Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

The digital economy has not only transformed the way business is done around the world, it has also created a growing number of challenges and opportunities for health-related businesses.

Online Challenges For The Medical Profession

Now, more than ever, businesses in the medical and health sector must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to become actively involved in the community you serve, you must also develop and maintain a strong presence online. This includes having an effective website and learning how to better promote your practice online.

As well as investing money advertising offline on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and tv spots, etc., you will probably find that in order to compete, you will need to allocate a bigger amount of your budget towards developing and managing a website that will drive new prospects, engage visitors, outrank the competition in search engines and give your business wider marketing exposure online.

This means that your site not only has to look great, your pages have to load fast, and your website layout has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, your site’s needs may change in time and sections may need to be updated often. This requires implementing well-developed website and content management strategy.

Another difficult challenge that health services practitioners face online, as other businesses do for that matter, is that your site has an average of thirty seconds or less to give visitors 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 Businesses In The Digital Economy

As well as facing many challenges, there are also loads of online opportunities available to businesses in the health sector that can evolve to meet online economy challenges and think strategically when it comes to marketing their business better online.

In this article, you will learn new opportunities to generate more traffic and improve your online results.

As well as providing useful website improvement tips, we also place special emphasis on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system to power your health or medical website.

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

• Learn How A Poorly Constructed Web Site Can Cost You Prospective Buyers And What To Do About It
• Using WordPress To Grow A Successful Small Business

Useful Tips For Improving Your Website

In this section we will show you how to improve your health website and get better results. We will look at what pages you need, what content works best for health-related websites, your navigation structure, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your website, go here: A Cost-Saving Guide To Web Site Planning For Non-Technical Business Owners

Basic Web Pages

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

Description Of Products And Services

It’s essential to have 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 list services like:

• Medical And Surgical – e.g. anaesthetics, neurosurgery hematology, maxillofacial surgery, stroke, rheumatology, urology, optometry operating theaters, etc.
• Dental Services – e.g. preventive dentistry, children’s dentistry, oral health, veneers, crowns and bridges, dental implants, emergency dentistry services, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. heart monitoring, chronic heart conditions
• Prenatal/Postnatal – e.g. birthing, maternity services, etc.
• Child Health – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – breast screens, skin cancer, hearing, gynaecology, MRI scanning, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology services – lab testing and analysis, routine pathology testing, food and water testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling services – mental health, alcohol, tobacco & other drug counselling, trauma counselling, diet and nutrition counselling, social development services
• Alternative therapies – acupuncture, aromatherapy, colloidal silver therapy, shiatsu, chiropractic, hypnosis, etc.
• Other medical services/therapies – diet and nutrition, chiropody, reproductive services, physiotherapy, medical genetics, prosthetics, assisted living, home care, sexual health, medical equipment, etc.

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 Page

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

It’s important to mention any awards, recognitions, certifications, accreditations, publications, associations, etc., that you can use to promote your medical, dental, chiropractic, surgery services, etc. and set yourself above other competitors.

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

Team Profile

Are you looking for quicker and simpler ideas to grow your business online? Then help prospects get to know, like and trust your business better.

You want your business to be relatable. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team members. This page should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors will not tend to be familiar with medical or health-related terms it should tell who they are and what they specialize in. You may also want to explain what those specialized areas mean. This page can also include social buttons so your prospective clients can follow selected team members on their social networks.

On this page, don’t be afraid to humanize your team members with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline each employee’s expertise and qualifications, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.

(Make sure to add a page that introduces your staff or team members to prospective new clients. Screenshot source: southperthchiro.com.au)

For a detailed tutorial about how to easily add a simple employee directory to your WordPress site using a free plugin, go here: How To Add A Simple Staff Directory On Your WordPress Site With No Coding Skills Required

Career Opportunities

This is a listing of career opportunities within your clinic. It would include training, benefits, advancement opportunities, etc. You should also include information such as the job outlook and career opportunities in the medical-related industry.

Also include a positions available section in this page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, join your contact list, follow you on social media, etc.

Testimonials And Case Studies

Case studies and testimonials are a great way to attract prospective clients and showcase the services you offer. Adding a web page with case studies and testimonials also helps to provide prospective clients with social proof online.

(Add a page with testimonials and case studies. Image source: arrowsmiledental.com)

We have written extensively on using testimonials and reviews here: Learn How To Improve Your Sales Using Profit-Boosting Testimonials

Contact Page

A contact page is absolutely vital.

It should provide:

• Name Of Your Business
• Your physical location
• Phone
• Fax
• Contact email
• Map and directions
• Web address
• Contact form
• Request for information – contact details
• Links to social media profiles
• Online Chat/Skype (optional feature)

If your business operates out of multiple areas you want to make this clear when showing the address and contact information.

You can also include a few links point to the most commonly asked questions page, useful pages, booking form, support page, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add A Medical Or Health-Related Blog

A blog can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. Blogs typically include a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing timely content such as the latest news, updates, educational information, opinions and discussions, educational videos, webinars, etc.

