Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

The information economy has not only revolutionised businesses globally, it has also created increasingly difficult challenges and great opportunities for health businesses.

Online Challenges For The Medical & Health Profession

Today, more than ever, businesses in the medical industry must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to be fully involved in the community you serve, you must also maintain a strong web presence. This includes having an effective web presence and figuring out better ways to grow your medical or health services online.

As well as investing money in offline marketing activities, you will probably find (if you haven’t already) that in order to remain competitive, increasingly larger amounts of their marketing budget need to be allocated towards developing and managing a website that can attract new clients, engage visitors, outperform the competition in search engines and help you create a wider degree of marketing reach online.

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

Another problem that medical providers face with their websites (as other professions do for that matter), is that they have only around 30 seconds to provide users with what they are looking for or they will go elsewhere to get their needs met.

“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 And Medical Businesses In The Web Economy

As well as facing many new business and technology changes, there are also plenty of online opportunities available to businesses in the medical or health industry that can adapt to meet the challenges of the digital economy and can think progressively when it comes to marketing their services better online.

In this article, you will learn about new ways to attract and engage new visitors and improve your online results.

As well as providing practical tips and information on ways to improve your business online, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress Content Management System to power your medical or health-related website or blog.

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress CMS platform, see these articles:

• How A Poorly Designed Website Can Cost You Customers And What To Do About It
• How To Grow Your Business With A WordPress Blog

Tips To Improve Your Medical Website

This section will show you how to improve your medical website and get better results online. We will look at what web pages you need, what content works best for medical websites, navigation structure, etc.

If you need help with website planning, check out the article we have written here: A Comprehensive Guide To Web Site Planning For Non-Technical Business Owners

Essential Web Pages

All business websites require some basic pages. Let’s go over these.

Your Services

It’s essential to have a page that describes your products or services. Depending on which area you specialize in, this page could list services like:

• Medicine & Surgery – e.g. ear, nose & throat, nephrology haematology, maxillofacial surgery, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, respiratory, gastroenterology, ophtalmology palliative care, etc.
• Dentistry – e.g. cosmetic dentistry, holistic dentistry, bad breath treatment, restorations, implants, emergency dentistry services, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac patient education, chronic heart conditions
• Prenatal/Neonatal – e.g. birth suites, midwifery, etc.
• Child Health – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – mammography, lung screening, audiology, pap smears, psychosis, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology – lab testing and analysis, emergency pathology testing, occupational and environmental testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling – mental health, alcohol, tobacco & other drug services, domestic abuse, wellness, social development services
• Alternative therapies – Chinese medicine, homeopathy, reiki, yoga, chiropractic services, hypnotherapy, etc.
• Other medical services/therapies – weight management, chiropody, fertility services, occupational therapy, neurosciences, artificial limbs, hearing aids, home care, sexual health, medical supplies, etc.

List all of the services you provide. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about the benefits of using your services and why they should book an appointment with you.

About Us

The ‘About Us’ page needs to describe your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, sponsored community programs, etc.

It should also mention any awards, recognitions, accreditations, certifications, publications, associations, etc., that you can use to promote your business and position yourself above your competitors.

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

Meet Our Team

Are you searching for inexpensive ways to sell more products or services online or get prospective clients to stay longer on your site? Then make it easier for prospects to get to know, like and trust you and your business better.

You want your business to be relatable. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff. It should include a photo and a brief biography. Since most visitors will not tend to be familiar with health or medical-related terms your descriptions should tell who they are and what they specialize in. You may also want to explain what those specialized areas do. It should also include social buttons so your site visitors can follow selected staff members on their social networks.

In this page, make sure to highlight your team member’s qualifications, 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 staff or team members to prospective new clients. Image source: southperthchiro.com.au)

For a detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to add an updatable simple staff directory to your web site using free plugins, go here: WordPress Plugin Tutorial: Adding An Employee Directory

Job Opportunities

List any job or career opportunities within your business. This page could include type of training provided, employee benefits, professional development, social activities encouraged or sponsored by your organization, etc. You can also include information about upcoming career opportunities in the medical industry.

Include also a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to this page, join your newsletter, follow your social pages, etc.

Case Studies & Testimonials

Case studies and reviews from clients are a great way to attract potential clients and showcase your services. By adding a page with case studies and client reviews, you are also helping to establish social proof online for your business.

(Add a page with reviews from clients and case studies. Screenshot image sourced from: arrowsmiledental.com)

We have created a detailed article on using testimonials, case studies and user reviews to grow your business online. Go here to learn more: Learn How To Improve Your Visitor-To-Sales Conversions Using Standout Client Testimonials

Contact Us

Having a contact page is absolutely vital.

