Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

Health services practitioners today face growing challenges.

Online Challenges For The Health And Medical Profession

Now, more than ever, health-related businesses must work hard and find smarter ways to remain competitive and find new clients. Not only do you have to participate in the community your business serves, you must also develop an active presence online. This includes having an effective website and learning how to better promote your medical or health services services online.

In addition to spending dollars advertising offline, you will probably find (if you haven’t already) that in order to remain competitive, you will need to delegate a bigger portion of your budget to develop and manage a website that brings new prospective clients, engages users, outranks the competition in search engines and social media, and gives you a wider degree of reach online.

This means that your website not only has to look great, your web pages have to be fast-loading, and be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that your site’s needs may change in time and sections will need to be updated frequently. This requires a well-developed website and content management strategy.

One other difficult challenge that health organizations (and all other professions) face with their websites, is that they have an average of thirty seconds to provide users with what they need or they will look elsewhere.

“Websites have evolved into central information hubs where service information is still present but enhanced with web portals, hyperlinks to state and federal sites, and a variety of free tools.”

Michael Alter, http://www.accountingweb.com/technology/accounting-software/tips-for-improving-your-website

Opportunities For Health Services Practitioners In The Online Economy

As well as facing many new business and technology changes, there are also loads of online opportunities available for health or medical-related practices that are willing to adapt to meet online economy challenges and think progressively about marketing their services better online.

In this detailed guide, you will discover ways and opportunities to source more bookings and build more online credibility for your medical or health-related business.

As well as providing tips and information on ways to improve your website, we also place special emphasis on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) to power your medical or health website.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress CMS platform, go here:

• Why A Poorly Built Web Site Can Cost You Potential Customers
• How To Grow Your Business With A WordPress Blog

Tips To Improve Your Website

We’ll start first by going over the basic stuff. In this section, we’ll look at ways to improve your medical-related website and get better results. We will look at what web pages you need, what type of content works best for health or medical-related websites, layout and navigation, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, check out the article we have written here: A Practical Guide To Website Planning For Non-Technical Business Owners

Improving Your Web Pages

Professional business websites need a number of essential pages. Let’s discuss these.

Your Products And Services

It’s essential to include a page that lists your services and any products that you offer. Depending on which area of health or medical services you specialize in, your page could include services like:

• Medical And Surgical – e.g. anaesthetics, orthopedics blood disorders, cancer, continence management, rheumatology, infection control, optometry surgical outpatients, etc.
• Dental Services – e.g. cosmetic dentistry, holistic dentistry, cleaning services, veneers, crowns and bridges, dentofacial orthopedics, emergency dental services, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac surgery, coronary care
• Prenatal and Postnatal – e.g. birthing, maternity services, etc.
• Child Health services – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – breast screens, skin cancer, hearing, pap smears, MRI scanning, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology services – laboratory testing and analysis, routine pathology testing, occupational and environmental testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling – mental health, alcohol, tobacco & other drug services, domestic abuse, wellness coaching, social development services
• Alternative therapies – Chinese medicine, homeopathy, functional medicine, massage therapy, osteopathy, hypnotherapy, etc.
• Other medical services/therapies – diet and nutrition, othopedics, reproductive endocrinology, optical services, inherited diseases, prosthetics, mobility, home care, community health, medical equipment, etc.

Make sure to list all of the services you provide. Educate your visitors about what these services do and direct them to your contact or appointment booking page.

About Us

The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, causes supported, etc.

It’s important to also include any awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, associations, publications, etc., that can be used to promote your services and position yourself above other competitors.

(List all of your awards certifications, accreditations, recognitions, associations, publications, etc. in your About page. Screenshot source: squaremedical.com.au)

Core Team

If you are looking for quicker and simpler ideas to sell more products or services online, then make it easier for your prospects to get to know, like and trust your organization better.

