctions for sites considered to be unprotected. The idea is to punish anyone who puts the user’s browsing data at risk, so stay tuned!
The main protection factor for your website is the SSL certificate. This encryption prevents user data from being decrypted by potential intruders. For some time now, websites that do not use it have been recognized as unsafe by browsers and sometimes do not even open on public networks.
If you still don’t have this basic security condition, we recommend contacting your developer, as most hosts already offer this certificate just for the user to install it. It’s time to ensure more credibility for the patient and searchers.
For good marketing to doctors, avoid overloading the site with animations
Slow websites and pages are among the main reasons for abandoning a portal. The user becomes frustrated waiting for it to load and turns to one of the millions of other online results. So, how do you avoid taking this risk?
It’s quite simple: be careful what type of article you include on each page. Animations, which were fashionable in the 2000s, are among the main villains. They take a long time to load and are often not responsive. In addition, they do not adapt to mobile, and your user will only have a good experience if they are on the desktop.