No doubt creating a website is one of the most important marketing steps for medical clinics, because more than 77% of Internet users search for medical information on websites through different search engines, according to a Pew Research Center study.
With the increased competition for medical websites, it is more likely that patients will have more than one choice, and a professional website will make you a pillar in this fierce competition between healthcare providers. This is proven in recent research on Internet users, according to Google studies, 83% of patients visit your website before booking an appointment, while 61% of them compare you with competitors before booking.
Therefore, to ensure an increase in the number of visitors to your clinic, you must ensure that these important 7 features of medical websites are present to attract patients and build trust with them and potentially become their first option when they’re booking an appointment.
1- Configuring the website version for mobile phones:
Pew research indicates that 75% of patients are using cell phones to search for medical info, therefore, one of the essential features of successful medical websites is to develop the website with mobile phones compatibility through:
- The presence of the main elements in the navigation bar, which is usually 7-8 elements.
- Avoid having multiple choices in a single item because they’re not mobile-user-friendly.
- Install the navigation bar while browsing for easy access to the desired service.
- List the “Call-to-action” page to remind the user of the message delivered.
2- Creating interesting medical content that meets the patient’s needs:
With the surge of online searches among patients about healthcare, focusing on patients has become the priority for all medical websites.
Your website is the basis for building your relationship with the patient, so creating medical content that answers the patient’s inquiries is important for its success. This is because the patient is always on the search for credible information from reliable sources, and it is up to you to meet those needs and increase your website’s traffic.
3- Personalizing the website:
The reason behind the success of websites, such as Amazon, is the user’s sense that the site was designed specifically for him and to meet his desires. This happens by offering suggestions to each user according to the search words used to find a specific product. This is known as Recommendations.
This feature can be easily applied to your medical website by using the available data on the patient or used in research or registration to suggest specific services and blog posts that offer value during his treatment journey.
For example: If you are a bariatric surgeon when a patient registers a gastric sleeve on your website or uses a BMI calculator, your website filters out all articles on gastric sleeve surgery. This way, he feels that the website has been specially designed for him and makes the search process easier. so you need bariatric medicine marketing campaign strategies.
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4- Create a special page to introduce the medical team:
Among the features that attract a patient’s attention is showcasing the knowledge of the medical team that communicates with him and seeing familiar faces. This helps them trust you more and feel reassured. The introductory page of the medical team on the website also helps:
- The possibility of the patient finding the right person to speak with.
- Show the team’s different talents and experiences to the patient, which increases his confidence.
- Demonstrate the skills of your team, which affects the patient’s selection.
5- Connecting the website to the Youtube channel:
The main problem in medical marketing is the online saturation of articles written on scientific platforms such as WebMD and Healthline and many other sites that provide scientific content.
In addition to the existence of several blogs that provide healthcare info and tips from your competitors, therefore investing in well-written articles that follow Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rules for your clinic is not enough to make your website stand out.
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Therefore, connecting your website to your YouTube channel can increase your chance of overcoming this problem. As YouTube is the second largest search engine globally, while Google is the largest, and with the development of Google to target YouTube keywords, your chances increase when you’re at the top of search results increasing your reach.
6- Adding patient testimonials to your website:
Having positive reviews of past and present patients on your website makes a huge difference to the virtual image you create among your audience.
According to a study by NRC, more than two-thirds of patients check the doctor’s online reviews, which affects their final decision. Patients trust a doctor with positive reviews more than a doctor with negative reviews.
It was also found that more than 48% of patients are willing to change their physician because of other positive reviews of a different doctor.
7- Providing more than one communication method on the website:
When creating your website, be sure to include a “Contact” icon, that is consistent and appears several times on the website including the Header and Footer.
Putting a Google Map to clarify your address while providing more than one choice for communication such as (phone number – address – email – icons for social media) gives your customer the ability to contact you and easily get medical consultations.