If you already have an existing medical or health-related site, then consider adding a WordPress-powered blog to create more exposure for your medical organization.

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 serve as both your website and your blog.

Something few people know about, is that WordPress can turn your web presence into an automated traffic-generation system that will begin to deliver new targeted traffic to your web site, simply by adding regular content to your web site.

(WordPress can drive new visitors automatically to your website)

Go here to learn more:

• WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint – How To Turn Your WordPress Web Site Into An Automated Traffic Generation Machine

Legal Information

It’s very important for professional businesses to have a website that complies will all legal requirements online. This is not only important for establishing trust and credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that you are not contravening any laws and regulations wherever your practice is located.

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

• Contact Page
• Privacy Policy
• Terms And Conditions
• 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 about adding legal pages to your site. For more details: Adding Legal Pages To Your Website

Tips On How To Improve The Content On Your Site

In today’s ultra-competitive global business economy, the practice of content marketing has become one of the key differentiators for businesses.

You want to provide great content with useful information, tips and advice that will get your readers sharing your web pages and coming back for more content. Content marketing is a great way to educate site visitors and prospects about your services.

For example, if your business provides weight loss services, then some of the topics you can write content about include:

• What is BMI (what it stands for, what it does, how to calculate yours)
• Weight loss surgery – benefits vs risks (who should get it, risks, success rates)
• Comparing different diets, e.g. Atkins diet, South Beach diet, Jenny Craig diet (what these are, how they work, how effective they are)
• How a personal chef can help you lose weight (what they do, is it affordable)
• And endless other content topics

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your readers understand your services, by explaining benefits, procedures, costs (including payment plans, insurance coverage, etc).

Use keywords in your articles that your readers will search for.

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

Ways To Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

Improving your user experience (generally referred to as UX) will help to keep visitors coming back and engaging with your site. This section will show you different ways to improve visitor engagement and user experience.

Syndicating Content - RSS Feeds

RSS feeds provide plenty of benefits for your business.

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

Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other sites using RSS feeds, include:

• All of your updates are kept in one place
• your content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared online
• Feeds allow for subscribing
• It provides links back to your site
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• There are various ways readers can receive your content (e.g. subscribers can read your content on their mobile device using feed readers)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also a number of 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 useful RSS feeds just visit sites of health or medical-related government departments and industry bodies.

For example, here are a few useful RSS feeds you could consider adding to a medical or health-related website:

• US Department Of Health And Human Services – e.g. Latest news feed: http://www.hhs.gov/rss/news/hhsnews.xml, etc. You can also select specific RSS feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Breast cancer, Health care for women, Illnesses and disabilities, Minority women’s health, Smoking and how to quit, 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. Haematologica, BMJ Disease in Childhood – Fetal and Neonatal Edition, American Cancer Society, Radiology, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health - Find many RSS feeds on health-related news and topics here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• US Food And Drug Administration (FDA) – Find feeds on fda-related news and topics like enforcement reports, FDA drug shortages, tainted products, foods, etc. and podcasts here: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds
• UK Department Of Health (www.gov.uk) – 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. Western Australia – http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/feed/?types=news
• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention - Find various health-related feeds and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
• Medical News Feeds: You can search medical news feeds by going to publications like the NYTimes RSS feeds section (e.g. Fitness & nutrition: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Nutrition.xml)
• MedicineNet – Daily Health and Medical News: http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/dailyhealth.xml. You can also select specific RSS feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Lung Conditions, Cancer, Migraine Headaches, Pregnancy, Eyesight, Skin, etc.)
• MedicalNewsToday.com – Medical News Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• MedicalNewsToday.com – You can also select individual RSS feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Schizophrenia, Multiple Sclerosis, Medical Insurance, Swine Flu, Back Pain, Allergy, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, etc.)

You can also just search online for general feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific areas, e.g. “hematology rss feeds”, “aid rss feeds”, “cancer rss feeds”, etc.

(Use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds to improve your site’s UX.)

Checklists And Forms

Checklists and explanatory charts are a great way to help increase user engagement, add value to your visitors and provide something unique. They can provide visitors with useful step-by-step instructions and resources to complete a necessary task. Checklists and charts can also be great client educational tools.

You can provide a range of forms, charts and checklists (or links to these) covering areas such as:

• Booking appointments
• Checklists for pre or post surgery
• Health checklists and charts for specific conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, caries prevention program, cosmetic dentistry, etc.
• Fitness and nutrition program checklists
• General charts & infographics (e.g. sugar content in different foods, the importance of sleep at different ages, etc.)

Add Unique Tools

Providing unique online tools and applications on your website can help increase visitor engagement and add value to your potential clients. Calculators are useful tools to add to your website. Other applications can include things like nutritional 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 can improve your search engine optimization, increase user engagement and generate more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of part one.

Click here to access the rest of this article:

• A Complete Guide On How To Successfully Build And Grow Your Health And Medical Services Business Online Using WordPress – Part 2

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