Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

Medical and Health professionals today face growing challenges.

Online Challenges For Medical Services Practitioners

Today, more than ever, medical and health services providers must work hard to stand out from their competition and obtain new clients. Not only do you have to be fully involved in the community you serve, you must also develop and maintain a strong web presence. This includes having a dynamic website and learning how to better promote your health services online.

As well as investing money in offline marketing activities such as advertising on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and tv spots, etc., businesses in the medical-related industry are now also finding that they will need to assign a larger portion of their budget to develop and maintain a website that can attract prospective clients, engage visitors, outrank the competition in search engines and social media, and help them gain a wider amount of reach online.

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

One other problem that medical organizations (and most other professions) face, is that you have around 30 seconds to give users what they are looking for 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

Online Opportunities For Medical & Health Services

As well as facing a number of significant business and technology changes, there are also many online opportunities available to businesses in the health industry that are willing to adapt to meet digital economy challenges and think progressively about improving their online business marketing skills.

This guide will help you uncover opportunities to generate more traffic and improve your online results.

As well as providing general website improvement tips, we also focus on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system to power your health or medical-related business website.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system (CMS), go here:

• Learn Why A Poorly Designed Web Site Can Lose You Potential Clients
• Using WordPress To Grow A Successful Small Business Online

How To Improve Your Medical & Health Clinic Site

This section covers ways to improve your health website and get better results online. We will look at what pages a health-related site needs, what type of content you need, ways to improve layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, read this detailed step-by-step guide we have written: A Cost-Saving Guide To Web Site Planning For Business Owners

Basic Website Pages

All business websites need a number of essential pages. Let’s review the pages your  need to have and how to structure your website for best results.

Services

It’s essential to include a page that lists your services or products. Depending on which area you specialize in, your page could list services such as:

• Medicine & Surgery – e.g. ear, nose & throat, pulmonology blood disorders, oral surgery, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, renal, weight loss surgery, ophtalmology palliative care, etc.
• Dentistry – e.g. cosmetic dentistry, children’s dentistry, bad breath treatment, veneers, crowns and bridges, implants, emergency dental services, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac patient education, chronic heart conditions
• Prenatal/Postnatal – e.g. birth suites, midwifery, etc.
• Child Health – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic – mammography, lung screening, oral health, women’s health, psychosis, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology services – laboratory testing and analysis, emergency pathology testing, clinical trials, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling – mental health, alcohol, tobacco & other drug counselling, marriage counselling, diet and nutrition counselling, social development services
• Alternative therapies – acupuncture, aromatherapy, natural therapy, yoga, chiropractic services, hypnotherapy, etc.
• Other medical services – weight management, othopedics, reproductive endocrinology, optical services, medical genetics, artificial limbs, sleep therapy, home care, community health, medical transport, etc.

List all of the services you provide, not just the ones you specialize in. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about the benefits of using these services and direct them to your contact or appointment booking page.

About Us

This page needs to describe your business and what your business stands for, its unique approach, supported community activities, etc.

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

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

Team Profile Page

If you are looking for ways to grow your business online or get people to stay longer on your site, then something you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know you and your organization better.

Your business needs to be relatable. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your people. It should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors are probably not familiar with medical terms your bio descriptions should tell who they are and what their specialties are. It should also explain what those specialties mean. This page can include social buttons that will allow your visitors to follow some of your team members on their social networks.

On this page, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your team members with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to highlight each staff member’s expertise, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Make sure to add a page that introduces your team members to prospective new clients. Screenshot image sourced from: southperthchiro.com.au)

To learn more about how to create and add an easy-to-manage simple team directory to WordPress using free WP plugins, refer to this step-by-step tutorial: How To Create A Simple Employee Directory For Your WordPress Site With No Coding Skills

Job Opportunities

This is a listing of job or career opportunities available within your company. It could include type of training provided, benefits, professional development, social aspects of working with your organization, etc. It should include information about new career opportunities in the medical industry.

Maintain a positions available section in this page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, subscribe to your newsletter, follow you on social media, etc.

Case Studies

Case studies and client reviews are a great way to attract potential clients and showcase what kind of services you offer. Adding a page with testimonials from previous clients and case studies also helps to provide social proof.

(Add a page to your site with testimonials from previous clients and case studies. Image source: arrowsmiledental.com)

We have written extensively on using case studies, testimonials and reviews to improve your business results online. For more details: How To Turn More Visitors Into Qualified Prospects Using Meaningful Testimonials

Contact Page

A contact page is crucial.

Your contact page should include some or all of the following:

• Name
• Location
• Phone
• Fax number
• Email address
• Google Map and directions
• Website address
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Links to social media pages
• Chat

If you operate from different areas you will want to make this clear when showing the address and contact information.

Consider also including links to an FAQ section, main pages, booking form, helpdesk, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Health-Related Blog

A blog is a very powerful marketing tool. Blogs typically comprise of a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing content such as news and announcements, new releases, useful articles and tutorials, opinions and discussions, how-to videos, infographics, etc.