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

• Name
• Physical location
• Phone number
• Fax
• Email address
• Map
• Web URL
• Contact form
• Request for more information – who to contact
• Links to social media pages
• Live chat (optional feature)

If your business operates in several locations you will want to make that clear when displaying your address and contact info.

You can also include links pointing to the most commonly asked questions page, frequently-visited pages, online booking request, support page, newsletter, blog, etc.

Blog

A blog can be a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Blogs are built around a content management system that is easy to use and allows you to easily promote your business using content like events, new releases, educational articles and tutorials, opinions and discussions, promotional videos, infographics, etc.

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

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

You may not be aware of this, but WordPress can become an automated traffic-generation machine that can instantly begin to attract new visitors to your website, simply by adding regular content to your website.

(WordPress can generate traffic automatically to your site)

To learn more about this go here:

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

Legal Information

As a professional health services provider, ensuring that you have a website that complies will all legal requirements online is vitally important. This is not only important for building credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that you are not breaking any local, regional and federal laws and regulations in whatever location you do business.

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

• Contact Page
• 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
• and others

We have written a detailed article about adding legal pages to your website. Go here to learn more about this: How To Add Legal Pages To Your Site

Ways To Improve The Content On Your Website

In today’s ultra-competitive global economy, the sooner you start publishing content on your site, the sooner you will begin to see results and differentiate yourself from other competitors.

Providing great content with information, advice and tips will get your readers sharing it with others and coming back for more content. Publishing content is the most effective way to inform and educate your visitors and prospective clients about your business and services.

For example, if your business provides products or services that help people lose weight, then some of the topics you could write about include the following:

• Nutrients your body needs on a daily basis (protein, carbs, minerals, fats, vitamins)
• How to set realistic, but achievable weight loss goals
• Why using a measuring tape is better than a scale when it comes to weight loss progress
• How a personal chef can help you lose weight (what they do, is it affordable)
• Etc.

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your your readers gain a better understanding of your services, by explaining benefits, procedures, terminology, etc.

Use keywords in your articles that prospective clients would search for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with easy-to-digest information that will teach you how to drive more traffic to your website, save money creating useful content for your visitors and grow your business online using content marketing. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!

Improve User Experience

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

Adding RSS Feeds

Using RSS feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and UX in many ways.

If you provide information that adds value to others, other sites will want to syndicate your content to their visitors.

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

• All of your content updates are in one place
• Doesn’t rely on email
• Feeds can be shared
• Users can subscribe to your RSS feed
• It provides links back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• RSS provides various ways for your readers to 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 a number of benefits to adding syndicated content to your site from other sites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

You can find RSS feeds with useful content by searching online for medical-related government departments or well-known industry bodies.

Below we have listed examples of RSS feeds you could add to your website:

• US Department Of Health And Human Services – e.g. Blog 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, Minority women’s health, Pregnancy, 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. PhysiologicalReviews, ADA ClinicalDiabetes, Stem Cells, BMJ Archives of Disease, Respiratory Research, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health - Get various health-related feeds here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• FDA – Find RSS feeds on fda-related news and topics like consumer health information, FDA drug shortages, product recalls, radiological health, 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. Western Australia – http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/feed/?types=news
• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (www.cdc.gov) - Get 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. Alzheimer’s Disease, Menopause, Migraine Headaches, Pregnancy, Senior Health, Skin, etc.)
• Medical News Today – MNT Featured 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. Pharma Industry/Biotech Industry, Pain/Anesthetics, Eczema/Psoriasis, Body Aches, Primary Care/General Practice, Respiratory/Asthma, Obesity/Weight Loss/Fitness, etc.)

You can also just search online for general feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific topics, e.g. “pharmacy rss feeds”, “tropical diseases rss feeds”, “statins rss feeds”, etc.

(RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your health or medical-related website’s UX.)

Add Online Checklists And Charts

Adding checklists and educational charts to your site is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add value to your audience. Forms and checklists can provide step-by-step information and resources to get necessary tasks performed. Forms and checklists are great client educational tools.

Forms, charts and checklists could include subjects such as:

• Booking appointments
• Checklists for post-surgery recovery
• Health checklists and charts for specific conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, caries prevention program, cosmetic dentistry, etc.
• Weight loss and nutrition program checklists
• General charts & infographics (e.g. acidity level of different foods, the importance of sleep at different ages, etc.)

Provide Unique Tools

Providing useful online tools, gadgets and applications on your website is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add value to users. Calculators are useful tools for your website. Other tools could include things like diagnostic tools, or even recipes.

In the next section, we look at a number of WordPress plugins and themes you can add to your medical-related site that improve seo, improve user engagement and drive more traffic to your business.

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This is the end of section one of this article on ways to improve your health or medical-related web presence.

To view the rest of this guide, click here:

• Tips For Medical Services Practitioners – WordPress Plugins That Improve SEO, Improve User Engagement And Generate More Visitors

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