You want your business to be relatable. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your employees or team members. This page should include a photo and a mini biography. Since most visitors won’t be that well-versed in health or medical-related terms it should tell who they are and what their specialties are. You may also want to explain what those specialized areas do. It should also include social buttons that will allow your visitors to follow selected team members on their social pages.

In this page, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline each employee’s qualifications, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add a ‘meet the team’ page. Screenshot image sourced from: southperthchiro.com.au)

If you need help how to easily create and add an easy-to-update simple team members directory in your website using free plugins, go here: How To Easily Create A Simple Employee List In Your WordPress Site With No Coding Skills

Work With Us

List any career opportunities available within your company. This page could include training provided, employee benefits, opportunities for advancement, etc. It should include case studies of trainees who have worked their way up in your company and information such as the job outlook and career opportunities in the medical-related industry.

Maintain a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, join your announcements list, follow your social pages, etc.

Case Studies & Testimonials

Testimonials from previous clients and case studies are a great way to attract potential clients and showcase your services. By adding a page with case studies and testimonials from past clients, you are also helping to establish social proof.

(Add a page to your site with testimonials and case studies. Screenshot image sourced from: arrowsmiledental.com)

We have created a detailed article on using testimonials, case studies and client reviews to grow your business online here: Learn How To Improve Your Visitor-To-Lead Conversions With Engaging Testimonials

Contact Us Page

A clean contact page is absolutely vital.

It should provide some or all of the following information about your company:

• Business Name
• Your physical address
• Phone
• Fax
• Contact email
• Map and directions
• Web address
• Contact form
• Request for information – who to contact
• Social media web addresses
• Live Chat/Skype

If you operate in several areas you should make this clear when displaying your address and contact information.

You should also include links to an FAQ section, frequently-visited pages, online booking form, support page, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Blog Section

A blog can be a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Blogs typically comprise of a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing content such as news and events, updates, training articles, opinions on current topics, promotional videos, media presentations, etc.

If you already have an established health website, then consider adding a WordPress blog to promote your clinic.

If you don’t have a website yet, or if your existing website is very hard to manage or not giving you the results you want, then WordPress can be used both as your business website and blog.

Very few people know that WordPress can turn your web presence into an automated traffic-generation machine that can help begin delivering an ongoing stream of new targeted traffic to your web site, simply by adding content to your website on a regular basis.

(An expertly configured WordPress site can generate new visitors automatically to your site)

To learn more about this go here:

• Website Traffic Blueprint – Discover How To Turn Your WordPress Website Into An Automated Traffic Generation Machine

Legal Information Pages

As a professional business, having a compliant website is vitally important. This is not only important for building trust with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not breaching any laws or regulations wherever your business is located.

Adding some or all of the following legal pages to your site will help keep you out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential legal threats and inconveniences:

• Contact Us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms And Conditions Of Use
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Health Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• etc.

We have written a comprehensive article on adding legal pages to your site. Go here to learn more: The Importance Of Adding Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Tips For Improving The Content On Your Website

In today’s globally competitive economy, content marketing has become one of the key success differentiators for businesses selling similar products or providing similar services.

Providing great content with useful tips and information will get your readers sharing your web pages and coming back for more content. This is a great way to educate site visitors and prospects about your business and services.

For example, if your business provides solutions that help people lose weight, then some of the areas you can cover in your content include:

• What to do before you start any weight loss program (e.g. consult with doctor, record measurements, set goals, etc.)
• Tips for developing portion control habits (smaller plate, don’t put food on the table, more vegetables)
• Incorporating exercise into your busy schedule
• Useful apps for tracking calories and exercise
• And endless other content topics

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your prospective clients understand your health services, by explaining benefits, procedures, terminology, etc.

Include keywords in your content that your readers would search to find you online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with easy-to-digest information and practical tips that will show you how to drive more traffic to your site, save money creating high-quality content that will add value to your site visitors and grow your website using content. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Improving User Experience

Improving website user experience (known as UX) will help keep visitors coming back and using your site. This section will show you ways you can improve your visitor engagement and user experience.