If you already have an existing medical or health website, then consider adding a WordPress-driven blog to promote your organization.

If you don’t have a website yet, or if your existing health or medical website is hard to add new content to or not giving you the results you want, then WordPress can act both as your business website and business blog.

Not many businesses know this, but WordPress can turn into an automated traffic-generation system that can help drive targeted visitors to your business, simply by publishing regular content to your site.

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

Go here to learn more about this:

• Web Traffic Blueprint – Discover How To Create An Automated Traffic Generation Machine With WordPress

Legal Pages

As a professional medical provider, ensuring that you have a website that complies will all legal requirements online is very important. This is not only important for building trust with visitors, but also to ensure that no laws and regulations are being breached wherever you do business.

Depending on the services you provide, adding the legal pages below to your health-related website will help you stay out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential sources of threats and legal inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Policy
• Terms Of Use
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Health/Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• and others

We have written a detailed article on adding legal pages to your site. To learn more, go here: How To Add Legal Pages To Your Site

Tips For Improving The Content On Your Website

In today’s globally competitive economy, the practice of content marketing has become one of the key differentiators for businesses that sell similar products or provide similar services.

By providing great content with information, advice and tips, you will get your readers to share your information with others and come back for more. Publishing content is a great way to inform and teach site visitors and prospects about your business and services.

For example, if your business provides weight loss services, 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.)
• How to figure out how many calories you burn each day
• How to develop a better eating and exercise plan
• Smartphone apps for tracking calories and exercise
• Etc.

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

Include the keywords and terminology in your content that readers would search for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with actionable information that will teach exactly how to drive more traffic to your site, save money creating useful content for 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 Of Improving Visitor Experience

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

Using RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and UX in many ways.

If you provide valuable information, other sites may want to syndicate your content.

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

• All of your updates are kept in one place
• Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Can be shared
• Feeds allow users to subscribe
• A feed provides a way for links to point back to your site
• RSS 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 a feed reader)
• RSS is built into WordPress

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

You can find many useful RSS feeds for your website by visiting sites of relevant government departments or well-known industry bodies.

Below we have listed some examples of RSS feeds containing useful information that you could add to a health-related site:

• US Department Of Health And Human Services – e.g. Blog posts feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SelectedHhsBlogPosts, etc. You can also select specific RSS feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Breastfeeding, Healthy aging, Illnesses and disabilities, Mental health, Violence against women, etc.) here: http://womenshealth.gov/news/rss/rss-feeds.html
• US National Libraries Of Medicine – For a list of feeds from various medical journals, publications and websites (e.g. AHA Journals (American Heart Association Journals), CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, BMJ Injury Prevention, BMJ Journal of Clinical Pathology, BMJ Evidence-Based Mental Health, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health (www.nih.gov) - Find many health-related RSS feeds here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• US Food And Drug Administration (FDA) – Find feeds on fda-related news like FDA drug safety, food safety reports, recalls, drugs, etc. and podcasts here: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds
• UK Department Of Health (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 (www.cdc.gov) - Get various health-related RSS feeds and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
• Medical News: You can search medical news feeds by going to publications like the NYTimes feeds section (e.g. Health news: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Health.xml)
• MedicineNet – Weekly Health and Medical News Digest: http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/weeklyhealth.xml. You can also select individual RSS feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, Men’s health, Neurology, Diet & Weight Management, Eyesight, Hearing, etc.)
• Medical News Today – MNT 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. Anxiety/Stress, Stroke, Pregnancy/Obstetrics, Pancreatic Cancer, COPD, Women’s Health/Gynecology, Clinical Trials/Drug Trials, etc.)

You can also search online for general feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific topics, e.g. “hematology rss feeds”, “irritable-bowel syndrome rss feeds”, “liver disease rss feeds”, etc.

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

Checklists And Charts

Checklists and educational charts are a fantastic way to help increase visitor engagement, add value to your visitors and provide something unique. They can give them useful information and resources to complete a task. Checklists and charts can also be great client instructional tools.

Forms, charts and checklists could include subjects such as:

• Checklists/forms for booking appointments
• Checklists for post-surgery recovery
• Health checklists for specific systems
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, active maintenance program, general dentistry, etc.
• Fitness and nutrition program checklists
• General charts & infographics (e.g. sugar content in different foods, the importance of sleep at different stages of development, etc.)

Add Unique Tools

Providing unique online tools, gadgets and applications on your site is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add significant value to your visitors. Calculators are popular tools for your website. Other tools would include things like diagnostic tools, or even recipes.

In the next section, we take a look at a number of online tools you can use in your health or medical site using WordPress plugins and themes that can help to improve seo, increase user engagement and drive more traffic to your business.

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This is the end of section 1.

To keep reading, click this link:

• How To Successfully Build And Grow A Health Clinic Services Online – Part Two

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