Use RSS Feeds

An RSS feed provides plenty of benefits for your medical or health business.

If you provide information that adds value to others, other businesses may want to syndicate your content.

Some of the benefits of having other businesses syndicate your content, include:

• All of your updates are in one place
• Doesn’t rely on email
• RSS feeds can be shared and picked up by other sites online
• Users can subscribe to your feed
• It provides links back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• RSS provides various ways for readers to receive your content (e.g. subscribers can read the content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also benefits when it comes to adding syndicated content to your site from other websites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

To find RSS feeds with loads of useful content just visit sites of health or medical-related government departments and well-known industry bodies.

Here are some examples of feeds containing useful information that you could add to your site:

• US Department Of Health And Human Services – e.g. Latest news feed: http://www.hhs.gov/rss/news/hhsnews.xml, etc. You can search by departments and select individual feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Emergency preparedness, Health care for women, HIV/AIDS, Mental health, Screening tests and vaccines, etc.) here: http://womenshealth.gov/news/rss/rss-feeds.html
• US National Libraries Of Medicine – For a list of RSS feeds from various medical journals, publications and websites (e.g. The Oncologist, Journal of Biological Chemistry, JCI – The Journal of Clinical Investigation, jobs.ac.uk health and medical jobs, BMJ British Journal of Ophthalmology, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health - Find various health-related news feeds here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• FDA – Find RSS feeds on fda-related news and topics like criminal investigations, MedWatch safety alerts (human medical products), product recalls, drugs, etc. and podcasts here: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds
• Department of Health UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health) – Latest news: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health.atom
• The Department Of Health (Australian Government): http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/xml/rssLatestNews.xml
• Department Of Public Health (Australia – State Level): e.g. Victoria – http://www.health.vic.gov.au/rss/newsfeed.xml
• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention - Find many feeds on health-related news and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
• Medical News Feeds: You can search medical news RSS feeds in major news publications like the NYTimes RSS feeds section (e.g. Health news: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Health.xml)
• MedicineNet – MedTerms Medical Word of the Day: http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/dailyword.xml. You can also choose specific feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Lung Conditions, Men’s health, Cold & Flu, Diet & Weight Management, Exercise & Fitness, High Blood Pressure, etc.)
• MedicalNewsToday.com – MNT Medical News Featured Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• MedicalNewsToday.com – You can also select specific RSS feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Urology/Nephrology, Stroke, ADHD/ADD, Regulatory Affairs/Drug Approvals, Alcohol/Addiction/Illegal Drugs, HIV/AIDS, Genetics, etc.)

You can also just search online for general RSS feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific subjects, e.g. “cervical cancer rss feeds”, “myeloma rss feeds”, “wearable technology rss feeds”, etc.

(Use RSS feeds to improve your website’s UX.)

Provide Checklists & Forms

Checklists and charts are a great way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your visitors. They can provide useful instructions and resources to complete tasks. Checklists and forms are also great client educational tools.

You can provide checklists, charts and forms covering a range of topics such as:

• Checklists/forms for booking appointments
• Checklists for post-surgery recovery
• Health checklists for specific conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, active maintenance program, general dentistry, etc.
• Weight loss and exercise program checklists and charts
• General charts & infographics (e.g. caloric level of different foods, sleep requirements at different ages, etc.)

Add Other Tools

Providing unique tools, gadgets and applications on your website can help increase visitor engagement and significantly add value to potential clients. Health-related calculators, for example, are useful tools you can add to your website. Other tools would include things like diagnostic tools, or even recipes.

In the next section, we will look at a number of online tools you can add to your website using WordPress plugins and themes that improve your seo, improve user engagement and drive more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of section 1.

Click here to keep reading:

• How To Build And Grow A Health Center Website Successfully – Part Two

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